HORROR MOVIES 101

Horror movie endings

SPOILER ALERT: this thread is how horror movies end and different effect of different endings. As examples, I talk about the ending of Psycho, The Ring, and The Sixth Sense - so if you haven't seen those movies, don't read this!

 So I've noticed that many horror movies broadly fall into two camps - those that are scary in the beginning and middle, but have a 'happy' resolution (in which the scary force or characters turn out to be not so scary) and the opposite: those that are scary in the beginning and middle, but then even scarier at the end when you find out a safe or good character turns out to be evil.

 An example of the first would be 'The Sixth Sense' - the ghosts are scary, but then you find out that they aren't trying to hurt the little kid, they are trying to communicate with them. A film of the second kind would be 'Psycho' - in which Norman Bates turns out to be the killer after all (in fact, many of the scariest Hitchcock movies turn out like this).

Incidentally, this is one reason I found the Ring so unsettling - towards the end, you think it's going to be the former, but then you realize it's really the second kind. You relax for a few minutes when you think Samara is at peace ... only to realize that she's actually evil.

 Anyway, my question is: is there a term for either of these two endings?  Personally, I feel like the second kind is much more unsettling - those are the ones that stick with me and keep me up at night (even more so than movies where the evil force character remains the same throughout the whole movie, like, say Halloween). 

Interestingly, even though I love the 'good turns evil' endings, it's kind of hard to ask for recommendations - because then I sort of know something about the ending. But I still think I'd enjoy a movie knowing what type of ending it had, because I wouldn't know the specifics.

 Just wondering everyone's thoughts about these different types of endings and how the affect a movie...

Re:Horror movie endings

Now I have to admit, I always love happy endings, I want all the evil to either be resolved at the end, or at least all the characters that I love to live at the end.  But even though the Ring was a little unsettling, it was so cool and exciting to see her crawl out of the TV.

Of course most of my favorite zombie movies always have endings that I just put my head down and say OH NO...but I have come to expect endings like that so it doesn't bother me.  If you have seen the movie UNDEAD (I won't give anything away because a lot of people have not seen this very cool Australian movie) but it has an ending that is not a happy ending but you think there is some hope anyway. 

 I could go on and on and on and on.  There are some endings that I get really ticked off at and some that I am ticked off at when I first see it but the more I think about it, I think it's a very cool ending.  An example of that is the Descent.  At first I was sooooooo upset, but then I thought well, at least when it happened to her she was in a good place in her head...

Re:Horror movie endings

Very interesting. I'll have to rent Undead and the Descent to check out those endings and see how I feel about them. 

Re:Horror movie endings

I will have to agree that the end of Undead was good in it's openness, but i have not seen The Descent. But since we are talking endings i will just tell you some of my favorites of all time. (dont worry i will not give anything away). This list is in no particular order (and please keep in mind, this is only a few.).

Undead (I know it was already mentioned, but here it is again.)

28 days later

Night of the living dead (Romero's)

Zombi 2

Broken

Resident Evil

Nightmare on elm st.

Any Evil Dead film

Jeepers Creepers

O ( this is just an honorable mention, not a horror movie)

Saw

Cabin Fever

and since i am taking up so much time just listing movies and not really talking about them, i will list the movie I think has the best ending of all time

John Carpenter's The Thing

I have yet to see a movie that can top that ending.