The studio-imposed 'tacked-on' ending...(Spoilers)
Really bothers me. I love this picture, and up to recently, have not held much of a grudge against the well known choice by the studio execs, to give the audience one last scare BUT in recent days, I have changed my mind. It's not that the ending is nonsensical, so much as it'a unfair to the wonderful character Martha Schmidt, portrayed brilliantly by Maren Jensen. In the course of the story she overcomes her fair share of huge obstacles and still manages to keep things relatively afloat in the final reel. That said, we shouldn't have to see her dragged to Hell because of some curse that the Hittites prophesied to be correct. She's too strong a woman for that, and the character deserved better than that.
I feel a more appropriately managed finale of the same vain should have had the Sheriff turn into the Incubus and drag Lana to Hell en lieu of the Airport or wherever it is he is escorting her. That would have made more sense because she was marked numerous times by the curse with the spider and the hands in the dream. The sherif could have started turning gray, and moved from there on into the monstrous form the was the dreaded Incubus. Only, of course, because the studio insisted there be such a last minute scare tactic at all.
I get that Martha's demise would have, or, in the execs case, should have made the audience feel powerless to the horror by all the achievements thrown out the window in surrender to the inescapable curse. That works, I think, in some form. I guess I feel it wasn't too bad a reaction to aim for, but in observation with audiences I have been fortunate to see the film alongside in theaters recently, it only KILLS the momentum after they have enjoyed the film up to that point.
So, in hindsight, Martha should have survived, and no last minute scare was necessary because most spectators already enjoyed themselves without.
When will you ever learn, this feeling is all you can discern?