10 Horror Movie Franchises That Wasted Their Perfect Ending

7. Sidney Puts Down Her Would-Be Mother-In-Law - Scream 2

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors Ending
Dimension Films

One of the main points of Wes Craven's original Scream movie was that it poked fun at the tried and tired tropes of horror, and in particularly the slasher subgenre. As such, the film was loud 'n' proud of showcasing certain clichés as it winked along with its audience.

Of course, that 1996 picture wrapped up by revealing Sidney Prescott's boyfriend Billy Loomis and his best pal Stu as being the ones causing so much carnage in Woodsboro. Irked that Sid's mother had an affair with his dad which drove his own mom to leave, Billy sought twisted revenge and roped his buddy in for the ride.

For Scream 2, the now-in-college Prescott is once more tormented by Ghostface, with that sequel's big reveal having Billy's ma and impressionable film student Mickey positioned as its 'big bads'. Mrs. Loomis looking for some sort of skewed justice for her deceased boy? That makes sense and works well in culminating the Scream series as a two-entry offering.

By the time of Scream 3, it was a little too out there to have that film conclude with the revelation that the killer of the piece was Sidney's long lost half-brother who had masterminded the entire events of Scream and Scream 2. Similarly, it felt lacklustre that Sid's fame-hungry cousin was the main villain of Scream 4, and that irate fans of the in-universe Stab movies were behind the bloodshed of the latest Scream offering.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.