Bad Endings that Have Ruined Great Horror Films
(All movies discussed are a few years old, and so there are a few spoilers. Beware)
You know that moment, as a viewer, when you are watching a movie and are so engrossed by it that the world could be on fire outside of your window and you would have no idea? When a movie flows so well, it is like you are hanging on its every word? Well, how about when that momentum gets fisted by a terrible ending? As a viewer, few things are worse than a poor finish to what seemed like a great movie. It shits on everything that came before it, and kills the whole experience. There is no genre where this is more prevalent than horror. The reasoning behind this is not always what you think, though. In some cases, the director’s initial vision gets royally screwed by producers and film companies, who want to make sequels and leave films open ended. There is also a distinct difference between international horror films and their American counterparts.
A friend once asked me to sum up the difference between international horror and American horror films. In typical, long-winded Remy fashion, I said “In real life the cops get to the serial killer right AFTER he kills the person. In movies, the cops get to the killer right BEFORE. International horror films aren’t afraid to be more like real life.” I really feel that to fully understand the difference, you only need to see the real endings of some films. The European releases of films seem to always get the initial vision that the writer and director intended. By the time we get it here in America, it is watered down and left open-ended. What inspired me to write this piece were some comments left on Unreality by some very keen readers who informed me that Martyrs was getting an American remake. Oh No….no, no. This CANNOT happen. This will not end well. Well, actually, it WILL end well, and that is the problem.
Without saying too much, the whole point of Martyrs is the ending. The torture, the controlled insanity, the brutality of it all, is used as a key plot component at the end of the film. Some viewers don’t make it to the end, and at times, I don’t blame them. There is something undeniably sickening about watching a pretty French girl get punched in the face for nine minutes straight by a burly man ( yes, that happens, and it is probably the nicest thing that happens to her in the course of the film, to put it in perspective.) BUT when you make it to the end of Martyrs, you get a payoff. It is bleak and nihilistic, like most French horror (Inside, High Tension, Frontier), but horror should be bleak and hopeless. It is horror. Not some Rom-com starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Anniston. Give me hopeless, I can take it.
The reason I am starting with Martyrs is simple. I am begging you horror fans to see it NOW. Daniel Stamm, the director of The Last Exorcism ( another decent horror movie ruined by a bad ending ) has outwardly said he intends to make this movie with a less bleak ending. Wait a minute, you are remaking a film whose whole plot revolves around an intense explanation point of an ending, and you are changing it? That is the movie equivalent of your friend setting you up with someone they tell you is amazing for two weeks straight, then you meet them and they have an attached twin, half mutated and growing out of their side. Wait, that is a terrible example because that would actually be kind of cool. You know what isn’t cool? Remaking Martyrs and changing the ending. It is like repainting the Mona Lisa to look like Mona from Who’s the Boss? Oh wait, that is another terrible example, because that too, would be incredible. Dammit. No more metaphors.
Not seen: Me shitting my pants.
So for a perfect example of switched endings, we take a look at the brilliant Aussie horror flick: The Descent. This movie is SO GOOD. Honestly, it has everything that makes a great horror film. Compelling characters who evolve and who you actually care about. A setting so intense and claustrophobic, lesser directors would have centered the whole movie around it. Add into that some terrifying humanoid creatures who can see with echo location and the spot on direction of Neil Marshall ( who wowed me with Dog Soldiers a few years earlier ) and you have a perfect horror film. Honestly, it is pretty much perfect. Until the last two minutes. Seriously, it jumps the shark ( not so much that I don’t still consider it a good film though, unlike some of the other movies on the list ). It even throws scenes away that it used to build up to the ending of the film ( the birthday cake hallucinations, anyone? )
But after seeing it, I heard rumors that the director hated the ending. What? That told me he had a different one in mind. Yes Neil. I hated the ending, too. It felt tacked on and forced and very American to me. So I found the original ending and watched it and THAT made the film perfect. It was bleak and hopeless. Exactly what you think the end result of a situation like that would be. It tied up loose ends in a way that felt honest and real. But we didn’t get that vision. We got the vision where the hero makes it out alive. Then we get a cheap jump scare. Then we get credits. But you wanna be freaked out? See the (spoiler) ending where the hero doesn’t make it out of the cave. She only THINKS she did. Now that is an ending that sits with you. And honestly, it fits. And wouldn’t you know, they DID end up making an absolutely terrible sequel that revolved solely around the worse of the two endings. Way to shit on a good movie, guys. Do yourself and Neil Marshall a favor and see it how he intended.
“Did I just kill my husband and then rock myself back and forth for ten hours?”
Paranormal Activity was so overhyped, that I honestly thought I would soil myself when I saw it. Reviewers everywhere were basically saying: This movie scared me so much I died seven times when I watched it. Pregnant woman are not legally allowed in the theatre due to liability. Horror NEVER gets a buzz like that, so of course, I bought into it. And honestly, it is the only movie I have ever seen where I threw my drink at the screen. Honest to God, I am not proud of it, but the ending was SO bad, I literally stood up and threw my coke at the screen. The ending was pure cheese. Loud and scary things go on off screen. Then the asshole husband gets midget tossed at their camera. Then the protagonist ( yet antagonist?) comes up the stairs like f*cking Spiderman and makes oogly-googly eyes at the camera and then she eats the camera, or some such nonsense. It was f*cking dumb, and it undermined the intensity of everything that came before ( which was, let’s be honest here, doors opening and shutting by themselves ).
The catch here, though, is another ending. I know Paul (EIC at Unreality) saw it, but did any of you guys know that the original ending to Paranormal Activity is incredibly disturbing? In typical Hollywood fashion, Steven Spielberg bought the rights (I want another Poltergeist, b*tches! That is a direct quote) his production company decided to spiffy up the ending. I.E Shit Cheese Whiz all over it. BUT, when you watch the original ending, it makes the entire film much more disturbing. Gone is the safety net of CG eyes and stupid scurrying, replaced with a genuinely horrifying scenario that is VERY unsettling, especially when taken in the context of the events that preceded it. I won’t ruin it here, because most people don’t even know this movie has a much better ending. I will say this (spoiler), in both cases, the demon wins. But in the real ending, the demon wins in a far more realistic way, and the whole movie that came before it is better as a result. It flows so much better with the film, and leaves a much more pungent aftertaste in your mouth, kinda like blue cheese in comparison to Swiss. Bam! The return of metaphors!
And for my last example, I will go with something more subtle. REC is (much like The Descent), a perfect horror film. It is fairly relentless in it’s aggression, and every time you catch your breath, it is sucked out of you again. I like that feeling. The rollercoaster ride of not knowing when the hills or turns are coming. So I was rather unhappy when I heard that it was getting a remake for America. The original film, directed by Paco Plaza, was flawless. I never understand needing to remake a flawless film for people who don’t like subtitles. If you don’t want to read, than YOU miss out on it. But it is the American way. Take something that doesn’t belong to us and call it ours. Just ask The Native Americans ( shout out to my boy, Crouching Leaf! ).
I will haunt your f***ing nightmares!
I was finding any reason to hate Quarantine ( What, they changed the name to Quarantine!??! What the hell, that sucks. Actually, come to think of it, that fits quite well. Damn.) And when I finally saw the trailer for the remake I was DOUBLE PISSED because they feature the final shot of the film in the trailer. What kind of dumb shit is that? Featuring your ending in your trailer is up there with screwing up an ending. It is pretty unforgivable. But I noticed for the most part that is looked pretty spot on and accurate. And honestly, it was. I would put Quarantine up there with Let Me In as movies that didn’t need remakes, but got decent ones anyway. There was a subtle and distinct difference between the two endings to the films, though. Did anyone else notice this?
It is subtle, but the original ending of REC is far creepier than the ending to the remake, Quarantine. Because a lot of people won’t notice the differences, this piece is going to be a little more spoiler heavy from here on, just so you guys know. So the difference between the two endings all lies in the final room they are ( The Penthouse ) and the person(?) that inhabits it. In the original Paco Plaza film, the thing in the pitch black apartment is decidedly inhuman. It is lanky and far taller than any old person normally is. Its fingers are longer and gnarled, like tiny tree branches. It’s limbs hang long, well past it’s hips, and it is ever so slightly disfigured, with long tufts of white hair jutting down from its misshapen head. From the way it moves to how it reacts to noise, it is animalistic and it is genuinely creepy. I feel like even the director of the remake (John Erick) missed these subtleties. Why, you ask? Because in the American counterpart, it is pretty much a creepy old person at the end. It is in its underwear, and it is somewhat lanky, but missing are the longer limbs, the sounds it makes, and the lumbering yet seemingly brittle frame.
For further proof that the American director may have missed the point, we cite the two VERY different directions the two sequels have gone in. REC got a sequel in Spain, and it ties in to the minute the first movie ends. There is also a HUGE plot reveal that throws the whole thing on its ear. Did I like the plot twist, no? But I liked it far more than the crappy American sequel, Quarantine 2. REC 2 plays out like a horror movie with supernatural elements and a fairly creepy twist ending that gets points for being ballsy. Quarantine 2 plays out like a terrible, straight to DVD, American zombie film, which is exactly what it ends up being. In an ironic twist, REC 3 & 4 are both being filmed at the same time, with the trailer for part 3 already in rotation. It takes place at a wedding, and looks violent and effectively scary. Meanwhile, no one is making a sequel to Quarantine 2 because it sucked ass. Not like that has stopped Hollywood before. Watch REC again and pay attention to the difference between the two endings. The one we got here in America, versus the one they released with the original film. It is subtle, but 4 sequels speaks volumes about which ending worked and which one didn’t.
Shown: Impractical ways to itch the roof of your mouth.
And on the other extreme, you have some decent horror films that play out so much better because of a cool or somewhat nihilistic endings. The Mist, Fallen and The Ring are three such examples, but that is rare to find in Horror. Mostly we get jump scare endings that leave things open so they can spit out another franchise at us, year after year. I am looking at you, Saw.
What do you guys think? What was the worst ending you ever saw to a great horror film? And what was the best?
In list format or GTFO
The Devil Inside had the worst horror movie ending I ever saw…. I felt cheated.
fantastic. great article. I agree 100%. ive heard what the original paranormal activity’s ending was supposed to be, but have never seen it
The opposite of this theme – the Japanese horror file Audition.
If you can sit through the very slow, quiet build-up that is essentially the whole movie, the last ten minutes are about as disturbing as it gets. I can’t think of another movie that has the balls to do this. I mean, it’s ALL build-up and then, BAM, that sack in the background starts moving.
If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s probably better to know ahead of time that the noises the girl makes at the end are akin to someone saying “kitty-kitty-kitty.”
I totally agree with you on all these points. American horror just isn’t all that horrifying. In my opinion Seven is one of the most horrifying American movies I’ve seen.
I’ve heard that there is another ending for the original Paranormal Activity in which Katie kills Micah, goes back to the room, walks in front of the camera and slits her throat. If that’s real, that would’ve been the ballsiest ending and would have truly horrified people.
You didn’t mention the part I appreciated the most about the ending of Rec and that is the religious aspect. So many zombie movies are about the disease that spreads, I felt this was a much more interesting twist.
I haven’t seen Rec 2 yet, but I hope that gets explored more.
Hey, Drew Dickinson! Why, because reading a coherent essay is hard? Ok with that out of the way, this is one of the better articles I’ve read here in awhile. I’ve always been a fan of horror, but the endings have always bothered me. U like the European or Japanese endings, the way they actually seem to fit with the preceding movie. In American horror, there’s always the feeling of, “ok, that’s it?”. I don’t know how many times I’ve sat through a movie, only to be disappointed by the last 5 minutes. Especially when it just leaves that franchisey taste in my mouth. I would much rather watch 5 unique, decent, different horror flicks than sit through more than 1 Paranormal Activity.
One movie that disappointed me when I was watching it in the theaters was 1408. I thought the first half of the movie had a great buildup and great chance to be an awesome creepy movie. About the time the movie jumps to having John Cusack’s character try and contact his wife the movie starts to disappoint. The biggest disappointment in the movie is the fact that Cusack’s character lives in the end after he sets the room aflame with a Molotov. A much better ending would have been if after the whole ordeal, the next morning all they found was Cusack’s character dead in the middle of the room, suggesting that everything that happened in “the scariest room in the world” caused him to kill himself.
Isn’t The Descent a British movie? Great article btw.
Alex, the ending that I saw to 1408 was different. All the major characters were at Cusack’s character’s funeral. The very last shot was either Samuel L Jackson or Cusack’s wife looking in the mirror of the car and seeing his burnt face.
*Checks IMDB*
Yep, I watched the directors cut of the movie. If you want to know exactly what happens, follow the link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450385/faq#.2.1.7
@ Drew, we are not Cracked.com. Our material may be just as well written, but our readers base doesn’t need to be pandered to.
@Metalmaniac ( nice mustache! ), thank you a ton! (insert smiley emoticon here) @ Dorito, GREAT call with Audition. That movie is like Martyrs in the sense that the whole build up the film relies in the ending, and what a disturbing ending it was ( I still hear Kiri Kiri Kiri in my nightmares ).@ Ariel, I didn’t see it for THAT exact reason.@Danelhombre Se7en messed me up. I sat in the theater quitely after the movie ended, just kind of in shock. i love moives that can do that. I didn’t go in to religious aspects in REC, in fear I would ruin REC2, so see that and then come talk to me, I wanna talk about it and no one has seen it. LoL. @ Paul, well put, man! And @Alex, I agree. 1408 definitely could have been on this list. I try to avoid pg13 horror, because it never delivers in the end ( with the exception of Drag me to Hell ). Also, thanks for the kind words, guys. I feel like I found my people. It is a very validating feeling.
I agree with pretty much everything, except about the ending to Paranormal Activity. The one where she sat for hours .. yeah that was not disturbing at all to me, personally. It was boring and the fact that she died at the end did not make it better, to me. Anyway, I agree with all your other points though. I enjoyed REC much more than Quarantine and look forward to the sequel.
I love how it takes years, and sometimes decades for the collective consciousness of society to catch up with me and realize how stupid the things they like are (UGG Boots, duck-bill shoes, Dane Cook, etc…. I gave up on the horror genre probably 12 years ago because I got tired of the “Fuck you” endings they all gave us. Finally, with “Devil Inside Me” people are verbally lashing out.
As for horror remakes that change the endings, what do you expect? Hollywood likes to treat us movie-goers like the over-oppressive nanny we all had growing up who prohibits us from having fun because they know what’s in our best interests. And as long as these films keep making money, it’s only going to continue.
@Remy When it comes to american horror I actually prefer to see horror movies that have a PG-13 rating. I’ve found that american horror rarely uses the R rating to add anything of substance to horror, rather opting to use it to add unnecessary gore that doesn’t really enhance the story much (I usually only see R rated american horror films that are rated R for things like language and scary elements, not violence and gore). The PG-13 label either means two things for american horror, it doesn’t have the payoff you might hope for, or it has to rely on building more suspense and have the horror happen off screen. Personally, I think the horror you imagine is more effective than the horror you see on the screen typically.
Worst ending? Dawn of the Dead, the original. Although, I’m not sure if I think it’s the worst because I know what the ending was originally meant to be, and that seemed so much better. (They get to the island, but then they see the zombies are coming anyway. In other words, everything they did was for nothing.)
Best ending? Night of the Living Dead, original. It took me years to truly appreciate this ending for what it was. When I was young and saw it, I thought it was a huge cheat. This guy half kills himself to keep alive when all he’s got to depend on are primarily idiots. He makes it through the night only to be mistaken for a zombie, killed, and his body thrown on the fire. As a kid that ending slammed me home like no other. Probably because until then, almost every movie I saw had a happy ending or an ending that at least gave you hope that things would turn out all right. That was the first movie I ever saw where I said, “This ending is horrible, and there is no way to make it ‘right’ or ‘just.'” A good lesson for life as it turns out, because sometimes, no matter how good you are, you just get it in the end.
@ Alex, that is actually a really good point about the PG-13 flicks. When gore is used as a crutch for a movie ( for the most part ) it does not work. PG13 removes that crutch. I like that view, actually. @ Jesskitty, I love me some (old school) Romero, so I dig both of those examples, ESPECIALLY The Night of the Living Dead. That was such a bleak and honest ending, it left me watching the screen with my mouth hanging open. But I feel compelled to ask, how is that ending different from Night? Why did one work for you and one didn’t? They are both hopeless scenario’s that end up being, well, for lack of a better word, hopeless. It was a real shame what Romero did to that series after Land of the Dead.
Great article Remy. I agree with you that the whole “endings must be happy” thing that we have in America really disappoints me and has ruined a lot of potentially good movies. I think one of the biggest examples is the I Am Legend movie that we had a few years back (Spoilers ahead).
In the original ending, it was pretty close to the book. Will Smith’s character finds himself locked up in the cell with the vampire/mutant thing he caught, and suddenly it dawns on him that the reason he’s being hunted down is because he kidnapped a child monster. He gives the creature back to it’s kin, and they leave him be. The movie isn’t about him evading being killed, it suddenly is about him continuously killing all of these creatures trying to get back one of their own that he has been experimenting on. Suddenly, he is the monster, not the creatures outside the cell.
But, that ending didn’t test well with viewers because it made them feel sad and think too much. So we got a last minute re-write where Will Smith saves the day by blowing himself and all the monsters up with a grenade while random hottie he meets gets away with the cure to everything bad, yay happy ending. Movies aren’t an art of telling a story anymore, they’re about making as many people want to see it and keep seeing it as possible so that it can rake in as much money as fast as possible.
There is one movie that has a terrible ending, but is still one of my favorite horror movies. It’s the movie It with that creepy ass clown. Though I just found out that it is not even a movie but a TV series. The first 2 hours of that movie are really great and made a substantial contribution to my coulrophobia. But that ending almost ruined the entire movie for me. That ridiculous spider monster in the end. I understand that it was probably in the book, but the execution was very disappointing.
The best ending of a horror movie is definitely The Mist. I know that I’m probably in the minority, but I thought it was a shocking and intense ending. It was like a double twist ending that I really wasn’t expecting. Thought I have to say that I really don’t like happy endings in horror movies. My sadistic brain was well rewarded.
Oh and yeah, I like Steven King.
@Mulltalica
You’re so right! I forgot about that one. The last 5 minutes of that movie really ruined it for me. I also really don’t understand why they chose the other ending. It didn’t make any sense. If you want to kill those monsters, why not just throw the grenade in there. Did he really have to kill yourself to save that girl? Just go in the tunnel with her and throw the damn grenade.
On the subject of Paranormal Activity, specifically the alternate endings. I haven’t seen the ‘real’ ending and can’t watch it now because I’m at work so I’ll watch it later at home. For me, the alternate ending that was on the DVD was much more satisfying than the official one.
*SPOILER* After supposedly killing Micah off screen, Katie comes back upstairs and slits her throat on camera. *END SPOILER*
What made this ending effective for me was its implications. You can imagine that afterwards the police would discover the bodies and immediately assume this was a murder-suicide, case closed. Nobody would know any differently if it weren’t for Micah deciding to tape everything. Murder-suicides happen fairly regularly in America (a few a year I’m sure). The thought that perhaps some of these are not caused by stress but paranormal activity (see what I did there) is quite creepy. It explains all the real world cases where a seemingly happy couple turn up dead and family, friends and neighbors are completely shocked that their loved ones could’ve done such a thing. Like most good horror movie endings, it reaches beyond the end of the film.
Not that my vote counts, but I’m all for Remy becoming a new staff writer on Unreality.
I couldn’t find Frontier on IMDB. Could you post a link or something?
Also, off of the top of my head, one of the few “horror” films that wasn’t ruined by the ending IMO was The Orphanage.
@Mulltalica, funny thing about that flick. Will Smith made them rewrite the end ( same thing with Hancock, which is why that film turns so bad about 75% through ). He makes studios write him more epic and heroic endings to his films, no joke. It why no one will work with him anymore. I Am Legend may be one of the best short stories ever conceptualized, and that film crapping out that ending is a perfect example for this piece, Thank you! @ Drester ( you been there since article one, much appreciated! ) Yeah, IT is another great story, but that weird spider ending ( it looked like a giant puppet ) REALLY ruined the movie. Damn, you guys are good!@ Guy Incognitus, WOW, even I haven’t seen that ending but it sounds like it would really resonate with me. I like it for the same reason you do. The idea that the evil comes down to an almost human level, and wins in the end. In realistic fashion, no doubt. Makes you rethink all the murder suicides you hear about in the news. And Hamburglar. I may print that comment out and frame it, because, though I am somewhat biased, I agree. I love this site and to be a part of it is a pretty monumental moment for me. Every time I post, I learn something from the readers, and THAT is what is truly amazing about all this to me. You guys REALLY know your sh*t, and it floors me.
Hey, first of all: Great article, I agree with everything you said. I found lots of great Horror films through this site, so thank you for that, especially Martyrs which I found out about in that “Horror films you’ve never seen” post!
Being German, I have some things to say about Remakes.
Over here in Germany, EVERYTHING is dubbed. I never got why Americans don’t have that. Sure, I watch all my movies in the original language and if it’s not German or English, I’ll watch with subs most of the time. But when I’m drunk or just want to have a little fun (I don’t think the exact wording is THAT important in Horror or Action anyway) I’ll just watch the German dub.
So why the hell don’t American companies do this? This way good or great foreign film could be presented to a much bigger audience without making a (often expensive and/or watered-down) remake.
Just my 2 Cents.
I agree with most of these, especially with “REC” and “The Descent”, because those are the ones I enjoyed the most out of the list. But I disagree with “The Mist”. That ending was, in my opinion, just bleak for the sake of being bleak and shock people. Spoilers follow, of course.
I mean, after surviving all that time, ¿That was their plan?, ¿Driving aimlessly until the car runs out of gas and then commit suicide?, ¿Why didn’t they try to drive to some place they could use as a shelter/hideout and at least make it look as if they are actually trying to survive?. Also, ¿Didn’t they hear the long-ass truck convoy that was RIGHT behind them?, ¿Or the soldiers burning the creatures with flamethrowers?. Seriously, those trucks appeared way too soon.
Ok, I was thinking about it, and I realized I have 2 cent’s worth more. I’ve been thinking about different horror movies, and I figured something out. Personally, when I watch a movie, I’m looking for emotion. If I want happy, I go for comedy. If in the mood for mindless fun, something action. For nerdvana, sci-do. With horror, the people involved have an opportunity to tap into something primal. We watch horror movies to assure ourselves we can handle it. To face the evil and come out the other side. Changing endings, giving the cheap scare, or setting up a franchise is a cheap way to pandering to the masses. It’s almost insulting. Essentially, they’re saying that we can’t handle something disturbing, even though the previous 2 hours were filled with terror. For that reason, I think one if the most effective endings for me was “Funny Games”. U enjoyed the movie immensely, and the last few minutes made me feel just a little uncomfortable. No apologies, no happy ending. Just…done and moving on. Creepy, skin-crawling, and effective. Sequels could easily be made, but why? After experiencing and partly participating in the terror, the audience is left to imagine what happens next. We don’t need to see it because our imagination is far worse. You may feel a little disturbed, but at least you feel something. That’s more than I can say for any rom-com I’ve ever seen. Ok, ill stop rambling now. Thanks for your time.
@andy
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814685/
I agree that a lot of horror movies do fall short at the endings, but I don’t think it’s always because they go for the “happier” ending. The happier endings are usually bad because they are done in a cheesy way (like, at the last minute, a policeman realizes the answer has been in front of him the whole time and rushes in to save the girl), but it’s not the actual root of the problem. If that endings was done in a way where it wasn’t such a convenient tie up, then it wouldn’t be so bad.
What bothers me more is when they do the endings where its like “yay, everything is all better, wait, no, just kidding, you’re still screwed” (the unborn, and many other, better movies). I feel like that’s just a cheap shot. It’s not haunting or scary, it’s just obviously done for there to be an sequel. And then there are movies that do try to be haunting and scary at the end, but seem to always fall short anyways, and there are plenty of those (Apollo 18, being the most recent). Yes, I know I didn’t choose the best movies for my case and the argument can be made that those two sucked the whole way through, but you do see these two trends even with good horror movies.
But I am glad that they do make brighter endings because I do get sick of horror movies where the bad guy wins all the time. I like the diversity. Plus, I get upset when I’ve just spent 90 minutes watching a movie only to find out everyone dies. To me, that’s just a waste of time. I might as well go read Shakespeare. I like horror movies for the fear, not the depression. I think that one person that is left alive at the end endures more torture than the ones who die, because they have to go on living the rest of their lives with these memories and always irrationally believing someone is still after them. That’s scary to me.
I know, tl;dr, but just had to put out my two pennies.
I agree that the ending to the Mist was incredible. I have friends that are parents who hated that ending, but to me it was so raw and horrific – a fate worse than being eaten by those monsters…I loved it!
@Lemm
Haha, dubbed movies in German. I’ve seen a few movies that were dubbed in German and I really couldn’t take it seriously. I can understand German, but it doesn’t look natural. You have been watching dubbed movies all your life so you are used to it. For people who don’t normally see dubbed movies it’s a big transition. Dubbing does happen btw. I’ve seen some Korean/Japanese movies that were dubbed in English. It changes the movie from drama to comedy. I would much rather watch it in Japanese with English subtitles.
The biggest reason why they make English remakes is of course money. Combine a great script with a few millions dollars and you’ve got a hit.
At least put the titles of the movies in bold or italics.
@ Andy, I HATED The Orphanage ending, and a lot of people don’t agree with me on that. I thought it was LOONEY TUNES ideal. She is the ghost Mother for all the ghost orphans? Maybe her living with the fact that she (SPOILER) trapped her kid in the basement which led to his death would have resonated with me more, I guess. @ Lemm, loved your points, but Drester is right, we do get REALLY sub-par dubs, with terrible voice actors who lose the feeling of the narrative and dialogue ( being drunk does enhance the viewing experience in those cases, though). @ MrSelfDestruct (great song!) Your feeling about The Mist seems to be most peoples, and I don’t argue it. It is valid to feel that way after the film. Me liking that ending may speak volumes about my mental state. LoL. @ Paul, NAILED IT. I agree, it was convincing Paul ( EIC here at Unreality ) to watch Funny Games that got me this job, so that should tell you how I feel about that! @ Jay, very well put! And @Drester, tis a very sad but true fact. We get terrible dubs and it can completely kill the vibe of an entire flick, no doubt.
Ps* Guys, please hit the “like” button. I hate to beg, but I am still on trial basis and I intend to stick around for a long time…
Liked! And I’m glad I’m not the only one that hated the ending of Orphanage!! That was one movie that missed my radar, and then everyone around me raved about it. Finally saw it, thought the ending was good, then it actually ended. Grr.
@Remy
I doubt they will be looking at the amount of likes. The views and comments are more important I think.
Oh, and I kind of agree with hallam. I think Dick Dickinson was trying to say the same thing. Especially in your first article. When you have a list of different movies, maybe you could make the titles big and bold. Just makes it a little bit more readable.
You asked for feedback;)
@ Paul, Much obliged, brother!@Drester, good call about the “likes” AND the bold print. I think I have a list running Monday or Wednesday of next week, and I formatted it a little better I believe ( I hope!) Feedback is def appreciated in any way I can get it. The only way to improve is to know thy weaknesses. A great man ( or was it an unimportant NPC?) once told me that. It is also quite nice to be surrounded by horror fans. I have been searching you people out for years!
Another one pointing out that The Descent is british, not aussie.
@Drester
Hah, yeah I know what you mean. I prefer watching movies in the original language, of course. But I think compared to a lot, if not all, other countries, German dubbing is done pretty well. I’ve seen some English dubs of Anime stuff and it was just plain terrible. Over here though we got a huge staff of professional writers and – do you call it “dubbing actors”? We call it Synchronsprecher – synchronised speakers. I never got the feeling it turns films into comedy. If done right, dubbing can be quite convincing. And I speak and understand English fluently and watch most American movies in English so I know the difference. Sometimes I have to cringe because they tried to translate some wordplay or local accent, but other than that…
The point I was trying to make was that I think it’d be better if the film wasn’t messed with and instead a professional dub would be done instead of a terrible remake of a perfect film.
Now I’m going to have to go back and rewatch [REC] because I did not notice the subtle differences.
@ Remy
Regarding The Orphanage ending, I completely disagree. Remember that the kid was terminally ill and she had a husband. *SPOILER* She kills herself because she can’t live with it. The ‘happy’ ending isn’t so happy. After all she is dead and her husband has to deal with not really knowing what happened and why his wife and child are dead.
@ Guy, That is actually a really cool angle and I had never thought about it from that perspective.
Definitely the WORST horror movie and even the worst ENDING to a horror movie was the movie Halloween 3. I mean, was that movie really even necessary to make? It had NOTHING to do with Michael Myers! The season of the witch, I mean, really??? Also another terrible ending for me and a horror movie goes out to Childs Play! AKA Bride of Chucky…I mean what the hell was that??? The ending was so whack, I was SO disappointed 🙁 Best part of a horror movie to me has to go out to “Welcome to PRIME TIME, B*TCH!” LOL I <3 Nightmare on Elm Street movies 😉 I break out the classics, because those to me were the best. I will definitely check out REC 2 though 🙂
@Remy
Glad Paul has you on board! This is article #2 of yours that made me realize how many good horror flicks I’ve been missing. Thankfully, I’m undeterred by spoilers and subtitles…
The Descent is indeed an British film, thus all the British actors and the film being set in Britain…
@ Eileen, good call with Halloween 3. Although that could have been ( and was supposed to be) a cool little stand alone horror movie, they thought adding Halloween to the title would insure more viewers, but it messed it all up. @TJ, was just really digging your comic post from today. Definitely cyked to be a part of this crew! And Aussie?, we are all allowed one mess up now and again. That was my mess up. I admit it, I accept it, and now we are moving past it. I failed Geography for a reason.
@ Kandice
You make a solid point. I don’t have anything against “happy” endings in horror films just as long as it doesn’t betray the intent of the story. Some standouts for me would be Alien, The Thing (Carpenter), Let the Right One In, and The Ring. Although how “happy” any of those would be is really up to the viewer. The protagonist survived (the duration of the film), but just barely. They (and the viewer) earned it through attrition.
One of the things that draw me to Horror films and to a lesser extent Thrillers is that victory is not assured, absolute victory even less so. As such I’m drawn in more, investing much more in the film. So when a film has a (relatively) positive outcome, I feel more relieved than I would from other films. But it’s a treat, not a given or else it may be diminished.
Martyrs
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029234/
I have never felt so cheated in my whole horror watching life. The first half of the movie is a briliant revenge slasher tale. And then it takes a turn into a pseudo metaphysical nonsense. It’s like the completely different films were stitched together.
As far as The Descent is concerned, I consider it to be quite possibly one of the greatest horror films ever made. I am not sure which version I’ve watched several time, but I clearly remember her only thinking she made it out, and it was brilliant, as the author suggests. I am so glad I didn’t see the US version then.
@ Kandice
For me it’s not about the diversity of the endings, rather the ending has to fit the overall theme of the movie.
Case in point: Crank
Yes, I know it’s not a horror, but it’s a perfect example. The movie is so ridiculously over the top tha the only possible outcome of him falling down from the sky is that he survives. With everything that has happened in that film, the logical conclusion is that he can survive even falling down from the sky.
When it comes to horror, the obvious and the best example is Saw. Unlike The 6th Sense, Saw doesn’t depend on the ending, it would be a great film even if it ended without that OMG! scene, but this way is just so much better, because it compliments the movie perfectly.
Agree for the most part on these, but you kind of caught what was wrong with the alternate ending for Paranormal Activity in that it just drags on too long… her rocking in place for ten minutes, time lapsed as it is, just runs out of gas before the payoff. Sure, it’s more realistic than the “internet maze scare” finish, but it was also boring by the time it got there.
Also, I’ll again point out my running pet peeve with this site: attention to detail. The couple from PA aren’t married, Descent is British (not Australian), just little crap like that… it’s a little anal of me, but it’s hard to enjoy a review or introspection when glaring mistakes are made. Usually it’s Paul criticizing a video game with a comment that makes you say “wait… did he actually play it? Did he skip all the dialogue/cinematics?” This wasn’t that bad, but I still kept on saying “wait… that’s not right” one too many times.
It’s like finding yourself counting the verbal pauses in speech, and then realize you can’t recall what was actually said.
@ PR That is actually a great call about CRANK. I hated that, but upon your explanation it really DOES fit perfectly with everything you saw prior. Nice, I may go rewatch that now. @ Steve, Do me a favor man. Try your best to do research while your girlfriend is asleep three feet away from you so you can get up in three hours and go work a job you hate so you can come home and work the job you actually love, and THEN tell me I missed some facts. Though I do appreciate the feedback, there will be things that slip between the cracks now and then, unfortunately. A full time life with no time to stop and breathe gets exhausting, and as a result sometimes a fact will slip. As a writer, I do my best to avoid this at all costs, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Again, I will do my best to make sure those little slip ups happen infrequently if at all. Also, I apologize if they pull anyone out of the piece. But if you really think about it you will see that, um….I lost count of our pauses and forgot what we were talking about. Dammit.
Remy, Night of the living dead was the best. I said “Dawn of the Dead” was the worst, because the movie ending was that the people who didn’t die, escaped the zombie horde and went to an island, “Yay! Humanity always wins out!” It didn’t bother me much until I heard that in the original planned ending, no, they didn’t make it, no matter what the zombies were going to win.
Night will always be the better of the two, just because it was bleak. I think bleak endings work better in horror movies.
Although, some of the worst endings are the ones where, “Yes, everything is just fine… OR IS IT?” You know what I mean, the ones where the perky female heroine and the rugged male hero bury the monster/serial killer/whatever and walk away into the sunset… then BAM, we see the hand rising out of the grave! I hate those endings, because they just come across like either A: We aren’t finished hosing you for money yet. or B: In hoping to please everyone, we come across like waffling wienies. I know in truth, it’s A, but I can’t help feeling like B is in their too.
Sorry what?
There’s a version of The Descent where they snipped off the ending? That’s completely daft. No wonder you were disappointed. You are SUPPOSED to think “what the hell?” during that penultimate section and leaving out the ending is a MASSIVE cheat.
But yeah, it kinda misled me when you said you didn’t like the ending. What you actually meant was that you’d never seen the ending.
Best Horror Ending: John Carpenter’s “The Thing”. Once again, no self-congratulatory ending like “Aliens” or even a quiet reflective ending with the character staring at the aftermath like “Predator”. No, “The Thing” leaves the audience with the same creepy atmosphere that worked so well earlier in the film. What’s more this isn’t even in order to set up for a sequel, it’s just the best way to end the movie.
Worst Horror Ending: I’m going to go with “Carrie”. That made no sense to me. During the film it seemed pretty clear that Carrie wasn’t supposed to be evil. Events leading up to climactic scene (rather annoyingly found on the cover of the DVD box) were both tragic and inevitable because of bullies in school and her puritanical mother. Yet the ending seemed to completely betray all of that just for the sake of a quick jump-scare. Meh.
Coming in VERY late here, but thought I’d mention something about The Descent and its sequel: while you are absolutely spot on about the difference between euro and american horror films, both endings add a little something here and there. The first is basically a morality tale, but with the jumpscare at the end, the protagonist’s choice paints it as a morality tale gone wrong — in other words, no matter how far she makes it out of that cave physically, psychically she’s going to be in there for the rest of her life.
The second one has some really nice moments, and I actually really liked the ending for throwing in some quirky humor and answering the question “How do these things survive… wait, these things hunt *deer*? No effing way.” It takes it from a pretty good darwinian adventure movie much like Aliens compared to Alien (unlike the first flick, I really wouldn’t call The Descent 2 horror. It just wasn’t a particularly scary movie) and gives it a quirky almost lovecraftian subplot.
Which isn’t to say that the entire thing couldn’t have been improved by having a director willing to gut-punch you all teh way into the credits like in The Mist…but the endings do provide a bit of brain candy to chew on later.
Respectfully,
Russ in Texas
@jesskitty Dawn of the Dead– A montage of footage from a camcorder found on the boat begins with Steve’s escapades before the outbreak, and concludes with the group running out of supplies before finally arriving at an island. They disembark and are attacked by another swarm of zombies. The film ends with the dropped camcorder recording dozens of zombies chasing them, leaving their fate unknown.
Always watch the credits.
@jesskitty –Unless you meant the original… in which case, I should have known because of your mention of Night of the Living Dead. Sorry. ^_^ It just annoys me no end that people don’t stay through the credits of stuff. They should know by now.
Remy, I always look forward to your horror film recommendations. Because of you I have seen Audition, I Saw the Devil and Grave Encounters and loved them. Keep ’em comin’!
With that said, I kinda remembered the original ending of I Am Legend. Sometimes films have to pander to Hollywood stereotypes, and there are very few directors who can say ‘screw it!’ and kick an audience by the balls.
Hopeless endings on horror movies are such a cliche.