Relatable Raven Reviews

What’re they about?

A group of people survive a major disaster only to have Death follow them trying to finish the job through Rube Goldberg-style death traps.

Anyone I know in them?

There really aren’t a lot of “big” names throughout the series. Devon Sawa from the first film might be the most recognizable, especially if you’re a millennial. He was one of those teen heart throb types in the 90’s but I really only know him from this and Idle Hands.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (AKA Ramona Flowers) plays the lead in the third movie.

So, are they any good?

These movies are similar enough that I decided to binge them all and review them as a unit, but I had a thoroughly good time watching them! Are they high-brow, fancy pants art films? Of course not! But you knew that already! No one throws one of these on expecting to watch The Godfather. You’re expecting blood and guts and weirdly complicated deaths and by gum does this franchise deliver! So relax, turn off your brain and get ready to squirm. Here’s a breakdown of how I felt about each particular film:

Final Destination – The OG. This one is not my favorite but still pretty solid. Because this one is the first and had no idea it would be the gory franchise it is today, the deaths don’t get as much screen time as you’d expect. Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple of truly iconic deaths in this one, it just tries to make the movie more of a thriller by focusing on the mystery of it all. Also, you can kinda tell they wanted Death to be an actual, physical character at first, like some of the kids see a spooky figure right before they die. I’m kinda glad they ditched that idea, would’ve been just a touch too goofy.

Final Destination 2 – One of the more boring opening disasters in my opinion but you can’t deny how that log truck unlocked a new, permanent fear in us all. Not happy that they killed Devon Sawa’s character off screen but he had pretty much quit acting by then so I get it. This one has a more comedic tone than the original and introduces the concept that new life will disrupt death, which is a cool concept that they never bring up again. I was much more invested in the characters for this one, too.

Final Destination 3 – This one was a little confusing at first because it seemed like 1 dude’s camera caused the roller coaster crash but then he got off the ride and it still crashed, but also who actually gives a shit? It’s a movie where Death chases after a bunch of teens after half-assing his own job so shut up and enjoy the ride (pun absolutely intended)! This one actually has my favorite death scene (the tanning beds), but other than that it’s just more of the same and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Final Destination – You can tell by the fucked up naming convention that they were really pessimistic about how well this one was gonna do, which I totally understand because this is by far my least favorite in the series. The characters are so over-the-top goofy and just straight up unlikable and honesty, by now I’m just sick of seeing these people have to learn the “rules” all over again. Also, it was clearly made to be watched in 3-D with those dumb “it’s coming right at you!” gimmicks which get annoying fast. I’m glad this one ended up being the shortest movie in the franchise.

Final Destination 5 – We’re back, baby! You can tell right away that the quality is way better than 4. The opening disaster is the longest one they’ve ever had but I was genuinely stressed out while watching it because it was so unpredictable. This one is a true return to form and introduces the idea that you can “steal” someone else’s years, which unlike the “new life” thing in number 2 that turned out to be a big fat goose egg, this concept seems to actually have legs. This one might be my overall favorite, especially with the fun little twist ending. We’ll see how this next one holds up.

Anything else like it?

There’s 5 whole movies here for you and you still want more?? Well, obviously go watch the 6th one that just came out. If that’s still not good enough for you try the Urban Legend movies, or if you’re a sick little freak who thinks this stuff is too tame for you, go check out the bazillion Saw movies.