20 Horror Movie Endings We Almost Got

3. Sophie's Failed Sacrifice - Lights Out

David F. Sandberg's feature debut Lights Out was generally well-received by both critics and audiences, though did receive some pushback for the perceived messaging of its ending.

Protagonist Rebecca's (Teresa Palmer) mentally ill mother Sophie (Maria Bello) realises that the malevolent entity known as Diana (Alicia Vela-Bailey) has tethered itself to her depressive state, and so she shoots herself dead in order to free her daughter from further torment.

Many felt that this ending inadvertently promoted the idea that depressed people are better off just doing away with themselves - a reading which Sandberg, who has himself struggled with mental health issues, was troubled by.

He went on to explain that the ending originally saw Sophie shoot herself only for Diana to return regardless and take control of Rebecca's half-brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman), forcing Rebecca to battle and defeat Diana for good.

But this ending was scrapped after test audiences felt that it made Sophie's sacrifice feel entirely in vain - hence the change.

Sandberg was basically boxed into a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation" here and tried to make the best of it.