10 Horror Movies With Terrible Twist Endings

A plot twist can really make or break a movie if it is done well. They tend to be a characteristic trope of horror movies, almost all of which feature some big reveal at the end, which throws a wrench in the formula and helps the movie stand out amongst others. But like any movie genre, not all plot twists are created equal, and there are some truly abysmal ones in the world of horror.

These can be bad for various reasons, whether it’s because they ruin the fear factor or because they’re plain implausible. But whatever the reason, these horror twists are terrible all the same. Though that doesn’t always speak to the quality of the film itself, just its ending in particular, if you intend on watching these movies, prepare to roll your eyes.

10 ‘Signs’ (2002)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Signs presents itself as a really neat sci-fi horror flick about extraterrestrial life. It’s not amazing, but, for the most part, it’s enjoyable. Keep in mind that this was one of director M. Night Shyamalan‘s earlier movies, and came out before he was known for producing films with awful plot twists. But this may have been the one to kickstart that reputation.

At the end of Signs, it is revealed that the aliens invading Earth are weak to water of all things. It definitely earned an eye roll or two, because if water makes the aliens melt like the Wicked Witch of the West, why bother invading a planet that is 75% covered by water? Why even bother interacting with humans, who are made up of 60% water? On top of that, water literally falls from the sky on a regular basis here on Earth. It makes no sense and it completely ruins the intimidating aura of the aliens.

9 ‘High Tension’ (2003)

Directed by Alexandra Aja

High Tension is a standard French slasher that, in all honesty, doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table. It has some good moments here and there, but for the most part, it’s another standard slasher that doesn’t stray too far outside the box and, at best, is painfully average. This, of course, is also thanks in part to its ridiculous twist ending, which makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever.

During the film, the protagonists find themselves on the run from a bloodthirsty killer. The twist ending is the big reveal that the killer has actually been one of the protagonists, Marie (Cécile de France) the entire time and that they are just a figment of her imagination, or some sort of alternate personality. Sometimes this can be a good twist if it’s done well, but in this case, it certainly wasn’t, because there are some scenes in which Marie being the killer would be physically impossible, implying that the same person is in two places at once.

8 ‘I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer’ (2006)

Directed by Sylvain White

The final film in this slasher trilogy, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer manages to be so much worse than its predecessors, earning 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and its poor twist of an ending didn’t really help. As in the first movie, a group of friends begins getting picked off one by one by a malevolent killer in a fisherman suit. It’s the same formula as the previous two, albeit in a way that is much, much worse.

Featuring a brand new cast of characters, it is only assumed that the killer must be a different person because they died at the end of the first movie. But no, the killer in the third film is in fact a zombified version of the original, who is up and about, ready for vengeance in a Jason Voorhees-esque manner. What makes this so atrocious is that the franchise has always stayed grounded in reality, never once hinting at anything supernatural, and this twist flushes all of that down the toilet.

7 ‘The Open House’ (2018)

Directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote

The Open House is pretty boring as horror movies go. It centers on Logan (Dylan Minette) and his mother, Naomi (Piercey Dalton), who are moving houses and thus have to leave their home by day so that people can look at it. During these open house events, things begin going missing, combined with other weird events. This is honestly pretty mundane—people are walking through your house all day and are taking things or moving them around; goodbye, the end. That should be the logical assumption.

Eventually, it is revealed that a killer is stalking the family, and just when the movie looks like it’s about to get good with a slow-burn ending as the killer grows more and more aggressive, Logan escapes.It looks like he’s in the clear, but then abruptly, the stalker shows up and kills Logan. It’s pretty lame, honestly, because it feels like the entirety of the movie was for absolutely nothing. If the stalker was going to kill them anyway, he may as well have gotten it over with.

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6 ‘As Above, So Below’ (2014)

Directed by John Erick Dowdle

Found footage horror film As Above, So Below is an adaptation of Dante‘s epic poem Inferno (1321), in which a group of explorers delve into the catacombs of Paris in search of the Philosopher’s Stone, which eventually leads them to the gates of Hell itself. It’s a really interesting premise, but it didn’t always deliver. But its twist is downright insulting and straight out of a children’s movie.

While searching for the stone that will supposedly grant its wielder unlimited power, the protagonist, Scarlett (Perdita Weeks), finds what appears to be the stone, but it doesn’t have any real power. Getting an idea, she races back to an area previously visited to find a mirror, implying that the true power of the stone was inside of her all along. That’s the twist’s ending. This revelation, of course, allows her and her friends to escape alive, but it’s one of the most basic and tired twist endings in cinema, and this movie certainly could have done better.

5 ‘The Devil Inside’ (2012)

Directed by William Brent Bell

The Devil Inside comes off as another possession-themed film, the entire gimmick of which is that it was ostensibly based on a true story. For the most part, it’s mediocre, but the ending is where it really crashes and burns. In the end, the possessed woman is rushed to the hospital as she succumbs to the demons inside of her. As this happens, the driver of the vehicle gets a gaunt, distant look on his face.

As it turns out, the driver is now possessed by a demon, and he promptly drives the vehicle into oncoming traffic and kills everyone inside. Then the camera cuts to black, and a block of text appears showing a website link for all things, for those who wanted more information on the true story. The website that it links to no longer exists; this should be noted. This twist ending of just outright killing the characters in a mundane way is by far among the worst and most abrupt endings in movies and does nothing to improve upon the film.

4 ‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror’ (2010)

Directed by James Nguyen

Ah, Birdemic: Shock and Terror, the epitome of independent “so bad it’s good” cinema, has found a small yet passionate fanbase on line precisely for its campy awfulness. While it’s far from scary, it is, technically, a horror movie, even with its hilariously bad CGI and cardboard acting. The plot is pretty simple: one day, the birds decide to begin attacking humanity, spitting corrosive acid and exploding upon contact with buildings.

The twist is why this is happening: global warming. Yes, really. Look, climate change is an important topic, and yes, global warming causes a lot of negative effects, but turning the birds into bloodthirsty killers probably isn’t one of them. On top of that, the message comes off as extremely preachy, even though it is a message that needs to be delivered. There are far better ways of doing so, however.

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3 ‘The Happening’ (2008)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan strikes again with The Happening, a movie where people begin dying across the US under mysterious circumstances. This is a Shyamalan film that is notoriously bad and that has a pathetic twist to match. It could have been a good concept, save for its awkward and clunky dialogue, but the twist was, by and large, the worst part of it.

It turns out that the reason people are dying is because plants are killing them. How? By releasing an airborne neurotoxin in response to human industry destroying environmental spaces. Again, good message, not so good execution. It just seems a little unbelievable that plant life actually has mental capacity and possesses the awareness to develop such a thing, and it also dumbs down the plot and makes the entire story less mysterious and threatening.

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2 ‘The Forgotten’ (2004)

Directed by Joseph Ruben

The Forgotten is another movie that could have been great, had it only been executed a little better, and had it done away with its absurd twist ending. The story concerns an exhausted mother who has lost her children, but no one else has any memory of them. She is the only one who remembers them and finds herself at odds with others, who insist she has never been a mother.

While the plot could have opted to take some sort of psychological approach or make it all an elaborate government conspiracy, instead the movie has one word to explain it all

While the plot could have opted to take some sort of psychological approach or make it all an elaborate government conspiracy, instead the movie has one word to explain it all: aliens. It’s kind of a simple revelation for a movie that should have a more unique and intricate web of a storyline that would warrant multiple rewatches, but instead, it wound up being forgettable, bland, and uninspired.

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1 ‘Halloween’ (2018)

Directed by David Gordon Green

Alright, so Halloween (2018) is a good movie, but its twist was perhaps the most underwhelming part of the entire thing. As with the other films in the long-running franchise, the story follows serial killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) as he preys upon people, killing them for his own sick satisfaction. That should be all there is to it. Halloween movies work best in simplicity, and there doesn’t always need to be some bombshell reveal at the end to make it more interesting.

But 2018’s installment tried their best to do so anyway. The big reveal is that Myers escaped from prison because a doctor let him out on purpose to observe him in his “natural habitat.” First of all, there’s something called the Hippocratic Oath, rule one of which is “do no harm.” It’s something that all doctors must strictly adhere to, so there’s no way this doctor would put his job and other people’s lives in jeopardy just for a weird experiment. Second of all, as stated, this is an unnecessary plot point. It should have been omitted entirely.

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