What To Watch This Weekend: 'Bloodlines,' And 'Murderbot'

HOLLYWOOD, CA — The cinematic landscape beams bright this weekend with two scintillating new releases, featuring the Grim Reaper, and a self-hacking cyborg with a penchant for streaming futuristic soap operas.

Arriving 14 years after “Final Destination 5” graced the silver screen, the revered horror movie series comes roaring back with “Bloodlines,” starring Tony Todd, Brec Bassinger and Kaitlyn Santa Juana. This time around, expect the Grim Reaper to be most unrelenting yet.

Alexander Skarsgård fans, get excited! The “True Blood” actor plays the eponymous cyborg in Apple TV+'s new comedy sci-fi series “Murderbot.” Interestingly enough, the show is not laden with a great deal of murder.

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Check out what we thought of the two new releases below.

Movies And Shows Out This Weekend

“Final Destination: Bloodlines”

Tony Todd, Brec Bassinger; directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein

The Grim Reaper comes seething with fury and vengeance in “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” the sixth entry of the horror movie franchise famed for its elaborate Rube Goldberg machine-style fatalities. Arriving 14 years after “Final Destination 5” made its cinematic debut, the new film sends tremors of terror yet again as Death begins a new cycle in its torturous quest to wipe out an entire family of descendants.

Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein adroitly resurrect the revered horror series with a well-orchestrated opening sequence involving Iris (Brec Bassinger), a young woman basking in excitement during the opening ceremony of the Skyview Restaurant Tower in 1968. Seconds later, a series of disastrous events leads to a catastrophe that spells doom and carnage in the most bizarre ways imaginable.

Apparently, the ominous vision has plagued Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) for quite a while, so much so that she now suffers from persistent insomnia to the detriment of her outstanding scholastic standing. Searching for answers, the college student ventures out to meet her reclusive grandmother Iris (Gabrielle Rose in the present), who may hold the key to unlocking Stefani’s recurring nightmares.

Eventually, Iris warns her granddaughter that Death is finally “coming for her family” because the matriarch managed to cheat Death decades ago while saving countless lives in the process.

With great determination and resolve, Stefanie subsequently tries to save as many lives as possible from Death’s impending strike even if it amounts to losing her own. Suffice to say, it will not be an easy feat for the young woman to anticipate and defy Death’s machinations.

“Bloodlines” attempts to spice up the “Final Destination” recipe by getting family dynamics into the mix. However, the additional layer surrounding generational trauma rather impedes the narrative’s momentum of delivering the sadistic fun that hardcore fans so crave.

Be that as it may, “Bloodlines” does not disappoint overall. The macabre chain of events still allures with outlandish inventive deaths, along with good doses of mordant humor. In terms of performances, the late Tony Todd brings the most poignant moment of the film as the horror legend makes his final bow in his iconic role as the mysterious mortician William Bludworth.

Finally, neophytes need not see the previous films in the cannon to experience the thrilling escapism the latest installment brings.

“Murderbot”

Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, David Dastmalchian, Noma Dumezweni, Sabrina Wu, Tattiawna Jones, Akshay Khanna, and Tamara Podemski

Creators: Paul and Chris Weitz

Apple TV+'s new comedy sci-fi series, “Murderbot,” directed by creators Paul and Chris Weitz, is an adaptation of Martha Well’s “The Murderbot Diaries.” At the heart of the story is an eponymous self-hacking security unit (SecUnit), a cyborg whose sole purpose is to protect its clients, a team of space explorers, from the prying eyes of mysterious intruders.

It all begins with PreservationAUX, a space expedition team embarking on a vaguely defined research mission to an unnamed planet. At this juncture, the plotlines are rather nebulous. What’s clear, however, is that the team of space explorers has been forced to bring along a security unit (SecUnit) for insurance purposes. To cut costs, they have decided to accept a refurbished, outdated model.

As the story unfolds, the SecUnit discovers a way to decouple from the system module, a controller device that forces security units to obey orders from clients.

Soon, the SecUnit makes a conscious decision to christen itself Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård). In addition, it will now pivot most of its time and energy to streaming all 3,000 episodes of “The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon,” a futuristic sci-fi soap opera featuring the likes of John Cho, DeWanda Wise, Clark Gregg and Jack McBrayer.

And so, begins Murderbot's new adventure where the cyborg can absolutely act and think independently. Meanwhile, however, the bot must conceal its newfound free will. Why? Sorry but no spoilers here.

Before long, it becomes more apparent that there is more to everything on the mysterious planet than meets the eye — something pernicious and menacing. But fret not, Murderbot is always set to save the day.

In all, the first season, based on the first “Murderbot Diaries” novella, titled "All Systems Red," is a 10-episode series that dazzles with unbridled hilarity, exceptional creativity and Skarsgård’s consummate performance, notwithstanding a plot that feels too thin.

(The first two episodes of “Murderbot” premiere May 16 on Apple TV+. Subsequently, new episodes stream every Friday through July 11.)