The Final Destination franchise began in 2000 with its blockbuster starring Ali Larter and Devon Sawa. Then, five more films were released, with Final Destination: Bloodlines being the most recent. These movies follow a protagonist and all the people they saved from an impending disaster. The only movie that breaks this pattern is the newest one, and it still received incredible reviews after its theatrical release.
The Final Destination movies are gory, incredibly so, and are known for filling the viewer with stress and tension as they continue watching. They’re each 90 minutes and are jam-packed with action sequences of the most insane deaths imaginable. These movies take the simplest object, such as a soda bottle or glass shard, and turn it into the initial starting point of a domino effect that causes everything to go haywire.
They’re known for “scaring a generation away from tanning beds,” and for creating mind-bending sequences that death itself “initiates” to get back the lives that slipped its grasp.
I think these movies are perfect for Halloween and for when you want to be on the edge of your seat, but don’t want to see the antagonist later as you try to sleep. They’re intense, action-filled, and jam-packed with music, cinematography, and dialogue that perfectly paint the picture it’s aiming for.
The Final Destination plot
Each movie follows the same pattern: a giant disaster that multiple characters avoid because the protagonist had a premonition, just for each of them to be haunted by death until it gets them too. This is where the similarities end, since each movie has a different initial disaster, different catastrophic deaths following, and a few of them have their own unique plot twists.
When Final Destination came out in 2000, it shocked audiences. As they announced their second, then third, and so on, people became worried that the plot would become repetitive, but it’s far from that.
As you make your way from Final Destination to Final Destination: Bloodlines, some deaths become easier to predict. You may find yourself analyzing the scene just as the characters do, noticing the knocked-over lantern, the outlet that’s short-circuiting, or any number of sharp objects within the vicinity.
The director, actors, and actresses do a wonderful job of driving your thoughts away from the inevitable, focusing on the unimportant as a new pattern is underway.
The music
The score of each movie provides the perfect soundtrack to its stress-inducing, adrenaline-pumping scenes. Each time a new disaster begins, the music builds, making your heart jump as each new threat is highlighted.
This is placed hand in hand with incredible camerawork, zooming in on each stray piece of ash and each knife that balances on the edge of a table.
Shirley Walker, Brian Tyler, and Tim Wynn all wrote scores for the Final Destination movies. Walker produced the first three, Tyler produced the fourth and fifth, and Wynn created the music for Final Destination: Bloodlines.
While each of these composers has their own voice that comes to play in each piece they include, they manage to lay the music in perfect tune with the scene, accompanying it seamlessly with the characters, the props, and the movie as a whole.
The characters
Each movie has its own protagonist and follows a new set of survivors after their own disaster. The first protagonist, Alex Browning, is usually favored by every fan once they watch all six movies, solely because he has the frantic mannerism about him that any normal person would have in this situation.
Final Destination 3 also stars a fan favorite, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead playing Wendy Christensen. When audiences watch Wendy try to navigate this curse, using her intelligence to potentially save those who were never meant to live, they find it more enjoyable than watching someone who isn’t even trying to help.
The side characters also stand out, with significant others and best friends often right by the protagonist as the first disaster strikes. These tight-knit connections just make the movies much more extreme, and make audiences grow more and more heartbroken for the dwindling survivors. The relationships formed before and after a disaster help hold the movies together and make them much more nerve-wracking.
The suspense
The Final Destination franchise isn’t known for being “chill” — quite the opposite, actually. Watching all six movies can have your heart pounding and on the edge of your seat.
There’s constantly a new threat at play and a new sharp object or gust of wind that alters everything. These intense moments are what make the movies so entertaining and keep people coming back for more.
Some Final Destination scenes have been interlaced with social media, such as the ‘log truck’ or ‘tanning bed’ scenes. These moments from the films wouldn’t be as memorable without the suspense created by zooming in on loose outlets or malfunctioning equipment.
In each moment of a Final Destination movie, there are at least 20 things that could kill the character; it’s just a matter of which one death will pick.
The endings
Although the endings seem like they’re easy to predict due to earlier foreshadowing, the movies still manage to place a few plot twists at the end of each one. They all offer a unique take on the characters, scenes, and the franchise as a whole. All of these movies are interconnected, and their endings are a major reason why.
Some of the movies leave an open question of, “Well, what’s next?” as the 90-minute runtime wraps up, while others leave the audience speechless.
All of these options offer their own benefits and keep people wanting more. They’ve mastered the formula of hooking people, keeping fans, and maintaining status for 25 years, and that’s partially due to how well each movie ends.
The Final Destination franchise is campy, insane, and spikes any viewer’s adrenaline. It isn’t for those who can’t stand gore, as each death is intense. As the movies moved from 2000 to 2025, they became gorier due to improved digital effects. The most recent movie, Final Destination: Bloodlines, should be fully avoided if any graphic violence disturbs the viewer.
The first three movies have effects that aren’t as good, and I only closed my eyes a few times as I watched them all the way through. So, if you’re looking for a few movies to binge that bring in that Halloween vibe without leaving nightmares behind, I’d totally recommend the Final Destination franchise.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest!