5. The Shining (1980)
The "Sad" Ending... Even if, for some reason, you haven't seen
The Shining (why haven't you, mad person?), you're probably still familiar with its iconic ending, which has been parodied in just about everything ever made that you can watch on a screen. Having been possessed or influenced or by the ghosts of the spooky Overlook Hotel, caretaker and wannabe novelist Jack Torrance goes crazy and tries to murder his family. Then he chases his son out into a hedge maze, gets lost and ends up frozen to death. His family, un-murdered, escape. It's not really sad, but it's kind of disheartening, given that there's no epilogue or anything, don't you think?
The Abandoned "Happy" Ending... Which is where this "happy" ending comes in, which would have consisted of an epilogue depicting Wendy and Danny (Jack's wife and his child) in a hospital, being given a bit of well-deserved tender love and care. You know, just so we're
totally sure that they managed to escape Jack's wrath and that. Enter Stuart Ullman, manager of the Overlook, as he tries to convince them that the hotel isn't haunted, and that they haven't recovered Jack's body yet. Which doesn't make much sense, given that he was
frozen in the maze, Ullman. Then again, why am I trying to argue with a movie that doesn't make much sense anyway? And with a fictional character at that? Anyhow, apparently a
few critics have actually seen this ending with their own eyes, but Stanley Kubrick asked for it to be taken out a few weeks before
The Shining hit theatres, because he has that kind of power. Still, like the Jack in Ullman's explanation, this ending has yet to be recovered.