Here’s how all six Final Destination movies compare to one another, from worst to best. Debuting in 2000, Final Destination quickly became one of the more enduring new horror franchises in Hollywood. The first five films in the series were released in just over a decade, before fans had to wait fourteen years for a new entry in the form of Final Destination Bloodlines. The latest Final Destination finds a clever way to connect itself to the previous films within the lore of the story. It also embraces the absurdly gory roots of the franchise without ever feeling like its repeating old glories.
The Final Destination franchise has always been a financial boon for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros., but the films have also faced scrutiny from critics over the years that separated it from the upper echelons of the genre. Final Destination is at its best when it embraces the absurd and brutal nature of Death in this universe, without losing sight of the characters at the heart of the story. Here is how every Final Destination ranks against one another, from worst to best.
6
The Final Destination
The Most Forgettable Entry In The Series
The Final Destination is the weakest entry in the overall Final Destination franchise. Focusing on the survivors of a race course catastrophe, The Final Destination follows the same basic trajectory as every other entry in the series as they realize what’s happening to them while Death comes after them in absurd and gory ways. While the other Final Destination films have a campy sense of creative charm to them that elevates them above their basic elements, The Final Destination is too bland to be truly memorable.
Even the deaths feel pedestrian compared to the lengths Death has gone to in previous films, as they are designed around the incorporation of 3D effects. This resulted in death scenes and dialogue that felt like it was arguing for its own existence instead of justing proving it. The result is a movie that only has gory spectacle to rely on, which quickly loses its effect after being used too liberally. While it may have been the most successful Final Destination film at the box office, The Final Destination remains the most forgettable entry in the series.
5
Final Destination
The Original Does A Good Job Setting Up The World
The first film in the enduring horror series, Final Destination is an uneven but entertaining horror movie that at least does a great job of establishing a winning formula. After a high school student’s premonition of a plane explosion saves him and some of his classmates, Death comes after them in increasingly unexpected ways. Final Destination benefits from the freshness of the approach, as it gives the sudden bursts of horror (like the initial plane crash and Terry being hit by a bus) a bluntness that felt wholly unique from the rest of the horror genre around it.
As reported by Screen Rant, Final Destination was inspired by an episode of The X-Files.
This is also the film that set the idea that Death’s approach to dispatching people could feel more like a Rube Goldberg machine than just a random masked murderer, adding an inherent of gruesome glee whenever the films can turn ordinary objects into monstrous weapons. The film’s worst elements also stem from that unsure shakiness, with strange visual touches and wonky characters distracting from the story. While it’s far from the best one in the series, Final Destination does a good job of setting the stage for the heights of the series.
4
Final Destination 3
The Final Destination Movie That’s The Most Darkly Comedic
One of the more overtly grimly comedic entries in the series, Final Destination 3 leans fully into the darkly funny and creative kills at the cost of the depth that other entries in the series discovered. After being terrified by a premonition into getting off a faulty roller coaster just before it kills several people, a high school student struggles to figure out what Death has in store for her and her friends.
Final Destination 3 has some of the most absurd deaths in the series, such as the infamous tanning bed death and Lewis getting his head destroyed by a pair of weights colliding. However, that’s not to the detriment of the film at all, which litters the cast with casual jerks as it leans into the unexpected nature of the kills. There’s a dark sense of humor throughout Final Destination 3 that makes it a surprisingly enjoyable watch despite all the grim fatalities that play out during the movie.
While the characters may not be all that compelling (outside of Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s “Final Girl” Wendy or the surprisingly dangerous Ian), the expansion of the concept completely divorced from the characters of the first two films allowed the series to expand in a potentially limitless way. Far from flawless, Final Destination 3 is where the series finds a way to have a lot of fun with a horrifying concept.
3
Final Destination 2
Home To Some Of The Most Memorable Scenes In The Series
A solid expansion of the original film’s concept, Final Destination 2 benefits from some of the series’ most iconic moments to overcome its structural flaws. Final Destination 2 is where a lot of the refinement of the series’ lore comes into play, such as the idea that someone can escape Death’s grasp and can’t take their own life without Death’s allowance. The film suffers from too many characters, which sands many of them down into basic archetypes. However, the film builds on the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly ambition of the first movie, with a confident mix of genuine horror and over-the-top gore.
The film still threads the line between genuine self-reflection on mortality with a macabre sense of humor…
The best example of this is the opening premonition, wherein Kimberly witnesses a pile-up turn lethal after a logging truck drops its load and overturns on a crowded highway. The film still threads the line between genuine self-reflection on mortality with a macabre sense of humor, maintaining the somewhat lighter edge that it needs to counteract the gory kills. When Final Destination 2 is on, it has some of the best scenes in the series. However, the overstuffed nature of the cast and the lore dumps keep it from reaching the heights of two later films in the franchise.
2
Final Destination 5
An Interesting Addition To The Lore Elevates Some Of The Series’ Most Brutal Deaths
Final Destination 5 is one of the strongest entries in the Final Destination series, benefiting from a more complex sense of character and morality — without losing the trademark brutality that’s always defined the series. Final Destination 5 has a similar opening to the others, following a group of people as they barely escape a bridge before it collapses. The ensuing deaths are right in line with the best kills of the series and boast some of the most gruesome deaths in the entire Final Destination franchise.
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Final Destination Films |
Year Of Release |
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer |
|
Final Destination |
2000 |
40% |
|
Final Destination 2 |
2003 |
52% |
|
Final Destination 3 |
2006 |
44% |
|
The Final Destination |
2009 |
28% |
|
Final Destination 5 |
2011 |
63% |
|
Final Destination Bloodlines |
2025 |
93% |
What really makes Final Destination 5 interesting is the way it expands the lore by revealing that murder can extend someone’s life. This creates a moral quandary that brings some complexity to the film that other entries lack. Final Destination 5 is a solid attempt at balancing the comedic brutality that defines the series alongside new approaches to the concept, with the solid character work (on both a script and performance level) keeping everything grounded enough to retain stakes. Final Destination 5 is a good example of what the series can do if it isn’t just about the creative kills.
1
Final Destination Bloodlines
The Best Entry In The Series
The best entry in the Final Destination series, Final Destination Bloodlines finds the exact right line between over-the-top creative kills and genuine character interplay. Reestablishing the rules of the franchise while also introducing a new connective thread between Death’s various designs, Final Destination Bloodlines follows a college student as she realizes her Grandmother’s premonition decades ago saved dozens of lives that Death has been steadily picking off — and now it has reached their family.
Final Destination Bloodlines has all the gruesome death scenes that fans of the series have grown accustomed to, including some strong new contenders for the goriest ones in the series. The film also embraces a self-aware sense of humor that makes the characters compelling enough to follow even as they repeatedly court Death. Final Destination Bloodlines finds its true groove when it reflects on the inherently dangerous nature of the world and the choice between living despite death or hiding in the face of it.
This emotional core of the film elevates it without distracting from the campy qualities of the deaths. There’s a clear love for the series as a whole baked into the entire film, all without feeling beholden to the past entries. Final Destination Bloodlines is a great showcase for the series and is the premise at its very best, a gloriously dark but never boring entry in one of 21st century horror’s most enduring franchises.
Source: Screen Rant
Final Destination
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Jeffrey Reddick
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Final Destination
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Final Destination 5
Summary
“Final Destination” is a horror franchise known for its unique premise centered around the inevitability of death. Each installment typically follows a group of individuals who escape a catastrophic accident due to a premonition experienced by one member of the group. However, Death, unwilling to be cheated, begins to claim the survivors in a series of increasingly elaborate and gruesome accidents. The franchise has gained a cult following for its inventive death scenes, tension-building storytelling, and the overarching theme that death is unavoidable.
