Top 10 Horror Movies That Left Out The Real Horrific Ending

No, there’s never been a family of cannibals that hid out in the Nevadan desert and ambushed unsuspecting travelers. At least, we don’t think so. But writer-director of “The Hills Have Eyes” Wes Craven did lift a lot of the story from the legend of Sawney Bean. According to folklore, Bean was a cannibal in 16th or 17th century Scotland who took up residency with his wife Agnes in a clandestine cave. Over time, the two purportedly produced over three dozen children and grandchildren, all of whom would take to the roads at night and prey upon passers by. Though many doubt the Beans existed, we don’t think the Jupiter clan in the movie ate upwards of 1,000 people like the Beans supposedly did.

For anyone that loves Ed and Lorraine Warren’s exploits from the “Conjuring” movies, let us put a damper on things. Though the paranormal investigators don’t appear in this movie, they did investigate the reportedly haunted former mortuary in real life, giving it the old stamp of approval after they exorcised the supernatural entities. However, many have since called them into question, with skeptic Benjamin Radford purporting that Ed Warren told Ray Garton - author of the original book - to “make it up and make it scary.” After Ed died in 2006, even more authors have reportedly come forward claiming he told them similar things about other cases. Nothing like the horrors of human duplicity ruining a mediocre movie.

You wouldn’t expect a brutal movie like “Snowtown” to leave out any horrific details, and you’d be mostly right. But there were longer-reaching ramifications of this particular murder spree that most don’t discuss. Though a majority of the bodies were found in Snowtown, Australia, only one of the twelve victims were actually killed there. However, that didn’t stop the crime spree from being primarily known as the “Snowtown murders.” After this all came to light in 1999, Snowtown did see a brief economic boost from morbidly fascinated tourists, but has since been - according to “The Age” newspaper - “forever stigmatised.” It got so bad, that the town has even considered changing its name, though that has yet to occur.

Another haunting the Warrens investigated in real life, the Amityville case is perhaps the most famous - or should we say infamous - in history, no doubt thanks to the dozens of films in the franchise. Though many know the Lutz family supposedly fled their Ocean Avenue home in 1976 for fear of their lives, almost as many also know that their claims have been widely disputed, so much so that the aftermath is probably more interesting than the hauntings themselves. After the publication of the book, a media frenzy erupted, with many calling the Lutzes frauds and the family filing multiple lawsuits in response. We’ll forgive the 1979 movie for being so recent, but the 2005 remake really could have delved into this untold angle.

No, the “Scream” movies aren’t based on real events, but they were originally inspired by one. In 1991, serial killer Danny Rolling was charged for five murders he committed the year before in Gainesville, Florida. Though Ghostface also kills five people in the first “Scream” movie, the way Rolling executed his crimes was far more heinous. Over the course of four days, Rolling forcibly entered the homes of his college-age victims while most of them were sleeping. He then carried out his wicked deeds, being far more brutal with his female victims than his male. Though every “Scream” movie features multiple survivors, sadly none lived to tell the tale with Rolling, who was subsequently executed in 2006.

In “Backcountry,” a couple’s camping trip takes a turn for the perilous when they’re stalked and attacked by a vicious black bear. After her boyfriend Alex is eaten alive, Jen finds her way to their canoe and rows her way to help as the film ends. The movie stays mostly true to the real event that inspired it, but with some key differences. In Ontario, Canada in 2005, Mark Jordan was indeed able to ward off a bear as it mauled his wife Jacqueline Perry. Jordan then got them on the river and found others, but Perry then succumbed to her injuries before she could receive proper medical attention. While the movie’s more savage, imagine the heartbreak of being so close to being sufficiently rescued.

One of the first ever slasher movies, 1976’s “The Town That Dreaded Sundown” depicts the “Moonlight Murders” that took place in Texarkana in 1946. Though the assailant - dubbed the “Phantom Killer” - was never caught, much like in the film, the film does leave out a potential murder. Shortly after the last official murder, the body of Earl McSpadden was found after being struck by a train, only McSpadden was already dead beforehand, leading many to suspect it was the Phantom’s doing. Though the original “Town That Dreaded Sundown” omitted this, its 2014 meta sequel seemingly repurposes McSpadden into the character Hank McCreedy, whose grandson dons the Phantom persona in an effort to make the town acknowledge his family’s tragedy.

Almost everyone knows the tragedy that befell actress Sharon Tate. If not, they almost surely know the name Charles Manson. In August of 1969, followers of Manson arrived at Tate’s home and proceeded to kill all those inside, including the pregnant Tate. Though“The Haunting of Sharon Tate” shows the real murders in a nightmare sequence earlier on, the actual climax instead has the victims turn the tables on their oppressors. However, once everything is said and done, Sharon and company realize they didn’t survive the attack, and what they experienced was simply an alternate reality of what could have been. Curiously enough, this wasn’t the only 2019 movie to recontextualize the events, as “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” did so to much greater effect.

“My Friend Dahmer” doesn't delve into the outright horror that serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer would become known for, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its tenser moments. Adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by John “Derf” Backderf, the film recounts Derf’s relationship with the young Jeffrey during their high school years. Throughout the film, a series of red flags regarding Jeffrey’s behavior goes largely unnoticed, and the film ends with him picking up a hitchhiker named Steven Hicks, who was Dahmer’s first victim in real life. Obviously, the film never purported to be about the murders, instead opting for a fascinating look at nascent psychopathy. Plus, there are other biopics that do get into the nitty gritty of it all.

Part demonic possession movie, part courtroom drama, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” tells the story of a college girl who dies sometime after a failed exorcism and the subsequent trial of the priest for negligent homicide. Though alleging to be about a real person named Emily Rose, the film actually took inspiration from the story of German woman Anneliese Michel. Whereas Emily has a single exorcism performed on her in the movie - hence the singularity in its title - Michel reportedly underwent a whopping sixty-seven over the course of ten months before succumbing to malnutrition. We can understand why the movie would want to streamline things, but truth really is stranger than fiction.