The First ‘Final Destination’ Is Still the Best in the Horror Franchise

Audiences recently flocked to movie theaters to revisit one of their favorite horror movie franchises. Final Destination made its much-deserved comeback with Final Destination Bloodlines, the sixth installment in the series and the first in over 14 years. It went just as everyone expected: a shared theatrical experience where excessive gore and intricate kills were met with laughs.

It was a reunion that many had been waiting for. For years, the prospect of a new Final Destination movie kept everyone guessing what they would do next. The expectations were always “Will they outdo what they did before?” And yes, in Bloodlines, some things were outdone. Some stunts were more elaborate, and some scenes made people squirm more than before. However, the record-smashing movie, which has also become the franchise’s highest-ranked entry on Rotten Tomatoes, was a reminder that 25 years ago, the best Final Destination movie was released. Not only is James Wong’s Final Destination the best in the series, but it also remains the most interesting execution of its main idea. At the turn of the century, death didn’t need to be as meticulous as it became in the following movies.

‘Final Destination’ Has Great Characters, a Bleak Tone, and a Faceless Killer

Spoilers ahead for Final Destination (2000).Final Destination was created by New Line Cinema in the year 2000, right as Scream was still dominating the horror market, The Sixth Sense presented the high-end version of the genre, and The Blair Witch Project proved that not following formulas can also work. The film, starring relatively unknown young actors at the time, marked New Line’s return to the horror genre after years of relative absence. The original concept was so interesting, and New Line saw so much potential, that the studio allocated $23 million to producer Glen Morgan and director James Wong for what was essentially their Hollywood debut.

The result was a film that broke rules. First, its opening sequence was a gnarly test that saw its main characters die horribly. A plane crash sounds horrific, but witnessing it from the perspective of helpless victims is even worse. But then, there was relief. Alex had just had a nightmare. “It was all a dream,” viewers said as they breathed their first breath in minutes. The disturbed teen left the plane with a few of his peers, who also disembarked for various reasons. Minutes later, the plane blew up, and the airport’s windows were smashed by the shock wave. They all stared at Alex in absolute panic. Their lives had been saved. But their savior didn’t know how. He was also in shock.

Final Destination then turned into a suspense film that saw a group of teenagers trying to solve the riddle of death, and its design was unbreakable. It features lots of Rube Goldberg-like kills, foreshadowing, and plot twists that were too exciting to let some minor plot holes bother anyone. In the end, when Alex and the other survivors thought they had finally outsmarted death, a final scene proved this was just the beginning. The cheers were loud enough for New Line to hear, and the film officially became a franchise.

However, the first movie in the Final Destination series is still the best execution of its concept and ideas. Five sequels later, fans inevitably look back with nostalgia at the film that changed the teen horror landscape and presented a concept so simple, it’s almost illogical that it wasn’t part of a Twilight Zone episode already. But why is the first one still more important than the ones that came after?

Why the First ‘Final Destination’ Is the Franchise’s Most Interesting Movie

Final Destination

Release Date

March 17, 2000

Runtime

98 minutes

Director

James Wong

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  Kristen Cloke

  Valerie Lewton

For once, compelling characters in horror. The teenagers are not a bunch of idiots running around trying to outrun a slasher killer. They’re well-developed, and you feel for them when it’s their turn. Even Carter, the annoying jock who manages to “survive.” Additionally, most main characters are named after a horror icon (Browning, Hitchcock, Schreck, Dreyer, etc.), which sits well with any horror fan.

The film also runs in a serious tone that stays strong throughout the movie. Billy Hitchcock, clearly the comic relief character, tones down the laughs and meets death in the movie’s most graphic kill. There’s no laughing when trying to escape fate. The psychological tension is palpable as the film flows into the final act, which mercifully avoids overstaying its welcome.

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14 Years Later, One Crazy Twist Made That Divisive ‘Final Destination’ Movie Actually Pretty Good

‘Final Destination 5’ could’ve easily been more of the same, but an ending plot twist made it one of the best entries of the franchise.

What’s important, and still relevant, about the first Final Destination is that it feels like a standalone movie in a series whose value kept fading off with mindless plots and mostly cartoonish kills. The original focused on a character’s desperate need to make sense of the inexplicable and to find meaning in his unique connection to death’s design. The paranoia spread to the supporting characters, but they never felt like disposable parts of the formula.

There is simply nothing like seeing a Final Destination film in theaters for the first time. Though Bloodlines is a great entry in the franchise, the first film set the standard for the series. Final Destination is streaming on Max. Final Destination Bloodlines is in theaters now.