Final Destination Movies Ranked

The Final Destination movies have made franchise gold out of terrifying viewers with the threat of being stalked by death itself – but which one of them has done it the best? 

There are five films in the Final Destination franchise, with a sixth film, Final Destination 6: Bloodlines, on the way. During its run (2000-2011) the Final Destination films managed to go from carving out its own unique niche in the horror genre (with its Rube Goldberg-style kills) to a major flagship ambassador for the resurgent 3D movie fad of the late 2000s and 2010s. That's a checkered legacy to be sure, but it doesn't mean that the later Final Destination movies didn't have some highlight moments. 

In this ranking list, we will look at all of the Final Destination movies in order from the worst to the best. Check it out below and see if you agree with our picks! 

5. The Final Destination

The 4th film in the Final Destination series is the worst of the bunch – though not by a large margin (see below). The Final Destination (2009) is the most egregious cash-grab attempt the franchise put out, with so many cheesy over-the-top 3D kills the movie barely holds up visually outside of the format. The signature First Act disaster is the worst of the series (a NASCAR speedway crash and stadium collapse); the characters (and their actors) are the most paper-thin and forgettable in a franchise built on disposable bodies, while the story by Eric Brees (The Butterfly Effect) and the various character kills are by far the worst of the series – including a nonsensical ending "twist." 

The Final Destination is even more baffling as it is the second installment of the franchise directed by the late David R. Ellis; Ellis's previous installment (Final Destination 2) was definitely a superior effort, as our list below indicates. In the end, this installment is so bad and forgettable that its very existence and title (the "Final" Destination) were quickly invalidated by the fifth film that came after. The fact that Final Destination 4 is the highest-grossing film in the series ($186+ million worldwide) is the most baffling, death-defying act the franchise has ever pulled off. 

4. Final Destination 3

Final Destination 3 (2006) is the official point where the franchise pivoted from a semi-smart interwoven story about the ripple effects of cheating death, and started to become more of a loosely connected anthology-style franchise of Rube-Goldberg kill sequences. The drop-off in quality is noticeable right from the start, with an amusement park roller-coaster disaster that feels like the smallest and least impressive opening sequence in the Final Destination sequels. 

Even with original Final Destination director James Wong (Dragonball Evolution) back at the helm, Final Destination 3 only avoids the bottom spot on our list thanks to having actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ahsoka, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Thing) in the lead role. Final Destination 3 also recaptured the offbeat weirdness of the original with its kills, with Death seeming to take a more sinister and active role in finishing off the survivors. Final Destination 3 also cements some of the darker human-vs-human elements into the franchise lore, wich would be expanded upon later.  

3. Final Destination 2

Final Destination 2 (2003) was a definite departure from Final Destination 1. The sequel turned the opening prophetic disaster vision into a full-fledged horror stunt spectacle – with the highway crash sequence arguably still holding a crown as the best of the series (who drives down the highway these days without remembering it?). A story about characters from a connected social circle was replaced with one about seemingly random strangers coming together to cheat "Death's Design" – a story concept that only comes together in the third act. 

That said, Final Destination 2 had enough twists in its story to be a novel addition to the franchise rather than an empty rehash. The sequel had some fun and surprising kills, while expanding the franchise lore to both include interesting new ways to escape death and justify its story and characters (arguably one of the better ensemble casts), who are revealed to be people saved from death by the ripple effect of the first film's characters having (briefly) survived beyond their time. 

Final Destination 2 does lose some points for having a cheap gimmick tied to the first film it didn't need, with Ali Larter's Clear Rivers making a return to mostly just spew hokey expository dialogue. Also: killing off frachise protagonist Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) with off-hand mention he got hit by a death-brick just wasn't cool. At all. 

2. Final Destination 5

Final Destination 5 ranks high on our list for being an underdog success that managed to surprise fans late into the series' run. Final Destination 5 has the best storyline since the original introduced the Death's Design mythos, with writer Eric Heisserer (Arrival) serving up a surprise prequel to the first film that no one saw coming. 

On a technical level, James Cameron's longtime collaborator/protege Steven Quale had a far better understanding of how to use actual 3D filming, Hitchcockian suspense, and guided misdirection to create arguably the most intensely nerve-wracking and surprising kill sequences in the series. The opening act disaster (a bridge collapse) also ranks as one of the best in the series – and definitely one that has stuck with viewers. The cast was stacked with some solid performances, including the lead trio, who have a much deeper dramatic arc to play out than seen in the other films. 

Final Destination 5 also gets a lot of high-mark points for adding some exciting new elements to the lore – namely, the "Kill or be Killed" method that survivors can choose, sacrificing someone else to take their place in Death's Design. The ending of Final Destination 5 is also the best of the series by far, as (SPOILERS) the final survivors end up on the doomed flight to Paris from the first film, putting a much larger framework on the path of Death's Design. 

1. Final Destination

At the end of the day, there's just no beating the original. Final Destination kicked off 2000s horror with its weird and off-beat new take on how death can stalk us – getting millions of viewers to sweat over any ominous natural event, occurrence, or coincidence they encounter at any point of any day. Even though it now often seems out of step with the rest of the series that came after, the indie feel of Final Destination (2000) only works to the benefit of keeping it bottled in time as a cult-hit horror movie achievement, which still carried many precious 1990s horror-comedy overtones in its DNA (see: Devon Sawa in the starring role). 

Obviously, Final Destination also gets major points for spawning an entire franchise, for the modest price tag of $23 million. 

The Final Destination movies are currently streaming on Max.