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Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Horror Movies In Which The Hero Originally Died
Voting Rules
Vote up the endings that deserved to die (on the cutting room floor).
Many beloved horror movies feature iconic villains, but some of the most-watched genre classics are popular because of their heroes; however, some of the horror flicks with beloved heroes originally featured endings in which the hero died.
This fact may surprise you, mainly because these protagonists have gone on to become franchise staples and star in more than one installment. Some of these titles may be more surprising than others, but in these films' original versions, the main characters didn't survive.
Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, is one of the most iconic heroines in horror. Appearing in four films in the Alien franchise, it's hard to imagine a timeline without her; however, Ridley Scott's original 1979 classic was initially going to feature a much bleaker ending.
In Alien's originally planned ending, the lone Xenomorph was going to rip off Ripley's head during their final battle. The film would have ended with the same voiceover from Ripley, but performed by the Xenomorph in Ripley's voice. That's right, in the original draft of Alien's script, the Xenomorph could recreate its victims' voices.
Sure, seeing the Xenomorph speak with the voice of the film's heroine would have been terrifying, but audiences would have missed out on many iconic sequences with Ripley at the forefront if she was killed off in the franchise's first film.
You're Next is a highly celebrated 2011 meta-slasher that features a home invasion, a wild plot twist, and some grisly kills. One of the film's most beloved elements is the heroine, Erin, who grew up with survivalist parents and proves too tough for the home invaders.
While Erin does certainly get injured at the end of the film, she manages to survive. In the original ending, however, police shoot Erin dead when they mistake her for one of the murderous culprits.
Final Destination, released in 2000, is one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time, consisting of slasher movies with no actual killer since Death itself is the antagonist.
Devon Sawa's Alex is the original film's protagonist, and although he's killed off-screen between the first and second films, Alex originally wasn't even supposed to survive the first film.
In Final Destination's alternate ending, Alex is killed after sacrificing himself to save his and Clear's baby. Carter also survives in this ending, even though his death is implied in the film's theatrical ending when the trio of “survivors” goes on a trip to Paris and are hunted by death one last time before the credits roll.
While the 2004 Ashton Kutcher vehicle The Butterfly Effect is more of a dark sci-fi flick than conventional horror, the film still features many horrifying sequences that earn the film status in the genre.
The story, which follows Kutcher's Evan Treborn as he goes back in time and changes events of his own history through what his doctors describe as “episodes,” ends with Evan preventing his younger self from befriending Kayleigh (Amy Smart), who initially inspired his time-traveling journey.
The film's alternate ending,however, which is included on its DVD release, originally featured a very different fate for Evan.
In the alternate ending of The Butterfly Effect, Evan goes back in time to when he was in his mother's womb, then strangles himself with the umbilical cord. The effect of this decision is similar to the effects of the theatrical ending, but Evan, of course, no longer exists in the alternate timeline.
The notion of Evan never actually existing and this change improving the lives of everyone around him may have been too dark a thesis for a theatrical film like The Butterfly Effect, so it was changed.
Happy Death Day is a light horror-comedy produced by Blumhouse that follows college student Tree (Jessica Rothe) as she becomes trapped in a time loop in which a masked killer murders her over and over again.
At the end of Happy Death Day, Tree realizes her murderer is her roommate, Lori, and by killing Lori, she ends the time loop and returns to her regular life.
In Happy Death Day's alternate ending, Tree is admitted to a hospital for her injuries after killing Lori; however, the nurse - who's also the wife of the doctor with whom Tree was having an affair - shows her face before killing Tree.
Dawn of the Dead released, in 1978, is one of George A. Romero's most-beloved additions to the zombie genre - and he's had many. While the lead character, Peter, contemplates suicide during the ending of the theatrical cut, he pushes through his dark moment, and he and Fran ultimately survive.
The film's script initially featured both Peter and Fran dying by suicide. Peter was supposed to die by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while Fran would have purposefully gotten her head chopped off by helicopter blades.
The ending would have also shown the helicopter they escaped in during the theatrical ending giving out, showing there was no hope.
