19 People Describe The Horror Fan Theory That Completely Changed The Way They Think About The Movie—Some Of Them Will Blow Your Mind

Signs (2002): The Aliens Are Actually Demons

“For me, it’s the ‘aliens are demons’ theory about the movie Signs. It actually makes sense that way. Everything from how the ‘aliens’ used crops circles even though humans did too as a prank, to the solution being found in Israel, to the religious themes, to the ‘holy water’ metaphor.” – ZachhatesEaSomuch

The VVitch (2015): There Was No Witch

“There’s the theory that there was no witch in The VVitch and that most of the movie was actually the hallucinations of the family as they were all slowly dying (or were driven mad and killing each other) under the influence of the fungus-tainted crops shown in the film.” – RedditMayne

The Mist (2007): A Blood Sacrifice Stops The Mist

“I read an intriguing theory that the end of the Frank Darabont adaptation of The Mist actually suggests that Mrs. Carmody was right all along and the blood sacrifice of his son is what makes the mist immediately dissipate. That puts a whole different religious spin on things that I’m not sure I like. I always preferred the ambiguous, slightly hopeful ending of the original story.” – The_Dead_See

Cube (1997): The Movie Takes Place In Purgatory

“I remember when Cube’s director basically said, ‘There’s nothing outside the cube.’ Basically implying that it takes place in Hell/Purgatory. This makes more sense than the plot the sequels come up with. It’s better viewed as a pseudo-philosophical retelling of Huis Clos by Satre.” – [deleted]

The Omen (1976): It’s A Sequel To Another Horror Film

“I like to pretend that The Omen is a sequel to Rosemary’s Baby, with Damien being the kid Rosemary gave birth to.” – stephenfromaustin

The Blair Witch Project (1999): There Was A Time Warp

“In The Blair Witch Project, Heather and company warp back in time after their first night in the woods. Heavily implied and eventually touched upon in Blair Witch (2016), but hearing about this wayyyy back put a whole new spin on the movie and made me completely fucking enamored with it.” – filmschtick

Oculus (2013): The Mirror Always Possessed The Kids

“There’s one in Oculus that the mirror had continued to possess the kids even after they seemed to be safe from it, and tricked them years later into reacquiring it thinking it was their idea. I like this because the kids’ plan honestly seems rather half-baked, and it helps make them a tad less dumb: mirror basically incepted the entire plot so it could kill again.” – SpideyFan914

The Exorcist (1973): It’s A Metaphor For Puberty

“When I realized that The Exorcist is–intentionally or not–a pretty transparent metaphor for a girl who is going through puberty, and a bunch of adults who are trying to stop the process (presumably because childhood=innocence and purity, and adulthood=sin and darkness) and keep her as a child forever. When you look at it this way, Linda Blair’s performance in the first half makes more sense. She acts particularly immature, like a seven-year-old maybe, even though she is actually around twelve (and is pretty tall, so she looks even older than that). And so the ending is a kind of tragedy: the mature, cursing, sexual devil is kicked out, and Regan is trapped as an “innocent” child forever (until The Heretic anyway!)” – fhost344

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): It’s An Allegory For the 1960s Climate

“The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an allegory for the trajectory of the sociopolitical climate of the 1960s. We have naive teens who fall into a trap, are lured Hansel and Gretel style to their deaths, one by one, and the one survivor faces the horror of the aftermath. The decrepit family that keeps her hostage is a decaying patriarchal structure. I’ve heard some people say the final scene is supposed to signal the Vietnam war, the fall of the free love movement since it has a dark side (Charles Manson), and the emergence of an uncertain future.” – parfumbabe

47 Meters Down (2017): It Has Two Endings

“47 Meters Down has two endings and you can choose which one is real.

Spoiler alert: The first ending shows both sisters escaping, but it’s later shown that Kate is hallucinating from the nitrogen poisoning. This leads to the second ending.

This one shows Kate tripping balls in the cage at the bottom of the ocean alone, but somehow she received a stress call from their boat above (which they weren’t in contact with at that depth prior in the film) and the Coast Guard then magically appears and saves her but her sister is missing.

Both endings have numerous questions about what’s really going on and numerous people have seemed to accept the ending of their own liking and not the second one.

It kind of blew my mind that either end can be considered real depending on what you like more.” – hzsn724

The Babadook (2014): The Mother Wrote The Book

“The mother from The Babadook wrote the book and it was a manifestation of her subconscious fears and anxieties and ill will towards her son as a burden. It gets worse as her mental state declines and the relationship with her son becomes more strained. She keeps the monster in the basement because it’s a part of her that will always stay just like any depression or baggage we have from our bad experiences. But you just have to know when to keep it locked up and when to indulge in it (the feeding).” – zAceGunnerz

The Poltergeist (1982): Everyone In Town Was Experiencing Supernatural Events

“My headcanon says that the whole neighborhood from Poltergeist was experiencing supernatural events (but on a smaller scale), but kept their mouths closed.” – BlackdragonSix

The VVitch (2016): Hallucinogens Were Involved

“I really like the ergot nod in The Witch. It shows some bought on the crops hinting that the whole thing might just be crazed religious paranoia, enhanced by some good old hallucinogens.” – fleshvessel

Pet Semetary (2019): It’s About The Anxieties Of Fatherhood

“Pet Semetary and The Shining are both about the anxieties of fatherhood, each from a slightly different perspective. In The Shining, the fear is that you will be a terrible, abusive father who is incapable of loving your family and fulfilling your responsibilities and duties as a parent. So you’ve got Jack, who goes crazy and tries to kill his family. In Pet Semetary, the fear is that you WILL love your family, but the responsibility to keep everyone happy and safe overwhelms you, and so you make terrible, even evil decisions, to try to keep your family together. Pet Semetary is so perfect because, as a parent, you KNOW that it would be evil to resurrect your loved ones in a magic burial ground. And yet, all of us would probably do it, right? – fhost344

Nightmare On Elm Street 2 (1985): It Was All In His Head

“In Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Jessie is in a coma, explaining how Freddy is able to easily enter the real world and why the events are never mentioned in the sequels. It all happened in Jessie’s head. The ending is the cycle starting over again.” – FarmersMarketFunTime

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): It’s A Metaphor About The Meatpacking Industry

“I’ve read in several places that it’s meant to be a takedown of the meatpacking industry, eating animals, and the way we slaughter them in general. It makes a lot of sense when you consider Sally’s family’s ties to industrial farming and all of the different stuff they make out of human parts like chairs etc., which we often make out of animals. They also use a lot of frightened animal sounds as part of the soundtrack when Leatherface is murdering the teens. They also hang them on literal meat hooks. Then of course there’s the whole cannibalism thing (obviously). The way they position Sally’s head over the metal bucket and try to bash it with a hammer is almost exactly how Franklin describes slaughtering cows earlier. I thought this interpretation was canon, but maybe not?” – MyName___YourName

US (2019): The Son Is One Of The Tethered

The son from US is also one of the tethered.” – fleshvessel

Pans Labyrinth (2006): The Fantasy Realm Isn’t Real

“In Pans Labyrinth, there is no fantasy realm. It is all a metaphor for the little girl’s imagination to help escape the traumatizing world of her real life.” – [deleted]

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971): It’s A Prequel To Snowpiercer

Not exactly a horror film, but I’ve seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on many scariest moments list so I’m just going to throw this out there. There’s a way too thorough theory that Willy Wonka is in fact a prequel to Snowpiercer, which depicts a civil war on a train in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. At first, I laughed at the idea of these two films being connected in any way but I watched Willy Wonka again. The thought of Charlie becoming a dictator on a train made the movie more interesting.” — [deleted