Now that there’s a sixth installment of the Final Destination franchise on its way called Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), it’s time to revisit all the deaths in the previous five movies. Starting with where it all began Final Destination (2000).

While it’s a slasher, it’s not about who, because we all know it’s Death itself, but the how. It’s all about in which original, gruesome, or creative fun ways the  characters are going to get killed. 

Each movie has to come up with even more original deaths, a bigger bodycount, and  much bloodier as we slash our way through the franchise.

The plot of all the Final Destination films is simple. Someone gets a vision about a horrible accident about to happen and warns others, so they can escape with their lives. But not for long. Because according to Death’s design they also should have died. So now Death is coming for them and one by one they die a maybe even more horrible death, but certainly a much more creative one. 

So let’s start with the movie which set everything in motion (or did it?)

Plot

Alex is about to go an a field trip to Paris with his classmates and four teachers. But as soon as he settles in his seat he gets a vision of the plane exploding right after take-off. Although it was all a dream, when he wakes he sees the exact same signs as he saw in his vision and panics. Trying to warn everybody to get off the plane, he gets into a fight with his classmate Carter and they both have to leave the plane, along with Terry Carter’s girlfriend, Tod Alex’ best friend, Billy who just stands in their way by accident, Clear a classmate who believes Alex and teacher Valerie Lewton. They are not allowed back on the plane and to their surprise they see it explode in the air right after take-off with no survivors except the seven of them. Now their survival is about to start.

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Death number 1: Tod

Tod is the first to go. While in the bathroom, a fluid is leaking from the toilet, following him around, trying to electrocute him, but fails. But the fluid finally manages to let him  slip and Tod falls in the bathtub. So now Death has to improvise a bit. There’s a clothesline hanging above the bathtub and it breaks and wraps itself around Tod’s neck, choking him. It’s a rather elaborate scene with multiple attempts from Death but he eventually gets the job done. Poor Tod. 

A death that involves some accidents that could happen in real life, but mixed with some supernatural help from Death, delivers a great first Death scene. It paves the way for even more creative deaths. 

Death number 2: Terry

Next up is Terry. Although Alex has figured out that this is all Death’s Design and they have to find the pattern to cheat Death, it’s too late for Terry. She is simply hit by a bus. It’s a very quick death, very sudden and bloody. 

But it’s also a very unoriginal death. So the next one has to be much more creative. 

Death number 3: Miss Lewton

When Alex has found out that Death is killing them in the same order as they would have died on the plane, he figures Miss Lewton is next. She’s moving out of town and is packing up but she is very very careless. She surely does make it easy for Death. He even can pick the most fun way to kill her off. 

She throws a towel on a set of knives. She doesn’t check if the gas is off after making tea. She pours cold liquid into a mug that previously was filled with hot water, so it breaks. She leaks alcohol on the floor and into the computer. And in doing so she is setting herself up for a complex death. 

But Death knows how to play with all of these dangerous deadly factors. First the computer explodes sending a shard of glass into her neck. She stumbles, while the fire follows the alcohol trail back to the stove, and she grabs for the towel to stop the bleeding, causing the set of knives to fall right on top of her, impaling her. And to top it all off, the house explodes. 

This really is a very elaborate scene, a bit far fetched, but rather funny due to her own  carelessness. Death had it very easy this time. He could just choose the most fun way to kill her, and it would be part her own fault. Death really liked this one. It was bloody, messy, long and it kept you guessing which deathtrap would finally kill her. 

Death number 4: Billy

Now only four of them are left, they have to figure out a way to stay alive. While Clear, Alex and Billy are in Carter’s car, Carter gets very upset and they all are afraid he wants to kill himself by crashing his car and take them along with him. But he doesn’t crash his car, no he simply stops the car on the train tracks. And a train is coming. Luckily Alex, Clear and Billy get out of the car. But Carter refuses. So Alex tries to save him. Although Death tries his best to prevent the rescue, Alex succeeds. Carter is saved. Did they stop the chain of death? 

No. Because while Carter has escaped with his life, Death has skipped him. That unfortunately means for Billy that he is next. 

Meanwhile the train is rushing by and has hit the car. The rushing train stirs up a piece a debris from the car, sending it flying and eventually decapitates Billy. 

This is a very surprising death. Bet you didn’t see that coming. And although Death has to let one go, he quickly pulls his act together and seizes the chance to kill off the next in line. It’s a little twist, and the most graphic death of all the kills in this movie. 

Death number 5: Carter

Three more to go. Now that Alex realizes that if you intervene, Death will skip that saved person and that person has cheated Death. So he tries to intervene with Clear’s upcoming Death. Alex battles a loose electric wire, that is actually trying to kill Clear, while gasoline on fire is reaching for the car Clear is sitting in. When the car is about to explode, Alex grabs the electrical wire so Clear can escape, and in doing so he is sacrificing himself. Alex gets blown away by the explosion, but luckily is revived by two FBI agents. So both Clear and Alex have escaped. But did they really?

It sure does seem so when six months later the three of them take a trip to Paris, but  of course Death is not giving up. Death has a design and all the time in the world. So Death tries again. Alex is almost hit by a bus, but Carter intervenes skipping Alex once more.  But life is carousel. Death just starts the cycle again and just before the end credits roll, a big neon billboard is coming for Carter. 

Ranking the five deaths

So five deaths and two survivors, for now. Death no.1 is the most paranormal of the bunch, although a bit elaborate but still, it could happen. It’s improbable, but not impossible. Death no.2 is the quickest and is already over before you know it. If you blinked, you missed it. Although bloody, hardly noteworthy. Death no. 3 is the most elaborate with an accumulation of stupid actions and a bit over the top. But still very fun and anticipating to watch. Death no.4 is the most graphic and surprising one of all and perhaps the one that evokes the biggest short hard laugh. And the last Death, no.5 is hardly on screen at all. It only sets in motion the ongoing fight for survival. 

My verdict is that this film has a good start, a good set-up story for the rest of the franchise, You can see all the possibilities that are yet to come. With only five deaths, and two of them rather quick and one of them not even on screen, there are only two death scenes in the running for best kill of this movie. My personal favorite would be the death of Miss Lewton. She’s an adult and should know better than to create all kinds of death traps for herself. It was fun guessing which one would finally kill her in this minefield of traps. And they kinda actually all did kill her. And it was topped of with a big explosion. What more do you need?

Well a sequel of Final Destination of course. 

Read more about Final Destination:

• Final Destination (2000) review
• Final Destination 2 (2003) ranking all deaths
• Final Destination 3 (2006) ranking all deaths
• The Final Destination (2009) ranking all deaths
• Final Destination 5 (2011) ranking all deaths