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If you're in the mood for a nostalgic horror binge that’s all about twisted fate and elaborate death scenes, Final Destination is the perfect pick. This cult-favorite franchise has terrified and thrilled audiences for over two decades, turning everyday moments- like boarding a plane or driving behind a logging truck- into sources of anxiety. As the film gets ready to welcome it's sixth addition to the franchise, you might want to take a trip down memory lane and rewatch all it's predecessors.
If you're wondering if the franchise follows a linear chronology when it comes to release, yes it does. There is one significant exception to the timeline's general chronological release order. Final Destination 5, the fifth entry, is revealed to be a prequel to the first movie, finishing nearly at the same point as the original.
However, apart from this little detail, it is well advised that you follow the film in chronological order. Here's how you should you watch the Final Destination movies to get the full, terrifying experience, and explore what awaits in each film.
Final Destination (2000)
Final Destination (2000) is a groundbreaking horror film that deviated from mainstream genres. It is a unique movie that revolves around fate, death, and survival. Directed by James Wong, the film introduces a never-seen-before concept: that it is possible to escape death- temporarily.
The film starts with high school student Alex Browning, who has a disturbing vision that the plane he and classmates are about to board is going to explode. This inspires a group of students to leave the plane. The students survive, but death soon hunts them down, one-by-one, using increasingly elaborate and gruesome methods.
What makes Final Destination strikingly different from other typical slasher films is that it is death itself, in the embodiment of an unstoppable, invisible, inevitable entity- as it pursues its prey and corrects the mistakes of fate. It tops it off with tension, dark humor, and creative deaths that will probably make you squirm in your seats. The originality and hands-on delivery established Final Destination as a cult film that branched out into sequels and spin-offs.
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Final Destination 2 (2003) carries forward the concept of fate and death's continued pursuit from the first film in a newer, but just as horrifying story. Directed by David R. Ellis, it focuses on Kimberly Corman, who has a terrifying premonition of a massive highway pileup. Similar to the first film's protagonist Alex, Kimberly is able to save a number of people who were fated to die in the pileup, by stopping them from entering the doomed highway.
However, death has a plan, and systematically hunts the survivors down in interestingly creative, and horrifying ways. It raises the stakes with longer and more horrifying sequences of death, including one of the most iconic sequences in the franchise involving logging trucks.
Final Destination 3 (2006)
Final Destination 3 (2006) brings a whole new level to the horror franchise. Directed by James Wong, who directed the original film, this one takes place at a high school and follows a group of students who narrowly escape a horrific roller coaster accident warned by Wendy Christensen’s terrifying premonition. All the elements of a Final Destination flick are there, including the verbatim follow-through of its preceding films. The addition of 3D effects in this one raises the horror/thriller and surprise level of the production to create suspense and frighten the viewer when they least expect it.
Another addition to the plot is a concept on death that includes a “death pattern” survivors must uncover to escape death's inevitable designs. With a good balance of suspense, dark humor, and entertaining deaths including a failed camera, lockers, and others, Final Destination 3 is a film that delivers thrills and excitement with enough change and surprising twists to stay fresh.
The Final Destination (2009)
The Final Destination (2009), attempts to raise the stakes by going bigger and bloodier, though it received mixed reviews for its execution. Directed by David R. Ellis, who previously directed Final Destination 2, this one follows college student Nick O’Bannon, who has a harrowing vision of a catastrophic accident at a racetrack. He saves a group of people by getting them out just before the disaster unfolds, but as always in this series, death isn’t done. What follows is a series of increasingly outrageous and graphic deaths, all portrayed with heavy use of 3D effects, which were a major selling point of the film at the time.
The Final Destination leans more into spectacle than story, with the 3D technology being used to amp up the visual intensity of the kills. Initially, the film was billed as the final chapter in the series, but as it managed to generate a solid box office return, it received yet another sequel.
Final Destination 5 (2011)
Directed by Steven Quale, Final Destination 5 (2011) introduces Sam Lawton, who gets a premonition of a horrific bridge collapse where he and his coworkers will be killed. When he successfully warns them of this, death goes after the survivors again in a brutal and methodical manner.
In its approach, Final Destination 5 is noticeably darker, had more fleshed-out characters that had personality beyond their deaths, and the kill sequences were original and much more serious in nature than the previous films' over-the-top gore. However, in the closing sequences of the film, you discover it's a prequel which is fairly well hidden until the last scenes.
Among fans of the franchise, this one is often labeled as the best film among it's predecessors, but that could very well change now, now that Final Destination: Bloodlines is here.
Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
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Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) forges a terrifying return of the horror franchise, providing a mix of unique death scenes and a new narrative twist. This film revolves around Stefani Reyes, a college student who has reoccurring nightmares about the collapse of a tower that took place in 1969. These visions lead her to uncover a dark family secret: her grandmother, Iris Campbell, survived the disaster due to a premonition, inadvertently placing their bloodline in Death's crosshairs .The film pays homage to the franchise's roots with elaborate fatalities turning mundane, everyday items into instruments of terror.
All the Final Destination films are available to stream on Prime Video. Final Destination: Bloodlines is now in theaters.
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