10 Horror Movie Twists That Made No Sense

By Cathal Gunning / March 19, 2020

Ah, the venerable twist ending. Nothing can pull a classic horror together—or tear it to shreds—quicker than one last minute twist in the tale. Some of the best films in the genre hinge on genius twist endings, such as Scream’s shocking killer reveal, or Sleepaway Camp’s genuinely breath-taking final shot.

Even more recent genre efforts such as Jordan Peele’s Us have made use of the twist to reinforce their running themes and deepen the preceding story, casting a dark shadow over everything that has come before.

Then there are these twists, which add about as much value to their films as hiring TJ Miller to play comedic relief and make as much sense as Lars Von Trier helming a Pixar film. Now, it needs to be noted that when it comes to the strict rules of cinematic realism horror, like sci fi and fantasy, is allowed to be a little more credulity-stretching than say, Marriage Story.

So with that in mind, here are the horror movie twists that even within their own established realities made not a lick of sense, and derailed the otherwise alright flicks which preceded them.

Also, here’s where we would put a spoiler warning, but in this case you’re better off knowing these abominable endings before they break more unsuspecting gore hound hearts.

10. Drag Me To Hell

This one stings, because a sudden slap in the face bit of cruelty is as classic a horror movie ending as the supposedly dead killer opening his eyes to prove he’s not quite vanquished and provide one more scare. The ending of Sam Raimi’s darkly funny 2009 return to the familiar terrain of horror comedy could have been brilliant, as it befits the rollercoaster tonal wavering of the preceding flick.

Besides, the movie came out a year after the financial crisis—who didn’t want to see a young banker dragged down to the depths of hell and torn to pieces by fiery demons for repossessing a little old lady’s house?

The problem is, it doesn’t make sense within the film’s own established rules. Just how did Christy miss that the envelope she crammed into poor old Ms. Ganush’s final resting face wasn’t the right one? Why did her boyfriend keep such a rare and supposedly interesting coin in an unmarked envelope rather than labelling it?

It seems that the work of digging up a grave in the pouring rain, then prying open a coffin and a dead body’s jaw were easy compared to keeping track of the cursed item upon which Christy’s immortal soul relied.

Maybe she deserved to be dragged down for sheer incompetence, come to think of it.