Death has been busy at work balancing the scales ever since the firstFinal Destinationhit theaters. To the surprise of many, the franchise has endured for over two decades, thanks to its original premise. Although premonitions may ward off the clutches of the grim reaper temporarily, time has shown that Death eventually claims its target in increasingly more inventive and effective ways.
WithFinal Destination: Bloodlineswowing audiences and critics with a number one weekend andglowing reviews,it’s time tolook back at the grisly accidents that made the franchise possible. The following accidents are ranked by the legacy they left on the series, the creativity of their staging, and how many times viewers were left shocked, staring at the screen. So get ready for a whole lot of carnage and the accidents that surely made you second-guess every time you went on a rollercoaster ride.
6Speedway Smash
‘The Final Destination’ (2009)
A group of friends take their seats to watch a car race, unaware of how close they’re about to be to the action inThe Final Destination. A loose screwdriver falls from one of the cars after a mismanaged pit stop, directly resulting in a car losing control when it hits the tool and blows its tire, and sends another fatally into the stands. The rest of the car is not far behind, now engulfed in flames and flipping over the decorative safety fence into the crowd. While the panicked patrons run to escape, the flying wreckage causes the structure to collapse, killing anyone who managed to avoid airborne car parts.
Fans oftheFinal Destinationfranchisewill debate most aspects of the series, but they can all typically agree thatthe fifth entry is the weakest of the bunch. Even though the victims reach violent, bloody ends from the flying wreckage landing in the stands,the accident feels like a step downfrom the increasingly complex disasters that preceded it. Grading only by the accident alone, and not the movie that follows it, the graphic nature of the deaths stays in line with the brutality of the other films, butthe racetrack seems to offer fewer creative possibilitiesto the chaos. There’s also a possibility that the scenario of watching a racing event is less of a commonplace occurrence than driving on the freeway or flying on a plane, and audiences don’t connect with it as strongly.
The Final Destination
5Fire in the Sky
‘Final Destination’ (2000)
Devon Sawastars as Alex Browning, a senior in high school who boards the doomed flight to Paris in the firstFinal Destination. The plane is barely in the air before light turbulence turns into electrical mayhem, starting fires within the cabin. As oxygen masks fall from overhead,the plane begins to tear apart, sending luggage and passengers flying to their deaths. Right as a fireball races its way to Alex, he opens his eyes moments before the plane is to take off, causing him to escape the death trap frantically.
The first disaster may be less complexthan the ones that start the sequels, but the explosion of Flight 180 isa memorable and visceral series of visualsthat are horrifying due to how plausible a scenario it is. Many people suffer anxiety at the thought of flying, with the experience daunting for those who fear heights or enclosed spaces, and the accident that started it all takes a deep dive into both phobias. In so many movies, the audience sees the plane explode midair and that is the extent of the visual, butFinal Destinationforces the viewer inside the plane for every horrible secondto absorb the horror of seeing fires break out and shocked passengers sucked out into the night sky. As the camera lingers ona trapped Sawa being engulfed in flames, the audience is dared to look away as the skin melts from his agonized face.
Final Destination
4Rollercoaster Wreckage
‘Final Destination 3’ (2006)
A senior night at an amusement park sets the stage for the third installment of theFinal Destinationfranchise, withMary Elizabeth Winsteadstarringas Wendy, the teen who receives the deadly premonition of a rollercoaster disaster. The ride starts as planned, but a leaky hydraulic fuel line paired with a fallen camera releases everyone’s safety harnesses on the coaster. The ordeal goes from bad to worse as flying sparks announce the wheels popping off the track, followed by screaming riders who plummet to their deaths. The ride stops at the top of a loop, because, of course, it does, leaving the unlucky few remaining to hold until their grips fail, sending them to the ground as well. As one of the last survivors, Wendy’s car manages to roll back, but it too derails, killing her before the premonition ends.
The roller coaster disasterconfirmed the fears of every personwho decided to hang back while their friends went on the tallest ride in the theme park. A roller coaster is designed to give safe thrills for people willing to bet their lives on a lap bar, butthe threat of a ride malfunction leaves many opting for the teacups instead.Final Destination 3uses the wait in the line to recreate the dread of those scared to get strapped in before unleashing the carnage the audience paid to see.
Final Destination 3
3Bridge Collapse
‘Final Destination 5’ (2011)
The only thing worse than a work retreat is dying on the way to a work retreat. Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) can verify this statement when he has a premonition of his work retreat-bound bus stopping on a collapsing bridge inFinal Destination 5. Even though Sam and a few of his friends manage to run from the bus, it doesn’t help them as chunks of concrete fall into the water below, taking unlucky commuters with them. As eachmember of his partydies in gruesome ways, Sam manages to get his newly ex-girlfriend to safety before he is cut in half by a falling piece of debris.
After the letdown ofThe Final Destination, the accident that kicks offFinal Destination 5quickly lets audiences knowthe series was finding its footing once again. Based on personal preference (or phobia), the bridge collapse could easily be the worst nightmare possible, a disaster that flashes through the mind of anyone on a bridge or overpass as that familiar slight bounce makes their stomach momentarily lurch. The impressive aspect ofFinal Destination 5’s opening sequence ishow many different ways the victims are dispatched trying to reach safety, with falling to their deaths almost the least violent exit compared to hot tar or falling metal rods.
Final Destination 5
2Logs on the Highway
‘Final Destination 2’ (2003)
A spring break trip stalls out when a logging truck’s cargo creates a catastrophic multi-car wreck on a busy roadway inFinal Destination 2.Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) is behind the wheel when she senses something’s not quite right, but she couldn’t imagine a series of falling logs would instantly kill State Trooper Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), and create a pile-up that would cause cars to blow up into comically large fireballs after hitting anything else on the road. Kimberly manages to survive long enough, suspended from her seat, to see an enormous car hauler careen toward her before the premonition ends, leaving her shocked at the entrance ramp.
What theFinal Destinationseries does so well, both with the opening sequences and the subsequent deaths to follow, istap into the everyday fears people have about different situations in their everyday lives. Everyone has been in their car at some point, stuck behind a transport truck with looming cargo, and wondered what would happen if any of these pieces broke free.Final Destination 2leans into this rational fear brilliantly, laying out the worst-case scenario by introducing the maximum amount of vehicular carnage onto the road possible. Anyone who has seenFinal Destination 2will have the thought about loose logs burned into their brains forever, likely exiting the freeway when they see a similar truck anywhere near them.
Final Destination 2
1Dance Floor Fatalities
‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ (2025)
A carefully planned proposal goes awry by the slight inconvenience of everyone dying in the latest installment,Final Destination: Bloodlines. Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) is overjoyed to attend the grand opening of the Skyview Restaurant Tower with her boyfriend Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones), but a crack in the glass dance floor, along with a malfunctioning heater, leads to the destruction of the tower and the deaths of everyone inside.
The opening accident ofFinal Destination: Bloodlinesis a breathtaking spectacle that shows howthe franchise continues to perfect its unique approach to building tension. Each moment the camera lingers a moment too long on an open flame or a chandelier swinging ever so slightly, the audience tries to put the pieces together before the inevitable destruction begins. In the case ofFinal Destination: Bloodlines,there are many things to consider because this isthe most complex opening catastrophe in the franchise’s history. Between the cracking glass dance floor, the crumbling, explosion-filled tower, and a piano making a grand exit,Final Destination: Bloodlineshasone of the most impressive opening sequencesthat will make everyone question whether or not they continue to wear rings.
Final Destination Bloodlines
NEXT:The 10 Greatest Final Destination Series References in ‘Bloodlines’ That Prove Death Never Forgets
