MovieChat Forums > Oculus (2014) Discussion > Would've been a better ending if

Would've been a better ending if

posted 8 years ago by caroldbarboza
9 replies | jump to latest

Would've been a better ending if the roles were reversed. Don't get me wrong I liked the ending but I've been thinking it would've been a way more satisfying ending, narratively speaking, if the brother got killed and the sister went to jail.

Think about it, during the entire movie the sister was trying to prove that she wasn't crazy and she ended up killing her brother and the police wouldn't believe that the mirror made her do it.
And the brother who spent a good part of the movie thinking the mirror was harmless getting killed by it.

I think this small change would've made the movie even better. Also does anybody know if this movie has an alternate ending?

[–] americanadian25 8 years ago

Yeah I could see that ending working too.

Oculus Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC2ty4KZD6I

[–] sickstorm16 8 years ago

I agree well they just wanted to have a bad ending this movie sounds silly as hell tbh i wish we had a back story of the mirror instead of that obscure attempt of explaining its origin

[–] GasmaskAvenger 8 years ago

You forgot that not only she would be accused of killing her brother, but she would also be accused of killing her fiance too.

That 1-2-3 punch to the gut, in addition to her having been the sane one after the initial killings from her and her brother's childhood, would've made what was a really good horror movie an honest to god masterpiece.

"What's the ugliest part of your body? I think it's your mind."

[–] caroldbarboza 8 years ago

You forgot that not only she would be accused of killing her brother, but she would also be accused of killing her fiance too.

I'm not entirely sure that her fiance is dead or not this is why i didn't mention him before.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

He WAS killed, the fiance. The cameras show the truth, and his body was there as they saw it. Therefore, HE DIED.

[–] huldu 8 years ago

I'm fine with the ending I think it was dealt with nicely minus the ghosts. The movie did not need those at all they filled no purpose.

It would have been a more powerful movie without the supernatural stuff going on. I know some of you hate endings like that but in this case it would have fit perfectly.

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

The movie did not need those at all they filled no purpose.

Agreed. Closing shot of the "lost souls" was very cliche horror.

And I also think I prefer this ending. I think I wouldn't have been disappointed with the reversal. But I think this direct parallel, and having the brother once again be the murderer helped tie together the story a bit more cleanly while also being extremely tragic.

[–] KutWrite (1334) 8 years ago

I like your change.

One problem I had with the ending was that the last shot shows little Kaylie watching the cops & ambulance pull away.

That gave me some ambiguous thoughts: Were they were ever adults at all, or was that part of the story being imagined by the kids?

[–] fountainhead (323) 7 years ago

I think both endings work well. One thing I like about the theatrical ending is that it, ahem, "mirrors", the Moby Dick story, with Kaylie as our Captain Ahab, obsessed with hunting and killing her White Whale. But in spite of all her efforts, she still underestimates the power of the mirror and continues to pursue it, ultimately, dying an Ahab-like death (complete with being pinned onto her Whale, just like Ahab) because of her obsession. I also wonder if the anchor weight was meant to be a veiled reference to Moby Dick.