An American Werewolf in London
For a horror movie, An American Werewolf in London is a surprisingly comedic film. Well, until the film’s final moments when David (David Naughton), as a fully transformed werewolf, is confronted by Alex (Jenny Agutter) and a police force in an alley after having gone on a killing spree. Alex tells David that she loves him and, for just a moment, it seems as if David acknowledges her statement. Then he lunges at her and the cops shoot him down. The credits roll once David has reverted back to his human form and Alex cries over his corpse.
The Orphanage
One could make a case arguing that The Orphanage is not actually a horror movie, but rather a drama. You don’t really know that until the final moments of the film though, when it is revealed that the noises and bumps in the night that Laura (Belén Rueda) heard shortly after her adopted son Simón went missing were actually the sound of her that same son knocking on the hidden door in the basement that she had accidentally locked him in earlier in the film. While banging on the door, Simón tripped and broke his neck. After finding his corpse, Laura overdoses on sleeping pills so that she is free to care for Simón and he other orphan ghosts in the afterlife. Whether you view that ending as bleak or hopeful is entirely up to you, but you can’t deny its beauty.
