10 Horror Movies That Stick The Landing

Robin Hardy's incredible 1973 film The Wicker Man hinges so much on its ending that you should definitely avoid reading any further if you don't know what happens. 

Got that? Good. You have been warned. 

When police officer Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) investigates the disappearance of a girl on a remote Scottish island, he finds that the residents have abandoned Christianity in favour of an ancient Celtic religion. Howie, a godly man, dismisses what he sees as the islanders' backwards ways, but does so at his own peril. 

Howie believes that the islanders are going to sacrifice the missing girl to their gods by burning her alive in a giant wicker statue. However, he realises too late that the girl was just the bait and that the intended offering is actually himself.

The movie ends with Howie being burned alive inside the wicker man, as the pagans sing cheerful songs around him, hoping that his death will cure their barren soil. Howie's faith blinded him to the danger he was in and his arrogance and ignorance came back to bite him and then some - a terrific ending to a fabulous film.