Horror is certainly subjective. Different terrors frighten different people. October is, of course, prime time for horror films. Every horror fan makes a concerted effort to watch the classics and the new releases hitting streaming services and theaters. With horror, there never seems to be any middle ground. The film either succeeds or it doesn’t. One element of a solid horror film, however, seems to be a key indicator as to whether the film will gain traction with an audience - the ending. Despite differences in taste, however, most fans of the genre would agree that a truly terrifying experience is one that is never happily resolved. The top horror films alway tend to leave audiences with an unsettling feeling as they turn the TV off or walk out of the theater. (Warning: Spoilers ahead)
The Mist
Frank Darabont’s The Mist is not only horrific but also painfully tragic. Darabont, who’s claim to fame was kick-starting The Walking Dead tv series on AMC, managed to adapt Stephen King’s work with splendor with the exception of one important aspect – the ending. Darabont created an entirely new ending for the lead character David, his son, and the few survivors seeking to escape the onslaught of the mysterious creatures roaming in the mist.
Instead of driving off into the mist with uncertainty, David makes a tragic decision to end the horror for his son and fellow survivors by using the remaining bullets he had on them in an attempt to spare them from suffering at the hands of the creatures. This was done, of course, mere seconds before the might of the military arrived to beat back the hordes.
Pet Sematary (2019)
The recent remake of Pet Sematary changed the story a bit by pulling a switcheroo. The filmmakers wanted to keep fans of the original on their toes. Therefore, Ellie was killed in a car accident instead of her brother Gage. As expected the father, in his anguish, buries her in the cemetery in order to bring her back to the land of the living.
Unfortunately, Ellie is a bit more sinister in her resurrected form, and she eventually kills her parents. However, she resurrects them and their evil shambling husks emerge to confront poor, little Gage before the credits roll leaving the audience with a sinking feeling regarding Gage’s fate.
Dead Silence
James Wan, a true master of horror, directed this film – if that’s any indication of its horror quality. The movie centers around the ghost of Mary Shaw and her ventriloquist dummies. After being scorned, she seeks revenge on the living. Shaw only kills those she sees if they scream when seeing her.
In the final moments, the main character, Jamie, believes all is well after he burns the remainder of Shaw’s puppets. However, he is confronted with the harsh reality that the father he thought he had interacted with during the film is actually dead and his corpse has been converted into a makeshift dummy with Mary Shaw controlling him.
Insidious
Insidious tells the story of a father’s journey into the spirit world beyond to retrieve his son and bring the boy back to his body. While the son’s spirit mistakenly wandered from his body, other evil entities are circling the comatose boy in hopes of gaining a vessel.
During the dad’s journey into the unknown, he is confronted by a spirit who haunted him as a child. She sought to take his body for himself. After retrieving his son’s spirit, the father and son make haste as they attempt to exit the spirit world. After awaking in the physical world, it seems that all is well as the family is reunited with the boy. However, the film makes it very clear that someone else returned instead of the father.
Hereditary
Ari Aster’s Hereditary deals with demonic possession. However, the film takes a different approach from other possession films. Annie balances life as an artist, being a mom, and sorting through her mixed feelings over the death of her mother. At one point, her daughter, Charlie, dies tragically. Later, Annie’s son Peter is tormented by visions of horrific things. In the culmination of the film, Annie becomes possessed, severs her own head, and a creepy cult confronts Peter as he is also overcome by a presence.
Ultimately, Charlie was meant to be the embodiment of a demon named Paimon. However, Paimon is seeking a male host and, until recently, was using the body of Charlie since birth as the result of a mistake made by her grandmother. The film ends as Peter is crowned by Paimon’s followers as he becomes the demon Paimon in the flesh.
Annabelle Creation
Annabelle Creation, while the second film to be released in the Annabelle franchise, is the first story in the canonical timeline of the demon-infused doll. This film spectacularly creates a chilling atmosphere as the demon that surrounds the doll seeks the souls of the homeowners and the orphaned children who are staying at the home.
At the end of the film, one of the girls is possessed by the demon and vanishes. It is later learned that she is selected by a couple from another orphanage who raise her. She eventually becomes part of a satanic cult and murders her parents – the very event that is the opening scene and catalyst for Annabelle.
The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism is, obviously, a possession movie filmed from the “found footage” perspective. The narrative follows the filmmakers and a reverend who set out to disprove exorcisms and demonic possessions altogether. The reverend believes that exorcisms he has performed are a sham. The story takes the crew to a farm where a father believes his daughter is possessed and killing livestock.
The long story short is that she is, in fact, possessed. The movie culminates in the woods as the hauntings have forced the crew into a secluded area where cultists are helping the daughter birth a demonic creature. This all happens as the filmmakers are killed and the reverend runs off into the night to combat the evil entity.
Sinister
The sensation this film produces is right in the title, and there are no happy endings here. Sinister follows a writer seeking to move his family in an attempt to start over somewhere new. Inadvertently, he discovers a dark secret about the home’s past and the evil entity, Bughuul, who inspires violent acts within the children who come under his influence. Unmistakably, our leading man finds out the hard way as his own daughter turns on him in the final moments of the film.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise was famous for ending in some way that indicated Freddy Krueger was alive and well ready to pounce once again. Nancy, the star of the film, seemingly defeats the meddling spirit who has murdered her friends when she refuses to give in to the power of belief and fear that gives Krueger his power. However, in the final moments of the film, Nancy is seen getting into a car on a sunny day to head to school when Krueger’s presence reveals that she is still in a dream as the killer lunges at her mother.
The Thing
While The Thing didn’t necessarily have a terrifying ending, it didn’t leave things on a joyful note, either. After Kurt Russell’s R.J. MacReady and Keith David’s Childs survive their encounter with the shapeshifting, infectious alien host that the film is named after, they sit in the frozen Antarctic weather wondering about the future. The alien has the capability of moving from host to host on a microscopic level. Stranded as the sole survivors from the Antarctica outpost, they contemplate whether they should even try to survive with the possibility that the alien has survived and is a part of them.
Next: 10 Classic Made for Television Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen Before (But Should)
