I have two endings to a horror feature.
Lemme splain:
Ending One is sensitive, logical and final.Ending Two is hella funny and leaves room for a sequel.
Two issues:
Will a comedic ending kill a horror feature? Bad ass girl ghost just beheaded a couple folks and now I want the audience to laugh. Bad idea?
Should I mention an alternate ending while pitching? Make up your damn mind son.
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I'm all about the funny, but if the rest of the script doesn't support it being a horror comedy, it's gonna come out of left field and I'm not sure you'll get the reaction you want. Can you add comedy throughout to make it more consistent?
Is this spec? I don't think any decision maker will ever even consider a sequel to an unproven concept at the cashier. So, for now you're with one and only choice.
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Just because the tone of your post sounds funny, I'd lean funny. You seem like a funny guy. And yes, stick with one ending in the pitches.
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Hi, Peter. There's really not enough context here to offer an informed opinion—it truly depends on the whole of the script's execution and story, the desired effect, and your creative intent. So all I'll say is that the ending needs to feel earned. It also needs to fit the story and the tone you have created. Personally speaking, I would not recommend mentioning an alternate ending in the screenplay or the pitch unless... asked. ;) Best to you!
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My own opinion is to make the script fit the tone that YOU want to have. If you started writing it with the idea of going scary, but then it seems to have unfolded in a more humorous way, then maybe you should make the tone comedic. But if you go that way, then go back and make sure the rest of the script supports that. Otherwise the audience (reader) might be turned off by a last minute shift in tone that seems to come out of left field. Nothing wrong with comedic horror -- the "Evil Dead" series is fantastically entertaining, and let's not forget Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" which is probably the funniest horror movie I've ever seen in my entire life!
Hey Beth,
It is definitely a horror/comedy. I rely of the swings from gore to humor throughout the script.
Protagonist is a killer babe part-time ghost; boyfriend is alive. She is just as annoying to the Underworld as she is sugary sweet in ‘life.’ Boyfriend has no idea she likes to Shish Kebab both people and demons. Boyfriend gets killed in Act III.
I forgot to mention that the only person who knows all this is a cynical detective who refuses to believe voodoo hoodoo crap.
Ending One – the killer babe and boyfriend gets reincarnated as children.Ending Two – they get tossed back from the dead immediately and now both of them are dead in ‘life’ with their one ‘friend’ the detective.
I'm not sure how to feel about alternate endings - they work in video games and maybe novels, but I'm not sure about film.