The Purpose of the Horror Film’s Unhappy Ending (Eight Examples)

The formula for most horror films usually includes some sort of happy ending. The hero (and perhaps one or two others) miraculously emerges from the nightmare relatively unscathed. Sure, there are always a few casualties along the way. What would a good horror movie be without them? Nonetheless, it is the errant scary flick with the unhappy ending that often catches our attention. Unhappy endings in horror serve different purposes depending upon the movie. Here are some popular examples that affected us with their unfortunate conclusions…

(DEFINITE SPOILERS ALERT!)

Movie: "Rest Stop" (2006)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Screwing around with one's perception of reality is the most horrible thing of all.

Poor Nicole is thrust in a series of bizarre occurrences in this awkward horror flick, almost all of which is a product of her "imagination." Once you've truly grasped what's really happened in this story (that all the victims have been killed by ghosts in this haunted section of highway)---you realize just how frightening the rest stop really is.

Movie: "High Tension" (2003)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Sometimes we are the monsters from which we run.

This movie took a few twists and turns. Literally fraught with "high tension", it was the psychological spin that made the ending seem as sad as it was horrifying. We might have felt sorry for Marie if she hadn't spent the entire movie hacking up her friend's family and "stalking herself."

Movie: "Crazy as Hell" (2002)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Hell can sometimes looks familiar.

This understated horror flick found Ty Adams (Michael Beach) in a nightmarish mental hospital that turned out to be Hell itself (thus the title). Ty's unraveling may have taken one or two comedic turns. But his final minutes in the film ooze with agony and despair.

Movie: "Open Water" (2003)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Real life dread is the scariest of them all.

There was simply no way out for this married couple that met with an agonizing fate in the middle of the ocean. As if the slow desperation wasn't bad enough, that this film was based on a true story, makes their fate that much more chilling.

Movie: "Session 9" (2001)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Our mental unraveling is often the greatest horror of all.

Danvers, a supposedly haunted abandoned mental hospital cast its demented, murderous influence over the crew hired to clean up hazardous debris. A seemingly innocuous job turned into the ultimate nightmare in this tale.

Movie: "The Strangers" (2008)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Stupidity in horror films often leads to one's demise.

It is presumed that Kristen survived the bloody ordeal taking place in "The Strangers." But the bloody ending itself is just so horrific that even if she did make it, she'd probably be a basket case for life.

Movie: "Shutter" (2006)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Love doesn't always conquer all.

We were significantly affected by the truth behind Megumi's mysterious appearances. We were also disappointed that these newlyweds didn't make it through the horror intact as a couple. But that a ghost can physically attach itself and cause spinal problems is more than we can handle.



Movie: "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)" (2010)
Unhappy Ending Lesson: Thoroughly disgust your audience. For real.

There are no dainty ways to describe what happens to the victims at the end of this film---with one victim in particular bearing the brunt of this painfully humiliating torture. (Enough said.)

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