Ranking every ‘Final Destination’ movie from worst to best
There are few horror series more morbidly enjoyable than Final Destination, the surreal and insanely violent franchise that has provided entertainment for endless excitable tweens at sleepovers across the world. Created at the start of the new century in 2000, the American horror series follows several groups of high school students who cheat death in extraordinary circumstances, only to fall victim to the grim reaper in unforeseeable ways.
Whilst never critically acclaimed, the Final Destination series has long been a favourite of fans, mainly due to the creative ways in which it dispatches its lead castmembers, with victims of the films having been impaled by countless flying objects, burned alive in tanning beds and even sucked into the jaws of a deadly escalator.
With no cliched slasher villain, the series is notable for having no physical killer; instead, Tony Todd’s recurring character plays the manifestation of the Grim Reaper, who watches over proceedings like an omniscient observer. After Final Destination 6 was recently announced by Warner Bros, we thought now would be the perfect time to look back at the beloved series and separate the best instalments from the very worst.
Ranking every Final Destination movie:
5. The Final Destination (David R. Ellis, 2009)
Filmmaker David R. Ellis returned to the franchise in 2009 after helming the first sequel in 2003, but he was unable to rouse much appreciation for the updated soft reboot. This instalment is the worst in the series for our money, telling the familiar story of a young man and his friends who narrowly escaped death during a racetrack accident, only to be picked off one by one by the invisible force of the Grim Reaper.
Starring Nick Zano, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella and Shantel VanSanten, the film just felt like a cheap, lazy version of the series at its very best.
Most memorable death: Lawnmower + stone = slingshot.
4. Final Destination 2 (David R. Ellis, 2003)
The sequel to the original 2000 movie didn’t quite live up to the commercial acclaim of the first film, even though little was really changed. Whilst the base story is exactly the same, this time, the inciting incident is a violent car accident on a highway, leading to a plethora of creative deaths. The film is the only one in the series to feature a significant returning character, with Clear Rivers, played by Ali Larter, finally meeting her demise in the sequel.
Also featuring A.J. Cook, Michael Landes and David Paetkau, the film is a decent sequel but didn’t do anything new to make it memorable.
Most memorable death: The barbeque explosion finale.
3. Final Destination 3 (James Wong, 2006)
As we get into the top three, we begin to start discussing some of the outstanding instalments of the series, with Final Destination 3 improving on its predecessor in that it felt new, exciting and different. This time, with the same old story, James Wong takes a pack of teenagers to a theme park where an evaded rollercoaster accident changes the lives of everyone involved.
Showing one of the most enjoyable inciting incidents of the series, the rollercoaster scene that kicks off the film is utterly ridiculous and all the better for it. Such lays down a strong precedent that the rest of the film lives up to, creating one of the series’ strongest instalments.
Most memorable death: The sunbed frying pan.
2. Final Destination (James Wong, 2000)
The very first film in the horror movie franchise deserves massive props for gifting the world such an enjoyable series, with each of the successive instalments merely copies of Jeffrey Reddick’s ingenious concept. Based on an unproduced spec script by Reddick, originally written for The X-Files television series, the very first Final Destination is not one for nervous flyers, with the major accident being a brutal plane disaster.
Quite possibly the most serious and well-acted movie of the franchise, many deaths in this film aren’t treated with the same level of levity as they are later in the series, but the movie remains a quiet horror classic.
Most memorable death: Precarious bathroom clothesline.
1. Final Destination 5 (Steven Quale, 2011)
Surprisingly, unlike almost every long-running film franchise, we think the best film of the Final Destination series is the most recent instalment. Final Destination 5 is the first movie since the original that does the most to change the franchise and has the most fun doing so in the process, featuring some of the craziest deaths of the entire series. This time, the central scene at the film’s beginning is a spectacular bridge collapse that takes the lives of countless victims.
Starring several famous, if a little random, faces, including David Koechner, P.J. Byrne, Miles Fisher and Nicholas D’Agosto, Final Destination 5 is an absolute blast and a promising sign for the future of the franchise.
Most memorable death: Grisley gymnastics backflip
