20 years later, Final Destination’s most divisive movie finally makes sense

Final Destination 3 isn’t typically considered the bestentry in the franchise. That honor usually goes to the original, which created the enticing concept in the first place, or the sequel for its iconic highway opener. But the third movie in the series is still a fan-favorite horror classic. The film moves at a rollercoaster pace (pun fully intended), leaning into inventive kills, dark humor, and a crowd-pleasing sensibility that makes it ideal for a packed theater or a loud watch party with friends. It also marked a subtle shift for the series. While the first two films were preoccupied with the heavy theme of death’s inevitability, Final Destination 3 pivots even further into spectacle-driven horror. That approach delivers big highs but eventually led to diminishing returns for the franchise, until Final Destination: Bloodlines arrived in 2025 and fused the fatalistic tension of the early films with the crowd-friendly thrills of the later ones.