View Full Version : Worst Endings
tomcush
02-06-2013, 04:56 AM
Hi All,
As an avid horror film fan, there is nothing more frustrating than when the film-makers completely screw up the end of the film. I have recently watched several films that I've been really enjoying and then comes a ridiculous ending that pretty much ruins the entire experience.
What are everyone's worst endings to horror films (as spoiler-free as possible)?
Mine would be:
The Last Exorcism (I found the vast majority of this film to be surprisingly entertaining, creepy and well acted, but then along comes an ending that is a completely different tone to the rest of the film and looks cut and pasted onto the end from a different movie)
Insidious (started so promisingly for me - genuinely scary and a cool idea, but then we are shown too much, and what we see is not as scary as it should have been, and the pacing seemed to be off, leaving a very poor, disappointing final act, in my opinion).
White Noise (shows way too much and doesn't work as the rest of the film did)
neverending
02-06-2013, 08:20 AM
I hated the way Bug ended. It negated the entire rest of the movie, IMO.
Haute Tension ......made no sense
Giganticface
02-06-2013, 10:36 AM
Haute Tension ......made no sense
That was my original reaction, but after giving in to the idea that it was all in her head , I was able to justify pretty much everything, and still say I loved what was a pretty intense movie. I'd like to watch it again now that I know the ending.
tomcush
02-07-2013, 04:35 AM
I hated the way Bug ended. It negated the entire rest of the movie, IMO.
I haven't yet seen Bug but had previously heard very good things, mainly from the critic Mark Kermode, is it worth a watch in people's opinions?
Ice Pik
02-07-2013, 01:46 PM
The village - Even know it was unique and unsuspecting it ruined it for me.
Hide and Seek - Movie wasn't really that good but the ending made it ten times worse
Intruders - Ending made more questions then answers.
The Villain
02-10-2013, 12:51 PM
The Mist: Done differently it could have been great but i didnt like the way they went about it. He jumped to that decision way too fast for me.
The Devil Inside: Abrupt, confusing, and ends right when the movie is starting to get interesting
ChronoGrl
02-10-2013, 01:09 PM
This is actually a great topic as bad endings seriously grind my gears - Pretty much the ones that bother me the most have already been said...
Haute Tension - It felt like a ridiculously cheap cop-out for me that was absolutely unnecessary. I hate unnecessary "twists;" would have served as a straight-out serial killer/slasher film (because those bits were fantastic).
Also agree with:
The Last Exorcism (I found the vast majority of this film to be surprisingly entertaining, creepy and well acted, but then along comes an ending that is a completely different tone to the rest of the film and looks cut and pasted onto the end from a different movie)
Insidious (started so promisingly for me - genuinely scary and a cool idea, but then we are shown too much, and what we see is not as scary as it should have been, and the pacing seemed to be off, leaving a very poor, disappointing final act, in my opinion).
I found the ending to Last Exorcism to be just such a big letdown... I mean, it made sense, and tried to tie things together, but it fizzled.
And Insidious is 1/3 phenomenal and 2/3 awful - Can't believe how poorly it went after it started out so strong.
Also agree with:
The Mist: Done differently it could have been great but i didnt like the way they went about it. He jumped to that decision way too fast for me.
The Devil Inside: Abrupt, confusing, and ends right when the movie is starting to get interesting
HAHAHAHAHAHA - TOTALLY agree about The Mist. I found the end actually kinda laughable... WE HAVE BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR TWO MINUTES THERE IS NO OTHER WAY... Have you read the novella? It was really really good. After reading the story, the movie just sucks even more.
Agree absolutely with Devil Inside, and a lot of reviewers were saying that as well - Just started to pick up and get awesome aaaaaaaaand - Guess they ran out of money?
The Deaths of Ian Stone: Man, here's one that was 2/3 phenomenal and 1/3 awful - The end was just so so silly - It's a shame because it could have been fantastic. All I could think of was Ghost of Fabio Fighting for the Right
Tale of Two Sisters: Aggg! Again with another lame "twist"
How about the ending of this season's American Horror Story? Just found it a huge letdown...
That's it for now; I'll probably think of more later...
Straker
02-10-2013, 03:38 PM
Of the ones mentioned so far, my least favourite endings are: The Devil Inside and Haute Tension. Didn't like the endings for The Mist or Insidious either, but I mostly hated both those movies anyway so it wasnt much of a let down.
Besides that, pretty much any 'it was all a dream' or 'it was me all along' style endings suck unless they're done really well. A few of my most hated include:
Secret Window
The Number 23
Hide and Seek
georgiemetallica
02-10-2013, 04:52 PM
Some of the saw movies were very stale and predictable. Cant remember which one but i knew from the start what the outcome would be. For a movie that relies on twists it was not very good.
fortunato
02-10-2013, 06:40 PM
Definitely throwing in on the ending for Insidious. Yikes.
ChronoGrl
02-11-2013, 07:21 AM
The ending of Identity was pretty poor (then again it wasn't that great a movie; all I can remember was how bad the ending was, so that's not a good sign).
Ice Pik
02-12-2013, 03:22 PM
I actually like the ending of The Mist, not because it was a great ending but the irony of it.
MichaelMyers
02-12-2013, 03:38 PM
Prometheus (not the final 10 seconds, which were quite good, but the plot resolution).
Giganticface
02-12-2013, 04:05 PM
I actually like the ending of The Mist, not because it was a great ending but the irony of it.
I liked it too, but it really pissed me off. I thought they made the decision way too early, but the ending was definitely effective.
Another thing that bugs the crap out of me is when someone kills one of their friends because the friend snuck up on them while they were in the middle of a fight. This happened in the Descent, and I thought it was acceptable because it's dark, the space is limited, everything is confusing when mutant humanoids are attacking you. But it happened in some other movie I saw recently (can't remember which) and I was like, seriously??? Don't sneak up on him while he's in the middle of a knife fight (or whatever it was)!!!! Ugh. It's such a cheap emotional effect.
SodaGirl
02-12-2013, 07:36 PM
I disagree about the ending of The Mist. David drove until he ran out of gas and, if my memory serves me correctly, the scene kind of faded in and out to represent a passing of uneventful time. I am sure that the different scenarios had played out in his mind, and when he broke down and heard the ominous noises approaching, of course death seemed inevitable... When he was finally faced with that horrible decision, I believe acting fast was the only way he could have actually gone through with it. So I loved it. I thought it was brave and well-done. It's one of my favorite endings. To each their own. :)
My pick? Signs. The water thing made absolutely no sense, the resolution was anti-climactic, and no one got hurt. I was extremely disappointed and still rant about the synopsis on the back of my copy (bought without watching, of course) calling it the family's "terrifying last moments of life". Gag.
tomcush
02-14-2013, 05:14 AM
I love the ending of The Mist. Whilst I can completely see why many people would view this as a rushed decision, I never thought of it that way.
Those final scenes work so well to me, with the harrowingly beautiful Dead Can Dance song in the soundtrack only emphasising the feeling of utter hopelessness.
They have run out of gas and have seen something in particular that would lead me to think I was out of luck.
After all they'd been through, I can totally see why he made the decision he did, thinking it was the best of two possibilites.
Personally, one of my favourite endings of all time. Bleak.
ChronoGrl
02-14-2013, 11:03 AM
My pick? Signs. The water thing made absolutely no sense, the resolution was anti-climactic, and no one got hurt. I was extremely disappointed and still rant about the synopsis on the back of my copy (bought without watching, of course) calling it the family's "terrifying last moments of life". Gag.
BAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - Yep. Super-intelligent lifeforms that can travel across the galaxy visited a planet that's 80% made up of a substance that's deadly to them? Brilliant.
Swing away...
ImmortalSlasher
02-15-2013, 03:22 PM
That was my original reaction, but after giving in to the idea that it was all in her head , I was able to justify pretty much everything, and still say I loved what was a pretty intense movie. I'd like to watch it again now that I know the ending.
Wait what was all in her head ? I like High/Haute Tension right up to that car chase scene. Is that the part you are talking about in the spoiler? It could have been shown far more clearly by the director if that is what's happening. I watched it a few times because I couldn't believe the twist.
Friday the 13th (2009) - I hated the movie when the cute girl got the knife to the back. And I really didn't care about the movie at that point. But the ending is horrible. I guess it's supposed to be a dream sequence. But really?! They decide to take the body of this huge and heavy killer. The person that killed a cop and all these kids. The guy who was almost unstoppable and who is now chained up. They actually untie him and drag him to the lake? They don't run to the cops and say here's the guy responsible for all this and he has underground tunnels at the camp. It's crazy. I'm surprised that the guy from Supernatural didn't call the writer and director on it. But then, Supernatural sucks now so I guess that explains that.
Phrankenstein
02-15-2013, 08:37 PM
I gotta say The Devil Inside had a terrible ending.
Also, The Hills Run Red had a pretty bad ending. Not really sure why they chose to end it that way.
Rela1024
02-16-2013, 06:05 AM
I know the ending to Evil Dead II was a lead up to Army of Darkness but I didn't care too much for it......
The Villain
02-16-2013, 04:04 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHA - TOTALLY agree about The Mist. I found the end actually kinda laughable... WE HAVE BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR TWO MINUTES THERE IS NO OTHER WAY... Have you read the novella? It was really really good. After reading the story, the movie just sucks even more.
Agree absolutely with Devil Inside, and a lot of reviewers were saying that as well - Just started to pick up and get awesome aaaaaaaaand - Guess they ran out of money?
I did read the novella, actually before i saw the movie and i actually really liked that ending. I wish they had gone with that.
About The Devil Inside, either they ran out of money or didn't know what they were doing. Proabably both.
The Deaths of Ian Stone: Man, here's one that was 2/3 phenomenal and 1/3 awful - The end was just so so silly - It's a shame because it could have been fantastic. All I could think of was Ghost of Fabio Fighting for the Right
Totally agreed. That movie was nothing like what i thought it was going to be and just got ridiculous at the end.
BAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - Yep. Super-intelligent lifeforms that can travel across the galaxy visited a planet that's 80% made up of a substance that's deadly to them? Brilliant.
Swing away...
This may just be blind defense of that movie but i always saw it as this. The aliens are weak against water and they are capturing humans who are mostly comprised of water so i saw it as they were capturing them so they could study them and try and beat their weakness. However this was never said in the movie so it's really just me making excuses but the movie wasn't really about the aliens anyway.
Giganticface
02-16-2013, 04:32 PM
Wait what was all in her head ? I like High/Haute Tension right up to that car chase scene. Is that the part you are talking about in the spoiler? It could have been shown far more clearly by the director if that is what's happening. I watched it a few times because I couldn't believe the twist.
Yeah, the car chase scene is probably the easiest detail to pick apart once the twist is known. If you give in to the fact that many of the events in the movie are from the perspective of someone who is schizophrenic and delusional, then IMO, it's all acceptable. Personally, I don't mind that Aja didn't spell that out completely, leaving it up to interpretation, and to me, it's not a far-fetched conclusion to draw.
However, I do completely agree with those who say the twist was totally unnecessary. The movie was great without it, and could easily stand alone as a well executed and memorable human atrocity / slasher movie. All I'm saying is that I'm okay with the twist and it didn't ruin it for me.
RE: Signs
This may just be blind defense of that movie but i always saw it as this. The aliens are weak against water and they are capturing humans who are mostly comprised of water so i saw it as they were capturing them so they could study them and try and beat their weakness. However this was never said in the movie so it's really just me making excuses but the movie wasn't really about the aliens anyway.
I'm glad you have that take on it because other than the water detail, the movie was brilliant -- one of my favorites. I'm willing to accept any plausible explanation for the water "flaw." I've always just been good enough with: The aliens are technologically advanced and physically strong and agile, and believe they can mitigate the risk enough to succeed on their mission. If humans were to "invade" Jupiter, we would need to mitigate the risk against poisonous gasses and deadly temperatures, but that wouldn't stop us from trying.
Oh, and I should also mention that the actual final ending to the movie, IMO was totally awesome. Assuming everyone's already seen it (*** SPOILERS ***) -- the fact that the aliens had already "won," that the now-faithless father, still reeling from losing his wife, was about to lose his child, and that the the boy's weakness, his asthma, actually saved him -- a coincidence too perfect not be divinely designed -- giving the father back his faith... Beautiful.
I know the ending to Evil Dead II was a lead up to Army of Darkness but I didn't care too much for it......
Blasphemy. :)
horrorfangirl66
02-16-2013, 05:34 PM
The Village- no need for explanation.
Hide and Seek- it was a decent film mostly because of Fanning and DeNiro but I was disappointed at the end.
The Uninvited (09)- the big "twist" was obviously given to us...
Slaughterhouse (09)- AfterDark Horror Fest film- I wasn't expecting much, but it was bearable until it went past the part it should have ended at. Then it tried to be a whole lot of different genres before it finally ended about five times after I thought it should have.
Wicker Man (06)- horrible film all around.
The Villain
02-17-2013, 10:28 AM
RE: Signs
I'm glad you have that take on it because other than the water detail, the movie was brilliant -- one of my favorites. I'm willing to accept any plausible explanation for the water "flaw." I've always just been good enough with: The aliens are technologically advanced and physically strong and agile, and believe they can mitigate the risk enough to succeed on their mission. If humans were to "invade" Jupiter, we would need to mitigate the risk against poisonous gasses and deadly temperatures, but that wouldn't stop us from trying.
Oh, and I should also mention that the actual final ending to the movie, IMO was totally awesome. Assuming everyone's already seen it (*** SPOILERS ***) -- the fact that the aliens had already "won," that the now-faithless father, still reeling from losing his wife, was about to lose his child, and that the the boy's weakness, his asthma, actually saved him -- a coincidence too perfect not be divinely designed -- giving the father back his faith... Beautiful.
Blasphemy. :)
I'm glad someone agrees with me. It seems like everyone just likes to trash the movie because of the water thing. I love that movie and i actually really like the water weakness and don't see it as a flaw. I also loved the asthma part. That with the water and the brother's circumstances all coming together to save them to me was an amazing ending.
Ice Pik
02-17-2013, 02:30 PM
I thought Signs was a great movie but yeah if you really think about it the ending was kinda weak about the whole water and swing away. Kinda brought two different genera of horror together, the warning dead mother and aliens. I think the asthma part and the connection you felt for the kid kinda overpowered the lameness of the water. Kinda like a reference to world at war when they die of normal bacteria i guess.
Insidious ending didn't really suck, just the last 40 mins got real cheesy.
I thought the uninvited ending just sucked because the girl was just crazy and nothing really else. Kinda like really? you could of thrown in some more meaning into it.
Hellraiser very last 10 seconds also was kinda like ummm.....why the skeleton dragon? what does that have to do with anything.
I kind of liked the bizarro ending of insidious - at least it owned its weirdness!
The Horror fan
02-18-2013, 11:08 AM
Brake as one the worst ending, I found the most the really good but the twist kills the movie, it felt like the movie was point less and then make the twist but nail in the coffin.
what do people think of High Tension? I loved the ending but know many folks hated it precisely because of the ending.
H3orH3D_Script4U
02-22-2013, 04:38 PM
HAUTE TENSION/ HIGH TENSION. YEAH, I have to agree, some gore in it I love for sure. The end made me feel like I wasted my time, so I'm one of those zero just mentioned.
But I have wasted my time on many other movies as well, and if you make it through my script you might change your opinion, on the worst ending depending if you want the halloween series to continue or not, I leave three places for it to end in my script one of them can end it forever, which I kind of like. :eek: :p
roshiq
02-23-2013, 01:08 AM
The Violent Kind (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1472195/?ref_=sr_1)
oh, what an ending!#$#@$%%$!!
The Villain
02-24-2013, 12:50 PM
Brake as one the worst ending, I found the most the really good but the twist kills the movie, it felt like the movie was point less and then make the twist but nail in the coffin.
yeah they tried to do too much with that ending. They should've stuck with the first one.
what do people think of High Tension? I loved the ending but know many folks hated it precisely because of the ending.
I'm with you, i actually really liked that ending
ImmortalSlasher
02-26-2013, 06:45 AM
what do people think of High Tension? I loved the ending but know many folks hated it precisely because of the ending.
Yeah, the car chase scene is probably the easiest detail to pick apart once the twist is known. If you give in to the fact that many of the events in the movie are from the perspective of someone who is schizophrenic and delusional, then IMO, it's all acceptable. Personally, I don't mind that Aja didn't spell that out completely, leaving it up to interpretation, and to me, it's not a far-fetched conclusion to draw.
However, I do completely agree with those who say the twist was totally unnecessary. The movie was great without it, and could easily stand alone as a well executed and memorable human atrocity / slasher movie. All I'm saying is that I'm okay with the twist and it didn't ruin it for me.
If the director changed the cinematography/coloring in someway to let us know what we are seeing is different then I think the movie would be close to perfect. There are both misleading things in the movie and things that tell us who the real killer is. But on first viewing there is no way to pick out the twist. Unless you've seen this sort of movie before. But this is the only lesbian twisted obsession movie I've ever seen.[/SPOILER] I think the Switchblade Romance title is far more telling of what the movie is about.
Last House on the Left (2009) - I'm embarrassed FOR the director.
The film itself wasn't very good but the ending destroyed any redeemable features it might have had.
HorrorFreak21
03-05-2013, 03:40 AM
what do people think of High Tension? I loved the ending but know many folks hated it precisely because of the ending.
I LOVED High Tension!!! It was one of those movies that I picked up at Blockbuster just because the cover looked good and I was it was an independent horror movie kind of nights. I really wasn't expecting much. That movie literally blew my mind. I had no idea that the blonde was the killer. There was no hint and no clue what so ever. Atleast thats how I felt the first time around. The end is perfect the blonde in clearly NUTS and she doesn't want to be with out the brunette lol "I won't let anything to come between us anymore" creepiest line ever!
I personally hated the ending to "The Strangers". The movie overall was just messed up, it was so scary to think that these people where on a romantic get away and they were being harassed by some weird people. But then at the end was just awful. I understand that this is based on a true story but after these people kill this couple they drive away. And then they stop to speak with the little bible boys it weird. you don't see their faces or get any sense of closure it just ends lol I wasn't a fan lol of the ending anyways. That movie deff scared me lol
metternich1815
03-28-2013, 08:40 PM
I'd say Paranormal Activity 4 had a terrible ending (which is true), but then I remembered that whole movie was terrible.
Bob Gray
03-29-2013, 11:24 AM
Hi All,
As an avid horror film fan, there is nothing more frustrating than when the film-makers completely screw up the end of the film. I have recently watched several films that I've been really enjoying and then comes a ridiculous ending that pretty much ruins the entire experience.
What are everyone's worst endings to horror films (as spoiler-free as possible)?
Mine would be:
The Last Exorcism (I found the vast majority of this film to be surprisingly entertaining, creepy and well acted, but then along comes an ending that is a completely different tone to the rest of the film and looks cut and pasted onto the end from a different movie)
Insidious (started so promisingly for me - genuinely scary and a cool idea, but then we are shown too much, and what we see is not as scary as it should have been, and the pacing seemed to be off, leaving a very poor, disappointing final act, in my opinion).
White Noise (shows way too much and doesn't work as the rest of the film did)
Hmm... I thought the ending was the best part of The Last Exorcism and absolutely loved everything about Insidious, can't wait for the sequel.
The Villain
03-29-2013, 05:16 PM
Hmm... I thought the ending was the best part of The Last Exorcism and absolutely loved everything about Insidious, can't wait for the sequel.
Nice to see someone else agrees with me. Those movies get too much hate.