20 More So-Called Happy Movie Endings That Absolutely Aren't

In a time when slashers were about as formulaic and predictable as could be, Wes Craven brought Scream to life, which not only subverted such expectations but played on them and made fun of them, spawning one of the most successful horror franchises of all time.

The reveal that Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard) were working together in order to kill Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott was genius, and made for one hell of an ending. Though Sidney ultimately survived and won the day, her role in the franchise was far from over.

You could say the same about pretty much any slasher flick, but let's focus in on Sidney herself. No matter how many times she escaped with her life, she was consistently hunted down again, and even when the killer didn't actually target her in 2022's Scream, she still managed to find herself in the middle of the situation with her life at risk.

And it's not just her own life. Sid's trauma naturally greatly affected her, but also how she raised her children, with Tatum (Isabel May) being drawn into the horror as well in Scream 7. No matter how many times a final girl can survive, there will always be the trauma to deal with, the upsetting number of deceased friends and family members, and the effect on their lives that really means no movie ending could ever truly be happy for them.