10 Most Disturbing Horror Movie Endings
7. Hereditary
Ari Aster is already well known for his uncomfortable endings, but the closer of his feature debut Hereditary really takes the biscuit. After making a shocking impression with his darkly comic (like, no-light-can-get-in dark) short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, Aster helmed this occult horror/family drama hybrid starring Toni Colette and Gabriel Byrne as a pair of grieving parents whose world begins to unravel after the sudden tragic death of their young daughter.
As the film draws to a close it switches its focus to the family’s teenage son, piling hallucinations, delusions, and nightmares on his plate before adding a possessed mother and naked old cult members surrounding his house. If that weren’t enough, the sight of your dear mum decapitating herself with piano wire would be enough to push anyone over the edge, and it’s understandable that the teen takes a quick trip out an upstairs window to escape whatever evil is inhabiting his home.
Unfortunately the fall costs him his life (or possibly just his sanity, if you’re a fan of the more “optimistic” reading), leaving him ready to stroll into his treehouse—and into the arms of the awaiting cult, who can now use his body to resurrect the demon Paiman. So everything went to plan!
For the demonic cult, that is. Shame about the innocent family.