10. The Final, Fourth Wall Breaking Scare
The original Paranormal Activity is a subtle film, and when Katie becomes possessed by the entity in the house, she just starts acting a
little off. It's thankfully never taken over the top. That's ruined in the last scene when Katie lunges at the camera and her face morphs like it's a lame Internet screamer video. The
original ending was more interesting, but it didn't have that final jolt, and the studio decided the film needed one so audiences would leave the theater shaking. It's as if they thought if viewers don't jump at the end, they'd forget that the movie was scary. This is now happening
all the time, and way too many endings in modern horror involve a fourth wall breaking jump scare where the villain lunges at the audience. It happened in Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Unfriended, The Gallows, and way too many other movies in just the past few years to name. The concept of "one last scare" has been around for a while, but now it's gotten so specific as to have the antagonist always coming directly for you, and it
has to be the very last frame. It can be kind of cool sometimes, but in the case of Paranormal Activity and Unfriended, it too often replaces more restrained and artistic endings with cheap gimmicks.