TheFinal Destinationseriesis a series of horror films based on an unproduced script written by Jeffrey Reddick for theX-Filestelevision series. Distributed by New Line Cinema , all five films are centered on the themes of fatalism , predestination , and precognition , in relation to death (i.e. how to foresee, avoid or control it). In a less abstract sense, each film features a group of people dying in a series of elaborate, invariably fatal and often gory scenarios that frequently resemble Rube Goldberg machines in their complexity.

The series is noteworthy amongst others in the horror genre in that the "villain" of the movies is not the stereotypical slashers, monsters, creatures, beasts, ghosts, or demons. It is the entity Death itself (very occasionally 'seen' as a fleeting shadow), which manipulates the environment in deadly ways with the intent of "recapturing" those who somehow manage (usually through warning premonitions) to escape their fates for the first time. The franchise has also spawned a related book series (published by Black Flame ) and comic series (published by Zenescope Entertainment Inc).