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The 10 Best "Final Destination" Death Scenes


Give the creators of the carnage-loaded, 2000 hit Final Destination some credit: They dreamed up the ultimate horror movie villain. Unlike slashers such as Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, who could ideally be blown up or sliced into pieces (the key word being “ideally”), the antagonist in the irrepressible Final Destination series literally can’t be stopped, and that’s because it’s Death. Cleverly, though, the filmmakers never give the Grim Reaper any sort of physical form; it’s simply an unseen, destructive force that always manages to kill its prey. And what does that mean? Endless sequel potential.

As the Final Destination tradition goes, Death—such a character in these movies that it deserves to be a pronoun—systematically offs survivors of a full-scale disaster, lucky bastards dissuaded away from the homicidal master plan by a suddenly clairvoyant lead character. The soon-to-be cadavers in past entries have avoided, in chronological order, an airplane explosion, a highway automobile pileup, a defective rollercoaster, and a multi-car accident on a racetrack that turns the bleachers into a collection of severed limbs.

The latest sequel, Final Destination 5, follows a similar pattern, only this time the protagonists sidestep a collapsing suspension bridge. And then it’s a succession of crowd-pleasing slaughter that includes laser eye surgery and acupuncture. Will Final Destination 5’s money-shots best those of its predecessors? We’ll find out this weekend—don’t act like you’re not as shamefully excited as we are to see it. Until then, though, let’s see what the fifth one’s up against by counting down the 10 Best Final Destination Death Scenes.

9 Comments | Add a comment

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    jairus formilles August 9th, 2011 at 09:33 PM

    . . .this is so cool !

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    neilicus August 9th, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    I love the 'Final Destination' movies and will likely see the fifth one this weekend or next week. Great list, by the way. Two things, though: Your #3 pick overlooks the surprise factor that you didn't know it was Frankie Cheeks in the first car in the drive-thru until he dies. You think Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the male lead are safe once they climb out of the truck's window and narrowly avoid Death and that just some sad sap in the next car died . . . until they see the keychain and put it together. Also, in #2, I'm pretty sure the characters running towards Tim and his Mom are yelling at him to stay away from pigeons. He hears them say pigeons, sees the pigeons and runs towards them. So while's he's clearly easily amused, he wasn't distracted by them, as you seem to paint him. Finally, I think it's criminal that you left out the death by nail gun scene from 'Final Destination 3.' Another great example of a big, ridiculously Mouse Trap-esque buildup and a slight, albeit fast misdirect (when everything topples on to the teens but they seemed okay) before the girl's head becomes a hiding place for nails. A great, gory and cringe-worthy scene.

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    mrdeadhead August 10th, 2011 at 01:03 AM

    totally agree with #1, by far the best in the series. and to give, Final Destination 4 some credit, it was almost worth it just for the 3D x-ray recreations of all the deaths from the previous movies in the credits.

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    paruka August 10th, 2011 at 05:50 AM

    i like the final destination film series and like the 3d element it adds to the shock of how they die. i cant wait to watch this installment as i think its gonna be another favourite installment|http://t.co/UHVCwv3

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    EJP August 10th, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    How? HOW?? How can you not include either the bitchy, hot chick getting killed by the airbag set off by the jaws of life -- "OK, I'll just put it on quiet mode." HAHA OR OR OR the kid getting killed by the fence, COMPLETE with cut/slide, right afterwards? It's actually kind of the same scene. It's a TWO-FER!! That should be on here over ANY of the choices that are here...

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    Nick August 10th, 2011 at 04:05 PM

    How could you forget the irony of the first death scene in The Final Destination? Where the racist guy is being dragged down the street on fire with 'Why Can't We Be Friends' playing in the background?

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    Tia August 12th, 2011 at 02:59 AM

    I've got my *eye* on you two. xD Ironic.

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    Leo August 21st, 2011 at 04:55 AM

    ..

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    Zoe January 15th, 2012 at 03:07 PM

    Apparently nobody found Ian Mckinley's death to be that great. I loved it. The fact that in the end he was flipping them off in death was just great. It was another one of those cut off monologues (like the bus scene in the first movie) that just made the scene so great. I also really liked the teacher (aka the black guy) in the second movie. He almost dies in the car crash right? So then he gets in the hospital and almost dies again...but he's saved with the whole born baby ordeal and then he just dies. (taking clear with him of course) he was one of the only guys I felt sorry about dying. And then there was the racist guy in the fourth movie. dragged down the street with the song 'Why Can't We Be Friends' playing after trying to burn a cross in a black guys yard was the best death scene in the whole fourth movie. Way better than the pool scene. Although I'm glad to see Little Timmy (as the directors refer to him) and Frankie Cheeks up at the top

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