Questions of Horror #1: Why Dark Endings?

In the first of an occasional series, Kirsty, Stella and Dan ponder some wide-ranging questions of the horror genre.  Dan's been wondering why it is that so many horror films have dark endings of one kind or another, and why we spectators enjoy these endings, comparatively rare in other genres.

SPOILER WARNING - By the nature of the discussion we spoil the endings of a great many films.  So if you haven't seen the following films and don't want the endings ruined, don't listen to this episode!  Although if the one you've missed is Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, don't worry too much, as Dan has a senior moment and vastly misremembers the details of that film's conclusion.  At one point he also says the wonderful phrase "murder-kills" when he means "mercy-kills".

Films spoiled: Night of the Living Dead (1968), Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982), the Scream franchise (1996-2011), The Descent (2005), The Mist (2007), The Woman in Black (2012), Get Out (2017).

Related Links

Our biggest news this week is a reminder that it's the weekend of Frightfest's Digital Edition.  If you live in the UK, Eire or the Channel Islands, you can still buy tickets to stream any of the films featured over the weekend by going to the Frightfest website.

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