The 10 Worst Horror Movie Endings, Ranked

To make any compelling horror movie work, one always needs a great, satisfying conclusion. In many ways, the ending can either make or break a film, provided it gives a well-written and well-executed payoff that entertains viewers and leaves a lasting impression on them. While the horror genre is a treasure trove of stellar and frightening finales, there are some well-known endings today for being the exact opposite.

The following entries are horror films that have gained notoriety for their incredibly disappointing and lackluster conclusions. Their endings are spectacularly underwhelming, appalling, and monumentally frustrating. They’ve become infamous for being huge letdowns that failed to give anything to their audiences’ investments. They’ve ruined what could have otherwise made these films go out on a high note, and instead of leaving viewers frightened or thrilled, they just left them shaking their heads.

The following entries contain spoilers for the horror movies discussed.

10 ‘Founders Day’ (2023)

Directed by Erik Bloomquist

A dull holiday-themed slasher flick, 2023’s Founders Day is a spectacular mess of incoherent nonsense, forced political satire, and bland plot twists. Set during a highly contested mayoral race in a small town, a young woman struggles to uncover the identity of a masked serial killer who is targeting the families of mayoral candidates.

It suffers from not one or two or even three, but four incredibly underwhelming killer reveals that massively drag the entertainment down. Worse, it ends with the final girl somehow agreeing and joining sides with the last killer/mastermind in his bizarre and nonsensical scheme to become mayor simply because he thinks he’s the better choice to run the town. This nonsensical twist only adds more fuel to the already ludicrous story, leaving viewers’ heads scratching as to why the protagonist would ever agree to such a ridiculous plan, especially after all the trouble and torment the killer put her through.

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9 ‘Would You Rather’ (2012)

Directed by David Guy Levy

One of the most disturbing horror films ever made, 2012’s Would You Rather is an unrelentingly bleak story that is too hard to watch at times. Starring an impressive cast of big names, including Brittany Snow, June Squibb, the late John Heard, and horror legend Jeffrey Combs, it follows a group of financially desperate people as they compete in a dark and twisted game of life or death for the amusement of a sadistic billionaire.

Bleak endings can sometimes be quite compelling, but they can also have an adverse effect. Would You Rather sees the main character, Iris (Snow), experiencing countless horrors and committing unspeakable acts during the game, all in an attempt to win a cash prize to pay for her terminally ill brother’s medical bills. After barely surviving and finally being crowned the champion, she returns home only to discover her brother has passed away. It’s a punch-in-the-gut, downer conclusion that gives no resolve to the already depressing story. While some might argue it compliments the film’s tone, this dark ending feels a little too forced and gratuitous, seemingly only put in to be shocking and unexpected without any need to be.

8 ‘Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan’ (1989)

Directed by Rob Hedden

A horror movie so bad, Jason himself would be disgusted. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan was a massive letdown that could have otherwise been a much-needed boost to the declining franchise. Trading the dark, eerie forest setting of Crystal Lake for the gritty streets of New York, it follows Jason as he takes his killing spree to The Big Apple.

In a long-running slasher franchise criticized for having many lackluster endings, whether too cheap, jump-scare heavy, or sequel-baiting, Jason Takes Manhattan‘s finale is the most outlandish. After finally catching up with the heroes, Jason meets his end in a sewer tunnel as toxic runoff drowns him, and his dead body inexplicably reverts to him being a child, like when he drowned at Camp Crystal Lake decades prior. While Jason has died many ridiculous times before, this absurd death makes absolutely no sense, nor does it seem entertainingly bad. There’s even an alternate ending that gets even more ridiculous, including an incredibly fake-looking Jason puppet.

7 ‘Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers’ (1995)

Directed by Joe Chappelle

After the disappointing cliffhanger at the end of The Revenge of Michael Myers, it was on Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers‘ shoulders to neatly wrap up Michael and Dr. Loomis’ story arc and give a satisfying send-off to Halloween fans after a string of lackluster installments. However, that, unfortunately, was not the case. Starring Donald Pleasence in his last outing as Dr. Loomis, it sees him teaming up with Paul Rudd‘s Tom Doyle as they put a stop to Michael and the murderous Cult of Thorn once and for all.

The Curse of Michael Myers infamously suffered major production setbacks during its development, resulting in constant reshoots, rewrites, and, most importantly, creating two completely separate endings. While drastically different, both finales have nothing going for them. “The Theatrical Cut” ends with Tommy ridiculously beating Michael to the ground, and then Dr. Loomis is mysteriously killed off-screen. “The Producers Cut” sees Michael escaping and Loomis surviving, but he inexplicably becomes Michael’s handler through the absurd magical powers of the Thorn Cult. While it’s up to viewers to decide which ending they prefer more, it’s undeniable that both conclusions are incredibly lackluster and represent some of the lowest points of the franchise.

6 ‘The Turning’ (2020)

Directed by Floria Sigismondi

A fourth adaptation of Henry James‘ 1898 horror novella “The Turn of the Screw,” which also gave inspiration to 1961’s The Innocents, The Turning is a 2020 supernatural horror mystery drama starring Mackenzie Davis, Brooklynn Prince, and Finn Wolfhard. It follows a young governess, Kate (Davis), who slowly suspects something paranormal surrounds her after being hired to care for two troubled orphans at their luxurious mansion.

While it has a decent gothic tone, a few well-placed scares, and some genuinely engaging performances, The Turning ultimately fell flat in its execution due to its faulty conclusion, or rather a lack thereof a conclusion. It ends with an unresolved question of whether Kate was actually experiencing supernatural occurrences or if they were all just in her head. It abruptly ends, almost like it’s in mid-scene, as if a few extra minutes were trimmed to keep audiences guessing what happened. It’s a dull, unnecessary, cop-out, ambiguous ending that provides no payoff to the audience’s investment.

5 ‘Truth or Dare’ (2018)

Directed by Jeff Wadlow

Far from being one of the best Blumhouse horror films, 2018’s Truth or Dare is an uninspiring, run-of-the-mill supernatural slasher flick notorious for having such an infamous and mean-spirited finale. Starring Lucy Hale and Tyler Posey, it follows a group of friends as they slowly become picked off by a sinister demon who stalks its victims whenever they’re challenged through a simple game of “Truth or Dare.”

In what has to be one of the worst decisions in horror history, the film ends with the last two survivors passing the evil demon onto more unsuspecting victims via a viral video to save themselves. They end up getting spared, but the video, in turn, has the potential to unleash a deadly curse that could wipe out the rest of humanity. It’s a frustrating and unsatisfying dark conclusion that feels like it was only made to make the audience instantly dislike the protagonists.

4 ‘Alone in the Dark’ (2005)

Directed by Uwe Boll

A modern-day Ed Wood Jr., German filmmaker Uwe Boll is notorious for making some of the most spectacularly bad movies of all time. While there are plenty to choose from, one of his most crowning achievements was 2005’s Alone in the Dark, starring Christian Slater and Tara Reid. A very loose adaptation of the game from the early ’90s, it follows a paranormal detective as he races against time to stop a deadly supernatural species from being unleashed upon the Earth.

Hardly anything ever goes right in Alone in the Dark, and its ending is no exception. It features a rushed, poorly executed, barely coherent twist ending that sees the heroes failing to stop the monsters from reaching the surface. It’s a blatant attempt to set up a possible sequel that was never meant to be. Even its finishing close-up of Christian Slater’s and Tara Reid’s faces is an obvious ripoff of the ending shot from Sam Raimi‘s The Evil Dead.

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3 ‘High Tension’ (2003)

Directed by Alexandre Aja

A pulse-pounding international horror thriller that unfortunately couldn’t stick the landing, Alexandre Aja‘s High Tension has become notorious in the horror genre due to its controversial conclusion. Starring Cécile de France, Maïwenn Le Besco, and Philippe Nahon, it follows a young Belgium college student on a weekend trip to the French countryside to visit her friend’s family that turns into a bloodbath when the two become stalked by a brutal, unhinged serial killer.

Though it has some genuine suspense and a thrilling atmosphere in its first two acts, High Tension has sadly garnered its infamy through a weak, nonsensical climax. In a confusing and incredibly clichéd plot twist, it’s revealed that the film’s heroine, Marie (de France), was actually the real killer all along, suffering from multiple personality disorder. All the intense build-up and well-crafted suspense fly entirely out the window by this lackluster and over-used twist reveal. Not only is it a major plot hole, but it feels insulting to the audience’s intelligence, seemingly put in just to trick them.

2 ‘The Happening’ (2008)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

One of the bizarre and unintentionally hilarious so-bad-it’s-good movies of all time, M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Happening is a beautiful mess that has entertained fans for years. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, it sees the two as a struggling married couple desperately seeking shelter when a mysterious epidemic causes people to harm themselves.

In a film with so many over-the-top performances, awkward dialog, and bizarre situations, one might assume it would end in a spectacularly bad fashion. Unfortunately, The Happening goes out on a whimper, simply just finishing with everything back to normal and the heroes living happily ever after.Through the clichéd use of plot armor, the main characters just happen to live to see the mysterious virus magically disappear with no explanation. It’s an entirely weak and pointless finale with no payoff, and it falls flat on its face just as the audience starts to enjoy the absurdity.

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1 ‘The Devil Inside’ (2012)

Directed by William Brent Bell

Featuring the most unsatisfying and controversial ending in horror history, The Devil Inside is a film that has become legendary in the industry for all the wrong reasons. Shot in a found footage style, it follows the story of a determined woman who journeys to Italy to investigate and document the mystery behind what led her supposedly possessed mother to kill three Priests during an exorcism.

Some audiences famously booed and walked out of theaters because of how frustrating and abrupt the ending to The Devil Inside was. It’s a spectacular cop-out that ends so suddenly with the three main characters dying in a car crash after one of them gets possessed by an evil spirit. Worse, after the crash, it fades to black, and a text scroll appears claiming that the case surrounding the film’s mystery was never resolved, meaning everything was entirely pointless. It’s a massive letdown that’s not only insulting to the audience but ruined what could have been a genuinely compelling horror mystery.

NEXT: The 10 Bleakest Movie Endings, Ranked