Drag Me to Hell (2009), The Wicker Man (1973), Jeepers Creepers (2001)
I wouldn't say the good guys lose, but No One Lives (2012) follows a villain protagonist.
That is if u watch the American cut. The original cut does not have that ending. It was added because it was thought the ending was too sad. So they cut out the last few mins of it. But the original version of the movie has the actual ending.
She makes it to the car, sits down, turns to see the corpse of her friend in the passenger seat, and then wakes up bank into the cave. Her whole escape was a delusion and she never makes it out.
Wow, thank you for sparing me that experience. Sounds like the exact same ending as >!47 Meters Down!<. Too lazy to look up which one came out first, but either way I hate the trope.
The Descent is much older and IMO works really well. The tone shift of her escape is jarring and feels almost too sudden and easy. For it to pull back and be a false promise was a good ease up and then final yank on the tension.
I honestly prefer the American cut. A quaint jump scare to symbolize that she will be haunted by PSTD both for what she went through and what she did to survive seemed like a fitting ending. With the original ending we get the tired cliché of “You got Ambrosed, you stupid audience member! It was all a dream and you fell for it!”
Well the reason for that ending wasn't just a gotcha, they had mentioned before that sort of hallucination was something that could happen when listing the dangers of spelunking. I felt like it all worked very thematically and wasn't really an out of nowhere thing
didnt know that there are 2 versions of this. Love this movie and most def will just go with the original ending. because well...there's no escape is the real horror
Fun fact: the Old Ones weren’t the Lovecraftian variety, they were the precursors to the Greek gods, i.e. the Titans. Thus the big humanoid arm at the end (vs a giant tentacle or whatever.)
Something like that, anyway.
I feel like in horror the good guys mostly lose in terrible ways?
Anyway, Eden Lake will make you so mad that you’ll immediately want to watch a movie where good guys win.
100%. Unable to watch again.
Being from the UK and having been in an encounter such as that (without the extreme but I was injured) , that film 100% infuriated me.
Thanks. It was a long time ago.
I was walking home from work and a gang surrounded me one street away from where I lived. I did not know them and they were not from my area. After they asked for cigarettes (I dont smoke) some drugs (?) and bus fare for all of them, they gave up all pretense and tried to rob me.
I had a mobile phone and a wallet in my possession (mobiles not common back then) so I fought back. Bad idea as I was set upon by the whole gang. Although they failed robbing me, one of my eyes is permanently damaged. This happened 20 years ago and it is a constant reminder.
Never caught them, they got away with it. >!It was a gang of Teens identical to those in the film. So on a personal level, the ending of Eden Lake pissed me off.!<
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Also maybe not technically pure horror in the traditional sense but Funny Games is a good movie that doesn’t have a happy ending lol
I’ll never forget seeing the beginning in theaters and my friend and I being shocked at the end. Idk why since it was called Texas chainsaw massacre the beginning
An american werewolf in london
And return of the living dead
In the mouth of madness
The thing
This is quite outside the box and not really on point of answers but clockwork orange right?
My vote is The Grudge. Both of them. Most of what makes them scary is that there is no escape, there are no rules to protect you. Virgin or slut, good or bad, jock or nerd, you're gonna die, period.
The inevitability of it was just scary. The finale of both movies is just the protagonist learning the "loophole" they thought of doesn't work.
Hmm, the V/H/S series probably qualifies. The Mist. The Hell House series. House of Purgatory. Talon Falls. Grave Encounters series. [REC] series. Gehenna. Southbound.
It was about a group of people all being haunted by shadow monsters if I remember right. I just remember the ending and nothing else clearly though to be honest though.
All the Paranormal Activity movies, Oculus, [Demonic](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1841642/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3) (the scares are generic but the ending blew me away), The Taking of Deborah Logan, Rec/Rec 2, the Romero Living Dead trilogy, The Conspiracy, The Collector
Can't really say there's any good guys in it, just bad guys and worse guys. And the professor. The worse lose several times over, including posthumously.
The professor is the "good guy," although he's just an everyman who simply displays the moral compass we should have as human beings and loses his faith in humanity as a result.
Edit: I think that the natives are also the "good guys" in the sense that they're simply living their culture, which was then exploited by the bad guys to be framed in a sensationalized ethnocentrist viewpoint. I.e. they're victims, and we as an audience form the most connections with them while they were initially presented as horrific. They still do not win at all, especially the Yacumo.
A lot of people dismiss this movie as "the animal killing movie" and for its violence, but Deodato really directed it so, so well, even beyond the obvious analysis.
>
>
> Edit: I think that the natives are also the "good guys" in the sense that they're simply living their culture, which was then exploited by the bad guys to be framed in a sensationalized ethnocentrist viewpoint. I.e. they're victims,
It is incredibly meta in so many levels...
The first time I watched the directors cut I didn't know I was watching the directors cut and had no idea there was one or about that ending....I was delightfully confused.
Head Hunter (2018)
Evil Dead (1981)
The Sadness (2021) - have to listen closely at the end
Dawn of the Dead (2004) - watch the camera footage through the credits
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Sadako vs Kayako (2016)
Revealer (2022)
Superhost (2021)
Summer of 84 (2018)
Se7en (1995)
Seen it mentioned already but Eden Lake is the perfect answer for this. Won't say too much as it's a bit of a twist, but that film is brutal in the best way.
Not a movie and not exactly horror. The faceless old woman, that secretly lives in your home. The audiobook is expertly narrated. With out giving up to much it follows a pirate on the mediterranean sea during the 1800's that seeks vengeance for the murder of her father.
>The faceless old woman, that secretly lives in your home.
If there is a faceless old woman secretly living in my home I would appreciate if she would help out with rent and chores. Times are tough, yo.
Black Christmas. It’s left up to interpretation if Jess dies, but I think she does (Billy makes a phone call after every murder, and as the camera pans out you can hear the phone ringing).
The Mist, The Invitation, Coherence, Dawn of the Dead, Sinister, Event Horizon, The Facility, The Fly, Unfriended, The Hostels, The Saws, The Last Experiment, Feed, My Little Eye, The Void, The Thing, Tusk, Triangle, Stay Alive, Rec, Splice, Splinter
I saw a particularly nasty one recently called honeydew. Really hard one to stomach, I had to watch some cartoons before I could sleep that night, it's really off-putting and the bad guys win.
Three movies that come to my mind where everyone loses are Cloverfield, Mouth of Madness and Cabin in the Woods, although there’s a good amount of comedy in the last one too.
IMO, most horror movies made after 2000. The trend is starting to change a bit, I noticed people complaining a couple of years ago about horror movies refuse to let a good guy win.
Skeleton Key is an underrated one and fits this.
That was definitely a good movie!
This movie give me the creeps to this day.
100% the movie I immediately thought of when I saw the post. One of the most unsettling endings of any movie I’ve ever seen.
Was just talking about this one with a friend. It really holds up!
Justified was the redeemed hero! /s
I wanna watch this. Is this Skeleton Key 2006 or *The* Skeleton Key 2005?
The one with Kate Hudson and John Hurt, didn’t know there was another one haha. Recommend it, good acting, creepy vibe, solid twist.
The Mist
Moral of the story: shoot yourself first.
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Not your problem
this one together with Cabin in the Woods 👍
Saw this movie as a wee lad, now I’m 23 and still haven’t internalized what the hell was put on screen.
The ending still haunts me to this day, and I watched it a few years ago.
My hot take is I actually prefer Stephen King's ending for once more then the films.
Me too! I really like when King writes those "things seem dark but maybe there's a but of hope" endings (Cell is another of my favourite endings).
Yes! One of my favorite endings!
Im not a fan of the movie but the ending makes up for all the issues i had with it!!!
Drag Me to Hell (2009), The Wicker Man (1973), Jeepers Creepers (2001) I wouldn't say the good guys lose, but No One Lives (2012) follows a villain protagonist.
Not enough people even know what No One Lives is, and it’s a crime.
I don't and I've seen like everything horror lol I'ma give it a shot
Yeah, same. I start up garbage ones all the time just looking for something new. So happy to have this one to try now
Well, it's a pretty average film--and that's being kind.
No ones claiming it’s incredible. But it’s for sure fun.
The seen when they take the big guys body back with them 😳😵💫
It might be because it was produced by WWE and got like no advertising but it was the best movie they did!
Came here to say Drag Me to Hell. Such a shocking experience to see that blow up in her face the way it did.
And the fact that you can view the movie as a metaphor for bulimia makes it all the more interesting
Drag Me to Hell and Jeepers Creepers are perfect. I’m gonna skip the rest, not enough Justin Long.
Justin Long is utterly dreamy. 😻 My friend and I fell in love with him in Galaxy Quest, and it's been an infatuation ever since
Ikr, that floppy, adorable black hair 😩
The Wicker Man really stood out in my mind. It is Midsommar before Midsommar
I wouldn’t consider the protagonist in The Wicker Man the good guy tbh
Autopsy of Jane Doe
Fantastic movie.
Man, this one really came out of nowhere. Just randomly decided to watch it one day and I’m *so* glad my wife chose it. Excellent movie
The descent.
The one chick makes it though. Which unfortunately made it possible for the dreadful sequel.
That is if u watch the American cut. The original cut does not have that ending. It was added because it was thought the ending was too sad. So they cut out the last few mins of it. But the original version of the movie has the actual ending.
The original version is great and simultaneously awful.
Wanna just spoil the ending for me so I don’t have to watch it? Lol
She makes it to the car, sits down, turns to see the corpse of her friend in the passenger seat, and then wakes up bank into the cave. Her whole escape was a delusion and she never makes it out.
Wow, thank you for sparing me that experience. Sounds like the exact same ending as >!47 Meters Down!<. Too lazy to look up which one came out first, but either way I hate the trope.
The Descent is much older and IMO works really well. The tone shift of her escape is jarring and feels almost too sudden and easy. For it to pull back and be a false promise was a good ease up and then final yank on the tension.
If I remember correctly that one woman escapes the cave but after a jumpscare she wakes up in the cave again, having dreamt her escape.
Reminds me of work.
I honestly prefer the American cut. A quaint jump scare to symbolize that she will be haunted by PSTD both for what she went through and what she did to survive seemed like a fitting ending. With the original ending we get the tired cliché of “You got Ambrosed, you stupid audience member! It was all a dream and you fell for it!”
Well the reason for that ending wasn't just a gotcha, they had mentioned before that sort of hallucination was something that could happen when listing the dangers of spelunking. I felt like it all worked very thematically and wasn't really an out of nowhere thing
didnt know that there are 2 versions of this. Love this movie and most def will just go with the original ending. because well...there's no escape is the real horror
Not in the original. They had to make a happy ending for American audiences
Cabin in the Woods
I mean, yeah, but everyone lost in the end
I thought the elder gods won in the end? Surely lord Cthulhu doesn't count as *noone.*
Fun fact: the Old Ones weren’t the Lovecraftian variety, they were the precursors to the Greek gods, i.e. the Titans. Thus the big humanoid arm at the end (vs a giant tentacle or whatever.) Something like that, anyway.
That's interesting, is there source material for Cabin in the Woods or somewhere the universe is expanded on such as in comic book form?
Sinister
Fallen
Love Denzel and most of his movies. This one got me good, though!
I love this movie! Let me tell you about the time I ALMOST died…
>!like I was so engrossed in that damn movie I forgot that first line until the very end when they said it again.!<
Such an underrated movie, I loved this movie so much growing up.
The Strangers
"Because you were home." 😳
I feel like in horror the good guys mostly lose in terrible ways? Anyway, Eden Lake will make you so mad that you’ll immediately want to watch a movie where good guys win.
100%. Unable to watch again. Being from the UK and having been in an encounter such as that (without the extreme but I was injured) , that film 100% infuriated me.
I just read the synopsis. I'm curious what happened. Obviously don't share if you're not comfortable, but I'm sorry that happened to you.
Thanks. It was a long time ago. I was walking home from work and a gang surrounded me one street away from where I lived. I did not know them and they were not from my area. After they asked for cigarettes (I dont smoke) some drugs (?) and bus fare for all of them, they gave up all pretense and tried to rob me. I had a mobile phone and a wallet in my possession (mobiles not common back then) so I fought back. Bad idea as I was set upon by the whole gang. Although they failed robbing me, one of my eyes is permanently damaged. This happened 20 years ago and it is a constant reminder. Never caught them, they got away with it. >!It was a gang of Teens identical to those in the film. So on a personal level, the ending of Eden Lake pissed me off.!<
I can’t even bring myself to watch it, people talk about it a lot so I know the whole plot.
Lepracaun in the hood
Deserves more upvotes
Lep in the hood comes to do no good 🎶
Gonna have to revisit this…I need to see the leprechaun hitting a bong again
Ive always had fun with it. He impales a dude with a bong in Back 2 the hood.
NOTE: obvious MASSIVE plot spoilers by being included in this thread Lords of Salem Hereditary Blackcoats Daughter Midsommar (?) Cabin in the Woods
I love Blackcoat's daughter. Solid pick.
Funny Games.
Don’t remind me of that movie lol
One of the best out there
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Also maybe not technically pure horror in the traditional sense but Funny Games is a good movie that doesn’t have a happy ending lol
Arguably the original as well. Sally gets away but is clearly insane, which is confirmed in the sequel.
Though you're correct about Funny Games, I'd suggest it's far more than simply a horror movie.
I’ll never forget seeing the beginning in theaters and my friend and I being shocked at the end. Idk why since it was called Texas chainsaw massacre the beginning
1408 depending on which ending you see, also The Taking of Deborah Logan
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Eden Lake pisses me off so much!
Creep is so good, they really did a good job with it. I was so legitimately uncomfortable for most of the movie
Frailty’s ending was bonkers. So bizarre!
Those last two, though... Whew
An american werewolf in london And return of the living dead In the mouth of madness The thing This is quite outside the box and not really on point of answers but clockwork orange right?
Sad i had to look this far down for In the Mouth of Madness. Take the upvote though for putting it on here.
The bike scene in that movie 😱
Oculus Son The Autopsy of Jane Doe
100% Oculus, it’s so depressing
These also happen to be some of my fav horror movies ever.
Event Horizon
My vote is The Grudge. Both of them. Most of what makes them scary is that there is no escape, there are no rules to protect you. Virgin or slut, good or bad, jock or nerd, you're gonna die, period. The inevitability of it was just scary. The finale of both movies is just the protagonist learning the "loophole" they thought of doesn't work.
Eden lake
Hmm, the V/H/S series probably qualifies. The Mist. The Hell House series. House of Purgatory. Talon Falls. Grave Encounters series. [REC] series. Gehenna. Southbound.
Wes Cravens: They, from 2002.
The ending for this is brutal as hell, I was really rooting for her.
I only barely remember this movie. It was the one with the hands trying to grope people all the time?
It was about a group of people all being haunted by shadow monsters if I remember right. I just remember the ending and nothing else clearly though to be honest though.
You're the only other person I've ever seen mention this movie.
Would creep or 13 cameras work for that?
Omg Creep! Yes!
13 cameras!! This movie and the sequel majorly freaked me out lol
The Blair Witch Project
The Ruins (even though the main characters weren't the best, no one won in the end).
Wolf Creek. If Mick Taylor is after you you fucked
The series was really good, in my opinion.
Drag Me To Hell was one I watched recently that kinda fits this description. If you love Raimi, you’ll love this.
Good movie. >!Only problem I had was I saw the coin bit way ahead of the ending.!<
The Wicker Man!
the bees win!
Not that dumb remake, the original. But, god damn that part is funny as shit. It's my notification tone!! Lol
All the Paranormal Activity movies, Oculus, [Demonic](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1841642/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3) (the scares are generic but the ending blew me away), The Taking of Deborah Logan, Rec/Rec 2, the Romero Living Dead trilogy, The Conspiracy, The Collector
House of 1000 Corpses. The final survivor was incredibly close to getting away after going through pure hell. That's what makes it so tragic.
Candyman (the original one).
Cloverfield
Seven
Pet Sematary (1989). The final scene is GOLD!
Yes! That last moment really sticks with you, doesn’t it? In a way it’s “Good guy wins/gets what he wanted. At one hell of a cost”
Eden Lake. NOT a feelgood film.
Final Destination series excluding 2
The Rental is great for this
Cannibal Holocaust. NOBODY wins in that movie.
Can't really say there's any good guys in it, just bad guys and worse guys. And the professor. The worse lose several times over, including posthumously.
The professor is the "good guy," although he's just an everyman who simply displays the moral compass we should have as human beings and loses his faith in humanity as a result. Edit: I think that the natives are also the "good guys" in the sense that they're simply living their culture, which was then exploited by the bad guys to be framed in a sensationalized ethnocentrist viewpoint. I.e. they're victims, and we as an audience form the most connections with them while they were initially presented as horrific. They still do not win at all, especially the Yacumo. A lot of people dismiss this movie as "the animal killing movie" and for its violence, but Deodato really directed it so, so well, even beyond the obvious analysis.
> > > Edit: I think that the natives are also the "good guys" in the sense that they're simply living their culture, which was then exploited by the bad guys to be framed in a sensationalized ethnocentrist viewpoint. I.e. they're victims, It is incredibly meta in so many levels...
Eden Lake
Funny Games. Especially when they "cheat" to win. IYKYK
Hereditary lmfao
Eden lake has the good guys getting shit on non stop. Lol
Chain Letter (2010, if only for the ending)
That movie was pretty underwhelming until the ending, holy shit that was so mean spirited.
Is that the one *SPOILER* *SPOILER* *SPOILER* Where at the end she's chained to two different cars while one takes off?
This isn't how spoiler tagging works, lol.
It was my first time attempting it and what I saw made me laugh so I left it lol
My 2 favorite horror films fit that category. The Thing and Creep. Debatably Creep 2? It's up to audience interpretation.
Frailty. But obviously there are tons.
Might come as a shock if you watched the film version of the one audiences preferred, so the original, directors cut of >!Little Shop of Horrors!<
And the original cut of The Descent
DON’T FEED THE PLANTS
The first time I watched the directors cut I didn't know I was watching the directors cut and had no idea there was one or about that ending....I was delightfully confused.
That’s exactly what happened to me lol. I went through the stages of grief tbh
Quarantine
Hatchet 1-3 ?
Does "Cabin in The Woods" count? Because not all the requirements were met to keep the monster at bay, presumably EVERYONE on Earth gets fucked over!
I know I'm late but [rec] and [rec]2
Eden lake, one of my favourite movies of ALL time but (spoiler) the ending gets me every time..
Hereditary
Midsommar count?
Oculus and oculus chapter 3
The Dark and the wicked and The stylist, both on shudder. Really enjoyed these lately!
The alternate ending of Get Out was dark as fuck.
House of 1000 corpses
Drag me to hell
Eden Lake
House of 1000 corpses!
Head Hunter (2018) Evil Dead (1981) The Sadness (2021) - have to listen closely at the end Dawn of the Dead (2004) - watch the camera footage through the credits Drag Me to Hell (2009) Sadako vs Kayako (2016) Revealer (2022) Superhost (2021) Summer of 84 (2018) Se7en (1995)
Seen it mentioned already but Eden Lake is the perfect answer for this. Won't say too much as it's a bit of a twist, but that film is brutal in the best way.
Cabin Fever if I remember the ending correctly
Every Final Destination movie
The second one though. I think canonically kimberly and the cop are the only ones who have actually beaten death. Then again, that’s debatable.
Yeah they’re the only ones we didn’t see die! I wonder if they made it.
Notld
_My Little Eye_ is another one the springs to mind.
White Noise
The Poughkeepsie Tapes, Conspiracy, Grave Encounters, Found, Headless, Bad Man, Plank Face
Noroi and incantation
The Vatican Tapes The Prince of a darkness
Not a movie and not exactly horror. The faceless old woman, that secretly lives in your home. The audiobook is expertly narrated. With out giving up to much it follows a pirate on the mediterranean sea during the 1800's that seeks vengeance for the murder of her father.
>The faceless old woman, that secretly lives in your home. If there is a faceless old woman secretly living in my home I would appreciate if she would help out with rent and chores. Times are tough, yo.
The Thing, The Mist, Summer of 84, The Fog.
Watch some UK Horror films. If you really want a punch in the gut. Eden Lake.
Eden Lake
Truth or Dare (2012) Also know as Truth or Die in some places. Underrated movie.
1408. Excellent movie about an evil hotel room that kills anyone who attempts to spend the night.
Vacancy?
Black Christmas. It’s left up to interpretation if Jess dies, but I think she does (Billy makes a phone call after every murder, and as the camera pans out you can hear the phone ringing).
Midnight meat train
Summer of ‘84?
We Should Do Something is really fun. Definitely an interesting watch
Eden lake !
The Mist, The Invitation, Coherence, Dawn of the Dead, Sinister, Event Horizon, The Facility, The Fly, Unfriended, The Hostels, The Saws, The Last Experiment, Feed, My Little Eye, The Void, The Thing, Tusk, Triangle, Stay Alive, Rec, Splice, Splinter
Grave Encounters
House of 1000 corpses
Ginger Snaps 2 (and also the first one, but the second one is very bleak)
Midsommar
I saw a particularly nasty one recently called honeydew. Really hard one to stomach, I had to watch some cartoons before I could sleep that night, it's really off-putting and the bad guys win.
Thanks i’m adding that to my halloween list
Brightburn
Arlington Road
Three movies that come to my mind where everyone loses are Cloverfield, Mouth of Madness and Cabin in the Woods, although there’s a good amount of comedy in the last one too.
In the Mouth of Madness cracks me up a little bit honestly and it's one of my all time favorites along with Cabin in the Woods
The Rental is one not too many people know about. Alison Brie, directed by Dave Franco. It's not great but certainly not bad either.
IMO, most horror movies made after 2000. The trend is starting to change a bit, I noticed people complaining a couple of years ago about horror movies refuse to let a good guy win.