Following up on the success of Us and Candyman, American director Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, Nope, was released last month. The film has a supernatural twist to its fear factor, with the story following two siblings who attempt to collect evidence of a UFO.
While Peele has shown his ability to produce great horror movies that grip their audience from start to finish, not every director is able to do the same. Some films in the horror genre start incredibly strong, but crash and burn towards the end, leaving viewers wondering if they ever should have put the movie on in the first place.
The Open House
A Netflix horror film released in 2018, The Open House follows the story of a mother and her son who, after her husband dies, are forced to move into her sister’s chalet. The house, however, is on the market, so they must leave on Sundays for the open houses.
The movie consists of strange occurrences happening that eventually lead to deaths, but the way the movie ends makes viewers feel like they just wasted an hour and a half. Redditor novab792 sums up their disappointment by saying that „the ending somehow managed to both kill everyone and leave parts of the story not wrapped up.“
Annabelle
The prequel to The Conjuring, 2014’s Annabelle focuses on the origin of the titular evil doll introduced in the horror movie’s sequel. The show follows the strange occurrences that come about in the home of John and Mia Form after they obtain this rare porcelain doll.
While Annabelle has some very good moments and is a riveting horror for most of the film, the inclusion of an outdated trope greatly disappointed some Redditors, ruining the whole movie. Redditor MRB1007 explains that they „LOVED that movie until the whole ‚poor little old black lady needs to sacrifice herself so the white woman can be happy‘ bit.“
Phoenix Forgotten
A scary movie based on the true story of the 1997 UFO phenomenon „Phoenix Lights,“ Phoenix Forgotten tells the story of a group of teenagers that disappear while searching for the origin of this extraterrestrial contact. The film is shot using found-footage, with viewers watching protagonist Sophie’s older brother Josh investigate the occurrence through videos.
The concept of the movie is interesting, with a sister attempting to find her missing brother through his investigation of the paranormal, but the ending fails to wrap up the concept. Reddit user redditryan2011 explains that „the movie was decent up until that point and then the ending basically said ‚FU,'“ adding that it was a „waste of time“ with „no closure at all.“
Opera
A 1987 Italian slasher film by Dario Argento, Opera follows a young soprano singer who is forced to watch murders occur while working at an opera house. The assailant first kills a stagehand while she is performing, then goes on to involve her in various other murders, including that of her boyfriend.
This film is well-executed until the end, where clumsy directing sours the beautifully curated story that had been being told. Redditor PaulSheldonsFeet shows their displeasure by describing the ending as „tacked on, pointless, awkwardly filmed, disjointed and tonally different“ from the rest of the film, completely ruining it for them.
YellowBrickRoad
As the name suggests, the 2010 horror film YellowBrickRoad utilizes the classic movie The Wizard of Oz in its storytelling. It follows an expedition into a town whose entire population disappeared 70 years prior, after a town-wide viewing of The Wizard of Oz leads them all to walk into the wilderness.
What starts out as an exciting and unique premise devolves into an underwhelming glob at the end of YellowBrickRoad. Redditor dr_fritz candidly describes the ending as feeling like „a placeholder ending they were using until they came up with something better, but they forgot to come up with something better.“
Gerald’s Game
Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Gerald’s Game was released in 2017 by Netflix. The premise of the movie centers around a couple who go on holiday in a secluded area, only for the husband to die while the wife is handcuffed to the bed with little hope of being rescued.
One of the scariest parts of Gerald’s Game is the hallucinations that the wife starts to have after suffering from dehydration, causing the viewer to no longer know what is real and what is not. The ending of the movie spoils this fear factor and ruins the horror, with Redditor deimosremus stating that „it completely gets rid of any ambiguity that made it creepy.“
Mom And Dad
A comedy horror film starring Nicolas Cage, Mom and Dad follows the story of the Ryans, a family of four whose household is engulfed in tension. One day, while the daughter Carly is at school, parents suddenly start murdering their children, sending the school into chaos.
While the premise is interesting and the movie progresses well, the ending is unforgivable for Redditors. Reddit user MovieMike007 describes it as more of a „complete lack of ending,“ saying that they „really enjoyed the movie, right up until the point where it just abruptly ended“ with no explanation or conclusion to wrap up loose ends.
High Tension
A 2003 French slasher film, High Tension follows a pair of students, Alex and Marie, who are visiting Alex’s parents‘ farmhouse for the weekend. While staying at the house, they are visited by a serial killer who murders Alex’s father before chasing the rest of the residents.
The film has all the makings of a great slasher film—from the gore to the action—but sadly falters with a twist ending so bad it ruins the film entirely. Reddit is very aware of this, with Reddit user chochobeware stating that they have „read on here several times to turn it off before the last 10 minutes“ or risk ruining the film.
Ghost Stories
Ghost Stories is a British horror anthology that tells the story of Philip Goodman, a professor who has devoted his life to disproving the work of psychics and superstition. He is invited by a paranormal investigator to help try and solve three paranormal events that are supposedly the work of ghosts.
Reddit user swordmaster123 recaps Ghost Stories as being a lovely and entertaining movie whose „ending sort of made it all pointless.“ This disappointment is the work of the failed twist ending of the film, in which the entire movie is shown to have been simply a dream by an incapacitated Goodman.
City Of The Living Dead
A 1980 Italian supernatural horror, City of The Living Dead follows the story of a priest whose death has opened the gates of Hell. To stop the undead from being released, the psychic who saw the death of the priest in a vision and a journalist who saved the psychic’s life must close the gates before the undead escape on All Saints‘ Day.
With displays of incredibly graphic violence, wrapped up in the story of a supernatural threat of demons, City of The Living Dead has great horror elements to entertain fans of the genre. The ending, however, is woeful, with Redditor coolseraz claiming that „the real ending got ruined because someone poured coffee over the pages of the script,“ summing up the disappointment of the ending that was produced.