10 Horror Movies Ruined By Disturbing Endings
6. High Tension
Helmed by transgressive writer/director Alexandre Aja, High Tension is famous for its graphic violence, upsetting themes/implications, and ostensibly nonsensical twist ending.
After all, it begins with 20-something Alex’s mother, father, and younger brother being brutally murdered before she’s kidnapped by the perpetrator. Alex’s best friend, Marie (who was staying with the family), witnesses all of this and embarks on a quest to rescue Alex and stop the nameless killer.
All the while, it’s clear that Marie has a lot of affection for Alex, yet whenever she catches up to the kidnapper and reassures Alex that everything will be okay, Alex is noticeably frightened of her.
Eventually, it’s revealed that Alex is scared of both the killer and Marie because Marie is the killer (she suffers from dissociative identity disorder and other mental illnesses, and she committed all the crimes so she and Alex could be together). Consequently, Marie is hospitalized and Alex is traumatized for multiple reasons.
Aside from the illogicality of Marie’s plan, she simply couldn’t have done what her imagined killer did due to her small body frame (among other factors). Therefore, High Tension would’ve worked better if it stuck to its initially straightforward and less alarming premise.