Buzz
Alert: If you haven’t seen these films, be warned—spoilers ahead. But let’s face it, you’re probably going to read them anyway. These fan theories are simply too good to miss. Let’s dive right in.
Picture yourself hearing the chilling sounds of monstrous creatures closing in from every direction, but you can’t see them due to a thick fog. Then comes the grim realization that there’s no way out. You escape with your son and three others in a car, but run out of gas.
The monsters are still lurking, concealed by the mist. In a moment of desperation, you make the impossible choice. You take out your gun and shoot your son and the others with the four remaining bullets. Then, you step out of the car, screaming for the monsters to finish you off.
Suddenly, something stirs through the mist. As it gets closer, you realize it’s not a monster at all, but an army tank rescuing survivors. Soldiers are gunning down the creatures as the tank moves forward...
10. The Mist
. . . This is the shocking conclusion of The Mist, the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novella. Many fans still regard it as one of the most unexpected movie endings ever. Numerous questions linger about the story, such as the origins of the monsters and the tragic fate of the little boy.
A compelling fan theory suggests that the boy’s death was necessary as a sacrifice to appease the gods, ensuring they would annihilate the monsters. Throughout the film, a religious fanatic insists on the boy’s death as an offering to God to atone for the sins of the survivors. According to the theory, this sacrifice is exactly what occurred when the boy’s father ended his life, leading to the arrival of the soldiers to rescue the others.
An intriguing extension of the theory posits that the popular Netflix series Stranger Things serves as a prequel to The Mist. This would explain the origins of the monsters in The Mist. Additionally, the Upside Down in Stranger Things is believed to be the same as the mist in the film, a cross-dimensional rift. A portal opened by the military in the movie allowed the creatures to invade our dimension.
9. Split
M. Night Shyamalan made a triumphant return with Split. This thrilling horror film tells the story of Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 23 distinct personalities who kidnaps three teenage girls.
Eventually, it’s revealed that Kevin harbors a 24th personality known as “The Beast.” However, the true shocker comes at the end with a cameo by Bruce Willis, reprising his role as David Dunn from Unbreakable. This confirms that Split and Unbreakable exist in the same shared universe.
It didn’t take long for fans to speculate around this reveal. Since Kevin’s father boarded a train and never came back, many believe it’s the same train derailed by Mr. Glass in Unbreakable. This theory suggests that Kevin’s father died in the crash, and Mr. Glass inadvertently set the stage for the creation of a supervillain.
Hopefully, this theory will be either confirmed or debunked in the 2019 film Glass, which is marketed as a sequel to Unbreakable.
8. Titanic
When Jack sank beneath the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean in Titanic, viewers were left stunned. Why couldn’t Rose have just scooted over a little on the giant door, making room for Jack to climb on too?
Director James Cameron addressed the debate, explaining that Jack would have perished even if he had tied both his and Rose’s life vests to the door to improve its buoyancy. (This statement came after a MythBusters experiment.)
Fans took the discussion further, creating the theory that Jack never actually existed. Instead, he was a manifestation of Rose’s imagination, appearing during her most challenging moments.
According to this theory, Rose experienced a mental breakdown aboard the Titanic, which led her to the edge of the ship, contemplating suicide. Enter Jack Dawson, who represents everything her cruel fiancé, Cal, is not. Jack becomes a symbol of Rose’s inner strength during her defiance of Cal, serving as the voice that urges her to escape her predicament.
The theory gains momentum when elderly Rose states at the end that no one will ever have proof of Jack’s existence: “He exists now only in my memory.”
7. Drag Me To Hell
Drag Me to Hell is a grotesque comedy-horror film. Picture bodily fluids splattering into the protagonist’s mouth and the creepiest elderly woman chewing on her own chin, and you’ll get the idea. Despite its dark humor, the film takes an unexpected turn in the end. The protagonist, Christine, is dragged to hell while her boyfriend stands helplessly by, unable to do anything.
Shortly after the film’s release, a theory emerged suggesting that instead of being pursued by the old lady, Christine is actually experiencing hallucinations due to her self-imposed starvation, driven by her fear of gaining weight. The scenes where she dreams of being vomited on are actually Christine herself throwing up the little food she’s consumed. Whenever food appears in the story, the old woman attacks or frightens Christine.
It’s generally believed that Christine’s descent into hell at the end is due to the curse placed on her by the old woman early in the film, which was never broken. However, some theories suggest that Christine is either dying from starvation at the movie’s conclusion or is committing suicide due to depression caused by her eating disorder.
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn–Part 2
The fight sequence at the end of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn–Part 2 was both shocking to hard-core fans as well as a major plot hole. It was shocking because Aro was suddenly holding up Carlisle’s decapitated head and then things just escalated from there to the demise of Esme, Jasper, and Leah.
The plot hole came in the form of Alice being able to see this entire event as a vision even though she had previously been prevented from seeing the future when the werewolves were nearby. For example, she couldn’t see Bella being saved from the water after she jumped off a cliff because Jacob was the one who saved her. So it was rather strange that Alice could suddenly see the futures of vampires and werewolves at the same time.
According to one fan theory, the rules may have changed for Alice because a strong bond formed between the wolf and the child when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, the half-human, half-vampire offspring of Edward and Bella. Another theory says that Alice was forced to be around the wolves more than she would have liked, so she tuned into their “frequency.” Eventually, this enabled her to overcome the blind spot in her gift.
5. The Thing
The ambiguous conclusion of John Carpenter’s *The Thing* has sparked numerous fan theories over time. As R.J. MacReady battles the Thing, Childs disappears after rushing out into the snowstorm. After confronting the Thing with fire, MacReady returns to the destroyed remains of the base. Just then, Childs reappears seemingly out of nowhere.
Suspicion arises that Childs may have been infected by the Thing when MacReady offers him a bottle of alcohol. Childs takes a sip, and that marks the end of the scene.
One theory suggests that Childs was infected by the Thing since his breath wasn’t visible in the cold, while MacReady’s breath was clearly seen, indicating a difference between the two.
Another theory suggests that Childs wore a different jacket by the film’s end, implying that the Thing had overtaken him and torn up his original clothing.
A theory circulating on reddit claims that the bottle MacReady gave Childs contained gasoline. Since Childs showed no reaction to it, it’s interpreted that he had indeed been infected by the Thing.
4. *The Shining*
Without a doubt, *The Shining* has become home to some of the most bizarre fan and conspiracy theories that circulate online. Similar to *The Thing*, the movie’s conclusion is left deliberately ambiguous, inviting various interpretations.
At the end of the film, a black-and-white photograph appears, showing Jack Torrance at the Overlook Hotel in 1921. This raises questions, as the story’s events unfold 60 years later, making such a scenario impossible.
Among the most common theories is the idea that Jack and the butler are trapped in a cycle of reincarnation, forever destined to serve at the hotel. There’s also a theory that Jack is the Devil himself, due to the striking resemblance between his pose in the photograph and the tarot card of Baphomet.
The film seems to stir up more conspiracy theories with every viewing. One popular claim is that director Stanley Kubrick embedded hidden messages throughout the film as a confession for faking the Moon landings. Other theories suggest that the film addresses the *Holocaust*, mind control (thanks to the CIA), or even the mythical Minotaur.
3. *The Boy In The Striped Pajamas*
This film delivers one of the most heartbreaking and unexpected conclusions in cinematic history. The story follows a young boy named Bruno, who relocates with his Nazi father and mother to Poland, where his father is assigned to oversee the concentration camp there.
While in Poland, Bruno forms a friendship with Shmuel, a prisoner at the concentration camp. Despite the danger, Shmuel sneaks past the soldiers to speak with Bruno through the fence that separates them.
The boys eventually come up with a plan for Bruno to steal a prisoner’s uniform and crawl under the fence to visit Shmuel inside the camp. Tragically, as Bruno enters, both he and Shmuel are rounded up with other prisoners and sent into a gas chamber.
A fan theory on reddit proposes that immediately after the two boys meet, the film takes a supernatural turn and becomes a ghost story. According to this theory, the Nazi soldiers caught Shmuel talking to Bruno and killed him shortly after.
Shmuel reappears as a ghost, returning to the fence and concocting a plan to get Bruno inside the camp, fully aware that Bruno’s fate would be sealed as well. Whether driven by anger over his own death or by the loneliness of wanting a ghostly companion, Shmuel seems determined to ensure that Bruno shares his tragic fate.
2. *The Witch*
*The Witch* is an unsettling horror film released in 2016 that left audiences deeply disturbed. Like many horror films, it divides viewers – some find it mesmerizing, while others are repelled by it.
Thomasin, a young girl from a Puritan family, becomes consumed by a desire for worldly riches and ultimately bargains her soul to the Devil. This pact follows the brutal deaths of her family and Thomasin’s shocking act of murdering her own mother with a garden tool.
After Thomasin signs her pact with the Devil, she sheds her clothing and is led to a bonfire deep in the forest where a group of naked, levitating women – a coven of witches – await. She too begins to levitate, and as this moment unfolds, the screen fades to black.
A fan theory quickly emerged online to explain the overwhelming darkness surrounding Thomasin, suggesting that she made herself an easy target for the Devil. This theory posits that Thomasin was aware of her own vulnerability and wanted to be freed from her earthly desires. In essence, she was the most susceptible to temptation, already struggling with deep flaws in her belief system.
1. *Taxi Driver*
In *Taxi Driver*, Travis Bickle becomes consumed with rage directed at Senator Charles Palantine and plans to assassinate him. However, his plot unravels when Secret Service agents spot him, causing him to abandon his mission.
With his original plan thwarted, Bickle redirects his fury toward his ex-girlfriend and the city of New York itself. He chooses to target and kill a bouncer at a brothel, believing that in doing so, he has freed one of the prostitutes and offered her a chance to escape the life she has known.
When the police arrive, Bickle is found bloodied and holding his finger to his head in a mock suicide gesture. An overhead camera sweeps down the hallway, revealing the aftermath: corpses, pools of blood, and a crowd gathered outside the apartment building.
The camera then shifts back to Bickle’s apartment, where newspaper clippings now adorn the walls. These clippings proclaim that Bickle has killed a Mafia leader and become a local hero. In the final moments, Bickle is seen driving his ex-girlfriend home in his cab before driving off into the night.
One of the most popular theories surrounding the film’s conclusion is that Bickle was fatally injured during the shootout with the police, and the entire sequence that follows is merely a vivid hallucination while he bleeds out. A less common theory suggests that the ending simply capitalizes on America’s morbid fascination with the bizarre – transforming the psycho into a national hero.
