Good or Bad endings?

[michaelvorhees666]

This pertains to the story I mentioned under the post "idea the needs feedback". Would you want to see a movie where at least one of the good guys survives (good), or where they are all killed (bad)?

[DAD]

KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL !!!

Of course I'm speaking polically right now.

What was the question???

[rerj73]

I think it depends on context. Something nihilistic like a zombie flick always needs a down ending, but a slasher film follows the one left to tell the tale sort of path, but having the killer "win" would certainly be against type.

[CrawlingKaos]

yeah, i agree. Depends on the movie. But I don't think any ending is better than the original Night of the Living Dead. Hated to see Ben get shot in the head, but that's part of the world Romero created .. a world where logic is punished and people die because they don't communicate with one another. Ending on a happy note would have destroyed the tone of the film. So when I'm thinking of a way to end a film, I always wonder what Romero would do.

[rerj73]

End of Dawn of the Dead is also good... although on the surface a happy ending - they got away - but what do they get away to? I love ambivalence in an ending, too, where the viewer's demeanor fills in a lot of the blanks.

[CrawlingKaos]

Well, with that in mind what do you think about Virgin Suicides? It's a pretty open ended film but you know they kill themselves. It's a given. But it's up to the viewer to piece together why they do it.
Not all open ended films do it for me, sometimes I feel the screenwriter is just lazy.

[hivesaac]

all the good guys dont neccessarily have to die, but the ending has to be bad, the message has to be dark and oppressing... yeah and depressing works too

[INSECTSCRIBE]

You cannot have a good horror story without a good "fuck you ending." The kind of ending where you think it is going to be a good one but they get you with the "FUCK YOU." ;D

[EDM]

the good ending has been used way too many times to me, its too predictable to me.

[EDM]

and somehow it voted good, and i wanted to vote bad.

[mandor700]

I don't generaly like bad endings in horror. Drama is annother matter, but nah let them live.

[EDM]

I think its fine if its done the right way, for example texas chainsaw massacre, letting someone get away but not having the main character killing them (which is usually a valnurable girl ).

[Multiplex Manner]

Obviously it depends on the context and all the stuff that comes BEFORE the end of the film, but in my opinion if you're going for big impact then make a bad ending.
A bad ending stays with you and haunts you for longer. things like the Blair Witch Project or The Ring, in which the baddie is not defeated and you know that they can strike again - they are much scarier (especially in hinesight) than average teen slasher popcorn flicks. In those, the hero gets the girl, the baddie gets killed and everyone is okay; you walk out of the cinema and forget about it.
I think this even applies to comedy horrors - if anything a disturbing ending makes it even funnier. If the heroes have gone through a huge ordeal and mess to get where they are now, then you expect it to all pay off. But if they're suddenly faced with the end of the world...bummer.

[IndieFilm]

I agree, it depends on if it serves the film. You don't want a "downer" ending just for the sake of a downer ending if it doesn't serve the story to that point. If you're going for some sort of morality play, hope you've set it up before springing an "everybody dies" ending on the viewer or it'll seem out of place. My two cents.

[Pippo]

I usually let someone live in all my scripts. But still I voted "bad". I love the end of Night of the Living Dead since you really think that he's made it and then bang. I think in my next scipt I'll try to kill off everyone and not keeping one alive just for the sake of it.