Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
“In death, there are no accidents”.
What’s more terrifying than an unstoppable, calculating, all-powerful force ? An unstoppable, calculating all-powerful force you can’t see!
Death is no stranger to horror, but not many horror movies has Death itself as the antagonist. John Kramer only wishes his traps could be as elaborate as the ones Death comes up with in the Final Destination movies. Six films in total (presently) with each one vying to outdo the other. Since the first film, the pattern or “Death’s Design” is a bit easier to pick up on, but that hasn’t stopped the creative teams behind these movies from delivering not just jaw-dropping death scenes, but stories that six movies in, still manage to surprise and delight horror fans.
This isn’t a worst to best list; far from it as I don’t think any of these movies are bad. That said, there are those that hold up better than others. With Final Destination Bloodlines out of the way and a weekend of rewatching the previous films behind me, here are my picks of the Final Destination Movies Ranked.
#6 Final Destination 4 aka The Final Destination
To keep things short, I’ll be referring to these films’ plotlines by their major death scene or the inciting calamity. In this case it’s the race track one. Ironically the highest grossing movie of the bunch is also the most forgettable of the bunch. There are over the top death scenes and then there’s Final Destination 4. I like to think of it as the Fast and Furious of the group, and that has nothing to do with the carnage taking place on a race track but due to the almost cartoonish nature of the kills in this outing.
I know I said there are no bad FD movies but this one gets scary close to the line. Remember the guy who got sliced and diced like boneless beef through a fence? Even Wile E. Coyote thought that was stupid. They also left Tony Todd out of this one and for that alone it deserves to be last on any list.
#5 Final Destination 3
The one with the rollercoaster. I’ll admit it’s a flip of the coin between this one and the second for me but while Part 3 has a stronger cast of actors and a great pace, my memory of the story (prior to rewatching) wasn’t as strong as the others, which for me says something.
That said, there is a lot that works well here, including having a final girl worth rooting for in Mary Elizabeth Winstead and a dark humour to the death/kill scenes that is missing from the prior two movies but works well to add a new layer to the story. The tanning bed scene is a prime example of this. Add to that the story taking place on the Fourth of July and you have the added bonus of a horror movie that’s worth checking out at least once a year.
#4 Final Destination 2
If you remember nothing else about this movie, you remember the inciting vision that triggered it all — the highway death scene. I don’t know a single driver who hasn’t shuddered a bit when passing a large truck carrying goods on the highway. That scene alone cemented Final Destination 2 into the memories of everyone who saw it.
Ali Larter returns as Clear Rivers, the only actor who can claim to have faced down Death twice in this franchise. A young A.J. Cook, who would go on to play Agent Jennifer Jareau in Criminal Minds, teams up with Michael Landes as a cop who Death also has in its crosshairs.
This was also the point in time where I started to notice the hints as to what was in store for the next character in line to bite the big one showing up in the background. This added a fun element to the story while also leaving viewers guessing as to exactly what type of crazy death scene they were about to witness.
A likeable trio of heroes, kills that proved Death had a mean streak a mile wide and an interesting albeit leap-of-faith twist involving a pregnancy all made this entry a solid follow-up to the first. Flawed it may be, it showed the creators were willing to swing for the fences and I have to give them props for that.
#3 Final Destination (Part 1)
On one hand, it’s strange placing the first movie in third place as it’s the one that started it all. But on the other hand, I think having your sequels outshine you can only be a good thing.
It’s one of those horror movies no one saw coming (the golden age before trailers went spoiler crazy) and despite all the sequels that came after it stands apart not just for being the first but for having a tone that was a bit more serious and grounded than the rest.
The opening scene with the plane crash is executed so well you don’t know it’s a premonition, perfectly setting a tone that was both unpredictable and chilling. What’s killing these people? Why? And how can they possibly escape? Devon Sawa plays that rarest of roles in horror, the scream king or final guy if you prefer, and the rest of the young cast all perfectly embody their roles. It was also the first movie (that I can think of) where we got a jump scare of someone being hit by a vehicle. What has now been troped into the ground was first executed here and I vividly remember everyone jumping out of their skins in the cinema when it happened.
You know a scene left one hell of an impact when it’s constantly duplicated and even satirised (see Scary Movie). Add to that the late Tony Todd’s knowledgeable and mysterious turn as William Bludworth, a character so enigmatic fans theorise he was much more than he appears to be, and it all adds up to create a highly enjoyable movie that hits the spot no matter how many times you rewatch it.
#2 Final Destination 5
The one with the bridge collapse. My reason for loving Part 5 as much as I do is grounded squarely in that jaw dropping reveal that comes at the end. If you’re reading this, I’m just going to assume you’ve seen these movies and forgo avoiding spoilers.
At the end of the movie our survivors are celebrating their new lease on life, boarding a plane for a trip to France. I’ll give you one guess what the flight number was. Yep, Fight 180, the same flight in the original film giving us the reveal that Part Five of the franchise actually takes place first! It’s the kind of twist that catches you so off guard you instantly want to hit rewind and watch it all over again to find the clues you missed. It’s also the kind of finale that makes up for any missteps that came before, at least it did for me which is why FD5 ranks where it does on my list.
#1 Final Destination Bloodlines
No spoilers and yes, you read that right. The latest movie of the franchise pulls off that rarest of sequel feats, not only breathing new life into the story but elevating it to new heights.
But what are those new heights you say? The opening premonition is one for the FD record books, capturing not only a sense of dread but also tapping into phobias like acrophobia and claustrophobia in such a palpable way I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the cinema feeling uneasy.
Then there’s the cast of players. This time around it’s a family (they give that away in the film’s name, so don’t blame me). Having the story centered around a family and not just a group of strangers or friends also made their inevitable grisly fates hit harder, or at least they did for me. With the exception of somewhat annoying final girl Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) I really did care about these folks especially sweet Uncle Howard (Alex Zahara). and with kills that had to be some of the most brutal the franchise has ever seen, I found myself feeling each loss as if they were one of my own.
Finally, there was the send-off to Tony Todd who has been a staple of the franchise from the very beginning. An actor who left an indelible mark on the series and the horror genre as a whole, his scene resonated beyond his character of William John Bludworth, with meaningful dialogue meant to be his final farewell to his fans. Rest in Peace Tony Todd, you will be missed.
But the icing on this deadly cake and the reason it truly deserves the top spot is how smartly written Death is. It’s a character you never see and yet the way they conceptualise this force of nature you can’t help but see it as a fully developed character! Unremitting in its desires, Death comes across as a mean spirted SOB with a dark sense of humour, at times almost petty in its need to take out these people. There were scenes where I found myself laughing out loud at how messed up these Rube Goldberg-esque death traps were, with the final one absolutely being a shout out to fans.
Entertaining from beginning to end, fourteen years in between sequels has done little to dull the wit and inventive nature of Death’s designs in the Final Destination universe. And while I hope we don’t have to wait as long for another one, to the creative team I say, if they can all be this frightfully fun, take all the time you need!
So that’s my ranking. Do you agree? Disagree? And you can check out more horror content below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More