Would welcome thoughts on cliffhanger endings. Reason for this is that I've just received some feedback from a written pitch I did where the executive really liked it but was disappointed with the ending which basically is a cliffhanger with the protagonist about to be killed... or not. Having written 9 features this is the only one that I have concluded a script this way. I know the hardcore rule is to always give a satisfactory conclusion but with this horror piece I decided it didn't deserve that.
Screenwriting : Cliffhanger Endings? by Baljinder Singh Gill
Cliffhanger Endings?
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In my humble opinion, the cliffhanger ending works better in TV episodes/series. However, personally, I do enjoy an ambiguous ending to a film. Remember "Total Recall" the original? At the end they are standing, kissing in front of a blue-skied Mars... which was listed on the computer monitor as the possible ending of his "dream" when Quaid went in to Recall. Melina's face was also shown in detail on the Recall monitor before Quaid went under and the events began to unfold. So was it all a dream, or not? Lol!
You're telling a story, beginning, middle and end. Does it have an end?