Self-sacrifice
12-22-2009, 08:45 PM
A classic ending of horror is that of near-nihilism, or in easier-explained terms: the bad guy wins, the good guy dies or is put in a rather unfortunate situation, and no one who would do anything is the wiser... a very good amount of the time this is how horror will end if the bad guy is not dealt a gory demise, with some other horror films ending when the protagonist escapes leaving both parties alive.
Strangely uncommon in horror is the outcome in which both parties die, usually when the hero dies in his own bid to stop the villain, often to keep them from killing someone else. I would venture a guess that this is mostly due to horror being polarized between the "heroic end" and the "nihilistic end"
I guess examples would be grounds for a spoiler alert o.o
I first thought of this topic seeing Castle Freak, which actually had a pretty creative end for both the villain and the hero; when the disgraced father of the family in danger attached the "monster"'s weapon (A cuffed-chain with which he was locked in the dungeons for years with) to his own hand and leaped from a height, taking the monster with him to both their deaths.
Shark Hunter, despite being more of a sci-fi film, ended with the alone and tormented hero ramming his mini-sub into the shark being hunted's maw where it explodes
The Thing ends somewhat famously among the horror community, when both survivors of the outpost-outbreak stay face to face in a hole in the freezing cold rather than fall prey to the paranoia that killed many of the others: though not venturing out to search for help means both of them will likely die, it also means the titular "Thing" (If it has infected either member) will die with them (Unless one of the dogs makes it out of course...).
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Any instances of this that you particularly like?
Strangely uncommon in horror is the outcome in which both parties die, usually when the hero dies in his own bid to stop the villain, often to keep them from killing someone else. I would venture a guess that this is mostly due to horror being polarized between the "heroic end" and the "nihilistic end"
I guess examples would be grounds for a spoiler alert o.o
I first thought of this topic seeing Castle Freak, which actually had a pretty creative end for both the villain and the hero; when the disgraced father of the family in danger attached the "monster"'s weapon (A cuffed-chain with which he was locked in the dungeons for years with) to his own hand and leaped from a height, taking the monster with him to both their deaths.
Shark Hunter, despite being more of a sci-fi film, ended with the alone and tormented hero ramming his mini-sub into the shark being hunted's maw where it explodes
The Thing ends somewhat famously among the horror community, when both survivors of the outpost-outbreak stay face to face in a hole in the freezing cold rather than fall prey to the paranoia that killed many of the others: though not venturing out to search for help means both of them will likely die, it also means the titular "Thing" (If it has infected either member) will die with them (Unless one of the dogs makes it out of course...).
----
Any instances of this that you particularly like?
âThe Fright Night remake is a film which taps into the audienceâs deepest rooted fears, such as those of vampires throwing motorcycles at them. I dread the thought of a vampire throwing a refrigerator or a deskjet printer or... Iâd better stop before I give myself nightmaresâ
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