So, I binge-watched every Final Destination movie. On a rainy weekend.
Yes, all of them. Even the new one, Bloodlines.
Yes, I hear you saying that’s a lot of flying hubcaps, falling signs, and freakish household accidents. On the surface, they’re schlocky, Rube Goldberg machines of doom. But somewhere between the laughing at absurd death scenes and cringing at the jump scares, I noticed a theme: you can’t live your life waiting for the next disaster.
In the films, one person has a vision of a deadly accident, pulls people out of harm’s way, and then—one by one—death finds them anyway. You can dodge it for a while, but eventually, the pattern catches up. If you strip away the gore, the whole series is basically a meditation on two questions:
- How much control do we really have?
- If our time is set, how do we live well?
Not surprisingly, scripture wrestles with those same questions.
James writes, “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
That’s not meant to be depressing. It’s a reminder that life is fragile, so don’t waste it worrying about a timeline you can’t see.
Jesus said something similar in Matthew 6:34: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
If Final Destination characters took that advice, maybe they’d stop obsessively scanning for loose power lines and wobbly ladders, and just enjoy their coffee while it’s still hot.
Of course, the films lean into fatalism—no matter what, “death’s design” wins. That’s where they differ from Christian hope.
For followers of Jesus, the future is secure, but not because we’ve escaped mortality by clever plotting. It’s because Christ has already broken death’s final hold (1 Corinthians 15:54–55). We don’t have to live in fear of the “when” or the “how.”
The funny thing is, the movies accidentally get one thing right: nobody cheats death forever. But they miss the bigger truth—that the point isn’t avoiding death at all costs, it’s living fully now. Paul said, “Make the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16). Not “Keep an eye on that gas leak in case it blows”—but, yes, fix the gas leak.
In fact, this does weirdly segue into what film regular Tony Todd (for whom Bloodlines was his last film before he passed away) delivered in an unscripted, heartfelt monologue to the audience, which apparently wasn’t part of the original script:
“I intend to enjoy the time I have left. And I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when… Good luck.”
So maybe the takeaway is this: don’t live like a Final Destination cast member, constantly looking over your shoulder for the next falling air conditioner or piano or misfiring gas tank or rogue lawn mower. Take sensible precautions, sure, but spend your energy on what matters—loving people, serving well, enjoying the gifts God has given you.
Because, if the Final Destination films teach us anything (apart from never driving behind a truck full of logs), it’s that no one knows how long they have. And as morbid as that is, it’s freeing too.
You can stop rehearsing the end and start showing up for the moment you’re in.
All of the Final Destination Films are now available on HBO Max with a subscription.
