All Six Final Destination Movies, Ranked

The year 2000 gave us Final Destination, a new kind of supernatural and slasher horror. Except that the killer isn’t a psycho, a monster or something like that. But rather, an unseen ominous force in the form of Death set the inescapable fate of humans to die. The chosen ones, to be exact, and that’s where we — particularly the horror fans — have to thank director James Wong for that, along with co-screenwriters Glen Morgan and Jeffrey Reddick.

The movie became a hit and spawned four more movies before it ended with Final Destination 5 in 2011. Fortunately, the franchise finally made a comeback with the much-anticipated Final Destination Bloodlines. So, long story short, here are the six Final Destination movies — yes, that includes Final Destination Bloodlines — all ranked from worst to best.

The Final Destination (2009)

Throwing in the 3D effect to The Final Destination, a.k.a. Final Destination 4, proves to be a lucrative move for the movie, resulting in over US$187 million worldwide against its US$40 million budget. And yet, this is the worst Final Destination I’ve ever seen so far, despite having Final Destination 2‘s David R. Ellis back on board. The 3D effect is frankly atrocious, and so is the subpar CGI that robs off the illusion of what should have been a gory cinematic experience.

The opening auto race accident isn’t as spectacular as I thought, making me wonder if Ellis has lost his touch. The Final Destination may have run a skimpier-than-usual 82 minutes, but there’s no excuse for cardboard characters and even a bland protagonist played by Bobby Campo. The overall flimsy story doesn’t help either, while the kills are a far cry from what we have seen in better works in other Final Destination movies.

Final Destination 5 (2011)

After the dismal fourth entry of Final Destination, I’m glad that franchise newcomer Steven Quale manages to bounce back in Final Destination 5. The story may have been formulaic as always. But at least the fifth entry does shake up some new rules, including Death’s unexpected bargain of letting the survivors kill another human being to offset their predetermined fate.

Final Destination 5 also gives us some memorable deaths, notably the elaborate gymnastics practice that leads to a shocking demise of a character. Quale subverts the expectation during the third act and how he chooses to wrap up his movie for what I like to call a cruel twist of fate.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

The third movie marks the return of James Wong in the director’s chair, and I remember the first time I had such high hopes for Final Destination 3. Except that it doesn’t turn out as great as I expected, even though I applaud the solid casting of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who is the main draw here as the new protagonist.

Final Destination 3 also boasts some grisly fun from the opening roller coaster tragedy to the characters being burned to a crisp from the overheated tanning beds and the gory moment at the drive-thru fast food restaurant. However, the story is formulaic, and most of the characters are largely forgettable. Frankly, if it wasn’t for Winstead’s above-average lead performance, this third movie would have sunk lower in the ranking.

Final Destination 2 (2003)

Here’s the sequel that shook a generation, thanks to the iconic opening multiple pile-up highway scene involving the truck carrying logs. David R. Ellis, who replaced James Wong, knows well how to stage each death scene as gruesomely as possible (the fire escape ladder and the barbed wire scenes are among the highlights here). Ellis even ramps up the gore and violence to over-the-top results, which later becomes a staple for the rest of the movies in the franchise.

The sequel only brings back Ali Larter’s Clear Rivers, the OG survivor from the first movie, to tie up some loose ends, giving the sequel a much-needed connective tissue. Franchise newcomer A.J. Cook, who leads the sequel as the new protagonist, Kimberly, does a decent job, replacing Devon Sawa, where the latter’s character has to be unfortunately killed off-screen.

Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

So, Death makes a comeback in this long-gestating legacy sequel of Final Destination Bloodlines. Co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein throw in a heap of nostalgia factor here that will satisfy fans of the Final Destination movies. They also bring in some changes here, notably the added family curse angle. They didn’t disappoint in the death scenes, with plenty of in-your-face gore and graphic violence. While there are some spotty CGI and the mythology could have used a wider expansion, Final Destination Bloodlines excels as a macabre, cinematic fun worthy of a communal experience.

Final Destination (2000)

The systematic pattern of how Death predetermined the fate of its chosen victims got its start in Final Destination. That was twenty-five years ago, and even after the decades have passed, The X-Files alumni James Wong’s feature-length directorial debut remains his biggest milestone.

It’s hard to imagine if Jeffrey Reddick’s spec script made its way to television since it was originally written for an X-Files episode. It would be a missed opportunity not to see Death’s ominous work on the big screen. The story, of course, underwent several changes, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Credits go to Wong and Glen Morgan’s additional creative inputs for incorporating the Rube Goldberg-like death scenes involving everyday objects (the brutal hanging scene by the shower’s clothesline quickly comes to mind). The kills are creative and considerably grounded than subsequent sequels, making you wonder how-come-I-never-thought-of-them-before curiosity vibe, especially if you are watching it for the first time.

The fundamental concept of Final Destination may have been nothing new since obscure 1980s horrors, including The Survivor and Sole Survivor, preceded this movie decades earlier. But unlike those two movies, James Wong’s take on Death is more visceral in both tone and style, made relevant for the Scream generation. He doesn’t shy away from the graphic violence and gore, ratcheting up each moment of the characters’ grisly demise from getting hit by a speeding bus to a decapitated head caused by flying metal debris. The first movie is equally notable for launching the careers of Devon Sawa and Ali Larter at the time.