Top 30 Scariest Movie Endings
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the horror movie finales that still give us nightmares. We’re revealing some great endings, so here’s a spoiler alert. What terrifying movie ending kept you up at night? Tell us in the comments.
#30: “Sinister” (2012)
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Ethan Hawke stars as a true crime writer who inadvertently curses his own family by moving into a house with an evil history. But once he realizes his mistake, it’s already too late: he, his wife, and his son become the next victims. The young daughter, Ashley, becomes possessed by an ancient demon, and slaughters her entire family. The ending, shot in creepy Super 8 footage, only suggests the violence, and it’s played mostly against an eerie and ambient soundscape. There are no screams, no hysteria, just the disjointed images of the children who have been taken by the malevolent spirit that haunts the movie.
#29: “Black Christmas” (1974)
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Largely credited with being the first movie to bring “the calls are coming from inside the house” trope to film, “Black Christmas” is an underrated thriller. The killer is a vicious and disturbed man who calls a group of sorority sisters from an upstairs phone line every time he murders one of them. After the killer is presumed dead, the police leave the sole survivor alone to sleep. Then, the murderer – who is still very much alive – descends from the attic. The phone rings again, going unanswered. It gets louder and louder as the credits roll, leaving us with the assumption that the only girl left in the house has also been murdered.
#28: “The Babadook” (2014)
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Possessed by the demonic Babadook, the grieving widow, Amelia, tries to kill her son in the movie’s last act. Amelia chases him through the house until he knocks her out, and although love does win the day, it’s a hard-fought and intense win. The Babadook ends up banished to the family’s basement, where the mother and son collect worms and grubs to feed it. Since the titular monster is largely understood as a metaphor for grief, this is actually a relatively hopeful note to end on … even if that last scene does have a great scare.
#27: “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1978)
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In this remake of the Red Scare-inspired sci-fi classic, Donald Sutherland plays a health department employee who becomes caught up in an apocalyptic alien invasion. These creatures invade the bodies of humans and replicate them. At one point, though, the humans learn they can fool the pod people by acting like they are one of them. This is what we think, or at least hope, is happening at the end. But when Sutherland’s character is approached by one of the last remaining humans, he lets out an inhuman howl, alerting the other replicants to her presence. All is lost. The people you care about are either dead or about to be. Roll credits.
#26: “Phantasm” (1979)
You can never really trust what you see in this bizarre, metaphysical cult horror classic from the late 70s. In it, a young boy named Mike stumbles upon a deadly secret at the local mortuary. The undertaker is actually taking the bodies from the cemetery and transforming them into undead, hooded monsters from another dimension. If it sounds like a fever dream, it actually is. At the end, Mike wakes from this elaborate nightmare. But in the last few frames, there’s a shocking double reveal. Not only was it all true, but Mike is ripped through his bedroom mirror by the monsters. Fans would have to wait over a decade to find out what happened to him in the sequel.
#25: “Don’t Look Now” (1973)
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Donald Sutherland’s bad luck continues. In “Don’t Look Now,” he’s a grieving father who begins seeing apparitions of his daughter on the streets of Venice, wearing the red raincoat she died in. This just happens to coincide with a serial killer stalking the streets of the flooded city. Chasing the childlike figure to the top of a tower, Sutherland’s character is horrified to see that this isn’t his daughter at all. It’s actually a little person who just happens to be that same serial killer. You can guess how it ends. Not only is it scary and disturbing, it’s also incredibly tragic.
#24: “Saw” (2004)
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Although the series has since become an endless cycle of narrative loops and needless twists, the original film actually has a pretty satisfying ending. Throughout the movie, we’ve been asking, will one of these guys saw their own foot off to get free? Well, yes, that does happen. But the movie’s pièce de résistance is the gut-punching reveal that the corpse lying between the two victims has been alive the whole time. In the last minutes, he rises, revealing himself to be the man we now know as Jigsaw. He leaves the last prisoner to die in the bathroom alone, with only his terrified screams piercing the dark.
#23: “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
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Things really go south in the last ten minutes of George A. Romero’s genre-defining zombie flick. The farmhouse that Ben and his compatriots have holed up in is now divided and falling to the zombie horde. Barbara, our focal character, is dragged into a pile of hungry undead by the living corpse of her brother. Ben survives the night, only to be gunned down by a white militia in a scene that reflects real-world violence. The terror of the climax is followed by an oppressive feeling of dread and hopelessness. Even as the humans win, it’s a hollow victory.
#22: “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974)
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Director Tobe Hooper spends a lot of time building this movie’s atmosphere, but the final act of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” never lets up for a minute. Sally is the last survivor of her friend group. She’s taken to the house of Leatherface and his cohort of cannibals and subjected to the most unhinged family dinner in movie history before finally making her escape. The last chase down the country road is a nailbiter, but it’s Leatherface’s maniacal chainsaw dance that stays in your mind. The movie’s final moments are a showcase of savage, untethered madness.
#21: “Halloween” (1978)
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The masked killer has finally caught up to his prey, the babysitter Laurie Strode. His endless assaults culminate in a terrifying and claustrophobic scene in a walk-in closet. Dr. Loomis saves the day, shooting his former patient and sending him careening off a balcony. But, of course, when he looks down, Michael Myers is gone. That iconic and terrifying theme kicks in once more. As the film cycles through footage of all the places we’ve been, there is no sign of the killer except the sound of his breathing. We realize he is everywhere. Myers hasn’t just escaped from Dr. Loomis. It’s like he’s escaped his physical form.
#20: “The Descent” (2005)
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This British horror flick terrified audiences with its release in 2005. When a group of friends growing apart decide to schedule a spelunking trip together, they are confronted with monstrous creatures known as crawlers. After being picked off one by one and even betrayed by one of their own, the last survivor Sarah, along with the audience, believes she has escaped the cave. This is quickly revealed to be nothing more than a hallucination, and Sarah is back alone in the cave, with the creatures moving in for the kill. It’s a dark ending that was changed for its United States theatrical release.
#19: “Paranormal Activity” (2007)
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2007’s low-budget, found footage phenomenon “Paranormal Activity” shows us the slow and deliberate possession of Katie by a demonic spirit, as her boyfriend Micah attempts to document their new house’s haunting. At the film’s end, the demon finally takes full control of Katie, luring Micah out of bed after her usual hours of creepy night-looming. The audience is limited to the stationary camera view of the dark hallway as we hear the horrific screams of Micah downstairs before they’re suddenly and brutally cut off. After a tense period of silence, Micah’s body is flung from the darkness into the camera as we see a blood-soaked Katie standing in the doorway. Truly chilling.
#18: “Enemy” (2013)
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All of the endings on our list are terrifying, but this one is also bizarre as hell. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as two characters: history professor Adam Bell and stage actor Anthony Claire. As the film comes to a close, Bell is talking with his new lover Helen, only to come across a startling sight. Being face-to-face with an enormous tarantula is horrifying in and of itself, but that’s not the kicker here. It’s Bell’s low-key reaction that is even more frightening; rather than being openly scared, he instead appears resigned to the situation. To say it’s all open to interpretation would be the understatement of the year.
#17: “Buried” (2010)
Hopefully you aren’t too claustrophobic. This Ryan Reynolds vehicle is about an American truck driver in Iraq who is kidnapped and buried alive for ransom. Reynolds’ Paul is given a cell phone and a few supplies and has to try to survive until he can be rescued. By the movie’s end, it seems as though rescue is on the way for Paul, only for it to be a misdirection. The film ends with the rescue crew digging in the wrong place as Paul’s damaged coffin fills up with sand, suffocating him. It’s a dark ending that we do not see coming.
#16: “Sleepaway Camp” (1983)
This 1983 slasher cult classic starts off as a particularly creative summer camp massacre movie before its shocking twist ending. After a flashback seemingly shows the death of Angela’s father and brother in a boating accident, she goes to live with her aunt, and is sent off to summer camp with her cousin a few years later. At the film’s conclusion, after a series of gruesome murders, Angela is, yes, shown to be the killer. Not only that, but it is revealed that she isn’t Angela at all, but is in fact her long-thought-to-be-dead brother Peter, who survived the boat accident but was raised as a girl by his aunt.
#15: “Mulholland Drive” (2001)
David Lynch’s dense and nightmare-inducing film has been called one of the best films of the 2000s, in part due to its horrifying conclusion. After spending most of the movie in what many interpreted as an extended dream sequence, Naomi Watts’ Diane, an actress, wakes up to her failed Hollywood life, where she may have hired a hitman to kill her lover. Or not. The movie’s ending sees Diane plagued by visions and voices in her apartment before she commits suicide. Though the film and its ending may be abstract and open to much interpretation, there’s no doubt that Lynch succeeds in still being able to provoke terror in audiences.
#14: “Candyman” (1992)
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Hooks and vengeful violence: certainly an unsettling concept, and one that’s not helped by this movie’s bleak finale. At the end of “Candyman,” which, by the way, is based on a Clive Barker story, grad student Helen has sacrificed herself for the sake of a child and has left her husband Trevor in the land of the living – where he’s shacked up with one of his students, we might add. While at the home of his new lover, Trevor calls out Helen’s name out of sheer grief… and who should appear but the spirit of Helen herself, angry and ready to kill. It’s a brutal and unrelentingly violent way to end a film, but then this is a film about hook-wielding spirits.
#13: “Insidious” (2010)
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A horror movie rule to remember: Demonic possession may not end just because you think it has. “Insidious” sets itself up for a triumphant ending, with the Lambert family seemingly free from the demon’s haunting that has plagued them. However, paranormal investigator Elise becomes suspicious of Josh Lambert, and when she takes his photo he flies into a violent rage. The scene’s tension builds as Josh’s wife comes up to investigate, ending with a shocking reveal of the photo and one final jump scare courtesy of Josh. That poor family.
#12: “Drag Me to Hell” (2009)
Talk about a last-minute screw up. In “Drag Me to Hell,” persevering bank loan officer Christine has seemingly freed herself of a curse that would condemn her to hell. Relieved, she now can prepare for a bright future. Just one small issue: her boyfriend Clay shows up carrying a button which Christine intended to use to break free of said curse. As the audience clues in to Christine’s hopelessness, she ends up backing onto an open train track… where the film’s title finally bears fruit.
#11: “The Shining” (1980)
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This 1980 classic based on the Stephen King novel tells the story of the Torrance family’s tenure as winter caretakers of the remote Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Throughout the winter, former alcoholic Jack Torrance is driven mad by ghosts of the hotel’s past. When Jack finally snaps and goes after his wife Wendy and their son Danny, all hell breaks loose. Jack chases Danny into the snowy labyrinth of the hotel’s giant maze, where his son outwits him and escapes with his mother while Jack freezes to death. If that wasn’t enough, the film concludes with an eerie picture implying Jack has been adopted as one of the many ghosts of the Overlook Hotel.
#10: “Carrie” (1976)
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The second Stephen King adaptation on our list, this Oscar-nominated 1976 film tells the tale of psychic high school student Carrie White, who is constantly subjected to intense bullying and an abusive mother. After being elected prom queen, only to be doused in pig’s blood as a prank by a few students, Carrie launches a telekinetic attack on all the students, eventually burning the school to the ground with everyone locked inside. She heads home, only to be attacked by her mother, who she promptly kills along with herself. At the very end of “Carrie,” the only surviving student, Sue, has a terrifying nightmare of Carrie’s hand grabbing at her from the grave.
#9: “The Wicker Man” (1973)
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No, not the remake starring Nicolas Cage. We’re talking about the original film here. “The Wicker Man” follows police officer Neil Howie, who is sent to a remote Scottish island to try to locate a missing girl. Howie becomes embroiled in the Pagan religion of the islanders, and Howie slowly uncovers a plot to use the missing girl as a human sacrifice. Near the film’s climax, this is revealed to be a ruse, and the true sacrifice is Howie himself. The horror cult classic ends with Sergeant Howie burning alive in a giant Wicker Man structure as the sun sets.
#8: “Hereditary” (2018)
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This horror hit may just be an instant classic. “Hereditary” tells the story of a mother of two and her family in the aftermath of the death of her own mother (who may or may not have been, but definitely was, a witch). After the shocking death of the family’s daughter, Charlie, early on in the film, things only escalate from there, culminating with the possession of Annie and a pagan ritual to summon a demon known as Paimon. The film’s final minutes are hectic and terrifying, with Annie’s son Peter trying to comprehend what is happening before he dies and is possessed by the demon, before the film abruptly ends with him being hailed as a demon king.
#7: “[REC]” (2007)
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Keep calm and don’t get grabbed. A perfect example of that advice not being followed appears in “[REC],” a Spanish horror film about a reporter’s survival and investigation of a viral outbreak. Ángela and cameraman Pablo eventually find themselves stuck in a penthouse with a demon-possessed girl, whom they try to evade. Unfortunately, this plan quickly falls apart as the two are brutally attacked. The film ends with Ángela’s last glimmer of hope being stamped out, just as she’s about to reach her camera. So close.
#6: “The Omen” (1976)
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This ‘70s classic finds the Antichrist himself secretly and unwittingly adopted by American diplomat Robert Thorn shortly after the death of his son in childbirth. Young Damien is raised by the ambassador and his wife, played by veteran actors Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. By the time Thorn comes to understand what the boy is, it’s too late. After the death of his wife and confirmation that Damien is the son of Satan, Thorn tries to take Damien to a church so he can kill him, but is stopped by police who see a man attempting to murder a young boy. Thorn is killed, and Damien is able to continue in his role as the Antichrist.
#5: “Psycho” (1960)
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He wouldn’t hurt a fly, would he? Or is it she? Whatever the case, this simple but effective final scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 psychological horror has a way of putting people on edge. In the film’s final moments, some police officers go to check on their detainee Norman Bates. The audience finally gets a look into Bates’ mind, as we listen to his mother Norma discussing her innocence, the camera slowly zooming in on Norman’s creepily satisfied face. His psyche totally splintered, Norman Bates is somehow more terrifying all wrapped up in his own mind than when he was free to kill at will.
#4: “The Blair Witch Project” (1999)
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Found footage movies just don’t end well for people. Take “The Blair Witch Project” for example, a fictional documentary about three student filmmakers who disappear while investigating the titular witch. As the movie comes to its abrupt end, students Heather and Mike search for their friend in an abandoned house. Little by little there’s a growing sense that the two are being watched – and then Heather finds Mike staring at a wall, before she’s attacked herself. The lack of context, and surplus of ambiguity, makes it all the more terror-inducing.
#3: “Friday the 13th” (1980)
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And thus, a franchise was born. “Friday the 13th” moves towards its finale on a victorious note. Sole survivor Alice awakens to see police investigating Crystal Lake. And then suddenly the decomposing corpse of Jason Voorhees pops up to drag Alice to her doom. Fortunately it’s just a dream, as Alice awakens in a hospital to inform police about what has occurred. Unfortunately, when told there was no boy found at the lake, Alice’s three choice words ensured film-goers went home in terror. Now that’s true fear.
#2. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)
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If not for this, things might’ve ended happily. Right after our teenage heroine Nancy Thompson has seemingly vanquished Freddy Krueger, she emerges from her house to find her friends alive and her mother wishing them well. However, things are not as cheery as they seem: Nancy and her chums get carried off in what can only be described as a demon car, as the familiar nursery rhyme rings out. Then Nancy’s mother is grabbed by Freddy, abruptly and without warning, and the audience is left in awe. It’s chilling scenes like this that keep people coming back to the “Elm Street” movies.
#1: “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
Pray for Rosemary’s baby, indeed. Towards the climax of this horror classic, the titular Rosemary grows suspicious of both her building’s inhabitants and the disappearance of her newborn. Upon investigating further, she finds her fellow tenants gathered around her child... and then it’s revealed that her baby is the literal spawn of Satan. If that reveal, plus Rosemary’s horrified reaction to the child’s appearance, weren’t enough, the film leaves off on a haunting note complete with unsettling music.
