Top 10 horror movies with the most frightful endings ever to scare yourself witless this Halloween
What is the ultimate goal of a horror movie? Is it to just shock, awe or scare? Most horror movies tend to start well, move along great, but crumble with sloppy endings, leaving us disappointed with the experience. Some movies though have perfectly petrifying climaxes that tend to remain etched in our minds for a long time, spiking up those fear hormones every time you think of them.
Here are our top ten picks. Watch out for the spoilers ahead.
Oculus
Based on the short film ‘Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan’, 'Oculus' follows the story of a young woman Kaylie and her brother Tim, who believes that an antique mirror is responsible for paranormal events that led to the death of their parents. Following a series of horrifying and unfortunate events, the story ends with Kaylie being killed.
The police arrive to arrest Tim, who is in a psychotic state, quite like it happened when he was a boy. The footage shows him killing Kaylie, whereas he claims he has not. He continues to blame the mirror for all the mishaps. But as he is taken away, he sees his dead parents and Kaylie staring at him.
The Others
The gothic supernatural-psychological-horror movie featuring Nicole Kidman as our hero is everything that can evoke fear from deep within. It follows the story of Grace Stewart, who lives alone with her children with photosensitivity in a country home in 1945, who believes that her house is haunted.
With the twist of events, we discover Grace’s husband has died in the war and she has smothered her children before committing suicide. The "intruders" she sees are the new family who has moved into the house whom she manages to drive out of the house, so she and her family’s spirit can continue to live on.
Needful Things
Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, ‘Needful Things’ explores the inherent "greed" of human minds. A merchant named Leland Gaunt changes the sleepy community of Castle Rock, and with his mysterious stunts turns people violent against each other.
In the climax while the neighbors are trapped in brutal fights, Gaunt escapes the scene, his car turning into a flaming horse-drawn wagon and the movie ends with the narrator indicating another venture called "Answered Prayers" is about to open in a small Iowa town.
Sixth Sense
One of the classic horror films of our times, 'Sixth Sense' follows the story of Cole who can hear and see dead people and how his psychologist, Malcolm, tries to help him. The movie ends with Malcolm discovering he has been dead the whole time. He meets his wife one last time trying to give her closure and his spirit departs peacefully.
The Descent
The movie follows six women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against mysterious humanoid creatures inside. When Juno, Sam and Rebecca are pursued by a large group of crawlers, it ends up in a bloodbath of a kind.
After finally defeating a group of crawlers, Sarah confronts Juno, revealing the truth about Juno and Beth. She then strikes Juno in the leg with a pickaxe and leaves her to die as a swarm of crawlers approaches and devours Juno.
The Blair Witch Project
The story follows three filmmaker friends -- Heather, Mike and Josh who decide to do a documentary about the fabled "Blair Witch" of Maryland, where seven children were murdered by a hermit. After camping for three-four days, they experience eerie phenomena along with acts of dark magic, and eventually, Josh goes missing.
Heather finds his blood-soaked shirt, teeth, hair and a piece of his tongue. Mike and Heather follow Josh’s screams and land at the house of the hermit (which was supposed to have been burned down by local authorities).
While Mike and Heather try to reach Josh, some unknown force attacks Mike, followed by Heather. Both of them drop to the floor and Heather’s camera shows Mike facing a corner, ending the footage.
The Mist
After a thunderstorm, a town in Maine is enveloped in a thick layer of mist, with near-zero visibility that hides bizarre creatures that randomly attack those who venture out. David Drayton, the protagonist and his young son Billy are struck in a marketplace with other residents, trying to find a way out. After multiple attacks and deaths, David and his son, along with two other survivors, manage to drive out of the mist, but perhaps headed towards another uncertain scenario.
Final Destination 3
This movie is a classic example of one that can induce fear without direct visuals of apparitions or paranormal beings. The third installment of the franchise follows the premonitions of Wendy Christensen about the chain of events that will kill each of her friends, except her.
Months after all her friends are taken by "Death" she starts to have visions of a subway train she’s boarding, getting derailed. The final scene ends in a blackout with only the screeching metal sound, obvious enough for us to realize that it is the train going off tracks.
Get Out
Despite not being a paranormal thriller, this movie succeeds in instilling social horror at every moment. When a Black student Chris Washington visits the country estate of his white girlfriend, he finds everything and every one suspicious.
The turn of events leads Chris to be sedated and being prepared for a brain transplant. He learns that the family has been transplanting brains of black people into their bodies, to gain positive physical traits, while the host body remains powerless. The movie ends with Chris fighting for his life by killing almost every member of the house.
The Shining
The most classic horror movie ever made, 'The Shining' follows Jack Torrance, his son Danny and wife into a spiral of what turns into a psychotic ride for the Torrance family. Following blood-curdling events and young Danny’s visions and writings of red rum), Jack turns into a maniac.
While saving himself from his ax-wielding father, Danny leaves his father to freeze to death in the snow. The movie ends with the camera pans to the hotel lounge showing Jack in an old photograph dating back to 1921.
If you haven’t seen these movies yet, it’s time to turn off the lights and put on a show that can give you the ultimate chills. And if you have already watched them, the brain-wrecking endings will make you want to experience it all over again.