Every ‘Final Destination’ Movie Ranked, Including ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’

Death always finds a way.

This was the central conceit of “Final Destination,” a 2000 horror movie, released just past the slasher movie renaissance that began with “Scream” in 1995, that went on to have a uniquely satisfying run all its own. Each movie starts with a group of strangers narrowly avoiding calamity, with the rest of the runtime filled with death eagerly hunting them through ingenious accidents. The latest film, “Final Destination Bloodlines,” was originally earmarked for a streaming debut but has mercifully shifted into a theatrical event – the kind of movie that you laugh and scream along with a packed auditorium full of similarly anxious strangers.

In honor of “Final Destination Bloodlines” and in celebration of one of the most creative horror franchises of all time, we’re going through the entire series – ranking the movies from the worst to the bloody best.

6. “The Final Destination” (2009)

“The Final Destination,” given a definite article in the title because producers imagined this would be the last movie (it wound up making almost $200 million so the plans were quickly reversed), was part of the late-2000’s 3D craze and was released just a few months before James Cameron’s “Avatar” broke box office records and legitimized the format. And honestly, a “Final Destination” movie, but in 3D is a pretty solid pitch, especially with director David R. Ellis returning from the sequel. Unfortunately, “The Final Destination” is an utter bore, with a limp inciting incident (a stock car race gone bad), uninspired characters and set pieces that bore more than thrill. The fact that this was the only installment that Tony Todd didn’t show up for tells you all you need to know. Deathly dull from top to bottom.

5. “Final Destination 5” (2011)

Speaking of James Cameron, “Final Destination 5” was helmed by Steven Quale, a talented-enough second unit guy who worked with Cameron on “Titanic” and “Aliens of the Deep” and Michael Bay on “Pearl Harbor.” (The fact that he survived both filmmakers tells you all you need to know about his strength of character.) Like the previous installment, “Final Destination 5” was shot in 3D but doesn’t make that the focal point of the set pieces. Instead, there’s a lovely dimensionality to the deaths, from the opening bridge collapse, to incredibly (painfully) relatable moments set at a laser eye surgery center and a gymnasium. And best of all is the final twist that the movie was actually a prequel that ends with the plane crash from the original movie. Hell yes.

4. “Final Destination 2” (2003)

Following the surprise success of the first movie, which was not a guarantee at all, New Line Cinema rushed a sequel into development. But the original filmmaking team of Glen Morgan and James Wong didn’t return for the follow-up, with second unit pro David R. Ellis taking over. The movie starts with one of the more memorable set pieces of the franchise – a highway pile up that still triggers anxieties if you find yourself behind a truck hauling logs – and is interspersed with wonderfully grisly deaths throughout its running time. (We’re particularly fond of the ladder-to-the-face bit.) The movie consciously moved away from the template of the first film, expanding the cast of characters to adults instead of merely focusing on teens, which ended up being a mixed bag and was abandoned for the next movie. Missing some of the stylistic flourishes of the first film, “Final Destination 2” is entertaining but in a flatter, less jaunty way.

3. “Final Destination 3” (2006)

In the years since its release, “Final Destination 3” has gone from a minor entry in the series to one of the most beloved installments. For the third film, James Wong and Glen. Morgan returned. Instead of being a direct follow-up to the second film (which was itself a continuation of the first), they wanted to make a standalone film that would meaningfully add to the mythology while still delivering what audiences wanted most – bone-crunching, squeamishly realistic death scenes. (Tony Todd doesn’t appear on screen but has two vocal cameos.) There are several things that make “Final Destination 3” a top tier entry – the opening disaster takes place on a fairground rollercoaster (gnarly), the cast is one of the best in the series (led by the wonderful Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a new addition to the lore (with a photo revealing who could be next) and a number of deeply iconic set pieces (the tanning bed and the bench press, to name two). Wong and Morgan, as originators of the series, know what works and what doesn’t and you can feel them playfully hone in on what has been done before while also upending expectations. Sadly it was one of the last things the duo would work on together. RIP their creative partnership.

2. “Final Destination Bloodlines” (2025)

The newest installment is also one of the best. Resurrected by, of all people, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Wolfs” director Jon Watts, and directed by Zach Piovsky and Adam Stein, “Final Destination Bloodlines” is both a standalone entry and an encapsulation of everything that came before. The big new wrinkle introduced here is the idea that death can be so annoyed at being cheated that he will follow an entire family to an early grave (hence the title), with the big disaster taking place at a Seattle Space Needle-type restaurant decades earlier. That leads to a character’s granddaughter to try and unravel death’s design before whole branches of their family tree get bloodily chopped off. The funniest movie in the franchise and also the most strangely emotional (partially because of a speech about the importance of life by Tony Todd, in his final film performance), it’s surprising and scary, both satisfying and wholly new, with a ton of great set pieces that are ingeniously staged and too good to give away here. It’s the kind of movie that makes you desperate for another one but also reticent, because they wrap everything up so, so well.

1. “Final Destination” (2000)

Here’s the genius of director James Wong and his writing/producing partner Glen Morgan – in the original script for “Final Destination,” which was written as a spec for “The X-Files” first before being expanded into a feature, death was a literal manifestation. With the hood and the scythe and everything. Morgan and Wong instead had death come for a group of teenagers (Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Seann William Scott among them) via insane, Rube Goldberg-style happenstance, with elaborate set pieces staged for each demise. It was a genius decision. And a testament to the decision makers at New Line Cinema, the studio built on the success of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise, who could have easily pushed for another horror icon in death, but instead let the best idea win. When the movie came out in 2000, it took everybody who watched it by surprise and became a big hit on the then-nascent DVD market. Morgan and Wong went down some strange paths on the way to “Final Destination’s” ultimate form, including a wrongheaded alternate ending that had Larter pregnant with Sawa’s baby, with the idea that the only way to cheat death was to create life. Thankfully, it all worked out and one of the most creatively fulfilling horror series was instead born.

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