MovieChat Forums > F (2013) Discussion > It's easy to hate on the ending, but... ...

It's easy to hate on the ending, but... (spoilers)

posted 9 years ago by A-Zupreme
1 reply | jump to latest

...I think the ending is just typical of that of a good ol' fashion slasher film. Recall the endings of 'Black Christmas' and 'Halloween' - Both endings leave quite a bit unexplained, yet both films are indisputable classics in the slasher genre. That's not saying that this is a classic (or should be) by any stretch, but I think people read too much into the ending given all the mindscrew twists that horror films attempt now to make their films different or unique. I think this was just meant to be enjoyed as a slasher, and nothing else.

As for interpretations of the ending, I don't buy into the whole 'protagonist-is-the-killer' theories that are being tossed around here... especially considering the daughter faced the killers, and went to her dad with open arms at the end in relief that he was still alive. Plus, as one user said, she feared for her mom's life as they prepared to leave. You have to consider that the dad's whole mentality the whole film is finding his daughter and getting the hell out of dodge, not taking down each masked killer and sticking it to them for killing a bunch of people he didn't like anyway. That would've been too grandiose‎ and cliché for the protagonist as we know him.

His only concern was his daughter, and the choice he made at the end between getting his child to a hospital vs. getting his wife to protect her from harm was made out of paternal instinct... I'm pretty sure most loving parents would rather their significant other choose the 'save the child' option. And he's doing that, despite the daughter's insistence that she'll hate him forever for it. It reminds me of the old adage of families: They may not always have to like each other, but they do love each other unconditionally. He's not trying to be her friend in that instance, he's being her father.

I would love to see a sequel, but as it stands, I enjoyed the hour and fifteen minutes I spent watching this and from all the slashers I've seen, this one does a lot of stuff right.

[–] amyleigh2112 9 years ago

Very well put post. I found myself literally nodding my head in agreement as I was reading it. I agree, immediately after the credits started to roll, I had one of those moments where you want to say, "What the *beep* because so much was left up in the air. Then I found myself turning the ending over in my head and realized I didn't HATE the ending specifically for the reasons you listed, but still had a nagging feeling that I still had one major question: Wasn't there more than one killer still alive by the end? The father stabbed the one and seemed to be able to walk out of the school with his daughter very easily. That's it.
Other than that, I thought the movie was a very good slasher film, and well made all in all. The killers were unnerving and threatening and the death scenes were gruesome as hell! Quite well done by the special effects department. The teacher that was crawling through the hallway...great stuff.