Ranking: The Final Destination franchise
The Final Destination franchise kicked off in 2000 and we got five movies within 11 years. After a big 14-year wait, the series has been revived with Final Destination: Bloodlines.
To prepare for the new edition, I re-watched the previous five and created a ranking. Where does the sixth film sit? And what’s my favourite kill in each movie?
Here’s my ranking from best to worst:
Final Destination 2
It was a tough call between this and the original but the sequel won out because of the opening premonition. It is so good! I will literally never drive behind a lorry carrying logs because of this movie. I like that it connects to the original and features the survivor Clear Rivers (Ali Larter). There are also some amazing kills – the head caught in a lift and the flying barbed wire fence cutting a dude into bits. But my favourite has to be Tim (James Kirk). After a fake-out in the dentist’s chair, Tim is brutally squished to smithereens by a falling pane of glass after the appointment. Gruesome!
Final Destination
The franchise has evolved a lot since the original so this one doesn’t have such a long and detailed premonition sequence and the deaths aren’t quite as disgusting. But I have a lot of love for it because this is where it all began and where we learn the rules of the franchise. I also care more about these characters than others. The best death has to be the first – Tod (Chad Donella) being strangled in the bath – but I also like Terry (Amanda Detmer) being hit by a bus because it shocked me the first time. Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke) really goes through it too!
Final Destination: Bloodlines
With this revival entry, the team could have stuck to the tried-and-tested formula, so I respected the fact that they mixed it up and dared to be different, while still honouring the originals. This has the longest opening sequence yet and is easily the funniest of the franchise. The kills are as nasty as ever, with my particular favourite involving an MRI machine (I won’t give away any more than that!) You can read my review here.
Final Destination 3
The threequel started the trend of the opening premonition sequence being so long and detailed. There are more survivors too, which gives us more cannon fodder and therefore more gnarly kills! There is less character work though and I didn’t care much about these people though – I saw it last week and I can’t remember anyone’s names. However, it features one of the most iconic deaths of the whole franchise – the tanning beds! Hot damn!
Final Destination 5
If I’m being cynical, the fourth and fifth films feel like they were made purely to capitalise on the 3D trend at the time. They were fun experiences at the cinema but they obviously don’t hit the same outside of that environment. The effects look dodgy and these two feel more like flimsy kill-after-kill stories instead of anything worth investing in. That being said, I prefer 5 because the OG character Tony Todd returns as William Bludworth and it has a mind-blowing twist at the end. Plus, the laser eye surgery sequence is a banger!
The Final Destination
This one hopped on the 3D craze and the effects are really poor in places. It is also the weakest in terms of story and characters. However, I do really like the opening Speedway premonition sequence – there are some savage deaths in there – and who can forget that bloody swimming pool kill?! Absolutely disgusting!
Final Destination: Bloodlines is in cinemas now