Final Destination was one of the most popular horror franchises of the early 2000’s. Most slasher series have either a supernatural being or a flesh and blood psychopath as the villain. Not this franchise.

In Final Destination, it is death itself that’s stalking the victims. Death is depicted as an invisible omnipresent force that can strike at any time. There is no way to permanently evade or escape it.

Each movie features a visionary who has a premonition of a fatal accident that is about to occur, allowing him/her to (temporarily) save themselves and their friends.

The first movie features a plane crash, the second a highway wreck, the third a rollercoaster malfunction, the fourth a racetrack accident, and the fifth a bridge collapse.

The script for the original Final Destination was initially intended as an X Files episode. It would have been fun to see agents Mulder and Scully investigate Death’s design but, alas, it was not to be.

This series is as nihilistic as it gets. Don’t bother getting attached to the characters, because they virtually all die eventually. The first, second, and fifth installments featured Tony Todd as William Bludworth, a mysterious funeral home director.

Bludworth, who has somehow gained knowledge of Death’s powers, occasionally dispenses morbid advice to the series’ protagonists. The character could be interpreted as a version of the Grim Reaper.

This franchise consistently raked in profits at the box office. It’s been over a decade since a new “Final Destination” movie was released. The series will return in 2025 with Final Destination Bloodlines.

The Final Destination Movies in Order

Unlike other horror franchises I’ve ranked (Halloween, we’re looking at you), the Final Destination franchise is quite straightforward.

Final Destination (2000)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Final Destination 3 (2006)
The Final Destination (2009)
Final Destination 5 (2011)

The Final Destination Movies Ranked

5. The Final Destination

The Final Destination, which is chronologically the last installment of the series, was released during the insufferable 3-D horror movie craze of the late 2000’s. Like all of those movies, it has copious amounts of blood and body parts flying through the screen.

A group of friends at a racetrack narrowly escape death after one of them experiences a vision that a deadly freak accident is about to occur. This movie’s campy and cartoonish tone is a significant departure from the creepiness of the original film. This is strictly a shallow, by the numbers effort.

4. Final Destination 5

After the lazy cartoonish hijinks of the The Final Destination, this one puts in some decent effort to develop its characters. This film has the darkest conclusion of the entire series and its bleak brutality brings the series storyline into a full circle.

Sam and his girlfriend Molly (Emma Bell) survive a deadly bridge collapse along with several of Sam’s coworkers. You know what happens next. Final Destination 5 doesn’t really break any new ground and the concept is worn out at this point, but it’s still way better than its immediate predecessor.

3. Final Destination 3

After a terrifying premonition of a grotesque rollercoaster accident, Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) watches in horror as her friends and boyfriend are killed. A series of eerie photographs from the day of the accident provide clues to how the remaining survivors could die. Wendy attempts to piece together Death’s plan before it’s too late.

The stakes get even higher when Wendy realizes that her rebellious younger sister Julie (Amanda Crew) is also being targeted by Death’s design. A rollercoaster was a great idea for this series and the carnival atmosphere fits the franchise well.

2. Final Destination 2

This one begins with a spectacular highway pile up that will make you think twice before driving behind a logging truck. Kimberly Corman (AJ Cook) is the visionary this time. After her friends are killed, she teams up with a group of other survivors to try to cheat death’s design.

AJ eventually tracks down Clear Rivers, who is languishing in a mental institution. She is the only remaining survivor of the first movie. Although reluctant to get involved, she eventually agrees to help AJ and her friends.

Final Destination 2 has my favorite opening of the series, but its characters aren’t as memorable as the ones from the original.

1. Final Destination

Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) is about to embark on a class trip to Paris when he experiences a terrifying premonition that the plane is going to crash shortly after takeoff. After making a scene, Alex is escorted off the plane along with several other classmates, including his love interest, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter). Alex’s premonition soon comes true. The plane crashes, the rest of his classmates are killed, and Death begins to stalk the survivors.

The original is still the one that holds up the best. The novelty of the “death as an invisible force” concept was still fresh at this point and the characters are more fully drawn than in the sequels. Devon Sawa and Ali Larter have solid chemistry.