10 Horror Films Ruined by WTF Endings
2. Secret Window
Based on the work of Stephen King, Secret Window follows an author called Mort Rainey, who's dealing with a divorce and writer's block.
To add to his problems, he's confronted by an eccentric called John Shooter, who accuses Mort of plagiarising his short story. Though Mort thinks John is a harmless kook at first, he changes his tune when locals wind up murdered.
Even though Secret Window has a straightforward premise, it's thoroughly entertaining, due to the compelling characters and constantly unfolding mystery. Also, Mort keeps emphasising the ending is the most important part of a story, implying the climax will have a jaw-dropping reveal.
Ironically, the conclusion is the weakest part. It turns out Mort has a form of dissociative identity disorder and has been slaughtering the locals in his John Shooter persona. On top of that, Shooter's name is revealed to be the subconscious command to kill Mort's wife (as in "SHOOT HER") since she cheated on him. Even though the townsfolk know Mort committed these crimes, the film ends with him getting away scot-free.
Multiple personality twists get a bad rap, but they can work if they're executed in a creative way. Unfortunately, Secret Window doesn't do anything new with this plot device, so this ending falls flat.