If Lawrence (Cary Elwes) had apologized would John Kramer (Tobin Bell) have become Jigsaw masterminding a methodical killing spree lasting nineSawmovies? Probably not. One person seeing the error in their ways may not have convinced Jigsaw to alter the course of the movie, but that’s not necessarily the case for other horror characters. How many times have we called for a rom-com hero, heroine, or antagonist to apologize and resolve the plot? Probably about as many instances as we’ve yelled for the supporting horror character to not go into the basement alone.
RELATED:Oscar-Worthy Scares: 10 Great Horror Movies That Took Home the Golden StatueConflict resolution isn’t so simple in horror movies. Most often our horror villains include the supernatural, cult-based, or a slasher in a mental state beyond the scope of recognizing the value of an earnest “I’m sorry.” The question still exists, what if? What if Freddy Krueger apologized for his wrongdoings, would the angry mob have set him ablaze, turning him intoone of the most iconic cinematic monsters of all time?In these films, it’s possible a happy ending for every character would have been possible.
‘Ma’ (2019)
Bullied throughout her childhood, Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer) sees an opportunity to exact her revenge by befriending a group of local teens, buying them alcohol, and allowing them to party in her basement. AsMaprogresses, audiences learn that the teens are the children of her former bullies. From the high school crush Ben (Luke Evans) to Erica (Juliette Lewis) who said nothing to prevent the bullying, the people of Sue Ann’s past had plenty of opportunities to apologize.
Sue Ann remained in her small town, consistently exposed to the people who made her teenage life miserable, and now forgot she exists. If Ben had sincerely tried to repair the damage he inflicted, Sue Ann may have forgone her plan to torture this generation of teens. Ben’s retribution could have been avoided had he pointed his moral compass more northerly.
‘Happy Death Day’ (2017)
Amodern-day slasher on a college campus,Happy Death Daymaintains a somewhat happy ending already, but could we have saved a few time killings if Tree (Jessica Rothe) had been a better roommate? Fighting a few internal struggles, Tree is forced to relive her birthday in a murderous time loop as she is killed by the end of every night, waking up to repeat the day over. In her quest to find the killer, her roommate Lori (Ruby Modine) is overlooked.
While Lori turns out to be the killer, an interesting twist, Tree’s unchecked mean-girl persona turns her roommate against her to the point of manslaughter. We see that in the sequel,Happy Death Day 2U, Lori is actually an ally because of Tree’s change in attitude. This leads us to believe that if Tree had mended her broken relationship with Lori, a death loop wouldn’t have occurred and the film could have been a rom-com instead of a slasher flick.
‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ (2007)
A well-harmonized apology would have gone a long way in this dark musical.Tim Burton’stake onSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Streetmay have sliced chunks from the original stage production, but it remains a tale of a scorned man seeking revenge for the destruction of his family. After years of wrongful imprisonment, Benjamin Barker, now Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), returns to 1840s London and forms a sinister business partnership with Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), a shopkeeper, as he plots to kill the man responsible for sending him away.
Multiple confessions of guilt would have shifted the spiral of Todd’s demise. It’s a stretch to believe if Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) had uttered words of regret and sympathy, Todd would have forgiven him and called off his bloody crusade. There was room for redemption and happiness for Todd if Mrs. Lovett had revealed his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) had lived. An apology for hiding the secret and leading him to Lucy, despite her feelings for Todd, Mrs. Lovett would have lived and so would Todd.
‘Carrie’ (1976)
In the original case of high school bullying gone wrong,Carrie’sinfamous prom scenewould have gone differently had it taken theMean Girlsprom-pology approach. Consistently mocked by her teenage peers, Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is a shy 16-year-old with a hyper-religious mother who fails to educate her daughter about getting a period, causing a vicious onslaught of torment. When Carrie’s bullies are barred from the upcoming prom, they plot to embarrass Carrie by rigging the prom queen election and dumping a bucket of pig’s blood on her.
Discovering her telekinetic powers, Carrie kills her classmates, teachers, and mother. If Sue (Amy Irving) had been able to intervene and publicly condone the humiliation Carrie faced, along with an apology, the lives of the students and faculty may have been spared. If Carrie had been exposed to an ounce of public kindness, the direction of her life would have changed.
‘The Lodge’ (2019)
A dark snow day of a film,The Lodgedemonstrates of psychological manipulation can turn deadly. Stranded in a winter cabin with her fiancé’s two children, Grace (Riley Keough) begins to believe that she’s being held in purgatory thanks to the spiteful pranks and mind games the children play on her. Grace is ultimately pushed to the edge and actually kills the children and her fiance, Richard (Richard Armitage), when he returns.
While the children don’t have a full understanding of Grace’s traumatic childhood, Aiden (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh) are still mourning the loss of their mother and blame Grace for their parent’s split. An apology from Richard to his children and a conversation to understand their feelings would have prevented some resentment and malice they had toward Grace. If Aiden had given Grace a chance and owned up to his attitude prior to the pranks, Grace’s sanity could have been saved.
‘Unfriended’ (2014)
A digital apology could have gone viral to save these teens from a supernatural demise.Unfriendedis a found-footage style film told from the perspective of Mac video chat. Following the death of a former classmate bullied and humiliated online to the point of suicide, a group of high schoolers discovers an unknown user logging into their chat as the deceased girl. The conversation grows terrifying as the supernatural force behind the user hunts down each student.
Demonstrating the power of social media and its toll on the mental state of young teens,Unfriendedis the perfect horror film example of how peace could have been found for each character had a full-disclosure, honest apology been posted by the group responsible for the original video that pushed Laura to commit suicide. It’s obvious speculation in a supernatural film to think a spirit would find peace with an apology, but seeing a blog post apology or video apology would have changed the course of this film’s ending.
‘Don’t Breathe’ (2016)
A prequel-type apology would have made this tension-building horror villain a redeemable character. Not realizing the terror they stumbled into, three robbers break into a blind man’s home to take his massive fortune only to discover they’ve become the prey instead of hunters.Don’t BreathefeaturesStephen Langas the Blind Man andJane Levy, the young woman involved in the robbery.
Toward the end of the film, audiences learn that he lost a daughter in a car accident and has now kidnapped and impregnated the woman responsible. Had this bit of exposition not been part of the plot or if the woman had provided a heartfelt apology, Lang’s character would have been redeemable for his actions against the burglars. If Rocky (Levy) had a moment of insight with the Blind Man about why she did what she did, he may have let her go or helped her financially escape. The power of apology in a prequel sense would have allowed Rocky to get her happy ending without feeling like she was looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.
‘Secret Window’ (2004)
Post-divorce solitude is the cause of the downfall of writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) in theadaptation ofStephen King’sSecret Window. As he isolates himself in his secluded cabin during a painful divorce, Mort believes he’s being stalked and targeted by a strange writer claiming Mort plagiarized his work.
The traumatic nature of his Amy (Maria Bello) infidelity pushed Mort’s mind to create alternate personalities as a common defense mechanism associated with Dissociative Identity Disorder (split-personality). He slowly loses his mind throughout the course of the film, especially as his wife remains with the man she cheated on him with. If Amy and Mort had worked through their marriage ending together, especially with an apology from Amy, the film would have ended very differently. Mort may still have had split personalities, but perhaps not as violent as John Shooter.
‘10x10’ (2018)
In a “what would you do” situation,10x10and its ending would have benefited from an accountable, redeeming apology. Following her abduction, Cathy (Kelly Reilly) is forced to confront her past as her captor Lewis (Luke Evans) alleges she is responsible for the death of his wife. A smaller-release film that plays on the emotions of both characters,fight or flightfor Cathy andtake justice into your own handsfor Lewis,10x10demonstrates how a win-win ending is possible with an apology.
Cathy ultimately admits to the murder of Lewis’s wife, but never takes full responsibility as she explains what she believes is the logical reasoning behind her actions. The plot could have evolved into a psychological drama from a captor horror/thriller with Cathy taking rational accountability for her actions with honest remorse. Both characters would have benefited from the closure.
‘Black Swan’ (2010)
A psychological-drama film,Black Swan, features a horrifying look at the pressures of ballet. Nina (Natalie Portman) begins questioning her sanity as she vies for and earns the lead in her company’s production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.” Multiple apologies ranging from Nina’s overprotective mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) to company director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) could have made this film shift from dark to empowering.
Erica’s constant sheltering and controlling behaviors push Nina to rebel during her psychologically weakest moments, pushing her to the dark side. If Thomas had properly apologized and handled former principal dancer Beth’s (Winona Ryder) “retirement,” Beth may not have gotten drunk and into the accident that placed guilt on Nina. Well-placed exposition apologies would have boosted Nina’s confidence, making her performance as the swans an empowering character arc instead of a psychological demise.
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