20 Horror Movie Endings That Are Practically Perfect

4. Saw - Jigsaw Rises

Like Halloween, Saw launched one of the most successful horror franchises in history... quite by accident. It was designed to be standalone, yet it was so successful that many sequels have followed. Well, with such an amazing ending, of course viewers wanted more. 

Saw centres around two men, Lawrence (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell), who wake up chained in a bathroom with a corpse between them. It emerges they are victims of the Jigsaw Killer, who forces people he deems unworthy of life to play deadly games, hoping their experiences will make them grateful to be alive. Eventually, it appears that Zepp (Michael Emerson), a creepy hospital orderly, is Jigsaw, but Adam manages to kill him. 

Lawrence leaves the bathroom to get help... and Adam then discovers a tape in Zepp's pocket, and the iconic "Hello Zepp" theme begins to play. Zepp was actually being blackmailed by the real killer, and a rapid-fire montage of the film's events plays, showing the clues to the twist and displaying that none of the characters were ever in control. 

And finally, the 'corpse' in the bathroom stands up, revealing himself as the real Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), and locks the bathroom, leaving Adam to die with one last, cold line: "Game over!" 

Viewers will still be picking their jaws off the floor as the credits roll. This was an evil genius rug-pull worthy of Keyser Soze, and it masterfully introduced John Kramer/Jigsaw, a true horror icon.