New horror Orphan: First Kill will debut in theaters on August 19th, telling the chilling backstory of one of modern cinema’s most psychopathic killers. However, the franchise could have taken another route had the original film ended differently.
There are several popular horror films that fans love from beginning to end. However, sometimes fans aren’t impressed with how a movie concludes. Some of the best horror movies throughout the ages had plans for shocking alternate endings that could have changed the outlook on the film, for better or worse.
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
![10 Popular Horror Movies With Shocking Alternate Ending Plans](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/dr.-strangelove.jpg)
In this dark comedy, a U.S. Air Force General goes insane and plans to bomb the U.S.S.R, believing they are conspiring to pollute the bodily fluids of the American people. At the end of the film, the scene cuts to a montage of nuclear explosions as some music plays in the background.
However, Stanley Kubrick had very different ideas for the ending of this Cold War classic. Kubrick had initially intended for it to end with a ridiculous pie fight between world leaders. In the end, the decided ending seemed to fit the dark, twisted nature of the film.
Fatal Attraction (1987)
![An image of Glenn Close and Michael Douglas fighting in Fatal Attraction](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Fatal-Attraction-Glenn-Close-and-Michael-Douglas.jpg)
This psychological thriller has an action-packed ending, with Dan and his wife, Beth, killing the psychotic Alex who Dan had been having an affair with. Though the film’s ending was positively received when it was released, modern audiences tend to find the plot sexist.
However, the original conclusion sided more with Alex’s point-of-view, with her framing Dan for murder before telling his wife he’s only guilty of adultery. The test audience didn’t favor this ending, wanting to see Alex pay for her sadistic nature. It’s likely audiences today would have been more satisfied with the manipulative character receiving a better ending.
Seven (1995)
![John Doe entering the police station covered in blood in Seven](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Kevin-Spacey-as-John-Doe-in-Seven.png)
In this crime thriller, detectives Somerset and Mills work together to find a sadistic serial killer that is killing people he believes represents the seven deadly scenes. In the end, Mills kills the murderer after the psychotic man reveals the contents of his mysterious box.
This film actually had several different endings planned before the decision was made. One had Somerset killing the murderer instead, and another had Mills shooting both the killer and his fellow detective. Though these other alternates would have been a shocking turn of events, viewers tend to appreciate an ending in which the villain meets their end.
The Descent (2005)
![Sarah escapes the cave in The Descent](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The-Descent-Sarah-Escapes.jpg)
In this intense horror, Sarah goes to explore underground caves with her friends only to encounter strange, vicious creatures that have a taste for human flesh.
In the U.K. extended ending, Sarah escapes the underground only to realize her escape was only a dream and she was still trapped below with the creatures. To satisfy U.S. audiences that demanded a happier ending, the director Neil Marshall had to cut the final scene to make it appear as if Sarah escaped. While happy endings are great, this alternate ending Marshall preferred seems more fitting for this psychological horror.
I Am Legend (2007)
![Robert Neville face to face with a Darkseeker in I Am Legend.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/I-Am-Legend-Darkseeker-Will-Smith-as-Robert-Neville.jpg)
In this zombie horror starring Will Smith, Dr. Neville (Smith) sacrifices himself in the end so that two other survivors can bring the cure for the disease to the world. This ending was favorably chosen to make Neville a martyr for the cause.
However, an alternate ending, which is closer to the book the film is based on, has Neville discovering the creatures fear him after it’s revealed that his test subject was the leader’s partner. Heroic endings are often favored in cinematic decisions. Though, Neville living to the end would have left an opening for a good sequel to this popular apocalyptic film.
Alien (1979)
![Ellen Ripley with a gun in Alien.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Aliens-Ellen-Ripley.jpg)
Alien features one of the scariest creatures in a horror movie, the creature from another planet savagely attacking all on board in this galactic film. Ellen Ripley is an iconic horror survivor and has since become a feminist icon.
That’s why it’s so hard to believe that Ridley Scott originally planned for her to meet her fate in the end, having her head bit off and the alien using her voice to trick those on Earth. Had Scott gone with this original idea, the franchise following the debut film likely wouldn’t have been as popular.
Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)
![Audrey II lifts Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/little-shop-of-horrors.jpg)
Though he doesn’t play a significant role throughout the film, The Little Shop Of Horrors is considered one of Steve Martin’s best movies. When a man feeds his love interest’s boyfriend to a man-eating plant, the plant begins tormenting him as its thirst for blood increases.
Instead of the two defeating the evil plant and getting a happy ending, Frank Oz had initially intended for the plant to devour them and take over the world. While this darker alternate ending may have satisfied audiences today, movies in the ’80s did tend to lean towards a happier resolution to satisfy viewers.
Dawn of The Dead (1978)
![The zombies attack the elevator in Dawn of the Dead.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-zombies-attack-the-elevator-in-Dawn-of-the-Dead.jpg)
Night of the Living Dead is one of the best classic horror movies, followed by this sequel filmed nearly a decade later. In this film, a group of survivors holes up in a mall as they fight the undead closing in around them.
The ending of this film featured the survivors escaping on a helicopter as the zombies begin to overtake the mall. However, George Romero had different plans for this zombie classic. Initially, he planned for the two survivors to take their lives as there seems to be no end in sight. Romero made the right decision in keeping the ending more hopeful and allowing the characters to live another day.
The Shining (1980)
![Jack Torrance looking through the door in The Shining.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jack-Nicholson-looking-throught-the-door-in-The-Shining.jpg)
The Shining has some of the scariest scenes known in horror films. In this beloved Stephen King adaptation, a man slowly goes insane while he and his family act as caretakers for a remote hotel haunted by paranormal forces.
Stephen King famously disliked Kubrick’s ending to the movie, which replaced blowing up the hotel with Jack’s wife and son escaping while he gets lost in the hedge maze and eventually freezes to death. But originally Kubrick actually planned on extending the ending of the original story, having the hotel manager show up at the hospital to discredit the family’s claim of the strange happenings. Had the movie ended in this way, it would have left the story with more questions posed than answered.
Orphan (2009)
![Isabelle Fuhrman in Orphan looking straight ahead.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/omovie.jpg)
This popular horror film will soon have an origin story to explain the psychotic beginnings of Esther, an older woman that appears to be a child. In this thriller, the girl is killed at the end by the mother while saving her daughter from the murderer.
However, there was an alternate ending considered in which Esther lives to see another day. In the alternate ending, the family escapes but Esther lives on, tricking the authorities into thinking she’s an innocent girl. Test audiences may have preferred seeing the diabolical Esther meet her end, but the alternate ending would have left fans wondering what was in story next for Esther’s story.