The Ending *SPOILERS* - Population 436 (2006) Discussion

[–] ashotz 17 years ago

Watched this movie the same night I watched 2006- The Wicker Man...Whats up with the lead characters being killed off in the end ? I do think it fits in nicely with this movie though. I think, if they lived, the ending should have been as followed...State police vehicles flood the town, followed by fire trucks and a long line of ambulances/army style red cross vehicles....the camera pans the town and it is completely burned. The camera stops at a group of people, where one guy says the winds must have caused the fire to spread, and as they are talking, a body is loaded into a vehicle, the door is shut and a guy with a clipboard says "434...I think that is the last one"

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] REDNECK_ZOMBIE 17 years ago

What ruins the ending is the opening teaser showing Ray fleeing the town and then getting in an accident. That combined with all the dialogue throughout the film make the ending totally predictable...word!

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[–] daoust 17 years ago

I agree with ashotz alot. If that ending would have happened, the entire movie would seem better.

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[–] senseoffender-1 17 years ago

Damn Hollywood. They have ruined people with their sugar sweet "happily ever afters". Happy endings can be good, yes, but an ending that kills off the hero or leaves you thinking - maybe hinting at a not so bright future for the mains - isn't necessarily bad.
In this case though, I'll agree the happy twist would probably have been better for the movie, especially since it didn't explore the religious/mythological aspect more.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] taskinlude00 17 years ago

"Seems like there always will be people against something in this world. Always. Cheers to you guys, but imo the ending was great."

This was the dumbest comment I have ever quoted. And the fact that you like this movie at all, let alone the ending, tells me you have the fever and need a lobotomy.

The only thing i liked about the ending was that I could return the movie to the store.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] scottnunn 17 years ago

you know i admit the ending sucked but it also sets it up for a part 2 if they decide to make it, but now a days alot of movies end with "sad endings" because there trying to make it more truthful. Take Crank for an example, Jason dies at the end and everyone knew that was going to happen. The Reason at least I think he died was because in reality (as if something like getting poisioned and having only an hour to live will really happen) a normal man wouldn't of lasted as long as he did.

Truth be told this movie was good and I like Fred Durst and he played a good part but I think the ending displays a sense of reality in the movie, It also shows that the good guys don't always win

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[–] misschicken 17 years ago

The DVD has an alternative ending on it.

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[–] cobbler88 17 years ago

I think one of the reasons some of us dislike the sad ending, is that it isn't actually an ending. Especially in a movie like this and "The Wicker Man," you've got a crazy group of fanatics who have it coming, and we're taken basically on a "day in the life" type of ride with no resolution. Obviously, most of us are itching for someone to escape and return to burn the place to the ground in some manner. I don't know that when the ending basically says that everything is the same as it was in the beginning, that you leave with the feeling that your time was that well spent.

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[–] justlikeaphoto 17 years ago

Well ironically enough on the verson of the DVD that I came across it had the original ending (bad and depressing) and an alternate ending, which was far better, showing them nearly miss the semi-truck and make it off safely. His friend still shows up in to town and the rest of the movie plays out as it did. Much better.

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[–] Time_n_Tide 17 years ago

I saw that DVD as Well justlikeaphoto!
I agree I liked the Alternative ending far better, I mean who wants anyone to be squished by a truck!
Good Movie though I enjoyed it. :)

"It's nice to be important, But it's more important to be nice!! :)

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[–] wethrboy 17 years ago

There's a not much different, but much better alternative ending. That's the one I'm going with as the ending.

If God created the universe, then who created God?

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[–] tam358 17 years ago

'Unhappy ending fad'? What the hell are you people talking about? Maybe 1 in every 50 movie ends sadly and that's a fad to you guys? Geez.

It comes down to one simple thing. Sad endings are way more realistic. The real world isn't filled with a bunch of happy endings. Personally, I still think it's nicer to have a realistic ending than a happy one if it doesn't fit the tone of a movie.

I know that most people will respond to this with "I don't watch movies for reflections of the real world." and hey, that's totally fine. But you can't tell me that you read the plot outline for Population 436 and thought it was likely to wind up cheery. It's a horror-thriller. Rent a rom com or a kids flick if you want happy.

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[–] billgoldbergmania 17 years ago

*reply to original poster*

The ending indeed sucks. This movie was much better than the wicker man (that one sucked real hard). However the ending ruined a good movie. The same goes as I posted about the wicker man. Don't you know all (most of them anyway) want the ending to be something like this:

Guy escapes. Goes to the next town/city (has to be a big one), informs the police. The police had heared stories but were never able to prove something, they do now. The police informs the state police, who descend upon the city with 500+ troopers (full combat armor). They get into a shooting with the locals and end up killing off most of them, and putting the others in a state jail for a really long time. Hero walks away with the damsel in distress and show her the wonderous live of the real world.

Stop letting the sickos win. I don't mind letting the bad guys win in the movies, but not psycho cult types of bad guys. This movie would have gotten a 8 with an ending like that. I give this movie a 3/10.

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[–] garfield989 17 years ago

The ending ruined it for me. I was originally going to give it a 7/10 but after seeing the shocker of an ending it gets a 6/10.

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[–] OriginalBlack25 17 years ago

Would have been better if they had just used the Alternate Ending

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[–] penicks 17 years ago

I liked the ending. Showed that the people actually wanted the best for Steve, as they knew once he enters the village he has to stay there, otherwise he'll die.
Okay, so they hanged a girl. Who gives a turd?

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[–] flam_e_nemy90 17 years ago

Yes, it really seemed that the devil ruled the town, not God. Throughout the movie we saw how our hero believed the people could be saved, how the ones, who are "free thinkers" (well, sort of) should go away from this town. Saying that, we can assume he really believes in God, unlike the townsfolk, who only think they believe in God.
Right before the crash the hero sees a Jesus's figure hanging in front of him. I think it would be fair if he survived.

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[–] MadWatch 17 years ago

>>>It would have been 100x better to see the crazy cult-psycho townfolk proved WRONG.<<<

Um, that is the whole point, there were NOT wrong. What they were saying about the town was true.

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[–] snoopduckyduck 8 years ago

Not only were they not wrong about leaving gets you killed, but they were also right about saving people from "the fever." People planning to escape get that first symptom of the nightmare foretelling their death. The only way to save them from that is "the cure." No one ever said it's a good cure though...

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