By Makenzie Walsh
What if death itself had a plan for you, but you escaped? Nothing good comes next, obviously. In this X-Files episode script-turned horror movie franchise, Final Destination has come out with deaths that have successfully prevented people from driving behind log trucks and getting on tanning beds. More on that later.
This article will be looking at the deaths created by this franchise and ranking each out of ten, but allow me to lay out ground rules and a general outline. Each death will be in the order of occurrence (in the movie, that is) and in order of the movie’s release. Rankings will also be handed out based on the setup for the death, verbal and visual, the special effects put to use, and, obviously, the general quality. Premonitions will be listed here as well, but they will be ranked as a whole. This means I won’t rank every individual death in that premonition, just combine them all and rank that way. However, the premonition event when the main characters avoiding the catastrophe will not be counted unless there’s anything notable that occurs like there’s still an important death that’s somewhat separate. It should be said now that if you have not/intend to see any of the installments, this article will be full of spoilers. With that said, let’s make like James A. Janisse and get to the kills.
Final Destination
The movie that started it all, and boy, a start it was. The story was written by Jeffrey Reddick and was produced, directed, and reworked with help from Glen Morgan and James Wong. Common Fears like flying were put into motion for these glorious, gory scenes, alongside some others both here and in the other four films.
The Crash Of Flight 180
7/10
All that ominous buildup paid off, as this violent scene was a sight to behold. Oxygen masks fall, lights flicker, but it escalates real fast. A fire starts and before you knew it, a whole row of seats get sucked away into that good night. Another flame stampedes its way through the cabin, which now has a hole in it, and Alex gets toasted. Now THAT is an exposition! I rate this crash, well, more accurately, explosion, a seven out of ten, because it’s an amazing sight to behold, but, there could have been a little more going on. Don’t worry though, this famous plane gets a second chance, kind of.
Stay On The Line To Claim Your Prize!
6/10
A brutal way to start off the slaughtering of the main characters. This one’s violent but not for the same reason as most of the others. Leaking water approaches Tod because he needed something to slip on. Where did his fall lead him? A clothesline, of course. It wrapped around his neck and strangled him to death. Tod’s eyes go bloodshot, which looks pretty cool with the effects, and he struggles for some time, unable to free himself via scissors nor traction, causing him to die in the bathtub. I rate this death a six because it’s a good start, however, it was a little too tame, and why did death cover its tracks up? What’s it going to do, get caught? On the bright side, it’s this corpse that is in the room when Bludworth, played by the one and only Tony Todd, makes his appearance and lays out death’s rules, and makes it clear that “In death, there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes.” so of course, I’m going to have to praise this death for that if anything.
Absolute Obliteration
8/10
Terry dies in a jumpscare of a kill when she tells Alex and her boyfriend to “get over” Flight 180, only to immediately get hit by a bus. Simple as that. This kill floored audiences, in fact, directors had to add a seemingly useless Alka-seltzer scene just to give those watching the movie some time to recover, as test audiences saw that bus “get over” her and they would not calm down for some time. I rate this as an eight out of ten because of how it came out of left field, and the left-hand side of the screen, and how perfect it is that Terry dies right after the words “drop dead” left her mouth. It’s just too perfect.
The Night Death Went Wild
7/10
Did Ms. Valerie Lewton’s death need to be this excessive? No, absolutely not, in fact, the setup is admittedly forced, but the result was something to behold nonetheless. Lewton pours herself some vodka, and because hot water was in that mug less than a minute ago, and the temperature change cracks the mug. The alcohol trail follows her about and soon enough, it’s in her computer monitor. The monitor explodes, catching her in the neck with some glass, and the vodka snail trail catches on fire, though when you look into it, that’s not really how it works. Anyway, the fire spreads to the kitchen, causing her vodka bottle to explode, knocking the teacher down. She reaches for a rag to clean the mess, though that shouldn’t be her priority right now, considering the fire and fatal injuries, the rag is on a knife block, which falls. One knife stabs her in the chest, and when Alex shows up on the scene, a chair falls, hammering the knife down, and that’s what kills her. However, when Alex is out of the house, the entire thing explodes. I rate this seven out of ten because its overkill is stellar, but the realism, not so much.
Yes, Yes You Are Indeed Dead
7/10
After Carter gets narrowly saved from a train, Billy starts saying that Carter is still doomed to die, unaware of a rule that if you save someone’s life, they get skipped on the list of death for the time being. It turns out that Carter isn’t dead (yet!), Billy is, as a sheet of metal gets flung from under the train, decapitating him, but only halfway. I rate this partial guillotine slice a 7/10, for how sudden it is, and, just like Terry’s death, works well with Billy’s last words.
Hey! That Sign Has A Big 180 On It!
6/10
If there’s one thing Final Destination doesn’t do, it’s subtlety. The trio still alive is able to get to Paris, somehow braving going on an airplane again. Alex realizes he’s still next, and he almost gets hit by a bus, and though, no, he doesn’t get hit, the bus still hits something, which sends a sign that actually has a 180 on it swinging at him. Carter saves him, then asks who’s next, but as the sign swings again, it becomes clear that he is. I rate this death a six out of ten because the lack of subtlety is nice, but something about it is too simple, even for what it is.
Final Destination 2
A very worthy sequel to the original, Final Destination 2, released in 2003, has New Line Cinema putting David R. Ellis in the director’s chair, as the team in the original were preoccupied with other things at the time. The mechanisms of death get wilder here, Tony Todd returns as Bludworth, and all’s well, as long as you aren’t the protagonists anyway.
Beep Beep!
10/10
This is how you improve upon past premonitions. The massive pileup is on Route 23, which actually isn’t placed where the real one is. Things like a foreboding highschool chant and the sight of a kid smacking his two toy cars together tell you exactly what is going to happen next. The chains on a log truck snap and one log decimate Deputy Burke. Cars spin through the air, one guy gets burned alive in his car, Eugene gets crushed by his own motorcycle, a truck destroys Rory’s car, and, well, Rory. It’s chaos, and it’s magnificent. I will award this insanity a perfect ten out of ten for its S-tier practical effects and glorious, glorious madness.
All Kim’s Friends Are Dead
6/10
The giant crash actually happens, of course, and when Deputy Burke pulls Kimberly away from an oncoming 8-wheeler, all of Kimberly’s friends die in the resulting impact. That’s fine since those three were insufferable. I rate this a six because it’s painfully simple, though the explosion was pretty nice.
Ladder Lotto
8/10
When Evan, a recent lottery winner, loses his new ring down the drain, he reaches to get it, but his watch causes his hand to get stuck. Conveniently, for the viewers, anyway, a fire starts in his kitchen, not helped by the leftovers he stuck in the microwave since a magnet fell in and he magically didn’t see it. He somehow gets his hand free, and even though the windows shut on him, Evan uses a chair to break one and escape, using the fire exit as intended. However, he had tossed some spaghetti out the window earlier. That’s important. Why? Because he slips on his waste of food, and the ladder slides at him, stopping for long enough for Evan to think about how lucky he is. He then gets impaled through the eye. Not so lucky now, is he? I will rate this death an eight out of ten because of the irony of that being how a lottery winner dies. However, I will dock points because when the ladder stopped, Evan reflected on his luck instead of, oh, I don’t know, getting out of the way?
Alex And His Offscreen Death
1/10
Alex dies in between the two movies, but I will rate this death since Clear has a picture of his corpse. He got killed by a falling brick. That’s it, nothing fancy. Just a brick. I rate this a one because we all know superstitious, paranoid Alex is too careful to be killed by a singular brick, especially after that close call with a bus back in Paris.
A Talk About The Birds… And Falling Glass.
9/10
Tim, who’s apparently fifteen but the way he’s written implies almost everything that isn’t fifteen, almost dies in the dentist’s office. While he gets his tooth drilled with close-ups intended to make you brace for the worst, water leaks, electricity, and pigeons aim to wreck the staff’s day, destroy his mother’s life, and end Tim’s. All that fails to work, but a near-overdose of laughing gas and a toy fish that fell off a mobile that’s apparently in his dentist’s of-fish lands in Tim’s mouth, trying to suffocate him do a slightly better job. A dental assistant saves him at the last second and Tim and his mum leave. But one warning about pigeons sends the kid through a flock of nearby birds, causing glass from the nearby construction to fall, squishing him like a Looney Tunes character. I rate this a nine out of ten for the intensity and close calls left and right, as well as the effects, those being this installment’s strong suits.
When One Door Closes, Don’t Lose Your Head
8/10
When Eugine and Nora, Tim’s mother, get on an elevator with some creepy old dude with a box of hooks, things can only go great, right? Of course not, why would it? Nora freaks out when told of a warning from Rory, and her hair gets caught in a hook. The spot of chaos results in Nora’s head getting stuck between elevator doors, and after some struggling, Nora gets out. Kind of. When the elevator decides to persist in doing its job, the closing doors chop off her head, her body outside the elevator, her head in the elevator, with the old guy and a rightfully horrified Eugine. I will rate this an eight, as the effects were cleverly done, Nora’s body pulled away with Nora’s actor, Lynda Boyd, wearing a green screen mask of sorts, and the scene is visually great.
Oh, I’ll Put It On Quiet Mode, Alright
9/10
This scene is a lovely two-for-one deal. When Kat is annoyed by the sound made when the emergency workers try freeing her from an SUV pincushioned with PVC, the person helping her snarkily says he’ll “…just put it on quiet mode,” and hey, she doesn’t have to hear it anymore, because the airbags go off, shoving her skull through the broken pipe in the back of her seat, and once she dies, she drops her cigarette. That’s important. This kill earned a nine for its effects, yes, but the scene in and of itself is iconic.
Drug Addict In A Cheese Slicer, What Will He Do?
7/10
When Kat drops her cigarette, it falls into a gasoline trail from a news van that Rory saved some kid from being hit by. More on that in a second. The gasoline ignites and causes a nasty explosion, as it launches barbed wire at and through Rory, who falls apart in pieces. I rate this a seven out of ten, the trisection was masterfully put together and the setup is clever, but the kill was carried by Kat’s.
It’s A Boy… And Your Death!
9/10
Kimberly finds out via vision that Isabella, a pregnant woman the cast was trying to keep alive in hopes that her child will be born, saving them via life that wasn’t meant to be, was supposed to survive the pileup anyway. This leads into another two-for-one deal when Eugine’s hospital room blows up through sparks and oxygen, killing him and Clear Rivers, who opened the door to his room seconds before. I rate this a nine out of ten, based on the revelation and explosion, making a good one-two-punch for the plot.
Thanks, Rory
8/10
Rory saved a kid from an oncoming van, which saved his life. Bad idea. At a barbeque hosted by the kid, Brian, and his family and attended by Deputy Burke and Kimberly, the grill explodes. This sends Brian flying in all directions, one arm landing on his horrified mother’s plate. Now this movie killed two kids, making this film filled to the brim of buy-one-get-one-free moments, even if this one was a tad delayed. I will give this barbecuing an eight out of ten, for the suddenness and the hilarious sight of a woman screaming at a toasted arm on a plate.
Final Destination 3
Another spot of proof that this franchise is everything except subtle, the box art for this 2006 movie has a rollercoaster on it! You know what that means. James Wong and Glen Morgan return, making the third movie more of a standalone. This means no recurring characters, just the same formula in the same timeline (but acknowledging the past two movies due to that). Unfortunately, there’s no Bludworth, but Tony Todd still makes a cameo, this time as the voice of an animatronic devil, the mascot of the roller coaster this film has in store for us. While there is more CG blood than before, which muddles some kills, what we get isn’t actually that bad. The CD of Final Destination 3 had an interactive Choose Their Fate minigame-type thing, but we will ignore those.
“You May Never Return From Devil’s Flight”
8/10
With a rollercoaster as your premonition scene, that can only mean good things. When the ride takes off, there’s already fluid leaking, but there’s about to be more. This movie’s creep, well, the worse one, Frankie, drops his camera and causes a mechanical breakdown. Seats unlock, wheels pop off, the carts in front go flying, it’s mayhem. People hang on for dear life, but spinal columns shatter nonetheless. Some people simply fall and hit the ground to die there. One person even gets sliced in half. However, in the occurrence, after people are taken away from the ride, Frankie gets off too, but his camera falling caused the incident, which still happened. Something else must have dropped to make up for it, but it’s still odd. I will rate this an eight out of ten because the premonition is amazingly done, especially with the effects, but the version that occurred, in reality, was a little off due to having to figure out how it happened since the dude instrumental to the carnage was gone.
You Know This Scene, Don’t Go Lying To Me
9/10
How’s this for famous scenes? The two Ashes, Ashley and Ashlyn, them being unlikeable girls who made death’s job… a bit easier, tamper with the thermostat and get on the tanning beds, proceeding to show the audience some really bad singing. Had they listened to the rules you are supposed to follow at tanning salons, like not taking drinks inside the room, or messing with the equipment, this would not have happened, at least not like this. A gust of air from the air conditioner knocks stuff on the tanning bed lids, locking the girls in. The temperature rises, glass cracks, and the Ashes get microwaved, the tanning beds catching fire. The fire even makes use of a fire gel, making the stunt wilder, considering these people were actually aflame. I rate this death a nine out of ten because the death is iconic and well-constructed, down to the fact that the fire stunt was well done, people having to be close by so the actresses could be extinguished before the fire gel stopped working.
Fan Blades, Baby!
7/10
When Wendy and Kevin get trapped in their car in a drive-thru, and a driverless van starts heading towards them, they’re naturally going to try escaping, which works, since they push out the windshield. The collision sends a truck engine flying, slicing Frankie’s head, who was in front of them, apparently. This death will be rated seven out of ten, as it’s well constructed, with great gore, but the fact Frankie was even there could have had a better setup.
Try Not To Slam The Weights On Your Next Rep…
5/10
This is the death that was really messed up by the added CG blood. Lewis, at his college’s training center, declares that he is above mortality. In a franchise like this, you never do that. The aesthetic swords that are, as it turns out, actually are sharp, cut a cable, and the weights sandwich his head. There were real practical effects here, but the blood edited in covers it up. I will rate it 5/10 due to the CG blockage of some legitimately great gore.
There’s A Joke Here Somewhere
7/10
At a hardware store, a series of unfortunate events send Erin into a nail gun, which fires into her skull a lot of times. Simple, especially for all the falling items leading up to it. There’s not awful for me to say, but this kill earns its score of seven out of ten.
Red Dead Redemption
6/10
While a horse didn’t actually kill someone like I attempted to imply, one almost got Wendy’s sister Julie killed, so we were close to having glorious people shredding with the equine dragging her into blades. Don’t worry, Perry, Julie’s friend, gets killed immediately, impaled by a flag. It’s sudden, but not good enough to outdo what could have been, hence the rating of six.
Cherry Picking Details
9/10
Ian thinks it’s directly Wendy’s fault his girlfriend took a nail gun to the head a bunch of times. Ian thinks he’s never going to die. Ian had some fireworks shoot at him but they both missed. Then a cherry picker cuts him in half, with some of the most visually pleasing gore in the entire movie, it’s amazingly brutal. This amazing kill gets a nine out of ten, one point deducted because of the death’s list ordering which seemed pretty messed up there. Looks cool, though.
They Took The Midnight Train Going… To Kill Them
10/10
Take a good look because it won’t happen again. Kevin, Julie, and Wendy are on a subway together, and Wendy has another premonition, and for the only time in the whole franchise, there is no escape. Lights flash wildly, and everything goes haywire. Airborne metal obliterates Julie, Kevin gets shredded when sucked out a window, and when Wendy notices the tunnel of death as the sole survivor, she doesn’t have time to escape with her life as a second train runs her over. Since this premonition, partially filmed using miniatures, wasn’t escaped, we don’t watch it twice. What we do get is a cut to black and crashing noises. This gets awarded a 9, because of the insanity, and it’s simply just fantastic, with the cut to black even having an atmospheric feel.
The Final Destination
Also known as Final Destination 4, though Final Destination 3D is just as apt, this film is the weakest of the five. The effect suddenly so, so much worse just because of the 3D movie fad and this installment wanting to get in on that. The movie came out in 2009 alongside another 3D gorefest, that being Saw 3D. The characters are genuinely awful, only one of them actually being someone you could feel bad for. Written by Eric Bress and directed by David R. Ellis, this film does retain its graphic kills, at least. However, they aren’t the most satisfying thing ever with the cartoony way in which they are executed.
Looney Tunes Car Crash
3/10
The site of a race that’s totally not Nascar is one where people can usually expect crashes. One character is literally betting on it. Maybe this is his fault. The stadium the race is at needs repairs, and protagonist Nick can tell. A pitstop exit that happens too early causes everything to go absolutely mad, Tires fly and… pop people like balloons? It gets weirder. People get sliced in half, crushed, heck, an engine lands on someone to the sound of a cartoon stock sound of a falling anvil. One guy gets impaled on a big chunk of wood from a seat, and for shame that it was a 3d kill done in a cartoony manner, that would have been really cool! Tramplings occur, and nameless people taste the concrete. It’s an all-around shame the disaster turned out as it did, with all the practical work that went into it. This nightmare of could-have-beens gets rated a 3, saved by the fact that they had real practical effects go into the scene, even if it doesn’t really look like it.
Tire Of The Yeetmeister
7/10
This is a simplistic kill that could startle a person unaware that its going to happen. A tire flying out of the stadium hits the mechanic’s wife, Nadia, and decimates her on impact. The effect of her actually getting hit was not that good, admittedly, but the much more practical corpse they show after the event is much better looking. I’ll rate this death a 7, for the surprise factor and the corpse.
Justice Served
10/10
For some reason, we have a new character in this series named Carter. This Carter is a horrible, rancid person. This violently racist character is the epitome of just that. If you saw this man on the sidewalk, you would instinctively cross the street. Anyway, on to how he dies. He’s driving to security guard George’s house, who, may I add, Racist-Carter has been harassing pretty much every single time they’re in the same scene. Death gets to work while Racist-Carter is busy being racist. The truck begins driving on its own, playing Why Can’t We Be Friends through the speakers, giving this scene a coat of comedy. He gets caught by the truck’s hook and dragged on the street. If you are enjoying this karma for his actions, it gets better! Racist-Carter gets set on fire and explodes! This death gets a perfect 10 because it kills off a horrible person in an exact way said person deserves. Not only that, but the entire scene is expertly crafted so you’ll be laughing at him as he fries.
B̶i̶g̶ ̶B̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ Your Mother Is Watching You
7/10
So many salon red herrings. Just so many. Even a ceiling fan falls down, but that doesn’t hit the mother who had escaped the crash. Instead, she tells her little gremlins that she’s keeping her eye on them. Then those kids probably wished they didn’t throw those rocks into the lawn across the way, because one hits her eye like a heat-seeking missile and kills her instantly. It’s odd how Samantha dies, but her husband and kids do not. Perhaps, if the crash went down as death originally intended, they would have lived. This death earns a 7, deaths lined up with the character’s last words are always fun.
We Don’t Need Launch Codes Where We’re Going
4/10
Andy is the mechanic. You know, his wife got crushed like a goomba at the beginning of the film. He’s been having a hard time since then. During this scene, George’s character becomes the only one that’s actually fleshed out. Good for him. A gas tank goes off like a rocket, however, sending Andy flying into the fence, which cuts him up, just not as well as that barbed wire fence. Judging by what we see when chunks fall from Andy’s body, he doesn’t have a friend in him… or bones, for that matter. Another bad-looking death that looks better in behind-the-scenes shots. This scene will get a 4 out of 10 for that exact reason.
There’s A Joke Here, I Just Know It
8/10
After enduring a scene nobody wants in their horror movie (if their head is attached correctly, of course), it becomes the perfect time to kill Hunt… This should have happened earlier, but that isn’t the point. Hunt takes a kid’s water gun by force and disposes it in a manner that turns the pool pump on, and it goes on high. His lucky coin falls in the pool and he goes to retrieve it. He then finds himself seated on the turbocharged pool pump, which ends up sucking his organs out and blasting them all over somewhere else in the pool facility. I’ll rate this a respectable 8 out of 10, because of just how creative the scene is if you ignore the fact that the pressure on that thing was in maximum overdrive.
Splish Splash… Crunch
6/10
Hey, if you disliked how this movie’s characters were before, know there are TWO racist white men in this one! Thankfully this one’s barely present. He’s doing… something regarding a tub and a hospital. Who cares what it is. This hospital room he’s in is right above someone who survived when they shouldn’t have, but we didn’t know lived until now: the cowboy in the pink shirt. Water leaks into the cowboy’s hospital room, he’s there recovering from being found in the rubble. The guy, named Jonathan, manages to get out of the bed and begin his crawl in hopes of getting away. That does not happen. The bathtub instead just crushes him. This death earns a 6, because it’s… strange. Not bad, just strange.
Hehe, I Get It
7/10
Yeah, it’s a kill that blatantly is just the original bus kill again, but it was kinda funny… for what it’s worth. George is talking about his late wife and wouldn’t you know it, deja vu. He then gets hit by an ambulance. This kill technically occurs in this movie’s second premonition, but I’m counting it before the premonition overlook because it still happens. Shame this ends up taking the best character out of the movie. This death gets a 7 out of ten, however, because yes, it’s a copy-kill, but it’s self-aware and cleverly done, ambulance considered!
“Wow, This Movie Is In 4D!”
9/10
Here’s the second premonition, excluding George dying since this part got avoided. As the two useless girlfriend characters go to a movie at a mall theatre, there is lots of construction shown in and around the building. Nick finds where the girls are and insist that they are not safe. Then the theatre explodes because there was fire behind the screen and the criminally negligent placement of a lot of spontaneously combustible stuff in barrels. Nails and metal fly everywhere. The mall explodes multiple times, actually. One obliterates an escalator, which gives a kill where Lori gets crushed in its exposed gears. The gore even looks decent, finally! This earned a nine of ten for just how wild it was. Point deducted for the spontaneously combustible stuff.
Third Time’s the Charm
3/10
I can excuse the last imitation kill because of the self-awareness. Why again? The last three alive get killed by a truck, and the only good thing about it is that it leads right into the credits, and some x-rays showing their bones getting turned to a fine powder. That redeeming quality is the only reason this triple kill gets a 3. It even keeps up the joke!
Final Destination 5
The final movie, released in 2011, also has 3D effects. The difference here is this movie is generally way better. This film was directed by Steven Quale and written by Eric Heisserer, and they did a fantastic job. This film even has a little secret that will be revealed by the end of this next fatality lineup. Oh, and if this couldn’t get better, Bludworth is back!
This Isn’t London Bridge But Look At It Goes
10/10
While workers perform the equivalent of numerous surgeries on the bridge the paper company of main characters needs to cross, it becomes obvious that this… you know, shouldn’t be happening? The entire thing crumbles like a warm brownie, and for the people that like things like jam with their sweets, strawberry jam is about to cover this thing. People get impaled, unseen people get crushed, most likely, the bus falls into the water below, a falling car crushes someone, cables swing, and the company’s boss gets caked in tar. There’s even some pretty sweet parkour. This beauty earns a 10/10, it’s a masterpiece!
I See You Shudder In Antici…
9/10
This kill has gymnastics equipment, so you know this can only go… er… ‘well’. Candace is finishing up her high school gymnastics practice, and there’s a screw on the balance beam. A nice, long, suspenseful scene sits for a bit, but Candace is okay. For the moment. As the bars she swings and flips on squeak constantly, someone else gets on those beams, and they hit the screw! Chalk blows all over, and oh boy, you might have to start watching this movie because it is worth seeing with your own two eyes. With a crunchy noise, Candace folds in half like a futon. It’s quite a sight to behold. This gets a nine, as it’s one of this franchise’s finest. Say? Have I forgotten something in this section of the article? Oh, I remember! …pation.
Porcupine
9/10
Issac, the movie’s creeper, grabs a still-valid coupon to a spa run by Asian staff. He goes to the location and starts creepily hitting on the woman at the reception desk. Or, trying to do so. He gets an acupuncture treatment. Take a second to think about what acupuncture is, and then what movie franchise I am covering. Ready? Ready. A fire starts and the table moves just so the guy falls. He lands directly on his pins, which is thought some readers here today might be able to feel. Soon enough, a statue of the Buddha falls down from the shelf it was placed on, crushing Issac’s head. This death can get a nine. Notice how these last few kills are really good? Wish all of them were.
Just Wear Glasses… Or Contacts… Just Don’t Be Her
10/10
Oh boy! Another good kill! This one’s focus is on laser eye surgery. Olivia has a teddy bear for stress reasons and pulls its eye off. The doctor leaves her alone briefly. Olivia accidentally knocks down the remote, and the laser starts, burning at her eye. She even sacrifices her hand to save her other eye. When Sam and co. find her, she trips on the teddy bear’s eye on the floor, falling out of the window onto a car below. Somehow, the impact pops one of her eyes out, but it mirrors the plush toy, which is cool. This death gets a 10 out of 10, expertly turning something many people look forward to into a source of horror.
Yarr! A Hook Be In Yer Head!
7/10
It’s not that kind of hook, but a hook is a hook. Nathan and Roy are having a dispute in the workplace, but the former notices things turning deadly, and tries to save Roy. That doesn’t actually happen, of course, and Roy falls down and gets impaled through the skull. While not as good as this movie’s past kills, this one earns a seven, since it’s still pretty good!
A Wrench In The System
6/10
This kill is sudden, the good sudden. A wrench gets launched into the skull of Dennis, the paper company’s boss. Plain and simple. Not much more commentary to it. Still worthy of a 6.
Fly Like A (Desert) Eagle
1/10
And don’t look now, but this kill is lame enough to rival that brick. Agent Block, who had a side plot going for a while, gets shot by Peter. That’s all. One out of ten.
His Plans Now Askew
2/10
This is barely better. Peter gets stabbed through the back with a skewer as an act of heroism. Good job, Sam… I guess. Because it was similar to Sam himself getting repeatedly impaled by rebar in the premonition, this can have a 2.
One Fate Overthrown
9/10
Oh, here we go. Molly and Sam get on a plane to go to Paris. A fight breaks out, and people are removed from the cabin… hey! Wait a minute! I know this plane! Yes, Final Destination 5 is a prequel. The second they realize, the plane burns up. Molly gets sucked out and sliced by the wings, and Sam burns up. This gets a 9 for the great twist ending, and the real emotion in the scene.
Plot Hooks And Break Downs
7/10
It is not over yet. Nathan is alive, and apparently, his accidental removal of himself from death’s list was for nothing. Apparently, Roy was going to die anyway, from an enlarged blood vessel. A piece of Flight 180 falls and crushes poor Nathan, earning the kill a solid 7, as it closes all the loose ends, and is a touch realistic considering how the plane deconstructed midair.
And there you have it. Every death and premonition in the five Final Destination movies ranked. The legendary weighed against the forgettable. Take this as a sign you should check these films out (maybe skipping the fourth for obvious reasons)! Feel free to branch out as well and look for other horror movies with interesting premises, like The Belko Experiment, Rec, and others. Until next time!
