10 Horror Movie Sequels That Had No Right To Be This Good

4. Final Destination 5

Final Destination 5
New Line Cinema

For those who've seen Final Destination 5, you'll immediately understand when this film is included here.

After four previous pictures, the Final Destination franchise returned in 2011 for yet another outing which was very much presented as the same old, same old of an opening act catastrophe being averted, and Death then hunting down those who escaped said disaster. For the most part, that's exactly what we got with all of the regular FD tropes being ticked off across the majority of this fifth entry's 92-minute run time.

Sure, there's nothing particularly wrong with the familiar Final Destination narrative, and it's always guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat for its fake-outs, but after five films that basic concept can start to feel a smidge stale. That's where FD5 came through and came through big by delivering a twist ending that elevated the movie from forgettable to memorable.

That twist ending, of course, is that the final few minutes of Final Destination 5 reveal that this sequel was really a prequel, as showcased by two of our 'survivors' getting on the same Volée Airlines Flight 180 that exploded during the start of the first FD picture.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.