Within the Final Destination universe, It is known for the use of hidden themes and motives that link together the deaths, and sometimes the movies themselves.
Death's presence
Before any impending death or near-death throughout all the films, there is always a noticeable wind, and many times, it is this wind that sets off the chain of events that will lead to a death or near-death. This wind will often also happen even when there is no apparent source for it. (Ex. Rory Peters' death in Final Destination 2)
The shadow appears in every character, unaware of Death's presence.
The Number 180
It is an ominous and common number, which marking the coming death of a character. It appears in traffic signs, vehicles, ticket numbers, etc. Sometimes as a mirrored 081.
The number may be a reference to the half of a circumference, a 180 degree angle creates a half, one half being life, the other possibly being death.
The Mortician
The ambiguous character appeared in the first, second and fifth. He knows knowledge of death's "design" and how to possibly stop it, although he cautions that death does not like to be cheated. He also has intimate knowledge of the characters he speaks with (such as their name without having been introduced, etc.). Although he has never met any of them previously, aside from Clear upon their 2nd meeting in the 2nd film.
Music
Each of the visionaries and survivors are forewarned to Death's presence in recognizing the music. Some of them representing the disasters, warnings, etc.
Clear Rivers
The survivor in Final Destination and Final Destination 2. Her name appears in the sign named Clear Rivers Water in The Final Destination.
McKinley
It appears in Final Destination 3 & The Final Destination. In both films, McKinley, Pennsylvania is where the disasters took place. In the third, It is the name of the High School and Ian's surname. In the fourth, McKinley Speedway is where the crash took place.
Hice Pale Ale
Hice Pale Ale is a brand of beer that was seen in the series. It appears in Final Destination, when appears Carter drinking at the end of the movie. It appears again in Final Destination 2, When Kimberly sees a driver riding the Hice Pale Ale beer truck and reads "Drink Responsibly". The beer truck appeared again in the third, when it drives past the drive-thru which traps Wendy and Kevin in his truck.
In The Final Destination, Carter drinks a Hice Pale Ale beer which causes to start his tow truck, It appears in the end, a sticker in the refrigerator in Death by Caffeine. In the fifth, Nathan brought a pack of Hice Pale Ale beer to the survivors of the North Bay Bridge, that he stole from where he work and the neon sign of the beer was shown at the bar where Nathan is killed.
Slushee Totally Cool
A slush drink appears in two movies. In Final Destination 3, Ashley and Ashlyn drink their slushees while they visit the tanning salon. It even causes their deaths, when the condensation of the drink, malfunctions the cooling unit of their tanning beds. In The Final Destination, Samantha's children are drinking their slushees as they both run into the hair salon with one boy slipping on moistener causing a mess. If you look closely, Empty Slushee Totally Cool trash is blown away by the wind that blows the Memorial Race sheet at the McKinley speedway.
Lakeview
It is a town which appears in two films. In Final Destination 2, Lakeview Hospital is the hospital where Clear, Kimberly and Thomas try to save Isabella from a doctor, although she was never supposed to die in the pile-up so her baby's life didn't save them. When Kimberly had a vision of someone with bloody hand driving into a lake, It is later revealed that Kimberly is the one who can save the remaning survivors by driving into the lake, killing herself.
Dr. Kalarjian (an employee at the hospital) wasn't meant to kill her, she was saving Kimberly's life and gave her a new one, hence Mr. Bludworth's saying "only new life can defeat death". In The Final Destination, It is where Samantha Lane grew up.
Related Events
In Final Destination 2, it is revealed that each survivor of the pile-up previously had cheated death once before in their lives, all stories can be traced back to the events of the first film. This chain of related events in the characters' lives is revealed continously in the 3rd & 4th films.
In Final Destination 5, The North Bay Bridge was the very first disaster (in the chronological order) and the survivors from the bridge died right before the events of the first film. In Final Destination 5, Olivia knocks over a photo frame which makes a crack pointing at her right eye. The picture reveals that Olivia had been in McKinley Park with her friend.