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A random person in a public place has a horrible vision. He or she sees into the future and realizes that they and everyone around them is about to die. So they take action, saving a large group of people in the process. It should be good news, but they were supposed to die, so Death comes for each survivor, leaving none alive by the end.
That’s the basic setup of all the films in the Final Destination franchise, a five-film horror series that began in 2000 and ran through 2011. This summer though, 14 years later, it’s back with Final Destination: Bloodlines and that’s our cue to take action.
We recently revisited the first five Final Destination films (all of which are streaming on Max) and decided which is worst, which is best, and everything in between.
5. The Final Destination (2009)
Oof. Just a big, colossal oof. The Final Destination, the fourth film in the franchise, is the 3D entry and it’s almost as if nothing else was important. You get the sense every decision in the film was based on how it would look in 3D. That’s the only possible reason why so many terrible decisions are made. The survivors are way more randomized than the rest of the films, which creates a huge disconnect with the audience. Then, the ones who are friends are mostly unlikeable or flat. The kills are never quite as elaborate or interesting as they usually are and even the big, inciting incident itself, the stock car accident, doesn’t have the devilish flow of the other films. Most of the Final Destination films are bad, but this is the worst.
4. Final Destination 2 (2003)
The film that follows the original should, hypothetically, share more than a sliver of DNA with its sequel. Final Destination 2 brings back Ali Larter but that’s the only good thing about it. It kills Devon Sawa off-screen, the survivors are completely random, which changes the flavor of the story entirely, and it assumes you know everything about it so it moves way too fast from kill to kill. Some of the deaths are solid but it’s an incredibly weak film that instantly sets a low bar for its follow-ups.
3. Final Destination 3 (2006)
In reality, the second, third, and fourth Final Destination films are all incredibly bad. The margins between them are so close that really any of the three films in any of the three slots would be understandable. Often then, just comes down to personal preference and in the case of Final Destination 3, it has a few things going for it the second and fourth films don’t. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the star, for one, which helps because she’s highly likable unlike most of the other leads. Also, a roller coaster accident is simply more innovative, believable, and terrifying than a car accident, which happens in both other films.
2. Final Destination (2000)
Surprise! You didn’t expect that, did you? Basically, when it comes to the Final Destination films so far, there are two good ones and three bad ones. The gap is massive between those groupings but, within the groupings, it’s quite close. We’ll get into the best one in a second but this film, the original, has several things that set it above. For one, because it’s the first, it’s forced to set up and deal with the actual premise of the franchise. That, in turn, gives you more time with the characters and makes you care more about their deaths. It also has, by far, the best cast of the series, which includes not just Sawa and Larter, but Kerr Smith and Seann William Scott. Then, all of those characters have pre-existing relationships which creates bigger emotions. Watching it right along with its sequels, the original just feels better and fresh. And yet…
1. Final Destination 5 (2011)
It’s not often that the fifth film in a franchise is its best but, in this case, we think it’s fair. For starters, unlike every other film in the franchise save for the first one, Final Destination 5 makes sure all the victims have something in common—they work together. That means they share feelings, traumas, and other personal dynamics that are brought in too, which raises the tension. Most importantly though, just when you are ready to write the film off as a simple, solid sequel, it hits you with the only surprise ending of the franchise. You’ve actually been watching a prequel that crosses over with the original film in a super fun way. The choice not only sets it apart, it elevates the movie above the rest. Finally, someone making one of these sequels had an original, cool idea.
TBD: Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
Set for release on May 16, we have high hopes for the sixth film in the franchise. After a nearly 15-year hiatus, and coming from a pair of filmmakers (Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein) who love to innovate, all the potential is there. Plus there’s that title: “Bloodlines.” There aren’t many, if any, characters alive from the previous films. Will there be DNA with the other films? We hope so.
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