It's fairly rare to see a happy movie in a horror movie, as they ruin the tension, but these 10 successful horror flicks saw their heroes prevail.
Horror movies, more so than any other genre, do not have happy endings. It comes with the territory, as tragic endings are "scarier" and make for more uneasy viewing. A relentless horror movie with a happy ending often causes a severe jarring sensation, and the viewer may not buy the ending owing to the tonal clash.
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That said, there are numerous horror movies with happy endings, ones where the good guys actually come out on top and triumph over the evil. Despite how out of place happy endings may seem in the genre, these ten managed to fit perfectly.
When it was released in 2002, 28 Days Later was touted as the scariest film in years. Most of that has to do with its terrifying fast zombies and relentlessly dour tone. Yet, it has a happy ending; three of the four main cast members survive, and the infection naturally dies out as the infected starve to death, allowing the country to return to normal... provided you ignore the sequel. That said, the original ending was far more tragic and depressing, but director Danny Boyle changed it after negative test screenings.
Chucky is now a horror movie icon, but his story was all but concluded in Child's Play. It is entirely possible to ignore the existence of the sequels and enjoy this classic slasher as a one and done horror film.
The end of the movie sees Andy, Karen, and Mike battling Chucky in Karen's apartment. They burn him and shoot him, but it's to no avail until Mike finally kills him by shooting him in the heart. The movie ends, and all the heroes survive unscathed. Maybe Andy will be psychologically scarred owing to the movie's traumatic events, but at least he's alive!
For the most part, The Silence of the Lambs contains a happy ending with the good guys winning. Clarice ends up finding and killing Buffalo Bill, and she saves poor Catherine Martin from the well. She also finds mental peace and serenity, as the "lambs stopped screaming."
The only loose end and remaining problem is Hannibal Lecter. The deranged psychopath escapes imprisonment, kills numerous peopleincluding an innocent civilianand escapes off to some remote island to live in peace and anonymity where he plants to have an old friend for dinner...
Scream wonderfully subverted the tropes of the slasher genre and ended with many of the core cast surviving. Aside from poor Tatum, every member of the core cast survived, including Sidney, Dewey, Gale, and even Randy. Not only that, but Sidney saves her father from Billy and Stu, who she singlehandedly kills by herself.
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Like Child's Play, it's entirely possible to watch Scream as a standalone movie, as no loose ends are left dangling as the credits roll. In many ways, it's the perfect slasher movie.
Perhaps Aliens is more of an action movie than a horror, but it still contains many horrific elements. Again, much of the main cast survives the ordeal, at least everyone we care aboutaside from poor Hudson. Ripley does battle with the queen and ends up ejecting it into space. While Bishop has been torn in half, he is still stored away on the escape pod for the return trip to Earth alongside Ripley, Newt, and Hicks. The little family unit survives... provided you ignore the events of Alien 3. But, then again, pretty much everyone does that, anyway.
Get Out was the surprise hit of 2017, and it contains a relatively happy ending with the good guy surviving. After being imprisoned in the basement, Chris escapes and kills Jeremy, Dean, and Missy. Rose is taken care of by the briefly freed gardener, Walter, and Chris is rescued by Rod.
The good guy technically won, but at what cost? He seemingly has nothing left to live fortelling Rose earlier that she was all he hadand he will almost certainly be wanted at least for serious questioning in the Armitage massacre.
Green Room follows a highly unfortunate punk band who witness a murder and is subsequently hunted by a group of neo-Nazis. It's a great movie, and certainly not for the squeamish. While most of the band dies at the hands of the skinheads, the bassist, Pat, survives with Amber.
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They manage to kill all of the skinheads save for Gabe, who proceeds to call the police. Pat and Amber's fates are left ambiguous, as they simply wait at the side of the road for the police to arrive. But they survived, and they defeated their attackers.
It's rare for straight slasher movies to end in the hero's victory, but Vacancyis one of the rare exceptions. This movie stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a bickering, nearly divorced couple staying at a seedy motel after coming back from a family get together.
They soon discover that the motel is a ground for killings, and these killings are made into snuff films. Both David and Amy manage to survive the night's events and kill all of their attackers, providing the movie with a weirdly satisfying and happy ending.
Hush is just one of many great horror films directed by Mike Flanagan, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the leading names in modern horror. The movie is led by his real wife, Kate Siegel, who plays a deaf woman named Maddie.
Maddie is hunted by a man in her remote house in the woods. In the end, Maddie finally gains the upper hand by plunging a corkscrew into the man's neck, killing him. She phones the police, and the movie ends as they arrive.
The Exorcist is widely touted as one of the scariest movies ever made, yet, despite that, it has a happy ending. Things obviously don't end well for the priests, as Merrin diesfrom a heart attack, and a newly-possessed Karras bravely commits suicide by jumping out the window and taking the demon with him.
Regan is freed and doesn't seem to remember the events of her possession, and Chris gets her daughter back. They drive off into the future, content with the successful exorcism.
NEXT:10 Best Horror Movie Kills Of All Time
Next Jaws: 5 Ways The Movie Has Dated (& 5 Ways It's Still A Classic)
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10 Best Horror Movies (Where The Good Guys Actually Win) - Screen Rant
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Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero