The Correct Order To Watch The Final Destination Movies
The "Final Destination" franchise may be shorter than most of the big horror hitters, but it has one of the best batting averages in a horror franchise. Every movie plays with the formula in cool and interesting ways without the need for easily merchandised iconography. Even the so-called "worst" one in the franchise at least has some cool death scenes, while the rest are some of the most fun you can have with a horror movie.
And like most horror franchises, the "Final Destination" franchise has some entries with less than obvious titles. This can make it a bit confusing for newcomers to know exactly what order to watch the movies in. If that applies to you, then fret not. But if it does, don't even try to get Lasik surgery, or drive behind logging trucks until you have watched these movies.
Instead, check out this guide for the best order to watch the "Final Destination" movies!
The right order
Unlike, say, the "Fast & Furious" movies with their nonsensical naming conventions, the "Final Destination" franchise is pretty straightforward. The right way to watch the movies is chronologically.
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"Final Destination" (2000)
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"Final Destination 2" (2003)
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"Final Destination 3" (2006)
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"The Final Destination" (2009)
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"Final Destination 5" (2011)
The first "Final Destination" follows Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), a teenager who has a premonition of a plane explosion and manages to save himself and several of his classmates before his vision comes to pass — until Death starts coming after those who were meant to die on the plane.
In "Final Destination 2," a woman cheats death after having a premonition of a highway pile-up until the survivors start dying off. In the third one, it's a roller coaster disaster, while "The Final Destination" features a stock car race that kills all but the person with a premonition and those who freak out and exit just in time. The final film in the franchise (for now) has a suspension bridge collapse as its initial disaster, and a shocking twist ending that you'll never see coming.
In death there are no accidents
Even though the "Final Destination" movies are mostly standalone, the best way to watch them is in chronological order because there are some connection between them — other than the fourth film which doesn't directly tie into any of the others.
Indeed, what makes the "Final Destination" franchise so effective as horror is how inevitable the deaths feel. There is no demon trying to possess a kid, no serial killer that can be shot. Instead, the villain is, well, death itself. If you're on the list, you're done for. No matter what clever little loophole the characters can think of, they can only delay the inevitable. In death, there are no accidents.
To make that point even clearer, most of the movies motivate the events of each other, with the characters discovering they are somehow connected to the events of the previous films, and they were always just meant to die. In order for the severity of the inevitability to really sink in, you need to watch the movies in release order to see how the events of the first film continue to echo and impact what comes after.