Bursting onto the screen in 2000, Final Destination sees a group of survivors who narrowly escaped a devastating accident, after one of them has a vision of this disaster. What proceeds is a slasher movie like no other. Each survivor begins getting picked off one-by-one, by an invisible, wind-blowing, John Denver-playing entity. We soon learn that this entity is the Grim Reaper himself; Death. Death hunts its victims, before claiming their lives in many over-the-top grisly deaths.
The rest of the franchise follows the same plot and formula as the first, with a few interesting twists and turns to keep the five films fresh and intriguing. But, what shot the franchise to its success, was the many unexpected and creative deaths we see in the films. From a tire falling from the sky, a bus that appears out of nowhere, and a truly shocking twist, here are the most unexpected deaths from each movie in the franchise.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Terry Catches The Bus - Final Destination (2000)
New Line Cinema
The first film in the genre was the most grounded, and was far more interested in genuine horror as opposed to the over-the-top nature of later films in the series. The mythology of the story is deeply explored in the first film, compared to some lackluster attempts later on in the franchise, and as we unravel the mystery and mythology, the film becomes far more intriguing. The lack of tension and discussion of “Deaths Design” led audiences to relax in their seats, thinking no one can die in this scene, but what we are left with is one of the most shocking and unexpected death scenes in the horror genre.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
In the scene, we see the group discuss"Death’s Design", which causes an argument with the group, as many don’t quite believe what they are hearing. As things start to get a little more heated, Terry (Amanda Deter) begins to storm off, giving a few fitting final words before being run down by a bus, which seems to appear out of nowhere.
4 BBQ Blowout - Final Destination 2 (2003)
In true Final Destination fashion, the film doesn’t finish with a happy ending, and instead shocks audiences with an explosive death scene. This is a brief scene with characters we haven’t spent much time with, accompanied by a lack of tension and a false sense of hope, causing the audience to relax in their seats, before delivering an explosive and shocking death scene
Kimberly (A.J Cook) and Thomas (Michael Landes) are seen having a BBQ after a truly terrifying and “killer” summer. Escaping Death, they are both calm and relaxed, but after Brian’s dad lets it slip that Ryan saved Brian from getting hit by a truck, causing Brian to escape death, Kimberly and Thomas both quickly look over as Ryan is grilling on the BBQ moments before he explodes into pieces sending his body parts sailing through the air. The cherry on top to this already shocking scene is Brian’s BBQ’d arm lands right in front of his mom, causing her to scream, resulting in a truly great way to end an exciting and shocking horror movie.
3 Impaled By a Flag Pole - Final Destination 3 (2006)
While not being a very memorable death, with a character that we were introduced to only moments before, gives this scene the title of being the most unexpected and shocking death in Final Destination 3. The scene serves up great misdirection to the audience, heightening its tension and suspense by having many of the main characters having near-misses with death, and skipping many of them in the process.
In the scene, a horse gets spooked by the fireworks at McKinley’s 30 Years of Freedom Parade, dragging a rope with a large wooden stake at the end of it. This gets tangled around Julie’s neck, dragging her along the field and almost into a wheel of spikes, before Kevin can cut the rope, causing death to skip Julie. This left whoever sat next to her on the rollercoaster in Death’s vision. We learn only seconds later that it was Julie’s friend Perry, who immediately gets impaled by a flag pole.
2 Flattened By Tire - The Final Destination (2009)
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Final Destination isn’t necessarily the best in the franchise, but it does serve up some of the best and most unexpected kills. More specifically with this completely shocking death scene towards the beginning of the movie. Usually in the Final Destination franchise, the characters who managed to prevent their deaths in a devastating accident are typically not going to die until later in the film. However, The Final Destination successfully switched up the formula and immediately killed off a character in a very unexpected fashion. We’re relaxed and at ease after our main characters have avoided their run-in with Death for the first time, and there is a calming lack of tension, which immediately gets thrown out the window when one of the characters is crushed by a flying tire.
After warning our main characters of the inevitable crash at a NASCAR race, many of the characters begin to call Nick (Bobby Campo) out and start arguing with him in typical Final Destination fashion. Explosions are suddenly heard from inside the arena, with Nick having an “I told you so” moment, while Hunt (Nick Zano) expresses his disappointment about not seeing the crash. The unnamed mechanic’s girlfriend (Stephanie Honoe) begins exclaiming, “Have you all lost your minds?” before getting crushed in two by an enormous tire that comes crashing down from the sky. The scene immediately cuts to an awesome 2000s’ hard rock intro, consisting of Mortal Kombat-style X-rays of all the best deaths in the series.
1 The Plane Crash - Final Destination 5 (2011)
This shocking death scene works in so many ways. For one, it’s a truly great twist that nobody saw coming; the two characters that die are possibly some of the best characters in the franchise, and had a great relationship and chemistry throughout the film. Yet again, there is an extreme lack of tension, with a calming and hopeful score that accompanies it. But, as soon as we hear “Dust In The Wind” by Kansas, we are immediately filled with shock and dread.
The scene sees Molly Harper (Emma Bell) and Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) as they get on a plane to fly to Paris, so Sam can pursue his dream of opening a restaurant there. We soon hear a kerfuffle, as the camera cuts to the scene from the very first Final Destination as Alex (Devon Sawa) is being dragged off the plane for having a vision. Not thinking anything of it, Sam puts on his headphones as he attempts to fall asleep, before the iconic songplays, which causes Sam to freak out, and immediately think something is wrong. It isn’t long before the plane’s engine catches fire and the side of the plane explodes open, causing Molly to fly out of the plane as Sam burns to death before the screen cuts to black, leaving many shocked faces in the audience.
