Credit: New Line Cinema (Warner Bros. Entertainment)The Final Destination movies offer horror fans plenty of suspense, action, and gory violence, all without the use of an actual serial killer. Unlike Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream, this series, which revolves around the idea of Death itself, has no main antagonist. A kill-by-numbers slasher without anyone doing the dirty work? Genius.
With the latest installment, Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), having hit theaters earlier this year, there’s no better time to rank all the movies in this series from worst to best. Blood, guts, explosions, terrified teens, taut suspense, tacky 3D, and tension-filled sequences to boot that are bound to put you off ever leaving the house ever again, these films have it all.
6. Final Destination 5
As rare as it seems, some multi-movie horror franchises don’t have any bad entries (yet). Of course, you might not like every film in the series, but when we look at the likes of Scream and Saw, which share 16 films, objectively speaking, even their worst installments aren’t necessarily bad movies. And Final Destination is yet another that bucks the trend.
With that said, Final Destination 5 (2011) isn’t great, either. Continuing with the somewhat tacky 3D trend of its 2009 predecessor, The Final Destination, the fifth entry in the slick slasher series is easily the weakest of the bunch, which is largely due to the lack of energy from any of its many cast members, including Nicholas D’Agosto’s lead Sam Lawton.
Despite witnessing a major tragedy play out on a collapsing bridge, none of the “surviving” characters express any genuine shock at watching their co-workers and friends die gruesome deaths. It also takes he best part of an hour before any of them realize that Death is after them — a pretty slow burn for the fifth entry in a horror series that also requires 3D specs.
If it’s splattery, squishy, and snappy deaths you’re after, obviously you’ve come to the right place (you’ll never look at gymnastics the same way again). But as for a compelling thrill ride, there’s a reason why this one is the last on our list. Still, while it lacks punch, at least its surprisingly clever pre-credits twist will leave you more impressed than you should be.
5. The Final Destination
Presumably, The Final Destination (2009) was supposed to be the “final” installment in the franchise — after all, the clue’s in the name. But while it grossed $187M (over $40M) worldwide, it received negative reviews from audiences and critics, and so, for many, it really was the final nail in the coffin (pun intended), despite being followed by Final Destination 5.
As the first entry to be shot in HD 3D, the fourth film was doomed from the get-go. While 3D is oftentimes a fun gimmick — especially for horror movies designed to have viewers spilling popcorn left and right as a result of all the cheap jump-scares — here, it’s at its most gross. And by gross, we don’t mean all the accentuated violence — it just looks incredibly cheap.
This time, our death-defying teens evade an auto race gone horribly wrong. But the characters aren’t anywhere near as engaging as past ensembles, and the acting feels about as lifeless as their colleagues who weren’t blessed with elaborate, fate-altering premonitions.
The Final Destination is also bogged down by some pretty stupid plot contrivances that include “micro premonitions”, which is just an excuse for some genuinely awful 3D CG, as well as some nonsensical rule about breaking Death’s chain by, well, managing not to die.
4. Final Destination 2
The first Final Destination (2000) could have easily stood on its own two feet forever — the same can be said of almost any classic horror movie that has many sequels under its belt. But despite feeling like a rinse-wash-repeat, at least Final Destination 2 (2003) brings some of its own creativity to the table, which sort of justifies its own existence and future sequels.
This time, instead of a plane, the setting for Death’s handy work is a freeway. A.J. Cook plays Kimberly Corman, the latest teen blessed (or cursed) with a premonition, which in this case allows her to escape the pile-up with a few other would-be victims. Fortunately, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) is back from the original film to help bring balance to an otherwise stale cast.
While the direct sequel goes through the same beats as its predecessor, there’s a pretty clever twist in store involving a “ripple effect” or “wrinkle in reality” which ties the film directly to the main event from the original. As for the “mop-up” deaths, one would probably need an actual mop to clean up after the Grim Reaper has finished flexing his muscles in this film.
In fact, Final Destination 2 has some of the most highly creative kills in the series (look no further than the one involving a flock of pigeons and a pane of glass). Somehow, though, the film is also among the most forgettable entries, which, again, is mostly due to a lead who lacks the same frenetic and urgent nature of Devon Sawa’s Alex Browning in the original.
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3. Final Destination
Whether or not you’re a fan of the Final Destination movies, there’s no denying the ingeniousness of the concept: a kill-by-numbers slasher movie with no killer. There is literally no killer except for the quasi-vague presence of Death (although Tony Todd’s recurring cameo as William Bludworth is intended to raise eyebrows).
The original 2000 film remains the smartest of the bunch, as it introduced the mysterious premonitions that predict a series of events peppered with on-the-nose clues and warnings which climax in a gruesome isolated massacre, and the idea of “Death’s List”, that “it” will come for those who cheated it in the same order they were meant to die during said-event.
Devon Sawa’s Alex Browning makes for a refreshing lead in a subgenre that is more often than not led by final girls. In fact, the entire cast (Ali Larter, Sean William Scott, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke) are very entertaining as they run around like headless chickens (an apt metaphor for one of their deaths) trying to outsmart the Grim Reaper.
After being followed by four super-violent sequels, Final Destination‘s kills are now tame by comparison. However, they remain the most creative. The film also has a solid atmosphere, which stems from the common fear of flying — a phobia, however big or small, for which this flick did no favors. We wonder how many air travelers it’s discouraged over the years.
2. Final Destination: Bloodlines
Final Destination: Bloodlines is the latest installment in the franchise. This time, the series hits a soft reset where the rules are concerned, offering up a smarter-than-it-should-be concept in which a family tries to outsmart Death instead of a group of people who don’t really know one another quite as well. This close-knit ensemble instantly raises the stakes.
But it’s not the only smart plot device — as you’ve probably guessed from the title, this family shouldn’t exist. Their ancestor cheated death, and now, the Reaper is cleaning up his (or her) mess after decades. The film opens with a ’60s flashback where a building similar to Seattle’s towering Space Needle serves as a the gore-splattered canvas for Death’s work.
Iris (Brec Basinger) gets the premonition, but instead of saving herself and a select few from the catastrophe as we’ve seen in every other film so far, she stops everyone involved from being killed, thus allowing them to live on and have their own families, including herself. Jump forward to the present day, and Iris’ descendants are now forced to pay for her actions.
The sixth film in any horror franchise shouldn’t really be any good, but Bloodlines breaks the rules. Though it has its problems (it should have stayed in the ’60s for a different aesthetic and the main lead Stefani Reyes, played by Kaitlyn Santa Juana, is quite dull), this sequel does exactly what it says on the tin and is easily the most sadistic entry in the whole series.
The film grossed $284.8 million worldwide against its $50 million budget. It also features a fitting tribute to the late Tony Todd.
1. Final Destination 3
On paper, Final Destination 3 (2006) sounds like a pretty shallow sequel. Setting it in a theme park of all places just feels a bit obvious and lazy, but it turns out there’s no better playground for this series than one that’s home to one of the scariest experiences of all: a massive roller coaster. And the threequel certainly taps into our fear of such monstrosities.
By this point, you might already be feeling pretty tired of seeing terrified teens lined up like pigs for slaughter, but Final Destination 3 manages to inject some much-needed life into the franchise, especially after the wishy-washy 2003 sequel. But roller coasters and creepy amusement parks aside, it might all just come down to Mary Elizabeth Winstead‘s acting.
19 years on, we all know Winstead is a solid actress — 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) alone is proof enough. But her performance in Final Destination 3 should have granted her “Scream Queen” status. Her incredibly convincing hysterics completely set her apart from any other lead in this series. In other words, when Wendy Christensen is afraid, you are afraid.
The film also makes great use of the oftentimes-creepy amusement park setting. And the subplot involving Wendy’s photographs taken throughout the fateful evening–which foreshadow the second round of deaths–is clever, too. As for the kills, we’re convinced this film has saved lives over the years with the infamous (and disturbing) “sunbed scene.”
How To Watch the Final Destination Movies in Order
The correct viewing order to watch the movies in terms of the timeline is to start with Final Destination 5, which is a prequel to the original 2000 film, and ending with Bloodlines, the latest installment in the series.
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