The 1990s was a bit of an interesting decade for the horror genre. While there were obviously quite a few that continued the slasher tradition of the 1980s, others took a turn into the gothic, and several high-profile films explored the vampire, a perennial favorite of the horror film, rendering them into objects of romantic desire.
The decade also saw quite a few films with truly stunning endings, ones that often managed to be both beautiful and troubling. At the same time, there were a few endings that were either clunky or predictable, mediocre conclusions to equally mediocre films.
Great: Interview With The Vampire (1994)
This film is an adaptation of the Anne Rice novel of the same name and, as its title suggests, it follows the form of an interview, in which Louis (Brad Pitt) explains to Daniel (Christian Slater) his history as a vampire and his fraught relationship with his maker Lestat (Tom Cruise). The ending has a lot of bite since it features Lestat assaulting Daniel while he is driving away from the interview. It neatly captures the bratty nature of one of horror fiction’s favorite vampires.
Awful: The Haunting (1999)
This film has been adapted for the screen several times. The Haunting of Hill House is one of the best horror novels ever written. Some of these have been quite good at capturing the chilling nature of the novel, but this one is a true clunker. The ending is so overwrought that it causes the rest of the film--which isn’t great, to begin with--to utterly collapse. The fact that the CGI is, to put it mildly, overdone, just adds to the film’s myriad other problems.
Great: Tremors (1990)
Creature horror tends to go in one of two directions: either it takes itself too seriously and thus becomes camp, or it just leans into the fun and lets the audience do the same. Tremors does the latter, and it still stands out as one of the most amusing and enjoyable horror films of the entire 1990s.
It also has a good ending, in that the last of the malevolent subterranean creatures is defeated and two of the main characters end up in a romance together. It’s an ending that’s just perfect.
Awful: Anaconda (1997)
What to say about this film? This is one of those creature films that really does seem to take itself very seriously indeed, with very little self-awareness of how sublimely terrible it is. Obviously, the end sees the titular creature destroyed, but then the film really leans into the ridiculous with a scene in which a group of native people emerge from the jungle to greet the filmmakers. It...just lands with a thud, and one would have thought the film could have done much better to end the film -- even if it did manage to spawn a franchise.
Great: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
In some ways, this is the definitive adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel, and Gary Oldman is nothing short of brilliant as Dracula. Somehow, the film manages to make the audience feel rather sorry for the vampire, and the ending ultimately sees him reunited with the woman that he loved while he was alive. For some, it might be a bit trite, but in many ways, it’s an ending that is quite fitting, and it helps cement the film’s connections between romance and horror.
Awful: I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
This film is....unfortunate in many ways. It tries, it really does, but unfortunately, it becomes a bit of a retread of almost every slasher cliche that’s ever been made. There’s not really much suspense to the film, and there are few beats that are unexpected. Given how formulaic it is, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that its ending is also what one would expect, with a shadowy figure leaping out to assault the film’s main character.
Great: The Blair Witch Project (1999)
This opinion might be controversial to some, but there are some important ways in which the ending to The Blair Witch Project is truly frightening. It’s easy to sneer at the film from the perspective of 2020 when found footage is sort of old hat, but at the time it was disturbing for how easily it really did appear real.
What’s more, the film’s ending is so ambiguous that it still manages to send chills up the spines of some viewers, even after all these years.
Awful: Predator 2 (1990)
While the first film in this franchise was highly entertaining, the sequel fails to match it in any significant way. Part of this has to do with the fact that, for some reason, it brings the titular character into Los Angeles and, let’s face it, it’s never a good idea to bring a creature like this into an urban setting. The ending is just as clunky and devoid of inspiration as the rest of the film, with the main human character musing about the fact that the Predator will most likely return.
Great: Misery (1990)
Misery is, without doubt, one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King novel ever made. How could it not be, when it stars none other than the incandescent Kathy Bates? While obviously, the film is full of suspense and psychological terror, it’s the ending that really helps it to stand out, when the main character finds himself confronted with the trauma of what he’s just experienced. The film has tightly woven the audience into his psychology, and that makes his final encounter--in which he mistakes a waitress for his torturer--all the more potent.
Awful: Alien 3 (1992)
It’s really a shame that this film didn’t turn out better. After all, the two preceding films in the franchise were excellent, and they cemented Sigourney Weaver’s star power for quite a long time afterwards. However, for some absurd reason, they decided to have her beloved character Ellen Ripley throw herself into a fire, thus putting an end to what is, without a doubt, one of the best characters to have ever appeared in science fiction and horror. She truly deserved better.