Throughout the 2000s, theFinal Destinationfranchise jumped into the top-tenmost profitable horror franchisesof all time. The original, directed by James Wong, created by Jeffrey Reddick, and written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, featured a horrible plane explosion foreseen by the main character (Devon Sawa), and death comes for those he helped avoid its plan. The film spawned four more sequels, all with different accidents and a similar premise to the first film.
With the news thatFinal Destination 6has finally been green-lit with HBO, and has been attached to writers Guy Busick (Ready or Not), Lori Evans Taylor (Wicked Wicked Games), and producer Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Jeffrey Reddick went on to reveal that the overall premise of the latest installment would be different,stating that it’s not"just going to be another kid of ‘we set up a group of people, they cheat death, and then just death gets them,’ …this is a trueFinal Destinationmovie, but it doesn’t follow that kind of formula that we’ve kind of established.”
While there is no update on when the newest film will be released or who will be starring in it, fans can definitely get excited over the latest entry in the series gaining production momentum as the last film was released back in 2011. In the meantime, we’ve decided to rank the films in the franchise, from worst to best.
Updated March 19th, 2023: If you’re a fan of the chilling horror series, you’ll be happy to know this article has been updated with additional content and information to keep it fresh and up-to-date.
5The Final Destination (2009)
A true sufferer and representative of Hollywood’s mid-to-late 2000s push of films being shot and released in 3D,The Final Destination,the fourth installment in the franchise tried to lure fans back to the series with its promised tagline, “Death Saved the Best for 3D” — how wrong they were. The franchise brought back director David R. Ellis (Final Destination 2) to direct, and this film followed Death’s revenge on those who survived a massive accident at a NASCAR racetrack.The Final Destination’s effects were a far cry away from even the cheaper displays in the rest of the franchise, and felt more likened to a straight-to-video or early 2000s SYFY original film.
4Final Destination 3
Final Destination 3brought back original director James Wong with hopes to continue the magic that the first two films conjured. Unfortunately, a good performance by a young Mary Elizabeth Winstead and a cool opening accident involving a roller coaster going off the rails wasn’t enough to get there. The third film was filled with story inconsistencies, even stepping on its own logic within the first few scenes of the film.
Trying to evolve from the rules of Death’s plan in the first two films, a new concept was added, where Death left specific clues to who would be next in line for demise. The film gave us some of the more fun death scenes in the series, like the infamous tanning bed disaster, but overall, couldn’t hold up to the previous installments.
3Final Destination 5 (2011)
The most recent film in the franchise, directed by series newcomer Steven Quale, was a positive jump from the two previously mentioned films. The opening scene involving a bridge collapse was probably the second-scariest scene in the franchise, and the effects were well-done. With that being said, gratuitous 3D scenes constantly threatened the quality of the film throughout. The cast was surprisingly fun, including David Koechner (Anchorman), P.J. Byrne (The Boys), and Emma Bell (The Walking Dead).
Tony Todd reprised his role as The Mortician after a two-film absence, and introduced a new cool concept that the only way to actually cheat Death is to take another life, and that life’s years would be granted to you.Final Destination 5’s ending has a surprisingly effective twist, too.
2Final Destination (2000)
The firstFinal Destinationfilm did two things better than the rest of the franchise. Firstly, it introduced the concept of Death’s plan and rules, and stuck to it throughout the film, without convoluting any of the storyline. And secondly, Devon Sawa and the supporting cast were the most relatable and likable in the entire series. The first film established the concept as essentially a slasher film with no limitations placed on any kind of physical presence.
Related:Top 10 Scariest Movies Of The 2000s
The first film wasbased on the real-life storyof a woman who got off a plane before takeoff, because of her mother’s premonition that the plane would crash. Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing everyone aboard. The success of the franchise lays directly on the success of the first film, which absolutely smashed its $23-million-dollar budget with a worldwide gross of more than $112 million.
1Final Destination 2 (2003)
ost of the time when it comes to horror, it’s hard to beat the original. However,Final Destination 2takes the original film and bumps everything to a new level. The opening accident scene involving the logging truck is one of the most memorable scenes in the entire horror genre, let alone the franchise. That scene by itself has caused an entire generation of people to be weary ofdriving behind logging truckson the interstate. The sequel was also created by Jeffrey Reddick, who enjoys this one more than the original,calling the freeway pileuphis “favorite scene in the entire franchise” and stating, “The second film is my favorite. I wanted to create a sequel that didn’t feel like a remake of the first. It went in a more fun direction – but it’s still scary.”
David R. Ellis was masterful with the direction, showing off the best effects the entire franchise would ever offer, bringing back (and killing off) characters from the original film, and evolving the concept to give the audience the most clear and only successful way to cheat Death’s plan. Tony Todd reprises his role in delivering grim news to the main characters, and the audience is given the most frightening and entertaining death scenes in the franchise, both in the initial accident and the subsequent acts of Death’s revenge.
