John Waters Had Final Destination Bloodlines As His Second-Best Movie Of 2025, And The Reason Was So On-Brand

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As the year winds down and only a few movies remain on the 2025 release schedule, many people in the film industry – actors, directors, and others – are sharing their favorite films of the year. While Quentin Tarantino’s list and some of his comments recently gained a lot of attention online, another well-known and distinctive director’s picks haven’t received as much notice.

I was so excited to see John Waters – you know, the director of films like Pink Flamingos, Cry Baby, and Hairspray – share his favorite movies of the year with Vulture. The whole list was fantastic, but I was especially thrilled with what he had to say about Final Destination: Bloodlines. Seriously, it’s one of the most genuinely scary movies I’ve seen all year, and his reasons for loving it? Totally classic John Waters!

John Waters Called Final Destination Bloodlines ‘A New Realm Of Exploitation Art’

John Waters, a groundbreaking LGBTQ+ filmmaker known for his outrageous and often shocking work, recently praised the 2025 horror film Final Destination Bloodlines. Calling it his second favorite movie of the year, the director of cult classics like Female Trouble and Multiple Maniacs declared the film “goes beyond trash,” highlighting its over-the-top gore and surprisingly enjoyable nature.

This sequel is a standout in an already amazing film series. It’s intense, chaotic, and packed with shocking and disturbing twists, pushing the boundaries of the genre into truly unique and provocative territory.

I can almost hear the author saying those words – imagining him typing them on an old typewriter, likely at his home in Baltimore. And calling the newest installment in this horror series ‘a new level of exploitation art’? It’s a fantastic way to put it.

Coming From John Waters, That’s The Biggest Compliment You Can Get

Personally, if I directed a really extreme horror film with over-the-top deaths, I’d be thrilled if John Waters called it groundbreaking exploitation art. A compliment like that, especially from someone as gifted, energetic, and funny as him, would be the highest praise I could hope for.

This filmmaker isn’t afraid to push boundaries. He’s famous for shocking scenes – like the one featuring Divine actually eating dog feces in one of his movies. He understands deliberately provocative art and consistently creates wild, memorable films.

But This Wasn’t The Only Great Comment From Waters’ Best Movies List

Waters said his second-favorite movie of the year was Final Destination Bloodlines, but Ari Aster’s Eddington took the top spot. The film, which explores how a New Mexico town became deeply divided during the COVID-19 pandemic, wasn’t universally loved. However, Waters was completely captivated by it.

This year’s best movie for me is a strange and wild ride – it’s draining like following the news, and you won’t find any heroes. But it’s hilariously unsettling, oddly innocent yet provocative, and will leave you feeling both delightfully crazy and impressively sophisticated. Seriously, if you don’t enjoy it, we might have a problem.

Watching Joaquin Phoenix portray a character’s mental breakdown in Joker was pretty unsettling for me. I didn’t love the movie overall, but I wouldn’t want the director, Todd Phillips, to hear me say that!

In case you want to know, here’s the entirety of Waters’ list:

  1. Eddington
  2. Final Destination Bloodlines
  3. Oslo Trilogy
  4. Sirāt
  5. Sauna
  6. Room Temperature
  7. Misericordia
  8. When Fall Is Coming
  9. My Mom Jayne
  10. The Empire

To be honest, I haven’t watched all the movies on that list, so I need to make some time to see them.

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2025-12-14 00:12