Sometimes, as filmmakers, it’s important to save the best for last; an ending can make or break the entire movie. A lame or unsatisfying one can ruin the whole experience, tarnishing what could have been an incredible cinematic achievement. Make a great ending, and audiences will eat it up, blowing them away with a perfect finale that wraps up everything, gives a decent payoff, and makes viewers appreciate the film and want to return for more. Throughout cinematic history,there sure have been some powerful endings; many even come from horror.
Indeed, horror cinema is full of excellent and satisfying endings. Some of the greatest horror movies of all time are loved today thanks to having decent conclusions that perfectly ended these compelling works on soaring and terrifying high notes. While, admittedly,the horror genre has seen some disappointing endingsthroughout the years, the ten below are among the best of the best and are endlessly rewatchable and iconic.These are the most memorable and shocking finales in horror, never failing to scare or stun viewers. From slashers to black-and-white classics, here are the ten best horror movie endings ever.
10’Friday the 13th' (1980)
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Slashers defined the horror genregoing into the 1980s, and few are as recognizable and beloved from this time as the firstFriday the 13thfilm. What started as a plot made to capitalize on the booming slasher buzz generated by the success ofHalloweenquickly turned into a pop-cultural icon and one of the subgenre’s greatest hits. It’s bloody and twisted, but most importantly, it includesa shocking finale that no audience will ever forget.
The ending shot of the final girl, Alice (Adrienne King), as she has a horrifying nightmare of being violently dragged into a lake by the zombified corpse of a drowned boy, is a terrifying image that can’t be unseen.It’s perhapsone of the most iconic jumpscare endingsin movie history and can still take the breath away from anyone watching it. While it’s not the first to use this trope, this epic conclusion paved the way for other horror movies to end with a sudden, unexpected last scare.
Friday the 13th
9’The Mist' (2007)
Directed by Frank Darabont
Endings don’t get more bleakthan inFrank Darabont’sThe Mist. Based on the chillingStephen Kingnovella of the same name, this tense psychological sci-fi thriller sees a large group of survivors taking shelter in a grocery store as their small town comes under attack by otherworldly creatures that rolled in through a thick mist created after a military experiment went horribly wrong. After some time, a small group leaves the store in a vehicle in search of a way to drive out of the mist, leading to a tragic outcome.
The film concludes with one of the survivors in the vehicle, David (Thomas Jane), mercy-killing his passengers, including his son, to spare them from being devoured by the monsters outside after their car runs out of gas. After he runs out of bullets, David surrenders to the mist but becomes even more devastated moments later as the military finally rolls onto the scene and rescues him.This entire finale isa major punch in the gut, leaving viewersstunned by how dark it is. It was a bold choice that evenKing admitted was better than what he had in his book.
8’The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
Directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick
Found footage horrorwouldn’t be as popular today without the success ofThe Blair Witch Project. This game-changer is significant to the horror genre and had a lasting influence on pop culture. Shot entirely through handheld cameras, it shows the last footage taken by three film students who went missing while searching for a local legend, The Blair Witch, in the woods of Maryland.
By the film’s end, Mike (Michael C. Williams) and Heather (Heather Donahue), the last two students, stumble upon a dilapidated, abandoned house in the woods. They’re lured into the basement and subsequently ambushed and killed by an unknown entity.This ending terrifies audiences with uncertainty. Whether the students were taken by the Blair Witch or something else, this ending leaves questions unanswered. Instead, itinstills fear and panicwithin viewers, making them question what really happened all after they’ve seen it.
The Blair Witch Project
7’Saw' (2004)
Directed by James Wan
Horror thrived in the early 2000s thanks to the low-budget, splatter masterpieceSaw. Directed byJames Wanand starringLeigh WhannellandCary Elwes, it tells the story of two men trapped in a mysterious bathroom, forced to play a dangerous game after their previous actions caught the attention of the brilliant, illusive serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell).
Sawspawned a successful horror franchise, each one with shocking final twists. However, the original has thebest and most unexpected ending in theSawseries. It concludes with the reveal that Jigsaw was in the bathroom the whole time, posing as a dead body in the middle of the room. He then locks the last player, Adam (Whannel), in the dark bathroom alone forever after failing the game. The endingpulls the rug from under the audienceand leaves their jaws on the floor. Seeing the killer shout “Game Over” as he leaves a screaming, poor Adam to his fate isan unforgettable closer that’s still monumentally terrifying to watch.
6’The Omen' (1976)
Directed by Richard Donner
The 1970s were a blast for the horror genrethanks to horrifying classics likeRichard Donnner’sThe Omen. A suspense masterpiece with an unrelenting sense of dread, this chiller sees the lateGregory Peckshine as U.S. Ambassador Robert Thorn, who uncovers a sinister conspiracy after a series of grizzly deaths occur around his adopted son, Damien (Harvey Stephens). Soon, he realizes Damien is the antichrist, prophesized to rise to power and take over the world.
By the end, Thorn attempts to kill Damien, thereby sparing humanity a dark fate, but the authorities kill him before he can carry it out. The last shot is of the antichrist devilishly smiling at the camera at Thorn’s funeral as he’s now in the care of the U.S. President, ensuring that his prophecy will be fulfilled. It’san iconic and unsettling finalethat leaves viewers witha lingering feeling of impending doom. Sometimes, the scariest endings leave hints that something terrible will eventually happen.
The Omen (1976)
Directed by George A. Romero
What would horror cinema be without zombie movies? They’re an essential part of the genre, thanks mainly to the popularity and success of the late greatGeorge A. Romero’s 1968 black-and-white masterpieceNight of the Living Dead. This powerful film brought zombies into the spotlight, terrifying audiences with its iconic tale of the dead rising from their graves to attack the living. In chaos, a small group of survivors holds out in an isolated farmhouse until a rescue can come at dawn.
This disturbingzombie classic is perfect from start to finish. Everything comes together, especially its heartbreaking conclusion. After surviving the night after many close calls, the sole survivor, Ben (Duane Jones), leaves his shelter in the basement after hearing the rescue posse finally arrive to clear out the remaining zombies. But, inone last gut punch to the audience, he’s mistaken for a zombie by one of the posse members and shot dead. It’san unexpected and tragic end to an already bleak story, but it’s become one of the most recognizable endings in horror. It leaves viewers shocked and impressed by its boldness.
Night of the Living Dead
4’Rosemary’s Baby' (1968)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Hardly any horror film in history has a better build-up and suspense thanRosemary’s Baby. This masterclass in dread and claustrophobic atmosphere frightened audiences in 1968 and continues to today. It’s a tense tale of a mother-to-be, Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), who fears that her unborn child will be used for nefarious purposes by the mysterious tenants in her new apartment building.
Rosemary’s Baby’s greatest strength is keeping the audience guessing what terrifying reveal will occur next. Thankfully, it ends with a shocker, as it’s revealed that the tenants are actually Satan worshipers who’ve used Rosemary to birth the devil’s son into the world and now attempt to convince her to raise him. This ending isgreatly unsettling and perfectly built up. It’s ambiguous anddoesn’t give a clear answer as to what will happento the protagonist and if the world is forever doomed. It’s another perfect example of leaving things up to interpretation.
Rosemary’s Baby
3’Psycho' (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
When thinking of iconic last shots in horror movies, they don’t get more recognizable than the one from the ending toSir Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiecePsycho. This thrilling early slasher tells the story of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a Phoenix desk secretary who steals money from her job and ventures into the countryside to avoid capture. But when she stops for the night at a rundown motel operated by the friendly-looking Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), she meets a terrible fate at the hands of Norman’s overbearing mother, Norma.
Inone of the most brilliant movie twists, however, the ending reveals Norma’s been dead a long time, and it was actually Norman, who suffers from a split personality, who killed Marion while dressed as his mother. The last scene shows him staring and smiling into the camera while his deadly “mother” side has completely overtaken his personality. Despite being over sixty years old now,Psycho’s ending is stillone of the scariest and most memorable conclusionsin cinematic history, one thatlives on in pop culture. It’s instantly recognizable and couldn’t help but make anyone watching it feel uneasy.
2’The Thing' (1982)
Directed by John Carpenter
John Carpenter’s magnum opus,The Thing, has beena must-watch for horror fansfor decades since its release in 1982. This sharply paced, brilliantly acted, and powerfully suspenseful classic sees a group of American researchers as they try to figure out who’s human after their isolated Antarctic base is infiltrated by a shapeshifting extraterrestrial creature that can perfectly disguise itself as any one of them.
This essential horror masterpiece has been constantly rewatched over the years, thanks to itsintense and brilliant cliffhanger finale. By the end, after finally killing the alien in a firey camp explosion, the last two survivors sit in a burnt-out shack while fires blaze all around them, looking suspiciously at one another and trying to figure out if the other is secretly an alien in disguise. Is one of them an imitation? Are they both human? Will they ever find shelter before they freeze? These are questions that Carpenter thankfully left unanswered to heighten the film’s mystery. This ambiguous ending perfectly complements the paranoia ofThe Thingandproves thatthe most effective and scariest conclusions don’t always give clear answers.
1’The Shining' (1980)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Swooping in to take the top spot goes to one of the most eerie and thought-provoking endings ever fromStanley Kubrick’s 1980 classicThe Shining. Aperfectly crafted horror masterpiece,The Shiningis a near-flawless film with excellent writing and unique performances. StarringJack Nicholsonand the lateShelly Duvall, it tells of the Torrance family, whose father, Jack, becomes the caretaker at an isolated mountain resort hotel, The Overlook, for the winter. But as they begin to be terrorized by the hotel’s ghostly inhabitants, the spirits slowly manipulate Jack to go on a murderous rampage.
The Shining’s ending has been the subject of debatesince the film’s debut. It’s never clear after Jack fails to kill his family and succumbs to the cold elements outside whether the last shot of him smiling in an old 1921 photograph on a wall in the hotel means that he’s a reincarnation destined to relive being the caretaker or if it means he’s now among the lost souls tombed within the hotel. There aremany different ways to look at this ending, making it so fascinating and one of the best in movie history. It goes to show that sometimes, it’sbest to leave the audience imagining what the ending truly means.
