While the series is prolific for its incredible and gruesome deaths, the Final Destination franchise truly made a name for itself with the over-the-top major disasters at the start of every movie. Every movie in the franchise would open in very similar ways. Our main character has a premonition of a terrifying and elaborate disaster, before waking up screaming in fear and terror. The main protagonist of the film would then run away from the scene in a panic with many characters following them. This then leads to all the main characters escaping a grisly accident, but it isn’t long until they are picked off one-by-one by Death itself.
Each premonition would hone in on very real fears, such as flying on an airplane, driving down a highway, or going on a rollercoaster, and if you aren’t afraid before watching this movie, you will most certainly be afraid after witnessing the horrific, but very realistic deaths. With a sixth installment currently in development, here are all the major disasters of the franchise ranked from worst to best.
5 McKinley Speedway - The Final Destination (2009)
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Final Destination released at a time we can all remember, when almost every single horror franchise released a 3D installment in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Final Destination was the franchise’s answer to that popular trend. However, because of this, the McKinley Speedway scene is labeled by many as being the worst main disasters in the franchise, due to it being a very CGI-heavy scene, with many unnecessary bits of debris and body parts flying towards the camera, making the scene feel cheesy. On top of this, the disasters in the franchise typically focus on a fear we many encounter on a day-to-day basis, adding a level of horror to the movies. But there aren’t many people who will find themselves at a speedway race fairly often.
The deaths in the scene don’t feel as creative or memorable as the other movies, with the majority of people just being crushed by debris, alongside the cartoonish CGI animations that ultimately make the scene unrealistic and may take you out of the movie. The scene altogether, feels more like a hilarious cartoon sketch as opposed to a terrifying and gruesome disaster scene.
4 The North Bay Bridge Collapse - Final Destination 5 (2011)
As a vast improvement to the McKinley Speedway disaster, the bridge collapse scene has far more memorable deaths, and overall feels much more terrifying. While yes, this scene is still heavy with CGI, the CG feels less cartoonish and far less egregious. This premonition is far more relatable, increasing the fear factor of the scene. The deaths are much more creative and memorable, with Peter getting impaled by a few too many metal bars, as well as his girlfriend, Candice, who falls off the bridge and lands on a boat’s sharp sail, spitting out tons of blood towards the camera. Along with David Koechner’s character Dennis, who gets brutally burned alive by molten tar. Before finally, our main protagonist Sam gets chopped in half, leading into a pretty gnarly transition.
The North Bay Bridge Collapse may not be at the forefront of fans minds when they think of the franchise, but with pretty great CGI, a relatable fear, along with many creative and gruesome deaths, the opening scene to the fifth installment in the franchise is a terrifying and entertaining spectacle to watch.
3 Flight 180 - Final Destination (2000)
New Line Cinema
As the first ever disaster in the Final Destination franchise, the iconic flight 180 disaster is simple and effective, making the original high school horror movie, an instant cult classic. The flight 180 disaster, is certainly the most grounded and relatable disaster in the franchise, which has since led the scene to be hailed as one of the scariest horror movie openings of all time. The deaths in the scene are far more tame as opposed to how outlandish the series eventually gets, while yes, the deaths are terrifying, with people being thrown out of the plane and being burned alive, it is the horrifying screams that will send shivers down your spine, leaving many audience members wincing in their seat.
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2 The Devil’s Flight Rollercoaster Disaster - Final Destination 3 (2006)
The Devil’s Flight rollercoaster disaster is certainly one of the most popular disasters in the franchise, shocking and terrifying audiences, with another relatable fear along with some truly gruesome deaths. Before the scene even begins, we are filled with uncomfortable tension, with many warning signs of the characters impending dooms. Not to mention, the fans’ already overwhelming fear of roller coasters, which only enhanced the tension adding another layer of fear to the film, before the disaster even began.
The scene then begins with Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) reluctantly getting on the roller coaster before the idiotic and inappropriate Randy Cheeks pulls out his camera (which he was told wasn’t allowed) that then gets tangled in the tracks, causing the devastating crash. The deaths in the scene are terrifying and uncomfortable to watch. Many characters struggle to keep their harnesses down, causing most to fly out. Two characters stand up and immediately get cut in half, and there are a terrifying few long moments where our last remaining characters are dangling upside down in a scene, which makes the fear of riding roller coasters very understandable.
1 The Route 23 Disaster - Final Destination 2 (2003)
The Route 23 disaster is the most impressive disaster in the franchise. The scene is filled with many brutal deaths, a surprising amount of explosions, and is responsible for creating a new fear with audiences, that they didn’t know they had. This is the scene that made everyone terrified of driving behind a truck carrying large tree logs. The terrifying lack of music, the sounds of screeching tires, the load explosions and horrifying screams, add another layer of fear and tension to this spectacularly-explosive set. As an added bonus, the majority of the scene is practical, making the scene feel far more real.
The deaths in the scene stand out from the rest for being creative and so incredibly brutal, with Officer Burke getting impaled by a huge tree log; Rory crashing his car before getting obliterated by a huge indestructible truck, as well as Eugene getting crushed by his own motorcycle. This is a brutal, horrifying, and explosive scene, which earns it the title of being the best disaster in the franchise.
