An ending can make or break a movie. While, a shitty one could greatly hurt or even kill it, an awesome one can raise it to the next level. Even an OK or mediocre movie is elevated by a great ending. In the case of the horror film, a great ending can deliver that extra shock, scare,twist, or kick in the fucking teeth. Here then, are the best of the best, finales that their respective films on an exceptionally high note. Also, let me make this abundantly clear: these rankings are based solely on the endings, themselves, and NOT the movies as a whole.
WARNING: SPOILERS are all
over this since, as we are talking endings. You have been fucking warned.
Honorable Mentions: The Sixth Sense, They Live, Carrie (1976), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982), Halloween III: Season of the Witch, In the Mouth of Madness, Bride of Frankenstein
20. Deep Red (1975)- We start off the list with this killer cap-off from Dario Argento's giallo masterpiece. As crazy mom is revealed to be the actual killer, she tries to off our hero (David Hemmings). Only to have her necklace get caught on the elevator leading to an original and exciting decapitation. Throw in a reflection in a pool of blood and the awesome music of Goblin and you have one kick ass sendoff.
19. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)- In my humble opinion, the best take of the
Body Snatchers is this 70's classic. The ending has Veronica Carlson's character going to meet-up with Donald Sutherland's character. Only to have him point and scream at her, as he too has been replaced by the aliens. This is a mega-classic scene that is still memorable and chilling all these years later.
18. The House of the Devil (2009)- This slow burn, modern classic ends in a terrifying and chilling manner. As, our lovely heroine (Jocelin Donahue) is scarified to Satan, after she discovers the truth about the couple she works for.
17. Night of the Living Dead (1968)- George A. Romero's masterpiece has our hero (Duane Jones) hide in the cellar, the place he was avoiding all night, and seemingly survives the zombie hordes that very night. Only, to get shot by a zombie hunting posse and tossed in a fire with the other corpses. It's an ironic, bleak, and politically charged ending to one of the greatest horror movies ever made,
16. Rosemary's Baby (1968)- Rosemary (Mia Farrow) enters a room filled with old people who worship Satan, and sees her new born son. Who apparently has some fucked up eyes. And, that is cause he is Satan's kid! Our devil worshiping old geezers praise Lucifer, while our heroine goes from scared to accepting motherhood, in what might be the best ending of that decade.
15. Ready or Not (2019)- More Satan worship, as a rich, evil, family cult fails at killing the gorgeous Samara Weaving. They end up blowing up and splattering everywhere, including on her. She then steps out of the mansion, sits down, and smokes a cigarette in the best ending of the last decade.
14. Don't Look Now (1973)- Donald Sutherland returns to this list, this time as victim. The dude thinks he sees his dead daughter but nope. It's just a hideous lady dwarf, who proceeds to stab him to death in this amazing 70's classic.
13. Black Christmas (1974)- Olivia Hussey's character seems to have survived the night, the killer is dead, and the cops leave. But, the truth is the dude who died ain't the killer. The real killer is still inside the house and in the attic. We see one of the victims, with a plastic bag on her head sitting on a rocking chair. This chilling ending still packs a punch all these years and viewings later.
12. Nekromantik (1988)- Our main character. a now lonely necrophiliac, commits harakari suicide with a knife. His erect dick shoots out blood and cum, in one of the most jaw dropping and shocking finales ever. Jorg Buttergergeit sets himself as the type of genre director who makes endings no else ever fucking would.
11. The Kill List (2011)- This British horror/ crime drama has a cult trick our main character into killing his own wife and child, in an ending that delivers one hell of a punch to the balls. My friends and I were fucking shocked beyond belief after we saw this. It really elevates the movie to near classic level.
10. Nekromantik 2 (1991)- This superior sequel to the arthouse extreme gorefest from Germany comes to us from the same filmmaker Jorg Buttergergeit. The ending, like the rest of the proceedings. is also better. The gorgeous
Monika M. (one of the hottest women to ever grace our genre, mind you) is riding her current boyfriend. Then she slices his head off with knife and replaces it with decayed head of the first movie's lead character. After this splattery climax (pun intended), we cut to the doc's office to learn she is knocked up. Yup, no ends their fucking movies like Buttergergeit, nobody!
9. The Wicker Man (1973)- Our hero, played by the original
Equalizer, himself Edward Woodward, get well done inside the Wicker Man, which is set ablaze by a cult. Said cult (damn lots of those in this list, huh?) is led by Christopher Lee's character. It's one of the greatest moments in all of horror, quite honestly.
8. The Vanishing (1988)- This Dutch horror thriller will haunt you for days with its nihilistic ending. Our hero, who has been searching for missing girlfriend, ends up discovering the truth of what happened to her: by being buried alive! This ending is ignored in the shitty American remake which deserves to be buried itself, under a pile of feces.
7. The Mist (2007)- Frank Daranbont's adaptation of Stephen King's novel delivers one of the greatest downbeat endings ever. Confronted with no escape from the nightmarish monsters of the titular mist, Thomas Jane's character is forced to kill the people who escaped the supermarket with him. Among them is his little son, but seconds later the Army comes in killing the monsters, clearing the mist, and bringing with them survivors. If had only waited a teensy bit longer...
6. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)- To end the zombie horde, the army drops a nuclear bomb on the town. As the charred remains of it raises to the sky, it rains, meaning the dead will raise again! But, even if they didn't, it ended with a motherfucking nuclear assault (and, I don't mean the thrash metal band)!
5. Se7en (1995)- As our hero (Brad Pitt) gets a box ("What's in the box?!) with his wife's (Gwenyth Paltrow) decapitated head, he releases his "wrath" on Doe, who "envied" our hero. He does this by blowing Doe's brains out. This completes John Doe's master plan of the seven deadly sins, in this absolutely searing finale.
4. Tenebrae (1982)- In this Dario Argento giallo classic, we learn that our killer faked his death, and he offs the cop investigating the brutal murders. Daria Nicoldi's character decides to go back in the house. The killer (who she had feelings for and hooked up with earlier in the movie) is waiting to off her. But, as she opens the door, a piece of modern art impales the bad guy, as he he bloodily dies in front of her. She lets loose a blood curdling scream that long resonates as the movie ends. It's one of the most unnerving finales in all of Euro-horror!
3. Sleepaway Camp (1983)- We learn that not only is our killer the quite and sweet Angela (Felissa Rose), but that she is actually a he. As, we see that Angela has a knife and a cock! It is the greatest twist (and admit ably shocking) endings in all of horror! Sorry. M. Knight Shyamalan, but this is how it is.
2. Friday the 13th (1980)- Alice (Adrienne King) is on a rowboat thinking all is fine, and with the serene music we do, too. But, nope, it ain't! Little Jason (Ari Lehman) jumps out of the water and drags her down. She wakes up screaming and says that he is still out there. Fuck yeah, he is as a franchise is born. And, regardless, whether you love those movies or not, this still remains a killer ending, even in repeated viewings. It is also, is I say, the greatest jump scare on God's green earth.
1. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)- Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) ends up getting sucked into the middle ages. There he blows a flying deadite's head and gets looked up as the promised one by the people. He isn't happy about this, to say the very least. This ending is so wild and utterly innovative that one cannot help but love it. It took years for it to be resolved by Sam Raimi's very own
Army of Darkness, but this is still one of the coolest moments in all of the genre. It had such a huge impact and still gets me pumped all these years and viewings later!
Well, I hope you enjoyed my list. Am I missing any? Let me know in the comment section below. Also, have a good Memorial Day weekend and please stay safe.
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