Final Destination: Rankings of Death

Final Destination: Bloodlines is in theaters this weekend, bringing back the gory fun of the franchise after 14 years since the last entry. Before we jump back into Death’s design in theaters, we’re ranking the previous five movies in the series:

Final Destination 2 (2003): Final Destination 2 is one of those sequels that takes everything the first movie did well and cements the formula that would become the standard in the future. The opening traffic accident is rightfully considered the franchise’s high point, and over 20 years later, people are still terrified to drive behind log trucks. The other death sequences are also fantastic, with some of the best kills in the series, like the falling sheet of glass or the flying barbed wire, along with some excellent fake-outs leading up to the final blows. The characters in this entry, with the exception of a returning Ali Larter, may not be the strongest in the series, but everything else about it is exactly what fans love about this franchise.
Final Destination (2000): The one that started it all, Final Destination set the template and is only behind Final Destination 2 because that movie had the benefit of learning from everything Final Destination already did well. Devon Sawa is a great protagonist who kicks off the series with a manic and paranoid performance, and he’s helped by a supporting cast that includes Sean William Scott, Kerr Smith, and Ali Larter. There’s a great blend of more elaborate deaths and quick deaths that the series would become known for, like the infamous bus kill. The plane explosion to kick things off is excellent, but there’s much more of a build-up and tension building that sets a creepy mood that you wouldn’t really get in other entries in the franchise, as they jump much more quickly into the inciting disaster.
Final Destination 5 (2011): The most recent entry in the series, leading into Bloodlines, Final Destination 5 was a massive return to form after a lackluster entry that we’ll get to later. A solid cast that includes Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, and David Koechner, the opening bridge disaster is a great way to kick things off with some over-the-top ways for characters to perish, and the death sequences are all excellent, elaborate, and gory. They lean into things that are wince inducing uncomfortable, like getting an eye surgery laser going haywire on your open eyeball, acupuncture needles getting slammed into your body or stepping on a loose screw while doing gymnastics. The finale twist about where this movie takes place in the timeline is also fun, and the concept that you can “steal” life from people you kill to extend your own is a cool new idea that probably should have been introduced sooner in the series. Hopefully, Bloodlines can keep up the momentum from this great entry.
Final Destination 3 (2006): Mary Elizabeth Winstead carries this entry, which is solid but not up to the level of the top three movies in the series. The opening roller coaster disaster is a great, fun idea, and the Goosebumps-esque concept of using photos to predict deaths is also entertaining. There’s a much more mixed success rate with the other death sequences, with the highlight being the tanning salon Rube Goldberg double kill, but many of them are not the most memorable or interesting in the series.
The Final Destination (2009): Easily the worst entry in the franchise, we thankfully got Final Destination 5 after this because this would have been a massive low point to end the series. Featuring the weakest cast of characters, except a wildly overqualified Mykelti Williamson, The Final Destination has the worst opening disaster with the race track crash and some of the weakest and lamest deaths of the franchise, like death by car wash or getting sucked into a pool drain. Krista Allen’s death is the only real highlight of the movie, and it has the great build-up and fake-outs that the series is known for, with a fantastically brutal punchline. The fact that it was shot for 3D also adds to the lameness, especially the flashes that main character Nick gets that are just excuses to throw random shit at the screen. The idea of a climactic disaster equal to the usual opening disaster is cool, but, besides the brutal escalator death, there isn’t anything that fun or exciting about it. The actual ending is also super abrupt and leaves things even more sour.