by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
For the first time in 14 years there’s a new entry in the Final Destination franchise coming: Final Destination Bloodlines.
While the premise of Death operating like a Rube Goldberg machine to kill those that have escaped their fates was familiar to me, much of the franchise was not. Going in, I had memories of one of the movies, but even then, that was more, “Which is the one with kill X?” However, it’s one of those franchises that stands out because of the unique nature of the kills, which makes it “fun” as a horror concept. So before the new movie comes out, let’s take a ride and see if the five that precede the upcoming new entry earn their reputation as one of the most consistently entertaining franchises in horror.
Final Destination (2000)
Unsurprisingly, the first entry gave me what I expected from a movie in this franchise. It’s only 25 years old, but the aesthetics of the early 2000 still feel slightly dated — though I can’t say I’ve ever heard anybody named Clear before. Our leads, Deven Sawa and Ali Larter, play their roles well enough, and Seann William Scott is a fun inclusion. I also love having horror legend Tony Todd here. However, the real star is the kills. Though I had a moment of thinking I may have seen this one, based on the fact that the inciting incident is a plane crash, I think it’s probably just that I’ve seen enough clips to know that one of them starts out that way. I was slightly surprised at how much the red herrings in the odd, convoluted deaths were there from the very beginning, but I enjoyed the anticipation every time I knew someone was toast. The movie gets some points off for being a little too clever by half, and in your face with all the signs at the beginning, and the jump to it all being supernatural happens a little too quickly for me, but it’s a solid foundation on which to build off the rest of the franchise.
Rating: Liked It
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Otherwise known as the one with the log truck scene. Honestly, if you’ve taken driver’s ed in the 22 years since this film has come out and that wasn’t one of the clips that got played for you, was your instructor even teaching you correctly? Aside from that, it’s not only a legitimately a great inciting incident, but the effects and complexity of opening sequence show how far filmmaking has come in just a few short years. It’s not only the first death that benefits from better effects, everything is a little extra — and not in a bad way. They’re gnarlier and just plain look better. In addition, with the formula already established, everyone figuring out what’s really going on quickly doesn’t feel out of place here. There is one way in which the original has an edge: I don’t think there’s quite the same connection that we get with all the survivors like we do with the classmates in the original, but aside from that, this is a step up for me from the original.
Rating: Liked It
Final Destination 3 (2006)
Here, we reach the lone film in the franchise I had seen before I started this binge, though even then I didn’t remember much outside the fact that it’s the one with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and the one that has the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] deaths. Besides, released in 2006, I would have seen this when I was a teen, and in a time when my friends were insistent that the nights that they stayed over we rent some sort of horror movie that (according to the MPAA) we were too young to be watching. For the most part, this one holds up well enough. I found myself remembering more and more as I went along, and it injected a heavy dose of nostalgia into my veins. The deaths are still gnarly, but there is something lost a little bit in the film’s use of CGI that makes some sequences — particularly that of the inciting vision — not land quite as well. However, Winstead and nostalgia mean I still had a fun time.
Rating: Liked It
The Final Destination (2009)
Here’s the thing about this franchise: What it’s trying to do is a balancing act, but one that the previous entries in the franchise get right. It’s ridiculous and over the top, yes, but that plays into the fun. Not so much here. The film kicks off with a mass tragedy at a racetrack, with the overreliance in CGI that crept into the previous film on full display from the green flag — which is only exacerbated by the 3D fad of the time. Aside from that, even the color grading is off-putting. The problem is that means the opening sequence falls completely flat, which makes it hard to have any investment in the insanity that follows. Even the attempt at a double-up, like the previous film did, just feels like a cheap imitation. I don’t connect with this particular group of characters — particularly give the one drunk, racist ass who’s included — so I don’t necessarily care about their fates. It’s also (largely) outside of the connected story of the other films. Unlike the others in the franchise, it doesn’t reference the previous entries. Honestly, though, that might be a blessing in disguise, as there’s no reason to really worry about watching it. I can’t say I hated this film, but that’s only because I didn’t care enough about what was happening to elicit any strong emotional reaction.
Rating: Didn’t Like It
Final Destination 5 (2011)
The most recent entry in the franchise came back in 2011 and follows the survivors of a bridge collapse heading to a work retreat. First off, I did like from the start that we get an organic connection between the group of survivors again (more akin to the original). However, it’s immediately offset by another weak CGI-fest opening sequence, which neuters the impact of the kills. Thankfully, even though this still suffers a bit from the 3D-ification of movies, it’s much less noticeable outside of the opening sequence. This one is boosted by some fun casting. David Koechner is always a fun face to see, and he plays the jerk boss well. Also, it’s the first film since the second to employ Tony Todd in the flesh, which was a welcome return (he did still have a voice role in third, something I did not realize until looking it up). But what this really has going for it is the twist on trying to figure out how to break the chain. And then the ending happened (the best of the franchise), and it bumped it up a bit in my personal ranking of the franchise.
Rating: Liked It
As I came to the end of my binge, I found myself happy for the twisted trip I took. None of these are great, they don’t even rise to the level of “very good,” but they’re fun, schlocky horror, and they know it. For the most part, they’re able to use the niche of their conceit well enough to make for a fun time, and never overstay their welcome.
When it comes to the approaching newest entry in the franchise, I find myself split. On one hand, I’m excited for what has been cooked up while the franchise has been on hiatus. On the other hand, I think the conclusion of Final Destination 5 is an oddly great place to lay the franchise to rest.
I guess we’ll just have to see what Death has in store.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd