In The Final Destination universe, death likes to get creative — and anything, even a rubber fish, can become the potential catalyst for a torturous demise.
For those not in the know, the first film came out in 2000 and became an instant classic of millennium-era horror. The idea behind it is simple: A group of friends escape death after one has a premonition — but the reaper doesn’t give up so easily, turning the world into a Kevin McAllister-style death trap to rectify its list.
Conceived by American screenwriter and director Jeffrey Reddick, it was originally written as a spec script for the X-Files, and inspired by a news story about a woman that skipped a flight after her mother had a premonition.
Most of the death scenes follow a Rube Goldberg recipe of (sinister) chain reactions that play with our expectations. Everything and everyone becomes a potential threat: leaking pipes, precariously placed electrical appliances, a man mowing the lawn. The ways to die are endless — and when executed right, remain core to the franchise’s enduring appeal.
The sixth instalment, Final Destination: Bloodlines, is due to be released on the 14 May, and recently broke records as the second most viewed horror film trailer of all time. The plot follows the deathly premonitions of college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), who discovers they are an inherited curse — the doomed cycle of which she must try to break once and for all.
In anticipation, we’ve ranked the top ten death scenes from the five films so far. There were a lot to choose from, and honourable mentions must go to the clothesline strangulation in Final Destination, the elevator decapitation in Final Destination 2, and the guts evacuation scene in The Final Destination (slim pickings from that one).
If the following scenes have taught us anything, it’s that you really can’t cheat death — but it sure is fun/disgusting watching people try.
10: Plane crash disaster (Final Destination)
The death scene that started it all — Alex Browning’s (Devon Sawa) plane crash premonition. This sets in motion what makes the franchises’ premise work so well: That gnawing sense of dread through lingering shots on specific details, like the plane doors being shut and unstable overhead lockers. It cunningly cultivates a sense of claustrophobia that signals sinister forces at play — but what lets this particular scene down is the actual deaths. There’s a body flying from the aircraft, one bloody splatter, and a lot of fire, resulting in Alex’s head sizzling to a crusty pulp (badly aged CGI will be a theme here!) It’s a chaotic rush that doesn’t meet the tension fostered — but still remains one of horror’s most memorable openings.
9. Airbag-triggered impalement (Final Destination 2)
After surviving a car accident, Kat (Keegan Connor Tracy) is trapped inside. As EMTs arrive, the scene lulls us into a false sense of relief, bouncing the focus between other characters. It also starts setting us up, unknowingly, for another character’s death, confusing expectations. By the time the death finally happens — Jaws of Life causing airbag deployment causing head impalement by jagged pole — it catches you completely off guard with its abruptness. Side note: This movie really gave us so many complexes about being impaled in cars.
8. Suspension bridge sayonara (Final Destination 5)
After the disappointment ofThe Final Destination, the 5th film surprised fans with its innovativeness. While a lot can be said for that twist ending (no 14-year-old spoilers here), the opening remains a highlight. You’ve got a suspension bridge crumbling quicker than a soggy cookie as characters are being impaled by sailboat masts, liquidised by molten tar, and sliced in half by a sheet of metal. It’s a frenzy of gruesome freakiness — and even if the CGI is questionable, it’s a lot of fun.
7. Uhoh spaghettiO (Final Destination 2)
The universe can be so cruel. Even if Evan (David Paetkau) is the kind of guy that microwaves day-old noodles without first checking for magnets, he’d just won the lottery and bought a bunch of fancy new accessories. Life was looking up — but, like a twisted player of The Sims, death was looking down. After getting his hand stuck in the waste disposal plug and setting the apartment on fire, Evan last-minute escapes through a fire exit… Then slips on some spaghetti and ends up pierced through the eyeballs by a ladder. This set-up is great because it’s so goofy; an onslaught of comedic near-misses that never lose sight of their punchline.
6. Death gets the ultimate flex (Final Destination 3)
Gym bros will tell you lifting weights solves everything — but death would disagree. As Lewis (Texas Battle) aggressively pumps iron on a machine with swords hanging above it (where is health and safety in this place?) the scene also has us sweating over leaks and a wobbly CD player. When the swords inevitably fall, slicing the machine’s mechanisms, Lewis remains miraculously unscathed. But as he shouts, “Fuck death! That’s all I do baby, I just win!” — we know what’s coming. The beats here are perfect, and the final grisly head squash is hilariously satisfying.
5. Pigeons and pane (Final Destination 2)
The dentist is never fun, but Tim’s (Jim Kirk) trip turns into an all-out nightmare as he almost chokes on a rubber fish while pigeons kamikaze into windows. What’s great about this one is the set-up is slow and full of the usual unsubtle foreboding — but it also makes us think, for a minute, that death has once again been beaten. It’s a momentary relief that’s quickly shattered when a large pane of glass falls on Tim’s head, flattening him into a bloody puddle. We’ll just never understand why his urge to run into those pigeons was so strong.
4. Death teaches a lesson (Final Destination)
If death is out to get you, the kitchen has got to be one of the worst places to be. Poor teacher Miss Lewton (Kristen Close) learns this the hard way, as her impending demise unravels through a series of cartoonish errors. A kettle sinisterly whistles, a mug cracks, vodka leaks onto a monitor that explodes — sending a shard of glass straight to Miss Lewton’s neck. In a desperate scramble, she pulls a block of knives onto herself before a falling chair casts the final blow. further impaled by a falling chair as the rest of her house goes up in flames to the sound of John Denver. It encapsulates everything that’s so fun about these movies — the characterisation of death as an evil little freak.
3. Spine-splitting gymnastics (Final Destination 5)
This one really raised the bar (pun intended) for Final Destination death scenes. As gymnast Candice (Ellen Wroe) prepares to practice her routines, a symphony of potential catastrophes join the warm up. Poles rattle and creak under pressure, screws shiver loose onto beams, overhead fans grumble, while liquid drips from a pipe onto exposed cable. Every moment is so textured with near-miss tension that when the sudden brutality of Candice’s death hits — a spine-snapping crash landing — it feels all the more shocking.
ADVEReadNOWISEMENT2. Tanning bed trauma (Final Destination 2)
If the risk of skin cancer wasn’t enough to stop people using tanning beds, this scene sure should be! Ashley and Ashlyn (Chelan Simmons and Crystal Lowe) are your classic Paris Hilton-era hotties who get cooked alive after an incoming call on a Nokia triggers a coat stand to fall, trapping them both. From the kitschy character details to the swift shift into their slow-burning terror, this death scene remains a stand-out for its creativity. It also gifted us one of cinema’s most poetic transitions: an overhead shot of two burning tanning beds replaced with the sombre stillness of two coffins. Haunting, genuinely.
1. Logs of doom (Final Destination 2)
It’s a bit of a stretch, but you could say the log lady from Twin Peaks prophesied this one long before Kimberly (A. J. Cook): “Shut your eyes and you’ll burst into flames.” However, while Margaret’s log did not judge — the one’s in this scene are out to kill.
Some might argue that this is a cliche choice for number one, but the sheer impact it had on an entire generation cannot be denied. How many of us remain terrified of driving behind log trucks? It’s not exactly a common occurrence, but still!
It’s also genuinely the best opening disaster of all the films. The log impalement’s quick escalation into a cataclysmic road traffic disaster is full of violent chaos and explosions straight out of a 90s action movie.
ADVEReadNOWISEMENTWhether it’s the novelty of a new fear unlocked, or the more realistic nature of a road traffic accident, this scene scarred our collective consciousness. No offence, log truckers.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is scheduled for release on 14 and 16 May in most European territories.