I Am Legend
A surprising phone number of moving picture are changed in military post - production . The director will be totally finished with a moving picture , but for whatever reason ( usually lame psychometric test audiences ) , they will be forced to change the conclusion . Sometimes ( read - very rarely ) this is for the better . Maybe the mental testing audience WERE on to something and the manager got lose in their own visual sense . Other times these endings are abhorrent catastrophe that ruin an otherwise motion-picture show . Well , perhaps not ruin , but " significantly lessen the impact . "
change an ending is very finicky . These are five movies with substitute termination well than the original , and five that are bad .
Better: 28 Days Later
get ’s face it , the theatrical ending of 28 mean solar day Later is kinda lame . Jim , Selena , and Hannah scarper the rapey compound , Jim miraculously last his fatal wound , and the two are happily rescued . But just because an ending is well-chosen does n’t make it dear , and this end entirely vanish in the face of the movie ’s apocalyptic tone .
In the original ( and better ) end , Jim dies from his wound and Selena and Hannah head out to face the ruined world together . It makes for a heavy bookend to the level and it ’s more in line with the moving picture ’s themes and dower tone .
Worse: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
T2beautifully close theTerminatorstory before all the sequels had to go and ruin everything . The T-800 famously sacrifice himself , Sarah basks in her newfound sense of Leslie Townes Hope , and pontificates on the nature of personal modification , all while the image of a drab route flashes before us . It ’s beautiful .
In the God - awful alternating ending , an elderly Sarah ( Linda Hamilton in unfathomable old somebody makeup ) watch an grownup John play with his young girl while telling the audience that Judgment Day never happened . It should be terminated and never seen again .
Better: I Am Legend
I Am Legendalso has a cockamamy theatrical finish . Neville performs a Heroic Sacrifice by bumble himself up with a grenade , allowing Anna and Ethan to fly and provide the survivors ' clique with the therapeutic . Neville is a legend because he make the therapeutic for human race . How odorous .
In the theater director ’s deletion ending , Neville realizes that his eternal experiments have lead to his reputation among the lamia as a bugaboo who kidnaps and prey on their form while they sleep . It ’s much more in restrain with the novel ’s radical and message , and it makes the " caption " connotation more negative and brooding than traditionally epic .
Worse: Mr. & Mrs. Smith
The alternate ending jumps onwards a few year and see John and Jane as parents . While John is taking a pic of his daughter , she shoots a toy ordnance with incredible accuracy , signifying that their talents had slip away on to their young child . It ’s a little too cute .
Better: 1408
In another example of " director know best , " we present1408.1408is a democratic adaptation of Stephen King ’s short story star John Cusack and Samuel L. Johnson . In the theatrical ending , Mike escapes the taken up hotel way , reunites with his ex - wife Lily , and win over her that he assure the ghost of their deceased daughter .
In the original , Mike dies in the hotel blast and Olin is haunted by his charred and horribly blemish ghost . The last shot we see is of ghost Mike in the bite - out shell of 1408 happily reunite with his gone daughter . It ’s touching , it ’s scary , and it ’s much , MUCH best .
Worse: Clerks
Clerkswas earlier going to end in a … depress way of life . It sees Dante empty out the register when a random person accede the store . After telling him that the store is close , Dante is shoot in frigid blood and die , and the manslayer take off with the money in the register .
After the recognition roll , another adult male enrol and steal some coffin nail over Dante ’s corpse . Luckily , the ending was criticize by producer John Pierson and Kevin Smith decided to end the film after Randal ’s departure . We ’re really glad he did .
Better: Blade Runner
AllBlade Runneraficionados harmonize that the substitute ending is vastly and innumerably superior to the crappy theatrical one . It ’s one of the most equivocal and thematic conclusion in movie story - Roy die , Gaff taunts Deckard about Rachael ’s imminent death , Deckard return to his apartment , and both he and Rachael go away for escapade unknown .
The studio apartment famously interfere and impose on this film ’s creation , force an awkward voice - over to make the ending felicitous . It ’s harmfully detracting and it ruins a gorgeous ending .
Worse: Fatal Attraction
In the theatrical ending , Beth shoot and kills a deranged Alex . After devote his affirmation to the police , Dan cover Beth as they both walk back into the bread and butter elbow room . In the substitute ending , Alex slashes her own pharynx and frames Dan . fortunately , Beth incur a convenient tape of Alex discussing her intent and shows it to the constabulary , acquitting Dan .
exam audiences indicate that they shoot a new closing , as this was too mussy and depressing . Glenn Close initially waver , as she did n’t want to play a traditional scoundrel , but she finally yield . Obviously .
Better: The Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect is n’t a not bad movie by any mean value , but it does have a very impactful termination . Realizing that he is losing his idea and will be committed to an harebrained institution , Evan travels as far back as he can go in a desperate endeavor to falsify the futurity - into his female parent ’s womb .
It ’s here that Baby Evan strangles himself with his umbilical corduroy , foreclose his life from ever occur in the first place . It ’s much better than the traditional glad ending , which sees Evan succeeding in his charge and gayly go Kayleigh on the street .
Worse: Dr. Strangelove
When it comes to shoot endings , it does n’t get much more iconic thanDr . Strangelove . Strangelove bizarrely stands from his wheelchair and the motion-picture show terminate as the world does … amidst numerous nuclear explosions as We ’ll Meet Again play over the carnage . It ’s brazenly hilarious and bitingly satiric . Meanwhile , the original ending was do to contain … a Proto-Indo European fight . Yeah , all the characters were go to get into a big pie fighting or something .
The conclusion . Luckily , Kubrick realized that this was not in keep with the satirical tone of the film and decided to transfer it to the now - iconic destructive magic .
NEXT:10 Best Horror Films That Do n’t Have Happy Endings
