Vancouver filmmaker Zachary Lipovsky says it took innovative thinking 鈥 and a fake decapitation 鈥 to land the job directing 鈥淔inal Destination: Bloodlines.鈥
The supernatural horror film, in theatres Friday, is the sixth in the long-running franchise about people who narrowly escape death only to be hunted down by fate through elaborate, gruesome accidents.
Lipovsky and co-director Adam B. Stein say they essentially had to audition for the job and turned their Zoom pitch to Warner Bros. execs into a perfectly choreographed, blood-soaked spectacle.
鈥淎s we were pitching, the back fireplace in our room started to light the back wall on fire, and then we got up and started running around screaming,鈥 Lipovsky recalls on a virtual call from Vancouver.
They doused the faux flames with a fire extinguisher and aired out the room, but weren鈥檛 in the clear yet.
鈥淪uddenly the ceiling fan came loose and I jumped out of the way and it fell and chopped Adam’s head off and blood went spraying everywhere,鈥 says Lipovsky.聽
鈥淎nd then we were like, 鈥楢ny questions about our pitch?鈥欌
The carnage was staged using a mix of pre-recorded footage and practical effects 鈥 just enough to rattle the execs before winning them over.
Lipovsky says it鈥檚 been incredible to join a franchise with 鈥渁 long legacy鈥 in Vancouver, noting all but one of the 鈥淔inal Destination鈥 films were shot in his hometown and many involved his actor friends.
鈥淚 have a lot of friends who’ve died in the previous movies and a lot of the disasters take place in different parts of the city,鈥 he says.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a very homegrown feeling to it. 鈥t’s been really cool to make this big studio-feeling movie, but still have its roots in the city that’s been part of the franchise for so long, and to just shoot it in your backyard.鈥
In 鈥淔inal Destination: Bloodlines,鈥 Langley, B.C.鈥檚 Kaitlyn Santa Juana stars as Stefani, a college student who inherits a decades-old premonition from her grandma and must save her family as death begins picking them off one by one.
The film opens in the 1960s when disaster strikes Skyview Tower, a fictional 120-metre-tall structure topped by a rooftop restaurant. Its base was filmed at Vancouver鈥檚 Planetarium, which helped shape the tower鈥檚 retro-futuristic look. The rest was brought to life through visual effects and custom-built sets for the film鈥檚 first catastrophic set piece.
The directors say the sequence sets a world record for the 鈥渙ldest person set on fire鈥 on screen, with 71-year-old former stuntwoman Yvette Ferguson coming out of retirement to be engulfed in flames.
鈥淪he comes from a long family of stunt people and she said, 鈥楨veryone in my family’s been on fire except for me! I’m so excited I finally get to do a burn!’鈥 recalls Stein, who’s from Florida.
Since its 2000 debut, 鈥淔inal Destination鈥 has become a cult hit and box office success, earning more than US$650 million globally on the strength of its killer premise: you can鈥檛 cheat death. The last instalment was 2011鈥檚 鈥淔inal Destination 5.鈥
Publicity for the new edition has involved gory installations, including a half-finished “Final Destination” billboard featuring two bodies hanging, as if death struck the workers mid-job. Another stunt that hit Canadian highways last week involves a log truck made to look like it’s splattered in blood, a nod to 2003’s “Final Destination 2,” in which a premonition about logs flying off a flatbed sparks a deadly highway pileup.
Lipovsky and Stein say they initially questioned the need for another entry in 2025, but their doubts faded after reading a compelling new treatment by 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home鈥 director Jon Watts.
They were also drawn to the story鈥檚 family-driven emotional core, which echoed their 2018 sci-fi thriller 鈥淔reaks,鈥 which followed a girl who uncovers dark secrets about her past and those closest to her.
鈥淲e love stories that really hook you by the heart while also having great suspense and horror,鈥 says Stein.
The duo met as contestants on the 2007 Fox reality show 鈥淥n the Lot,鈥 where filmmakers competed for a DreamWorks development deal.
鈥淲e just instantly really became close friends and collaborators,鈥 says Lipovsky, noting they also co-directed the Disney Channel action comedy 鈥淜im Possible鈥 in 2019.
The filmmakers say 鈥淔inal Destination鈥 has made them overly aware of how everyday moments can spiral into disaster.
Lipovsky now avoids the SkyTrain grate outside his building.聽
鈥淚 can’t have the headline: 鈥楩inal Destination鈥 filmmaker dies falling through subway grate,鈥欌 he says.聽
鈥淓verywhere you go, you now see death,鈥 laughs Stein.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2025.
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