Every Opening Premonition in the Movies, Ranked

If you haven’t heard yet, the Final Destination franchise is returning with a sixth installment. In the five previous Final Destination films, the franchise featured an opening premonition where one of the main characters had a vision that a group of their friends would die in the upcoming moments. Thanks to these premonitions, a group of the intended dead would survive — that is, until death came back to claim them again. The original Final Destination is often considered one of the top scariest films of the 2000s, due to its thrill, edge-of-your-seat moments, and a new storyline. As the franchise progressed, the films took on a more gruesome and gory turn giving way to a new kind of horror fan.

According to Cinema Blend, Final Destination 6 may utilize those who are around death on a daily basis: first responders. While the official plot has yet to be released, fans are certainly waiting for the film with anticipation — and for the signature opening premonition, in particular. While we eagerly await, let’s take a look at the best opening premonitions in the other Final Destination movies, ranked.

5 The Final Destination – McKinley Speedway Crash

Much like most of Final Destination 4, also known as The Final Destination, the deaths that occurred during the McKinley Speedway premonition were corny. As the franchise progressed, so did the need to come up with more interesting deaths. Despite the first two films garnering a high interest, by the third and then fourth films, the gruesome deaths seemed to take precedence over the plot and acting.

Despite that, all the films were successful in their own ways. For The Final Destination, they pulled out all the stops when it came to utilizing different ways that being at a racetrack could kill you. During the opening premonition, a screwdriver left in the back of a racecar falls out and pops a tire of one of the cars causing a domino reaction that ended fatally for most in attendance. Some deaths included being crushed by a tire or even the engine of a racecar, while others involved being impaled on a broken bench or pole. Many were also crushed by pieces of the concrete stadium that somehow decided to start crumbling during the exploding racecars.

Related: Final Destination: 9 Best Character Deaths in the Horror Franchise, Ranked

4 Final Destination 3 – The Devil’s Flight Rollercoaster

​​​​​​​In Final Destination 3, there may be a lot of deaths in the opening premonition, however, they mostly just include people falling out of a rollercoaster. Some of these instances are not even shown, you just hear the scream and the splat. In fact, many of the deaths do not even include visible blood. With that being said, the idea of dying on a rollercoaster was a great idea as it’s most certainly something every who has ever ridden a rollercoaster has feared.

During a group gathering at the local amusement park, some of the classmates of McKinley High take their turn on the rollercoaster, The Devil’s Flight, which includes high speeds, upside portions, and lots of twists and turns. As the rollercoaster takes off, the hydraulics are damaged and then later completely destroyed when one of the rider’s video camera gets knocked from his hands. All spirals from there, resulting in no survivors. As previously noted, most of the deaths involve falling out of the rollercoaster due to the restraints that are no longer keeping the riders in their seats. The few gruesome deaths shown include being sliced completely in half and being flung from the car onto the track and having their spine snapped.

3 Final Destination 5 – North Bay Bridge Collapse

One of the redeeming qualities of Final Destination 5‘s opening premonition is that it lasts almost double the amount of time as in the other films. This premonition is over five minutes long, allowing the deaths to be both thrilling and gruesome. By being able to achieve suspense and gory deaths, the opening premonition is much more memorable.

A group of coworkers is on a bus together on the Bay Bridge when the bridge starts to collapse. The road starts to crack, the wind picks up, and the cords begin to snap. Most manage to get off the bus and have to then battle the remaining obstacle of getting off the bridge before it ultimately collapses. The deaths that occur during this time include falling off the bridge and being impaled by a sailboat mast, getting crushed by one of the swinging cables, burned by hot tar, and even being severed in half. As each death occurs, they do get more and more gruesome, further adding to the suspense.

Related: Best Horror Movie Character Deaths of All Time, Ranked

2 Final Destination – Flight 180 Plane Crash

The first film in the franchise, Final Destination, has maybe one of the most boring deaths in terms of gore factor, but what it lacks in blood and guts, it makes up for in suspense. By being the first film, the concept of the premonition isn’t realized until after it has occurred. The first time watching the film, it looks as if the plane did crash and killed everyone on board, that is, until Alex wakes up, and it’s revealed that it was only a dream.

For the first film, the suspense and mystery of the plot are what work well in having the successful opening premonition. You get to see classmates board the plane, excited for their class trip to Paris, and then you get to see only a handful get off after the premonition. During the premonition, people all perish in an eventual fire that breaks out after a few moments of terror. While it’s more of a group death than individual, as it is with the rest of the franchise, the whole premonition has viewers on the edge of their seats.

1 Final Destination 2 – Route 23 Pileup

Final Destination 2‘s premonition is similar to the rollercoaster one in the third film in the sense that this is a fear almost everyone has. In the second film, arguably the best film in the franchise, logs break loose and cause a multiple car pileup on Route 23. As opposed to the first film, this one starts the trend of showing each character as they perish in the premonition instead of an overall group. Final Destination 2 also still has the suspense building, thanks to the music the impending doom is set to moments before the crash happens.

The first death involves a log flying through a cop’s car with subsequent deaths following that are from flipped cars, fires, and being run over by a tractor-trailer. The deaths in this film are gruesome but believable as you could definitely see these kinds of deaths occurring.