10 Amazing Horror Movies With Soul Destroying Endings

The 1950s Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a great movie, but producers at the time got cold feet and demanded it include some semblance of a happy ending. The 70s remake, however, encountered no such pressure, and in the process delivered one of the most chilling final scenes in horror history.

A titan of the genre, you're probably already familiar with the premise: a group of characters realise the Earth's population is being assimilated and replaced by identical alien lifeforms - affectionately known as the pod people - who plan on taking over the planet without anyone noticing.

Things look increasingly bleak for our heroes, and as they all slowly succumb to the duplication process, only Donald Sutherland's Matthew and Veronica Cartwright's Nancy remain human. They ultimately track down a plant where the alien duplication eggs are being sent out across America, and destroy them before being separated.

In the final scene the movie cuts to the next day, as Matthew walks amongst pod people, who have barely been set back in their plan. It's left ambiguous, but it's strongly suggested he's hiding in plain sight, pretending to be one of them.

Finally he bumps into Nancy, who asks how they're going to continue mounting a resistance. In that moment though he reveals himself as an alien duplication, letting out a chilling scream.

It's a truly deflating all-is-lost moment.