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Review: ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ — Horror At Its Most Cynical
How successful is the latest studio effort to re-energise a horror franchise?
Less than a week before the release of Final Blood Destinations, rapper billy woods released his newest album ‘Golliwog’. Utilising themes from horror cinema of the 1970s through to the 1990s, including references to dolls (in its title and throughout numerous songs) and the likes of When A Stranger Calls and Black Christmas, and infused with a slew of references to the work of Stephen King (including direct nods to Cujo, Misery, Carrie and more), woods delivers a shattering, horrifying look at historical atrocities, racism, dehumanisation, genocide and more… all in 50 minutes, with the only accompanying visual being a single image — his album cover (not counting music videos, which I haven’t seen but imagine probably flesh out the album’s world further). It’s such an effective work of contemporary horror not just because of its excellently composed soundscape, but because its horrors are rooted in historical realities that continue to sit heavy on the minds of people today. Maybe woods’ brilliance raised the bar for me and made experiencing any other horror near impossible… but Bloodlines landed with a bland thud despite the rare moment of promise.
