10 Worst Fates Suffered By Heroes In Horror Movies

Ellison Oswalt's desperate quest to remain a relevant, acclaimed true crime novelist leads to the latest in a long line of demonic, ritualistic family slaughters.

Oswalt moves his wife and kids into the household of another family who were all hung outside in the backyard bar one missing child. In the attic, Oswalt discovers a selection of snuff tapes depicting other sadistic family murders.

Bar a few cheaply handled jump scares, this well-regarded chiller simmers along nicely until the mortifying conclusion. Each dead family had a missing child which, we now discover, are the killers, manipulated by a demonic entity. Just as Oswalt is letting this info digest, we discover he's been drugged by his daughter who subsequently butchers him, his wife, and his son with an axe.

Ethan Hawke does a convincing job as the increasingly out-of-his-depth Oswalt, gradually sinking into alcoholism and despair as the monstrous entity behind the murders torments him. Unwanted by the townsfolk and dealing with a wife and kids agitated by the house moving, it's simply too late for Oswalt when he finally realises he's made a dreadful mistake moving into the murder house.

Despite us expecting a sinister (ha) climax before the credits roll, the weight of what happens to Oswalt and his family remains director Scott Derrickson's finest moment as a modern master of horror.