10 Movies That Almost Had Much Better Endings
6. Fatal Attraction
The Actual Ending
The movie that coined the term "bunny boiler" ends with the psychotically obsessed Alex Forrest (a brilliant Glenn Close) attempting to stab Beth (Anne Archer), the wife of her weekend fling Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas).
After Dan almost drowns Alex, she fights back one last time, only to be shot dead by Beth, seemingly bringing the family's troubles to an end.
The One We Almost Got
The originally shot ending was very different, with Alex slitting her own throat and framing Dan for her murder. After Dan is arrested, Beth finds a cassette tape which details Alex's intent and ultimately gets Dan acquitted.
The final shot hauntingly shows the moment where Alex slowly cuts her own throat while listening to Madame Butterfly before we solemnly fade to black.
But of course, those pesky test audiences wanted a more outwardly "satisfying" demise for Alex, and so a new ending was shot, much to Close's protest, who was adamant that a character like Alex would implode before she could be killed.
Why It Would've Been Better
Close was absolutely right - though the theatrical ending gave the popcorn-munching crowds their epic climax, there's a genuine sadness to the original ending, which rather than turn Alex into a cartoonish villain serves as a potent reminder that, after all, she was a deeply ill, fractured woman.
But as Close herself admits, there's no way the movie would've grossed a stonking $320.1 million worldwide if director Adrian Lyne stuck with the original climax.