I like how Scream was a satire on comically long slasher franchises in the 90s and now they on their 6th movie and it's just a satire on franchises like itself.
My friend has always said the synopsis for Paranormal Activity is "a helpful ghost tries to get a woman to end a terrible relationship... with wacky consequences!"
It's not that movies without sequels don't exist anymore, it's that they just don't get enough attention. Some of my recent favorites were complete stand-alone films: Annihilation, Underwater, Arrival, The Color out of Space, etc. But these movies are buried by franchise films.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, Color out of Space was supposed to be the first of a trilogy of Lovecraft-based films so that's not entirely a stand-alone film, but still, I generally agree with your point.
Not to mention the fact that there are more standalone movies being made now than at any other point in history. What is popular will always change and since we're losing attention spans as a society, sticking with what is familiar will ultimately work. People support the same redundant shit that Disney and the like spew out because they don't want to give anything else any time or effort. Laziness associated with huge monetary gains always ends up winning and unfortunately it seems like most moviegoers are perfectly fine with that.
Recently watched the new D&D movie and after watching it. The directors came out and stating it never was planned to have a sequel at all hence why the film felt like a standalone movie that was able to tell the story the writers/directors wanted. But they never said they were opposed to making more films set within the D&D world.
OOH OOH OK OK hear me out. We bring the cast back B U T It’s a new campaign and they play different roles! Like Rodriguez was a Barbarian here, then the next she can be an Elf or Chris pine can be a Cleric!!
I like when films leave me wanting more but are purposely designed to be a single film or a duology. That way, it leave my imagination free to create my own stories. Sometimes longing is more powerful than underwhelming "satisfaction."
It seems to me the sequels that work best are distinctly different from the originals (Aliens, Bride of Frankenstein, The Road Warrior, The French Connection 2, etc.) That makes them seem more fresh and exciting. Thanks again, Cecil.
Agreed, I personally love Alien 1-4 for that, since every movie is so different from one another, each being really interesting take on xenomorph and Ripley. And I think that's the problem with Predator and Terminator franchises since they most often just repeating same formula just changing the scenery.
I think a better episode to do is: WTF is up with Focus Groups / Test Screenings? It feels like every bad decision that hits the films comes from them.
I don't remember which video but I did talk about my time in Test Screenings. The folks holding the screening didn't want to know what you liked about the movie they wanted to know what you disliked.
@@GoodBadFlicks I forget the name of the psychological effect but the meat of it is when you get a bunch of people together to be critical of something as subjective as art & movies they tend to be way more harsh than if it were a casual viewing experience. Focus groups are inherently going to make dumb decisions as they will actively seek out the things wrong with a movie, including the things that are fine just as they are.
A big one was people complaining about how Pulp Fiction made no sense and they wanted the film to be put back in order. Thankfully, that was one of the rare occasions when they ignored the audience. I wonder if Tarantino would have the career he has today if Miramax forced him to put the film back in order.
@@t.r2603it’s like the difference between “What do you like about this story?” Vs “There are mistakes in here. Help us find them, PLEASE!”… 2 very different reactions.
I have a great idea of a future "WTF Happened To. . .?" video: *The Original vs Remastered Sound Mix* where numerous films who were released with an original sound (either in Mono or Stereo) mix but then in later years, received a new audio mix with different sounds. Examples: • DUEL • HALLOWEEN (1978) • JAWS (which won the 1976 Academy Award for "Best Sound") • THE TERMINATOR • STAR WARS (1977-1983) • BATMAN (1989) • AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON • DIRTY HARRY (1971-1988) • The James Bond Films: From DR. NO to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (which were originally released in Mono sound)
That kind of stuff drives me to hysterics. I LOVE watching bad movies badly conceived fall on their faces. The Dark Universe was a gift, and I imagine I'll be enjoying thinking about that for the rest of my life. Shame about the new Tomb Raider, though. Not that it was a good movie (aside from some of the cast, it very much wasn't), but that there was potential, squandered because the studio sanded off every edge to broaden its appeal and spent so much time franchise building they didn't do enough to make the characters interesting.
@@aidanlynn Exactly. I did a re-edit of The Mummy (2017), in which I removed the poor attempts at humor and the shoehorning in of the Jeckyll/Hyde character, and it's quite a difference when the story focuses on Ahmanet and doesn't get sidetracked. There's actually a pretty darn good movie in there. I think part of the problem with movies these days is that the editing just isn't at a higher level. Either the editor or director or studio people simply don't understand good storytelling and try to force things in that hurt the overall film.
With sequels and cinematic universes, I think we need to dial it back on them, but not outright abandon them. The problem with them is they induce homogeneity and restrict storytelling. However, they also lead to incredible worldbuilding and give characters more life than they would ever have in a standalone effort.
Maybe the _most_ consistent lesson of Cecil's videos is: Stick to the artist's vision. This holds with sequels and cinematic universes too. They can work really well when they're actually envisioned by their creators as multi-part stories (original Star Wars trilogy, the MCU, the first two Halloween movies, etc). The examples highlighted in this video all involve original concepts that were compromised for the sake of sequel/franchise potential. Cinematic universes can be great when they result from the artist's dream instead of the studio's greed.
You didn't mention the karma of Descent's ending. Juno slept with Sarah's man and during the movie Sarah claims to have forgiven her. When just the two are left Sarah betrays Juno, killing her. Right after Sarah becomes trapped because alone she can't reach the way out. Sarsh is doomed by her own desire for revenge.
I mean, I didn't want to go tooooo far into it because it veered away from the point. I do plan on talking about the film by itself sometime down the line where I will touch on all that.
I remember when the first Descent and Paranormal movies came out, my mom's friend downloaded the films onto DVDs for us and we unintentionally watched the original endings and thought those were canon. Man were we confused when re-watching them on TV and seeing those different ending. LOL. Great Video Cecil/Traunchburg.
I've had Mandela effects with several movies, i watched them on "premium" cable (i mean as soon as they were released) and years later i watched them on dvd and cable again and the endings didn't match... The one i remember the most was 28 days later Edit: most of the dvd's were bootlegs
Hey Cecil, I don't think I've ever commented on one of your videos before but I've been watching your content for years now ever since you made your Silent Hill episode explaining how it's actually a faithful adaptation, and I just want to say thank you. You make some of the best film-centric content on TH-cam. Your commentary, the films/topics you choose to cover, and the nuances you highlight is perfect.
The model aeroplane spinning in that last clip of Final Destination is a Lancastrian - made famous by its spooky disappearance and its final message STENDEC! Subtle nods like that - and naming each character after old Horror movie directors (Val Lewton) showed the writer and director's respect for their product!
Hey great video. I just wanted to say that, as someone who found your channel from one of your more broad-topic movie videos (think it was probably the PG-13 one), I'd love to see more of these kind of essay videos sharing your opinions on the industry overall rather than just specific movies or directors. You have a lot of valid things to say!
Great job on the video and a great topic to cover, Cecil. It doesn't happen often, but when you get that excellent sequel to a "stand alone film with a definitive ending", it's worth it. Aliens, Predator 2, Die Hard 2, Scream 2 all are great films that don't devalue the first film.
I was literally watching the movie posters video you did years back wishing you’d return to that format of video and make another in the same vein with a new topic, i have been pleased
Wow! Another "WTF Happened" video! I wanted more of these! Thanks Cecil! I 100% completely agree with you on this! Films that standalone can make a huge impact! Even without sequels. I think my personal favorite example of this is John Carpenter's Halloween. John Carpenter stated numerous times he never wanted to do a sequel to Halloween. He felt everything that needed to be done in the first movie was good enough. He didn't end the movie for a possible sequel, he wanted to end the movie on an ominous ending. Showing us evil never dies and Michael Myers is still out there somewhere. Never to be found. Which was scary and a perfect ending! John Carpenter was done with the movie. But since this low budget movie made so much money, Hollywood just needed a sequel. John returned as the writer in the sequel, but even he admitted that he was drunk off his ass when was writing the sequel, because he wasn't interested in doing it. Yes, John Carpenter did say he wanted the Halloween series to be an anthology series. BUT he didn't come up with that idea until the studio forced him to write the sequel. If they just left him alone and didn't bother trying to do a Halloween sequel, it still would have been a standalone film today. I don't mind sequels, prequels and reboots. The problem is, Hollywood is doing this trash too much and too often. But hey, as long as they make money, who cares right? Originality has gone down the shitter by this point.
There actually is an extended cut of Escape Room 2, which includes a subplot with a character played by Isabelle Fuhrman (which was cut), and the ending is completely different involving her.
@Big K Movies and Games A prequel called One Eyed Willy would be their best route. Ending with Willy entering the cave and poisoning all his men and himself in the room full of treasure.
I'm glad the ending was changed for Final Destination honestly. The original ending doesn't fit the film's hopeless and intense tone and writing. The ending we got gives the film a different meaning. You can't cheat death. Death is inevitable. It's always unavoidable whether you like it or not. The ending can fit as part of a standalone movie to me.
Great topic for a video. I'm pretty damn sick of sequels myself. At least, the ones that are blatant cash grabs. I appreciated your analogy partway through the video where movies in the past were made as standalone material, then if they did well enough, the studios may or may not attempt to create a sequel. That's fine in most cases and we've received plenty of follow-ups that are great. However, when you're creating a film with the *intent* to have follow-ups, I think that's jumping the gun.
Thanks! Too many times they "save stuff for the sequel!" instead of worrying about making a good movie and then the sequel. If the movie flops, all that great stuff you saved will never be seen.
Imho there are better horror endings than the Descent. I can even name a few that comes to my mind right away: the Exorcist, the Omen or Carpenter's the Thing.
I saw an international cut months before (at a festival) and went to see it again in US theaters opening weekend to support an amazing film. I was furious they cut the end.
@@lxdead5585 The Thing does indeed have a fantastic ending. I am not saying that it is objectively the best ending, but it is my favourite because of how it made me feel leaving the theater. No ending to a horror film has stuck with me like that one did. I think the only other ending to a film that shook me and left me feeling as hopeless was the ending to Requiem for a Dream.
I too saw the original cut in theaters, and when it arrived on Blu Ray I bought it on day one to show to my friends. Little did I know thay I bought the US cut. I was livid at the butchered ending as it removes all the power of such a hopeless but incredibly impactful scene, reducing it to a run of the mill cheap horror film ending.
@@Estorium Yeah, it's not really a horror movie though (I mean Requiem for a Dream), but it was shocking. When it comes to ending that left me with strong feelings, it was probably "Jacob's Ladder" one. I watched that movie with my friend of magic shrooms, hell of an experience.
I like that Richard Kelly made Donnie Darko sequel proof so that they couldn’t possibly make another one… and then the studio went and made another one 😭
I always tell people to try international films or stuff that generally gets dropped direct-to-video. Mainstream Hollywood is so reliant on brand recognition that just finding something that slipped under the radar or was made by a cinematic savant overseas can do wonders for your filmic palette. Substantially more standalones in both cases, too.
@@googaboogaloo one of the best cyberpunk movies ever made . The problem with asking for Standalone films is that when you recommend them usually the same people who are asking for more standalone films don’t watch them. It’s unfortunate. Every person I ever recommended Upgrade to loved it .
When I'm feeling sad. When I'm blue. When I'm drunk & I just don't care. When I'm sick. Of the cynicism of modern TH-cam cinema discourse. It's just wonderful to bathe in the warm, moist, intelligent dialogue of an actual movie fan. A fan who enjoys the movies he enjoys, regardless of cinemascore or tomato ratings. I don't know your name, but you are a soundtrack to my TH-cam experience. Thank you GBF xxx
@@GoodBadFlicks long time fan. 2nd time commentator. I would love to support your work but I'm such a poorfag. Not investigated enough but, do you have a podcast or something I could subscribe to? I could listen to your voice all day.
It's even worse what they do on Netflix, where they try to conclude a season's story, in case the next season isn't greenlit, but also try to leave it open at the same time, in case it is. That is the death of storytelling.
In hindsight, the Wachowskis really should have just done one Matrix. The Animatrix was awesome, but the rest of the trilogy is so incredibly lackluster.
I couldn't agree more! And I really appreciate your take on this, Cecil. I kind of figured 'all' of Hollywood is just trying to cash in on the franchise concept, but as you noted, there are probably some really good standalone film ideas that are being ignored. While reboots and remakes and sequels have plagued us for decades now, audiences have the final say and we can hope the pendulum will swing back to some great one-off movies again!
Excellent video. I agree 💯% with you, this absurd obsession Hollywood has with not only settling almost exclusively on pre-existing IPs and trying to turn them all into multi-billion dollar franchises, but also churning out movies and series of these franchises on a yearly basis; it's just exhausting. Franchise fatigue has always been a very real thing, but under the current trends within the entertainment industry, it starts showing earlier than it once used to.
Great points Cecil, totally agree...the shameless & insatiable greed on Hollywood. The greatness of horror / sci fi has always been mood, setting, building tension , less is more & what is not seen... the mind & human imagination will fill in. "Alien", "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" 1956 & 1978 versions, "Rosemary's Baby ", "Forbidden Planet", the 1951 version of "The Thing", John Carpenter's "The Fog" among countless others are good examples.. It's the slow death of film making before our eyes 😢😢😢. The Fast & Furious franchise is mindless...BS!👎
They still could’ve franchised Paranormal Activity while it had its original ending. Each sequel could’ve been about different families in different houses dealing with it’s own unrelated haunting.
This topic reminded me of a quote by Bruce Campbell in a 2015 Reddit AMA that stuck with me for a while "At the end of the day, too, it's also OK to not make a sequel. We've all gone a little sequel-crazy.[...]It's okay for original ideas to get made and made *once*, that's what they used to do."
Couple of years ago I thought that streaming might become sort of "indie gamedev" of cinema, especially after pretty good 2018, there Netflix had Outlaw King, Hold the Dark, Mute and Apostle, which I enjoyed. I think it could have been since it's a niche that benefits from larger portfolio and frequent releases, so it makes sense to make more original low and mid budget movies. But it kinda turned into Cable 2.0 with big budget series being the main focus. Streaming platforms still produce ton of movies, but they aren't giving the amount of opportunity for new talent and not really looking for any interesting ideas as I hoped.
I dunno about the rest, but I think they made the right call in the case of the Final Destination movies. Nobody was going to consider a teen romance subplot "deep", although I suppose they could have kept the original ending and easily kept on going with sequels. It's not as though you get attached enough to any of the characters that they could have had an entirely new cast if they wanted to.
I feel like we almost had a standalone with Joker(2019), but now there's a sequel coming out. Even though there's really nothing else to tell on the Arthur Fleck story as a whole.
“Good Bad Flicks: The Movie”. It’s an established IP. It gets a movie. And a sequel. And a prequel. And a reboot. And a “reimagining”. And a video game.
Great commentary, as usual, I definitely agree. The other issue I have is how the sequels are outlandish. Going to extras to make another movie happen is a sign that it doesn’t need a sequel.
Can we admire the fact if Paranormal Activity didn't catch the eye of Jason Blum, we wouldn't have gotten Blumhouse and all the movies that came from it
What's kind of funny is they did the opposite of this with with I Am Legend (2007). Test audiences thought the original ending was dumb and confusing so they changed it into a cliche "heroic sacrifice" ending... only to then backpedal and retroactively alter the film so the originally-planned ending is reinstated as canon for the sake of sequels with Will Smith reprising his role.
From the very beginning of MCU I was saying that superhero movies are going to kill the movies. They turned things upside down: what should've existed on TV as a niche serialised thing for dedicated fans - became the main focus of the cinema chains, and in turn - made real movies a niche thing on TV for dedicated fans... It's sad, really. I'm afraid we'll never again have what we had in the 80s, 90s or even the 00s: every month there were big movies competing and complementing each other, especially during summer. Nowdays it's all about various caped jokers with a sprinkle of something else...
The worst part about how they changed the ending of _The Descent_ is that it was a really unnecessary change, hundreds of horror films end with the death of the main characters and then have a sequel about a friend or relative of the main characters searching for them
The first half of The Descent scared the hell out of me…then they managed to regroup and the sense of claustrophobia was lessened and I just waited for the deaths. I really hoped The War Below was going to be like that too, or at least as dark, and was sorely disappointed.
THE GODFATHER, Part 2. was the one that Really opened the door for sequels. TRIVIA NOTE: Francis Ford Coppola was a film school instructor to a young upstart filmmaker named .........George Lucas.
Not to say that the Star Wars sequels are bad, but as an experiment you should watch the first movie while just pretending that the sequels do not exist. Forget that Vader is Luke's father, forget that Leia is his sister, forget everything about the franchise and just watch that first movie as if it were the only thing that exists. It absolutely feels like a stand-alone film that was never intended to have sequels.
I remember watching Paranormal Activity (the original ending) then talking about it at school with friends and being confused when people said she lived at the end lol
The Paranormal Activity films were freakishly lucrative. A movie executive would have to be complete saint/monk/pacifist/angel not to keep that gravy train going. Props to the Blair Witch creators for cracking that money code.
Years and years ago I watched the original Paranormal Activity online somewhere. Liked it quite a bit. It's more than just the ending that was changed from the festival to the theatrical cut. I can't remember them now, it's been so long, but it was just a better movie on the whole. Can't find that festival cut ANYWHERE now. It's just gone.
I like how Scream was a satire on comically long slasher franchises in the 90s and now they on their 6th movie and it's just a satire on franchises like itself.
OUCH.What a GOOD observation and funny too.
Eh to me scream ended with part 4
@@brandon17760 For me,it's Part 3.
@@ikeelyouz4517 well wes craven still made 1-4 so that's why I say that. After that they should have stopped.
@@brandon17760 Well,I hate Scream 4. It should have just stayed a trilogy.
My friend has always said the synopsis for Paranormal Activity is "a helpful ghost tries to get a woman to end a terrible relationship... with wacky consequences!"
Smart friend
Wacky hijinks ensues
It's not that movies without sequels don't exist anymore, it's that they just don't get enough attention. Some of my recent favorites were complete stand-alone films: Annihilation, Underwater, Arrival, The Color out of Space, etc. But these movies are buried by franchise films.
It's all about adaptions from books or video games. And the endless MCU and DCU
So we wont get the "Arrival 2: Arrive Harder" ?
Well, if I'm not mistaken, Color out of Space was supposed to be the first of a trilogy of Lovecraft-based films so that's not entirely a stand-alone film, but still, I generally agree with your point.
Mandy, Upgrade (and "Upgrayedd"), Ex Machina, Pain-&-Gain, AmbuLAnce, District 9, Elysium are some of my favorite recent standalone genre movies
Not to mention the fact that there are more standalone movies being made now than at any other point in history. What is popular will always change and since we're losing attention spans as a society, sticking with what is familiar will ultimately work. People support the same redundant shit that Disney and the like spew out because they don't want to give anything else any time or effort. Laziness associated with huge monetary gains always ends up winning and unfortunately it seems like most moviegoers are perfectly fine with that.
Recently watched the new D&D movie and after watching it. The directors came out and stating it never was planned to have a sequel at all hence why the film felt like a standalone movie that was able to tell the story the writers/directors wanted. But they never said they were opposed to making more films set within the D&D world.
were the directors out in person or was it just a video that played at the end of the movie?
I'm happy the new movie is good.
I just saw it today, and as fatigued as I am with sequels and reboots, I would totally go see a sequel to D&D. The movie was a blast and I loved it.
@@joeldank1708they were interviewed at a polygon article.
OOH OOH OK OK hear me out.
We bring the cast back
B U T
It’s a new campaign and they play different roles! Like Rodriguez was a Barbarian here, then the next she can be an Elf or Chris pine can be a Cleric!!
I like when films leave me wanting more but are purposely designed to be a single film or a duology. That way, it leave my imagination free to create my own stories. Sometimes longing is more powerful than underwhelming "satisfaction."
Cecil - "Where is all the new standalone films?"
A24- "Allow Us To Introduce Ourselves"
They have been killing it in the originals department.
It seems to me the sequels that work best are distinctly different from the originals (Aliens, Bride of Frankenstein, The Road Warrior, The French Connection 2, etc.) That makes them seem more fresh and exciting. Thanks again, Cecil.
Yup, the best sequels build on the foundation rather than just give us more of the same. You are welcome!
Agreed, I personally love Alien 1-4 for that, since every movie is so different from one another, each being really interesting take on xenomorph and Ripley.
And I think that's the problem with Predator and Terminator franchises since they most often just repeating same formula just changing the scenery.
Totally agree. I like when they give us something completely different but still tied to the original.
I think a better episode to do is: WTF is up with Focus Groups / Test Screenings?
It feels like every bad decision that hits the films comes from them.
I don't remember which video but I did talk about my time in Test Screenings. The folks holding the screening didn't want to know what you liked about the movie they wanted to know what you disliked.
@@GoodBadFlicks I forget the name of the psychological effect but the meat of it is when you get a bunch of people together to be critical of something as subjective as art & movies they tend to be way more harsh than if it were a casual viewing experience. Focus groups are inherently going to make dumb decisions as they will actively seek out the things wrong with a movie, including the things that are fine just as they are.
7 trillion thumbs up!!!
A big one was people complaining about how Pulp Fiction made no sense and they wanted the film to be put back in order. Thankfully, that was one of the rare occasions when they ignored the audience. I wonder if Tarantino would have the career he has today if Miramax forced him to put the film back in order.
@@t.r2603it’s like the difference between “What do you like about this story?” Vs “There are mistakes in here. Help us find them, PLEASE!”… 2 very different reactions.
Great to see Goodbadflicks making a new WTF Happened video
Thanks!
I agree! We need more of these and more of the forgotten tv shows. 😁
I read it so fast it looked like Goldielocks
I have a great idea of a future "WTF Happened To. . .?" video:
*The Original vs Remastered Sound Mix*
where numerous films who were released with an original sound (either in Mono or Stereo) mix but then in later years, received a new audio mix with different sounds.
Examples:
• DUEL
• HALLOWEEN (1978)
• JAWS (which won the 1976 Academy Award for "Best Sound")
• THE TERMINATOR
• STAR WARS (1977-1983)
• BATMAN (1989)
• AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
• DIRTY HARRY (1971-1988)
• The James Bond Films:
From DR. NO to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (which were originally released in Mono sound)
WTF Happened to PG-13 is one of my all time favorite TH-cam uploads
One thing that drives me insane is when they plan a franchise before the first movie is even released, it bombs, and then they cancel it.
That kind of stuff drives me to hysterics. I LOVE watching bad movies badly conceived fall on their faces. The Dark Universe was a gift, and I imagine I'll be enjoying thinking about that for the rest of my life.
Shame about the new Tomb Raider, though. Not that it was a good movie (aside from some of the cast, it very much wasn't), but that there was potential, squandered because the studio sanded off every edge to broaden its appeal and spent so much time franchise building they didn't do enough to make the characters interesting.
@@andrewklang809 The Dark Universe was doomed from the start, completely the wrong tone and approach.
@@aidanlynn
Exactly. I did a re-edit of The Mummy (2017), in which I removed the poor attempts at humor and the shoehorning in of the Jeckyll/Hyde character, and it's quite a difference when the story focuses on Ahmanet and doesn't get sidetracked. There's actually a pretty darn good movie in there. I think part of the problem with movies these days is that the editing just isn't at a higher level. Either the editor or director or studio people simply don't understand good storytelling and try to force things in that hurt the overall film.
@@G360LIVE Most of the Mummy's problems were because of Tom Cruise taking over control of the production, really
With sequels and cinematic universes, I think we need to dial it back on them, but not outright abandon them.
The problem with them is they induce homogeneity and restrict storytelling. However, they also lead to incredible worldbuilding and give characters more life than they would ever have in a standalone effort.
Bingo. They need to reel it in a bit but Hollywood doesn't have any restraint.
Maybe the _most_ consistent lesson of Cecil's videos is: Stick to the artist's vision. This holds with sequels and cinematic universes too. They can work really well when they're actually envisioned by their creators as multi-part stories (original Star Wars trilogy, the MCU, the first two Halloween movies, etc). The examples highlighted in this video all involve original concepts that were compromised for the sake of sequel/franchise potential. Cinematic universes can be great when they result from the artist's dream instead of the studio's greed.
Oh God, starting off with the Descent is a good choice - fantastic movie that should never have had a freaking sequel!
Indeed!
You didn't mention the karma of Descent's ending. Juno slept with Sarah's man and during the movie Sarah claims to have forgiven her. When just the two are left Sarah betrays Juno, killing her. Right after Sarah becomes trapped because alone she can't reach the way out.
Sarsh is doomed by her own desire for revenge.
I mean, I didn't want to go tooooo far into it because it veered away from the point. I do plan on talking about the film by itself sometime down the line where I will touch on all that.
I remember when the first Descent and Paranormal movies came out, my mom's friend downloaded the films onto DVDs for us and we unintentionally watched the original endings and thought those were canon. Man were we confused when re-watching them on TV and seeing those different ending. LOL. Great Video Cecil/Traunchburg.
I've had Mandela effects with several movies, i watched them on "premium" cable (i mean as soon as they were released) and years later i watched them on dvd and cable again and the endings didn't match...
The one i remember the most was 28 days later
Edit: most of the dvd's were bootlegs
Thanks!
I’ve loved your “WTF” videos through the years, Cecil! Thanks for this, and I hope there’s more!
Thanks!
Hey Cecil, I don't think I've ever commented on one of your videos before but I've been watching your content for years now ever since you made your Silent Hill episode explaining how it's actually a faithful adaptation, and I just want to say thank you. You make some of the best film-centric content on TH-cam. Your commentary, the films/topics you choose to cover, and the nuances you highlight is perfect.
Thank you so much!
The model aeroplane spinning in that last clip of Final Destination is a Lancastrian - made famous by its spooky disappearance and its final message STENDEC! Subtle nods like that - and naming each character after old Horror movie directors (Val Lewton) showed the writer and director's respect for their product!
Glen Morgan (the writer) is very underappreciated.
Hey great video. I just wanted to say that, as someone who found your channel from one of your more broad-topic movie videos (think it was probably the PG-13 one), I'd love to see more of these kind of essay videos sharing your opinions on the industry overall rather than just specific movies or directors. You have a lot of valid things to say!
Thank you so much!
It’s great that you brought back this series of WTF videos. I missed them, keep making more please.
Ironic
@@DavidJarvis01 How so?
:)
Yeah, make some sequels 😂
@@frankhumbug There were already other WTF videos prior to this one.
I've missed this kind of content from you! Great video!
Thanks!
Great job on the video and a great topic to cover, Cecil. It doesn't happen often, but when you get that excellent sequel to a "stand alone film with a definitive ending", it's worth it. Aliens, Predator 2, Die Hard 2, Scream 2 all are great films that don't devalue the first film.
Thanks!
Absolutely love the WTF Happened To series and am pumped to see its return
Thanks! Some more views would be great.
I was literally watching the movie posters video you did years back wishing you’d return to that format of video and make another in the same vein with a new topic, i have been pleased
:)
FYI I thoroughly enjoy your videos due to your manner of speaking and your delivery of what you say. Keep the good stuff coming!
Thank you!
Wow! Another "WTF Happened" video! I wanted more of these! Thanks Cecil!
I 100% completely agree with you on this! Films that standalone can make a huge impact! Even without sequels. I think my personal favorite example of this is John Carpenter's Halloween. John Carpenter stated numerous times he never wanted to do a sequel to Halloween. He felt everything that needed to be done in the first movie was good enough. He didn't end the movie for a possible sequel, he wanted to end the movie on an ominous ending. Showing us evil never dies and Michael Myers is still out there somewhere. Never to be found. Which was scary and a perfect ending! John Carpenter was done with the movie. But since this low budget movie made so much money, Hollywood just needed a sequel. John returned as the writer in the sequel, but even he admitted that he was drunk off his ass when was writing the sequel, because he wasn't interested in doing it. Yes, John Carpenter did say he wanted the Halloween series to be an anthology series. BUT he didn't come up with that idea until the studio forced him to write the sequel. If they just left him alone and didn't bother trying to do a Halloween sequel, it still would have been a standalone film today. I don't mind sequels, prequels and reboots. The problem is, Hollywood is doing this trash too much and too often. But hey, as long as they make money, who cares right? Originality has gone down the shitter by this point.
Thanks for watching!
There actually is an extended cut of Escape Room 2, which includes a subplot with a character played by Isabelle Fuhrman (which was cut), and the ending is completely different involving her.
Glad to see you back to making these type of videos.
The Goonies never needed a sequel and never will.
True but there was a Goonies 2 NES game
@Big K Movies and Games A prequel called One Eyed Willy would be their best route. Ending with Willy entering the cave and poisoning all his men and himself in the room full of treasure.
@@Maxxroad that might need to be renamed for the UK market.
????
@@Maxxroad could be interesting but I'm with the other guy. you couldn't really call it One-Eyed Willy it's just too phallic.
Great vid. Also I loved your last horror doc. I watched All three and they’re all amazing docs.
Thank you so much for both compliments! 90s Horor doc coming soon!
Getting a pre-roll ad for the latest Evil Dead film was a very meta touch!
Certainly on brand!
What? A new WTF video from Good Bad Flicks?! Today *IS* a good day!
:)
I'm glad the ending was changed for Final Destination honestly. The original ending doesn't fit the film's hopeless and intense tone and writing. The ending we got gives the film a different meaning. You can't cheat death. Death is inevitable. It's always unavoidable whether you like it or not. The ending can fit as part of a standalone movie to me.
This is a great video. Some of the standalone movies are my favorites! There's a lot of them out there, they do need more attention.
Thanks!
Great topic for a video. I'm pretty damn sick of sequels myself. At least, the ones that are blatant cash grabs. I appreciated your analogy partway through the video where movies in the past were made as standalone material, then if they did well enough, the studios may or may not attempt to create a sequel. That's fine in most cases and we've received plenty of follow-ups that are great. However, when you're creating a film with the *intent* to have follow-ups, I think that's jumping the gun.
Thanks! Too many times they "save stuff for the sequel!" instead of worrying about making a good movie and then the sequel. If the movie flops, all that great stuff you saved will never be seen.
The ending to The Descent is my favourite ending to a horror film ever. The fact that they changed it for the US market pissed me off to no end.
Imho there are better horror endings than the Descent. I can even name a few that comes to my mind right away: the Exorcist, the Omen or Carpenter's the Thing.
I saw an international cut months before (at a festival) and went to see it again in US theaters opening weekend to support an amazing film. I was furious they cut the end.
@@lxdead5585 The Thing does indeed have a fantastic ending. I am not saying that it is objectively the best ending, but it is my favourite because of how it made me feel leaving the theater. No ending to a horror film has stuck with me like that one did. I think the only other ending to a film that shook me and left me feeling as hopeless was the ending to Requiem for a Dream.
I too saw the original cut in theaters, and when it arrived on Blu Ray I bought it on day one to show to my friends. Little did I know thay I bought the US cut. I was livid at the butchered ending as it removes all the power of such a hopeless but incredibly impactful scene, reducing it to a run of the mill cheap horror film ending.
@@Estorium Yeah, it's not really a horror movie though (I mean Requiem for a Dream), but it was shocking. When it comes to ending that left me with strong feelings, it was probably "Jacob's Ladder" one. I watched that movie with my friend of magic shrooms, hell of an experience.
I like that Richard Kelly made Donnie Darko sequel proof so that they couldn’t possibly make another one… and then the studio went and made another one 😭
I know! So dumb and the movie flopped (thankfully)
I always tell people to try international films or stuff that generally gets dropped direct-to-video. Mainstream Hollywood is so reliant on brand recognition that just finding something that slipped under the radar or was made by a cinematic savant overseas can do wonders for your filmic palette. Substantially more standalones in both cases, too.
If you haven't seen it, check out a 2022 film called Breaking, starring John Boyega. It's a really good movie.
You should do an Exploring episode on Upgrade . Solid stand alone film
I ABSOLUTELY love Upgrade.
@@googaboogaloo one of the best cyberpunk movies ever made . The problem with asking for Standalone films is that when you recommend them usually the same people who are asking for more standalone films don’t watch them. It’s unfortunate. Every person I ever recommended Upgrade to loved it .
Upgrade was in my top 10 of that year
@@GoodBadFlicks just proves even further you have great taste in movies man. I Love your channel . From one movie buff to another
@@GoodBadFlicks I knew I watched it for a reason 😉
I honestly thought this was gonna be “what happened to Stalone films?” I was like yeah he used to do films
Thanks!
I’m looking forward to your next installment reviewing the Lee Van Cleef as a ninja show.
Oh hey, how did I miss this? Glad to see this series is back.
Thanks! TH-cam stopped notifying subs when I put out a new video.
@@GoodBadFlicks On further inspection it looks like I got unsubbed from you somehow. Weird...
When I'm feeling sad. When I'm blue. When I'm drunk & I just don't care. When I'm sick. Of the cynicism of modern TH-cam cinema discourse.
It's just wonderful to bathe in the warm, moist, intelligent dialogue of an actual movie fan. A fan who enjoys the movies he enjoys, regardless of cinemascore or tomato ratings.
I don't know your name, but you are a soundtrack to my TH-cam experience. Thank you GBF xxx
You are very welcome!
@@GoodBadFlicks long time fan. 2nd time commentator.
I would love to support your work but I'm such a poorfag.
Not investigated enough but, do you have a podcast or something I could subscribe to? I could listen to your voice all day.
It's even worse what they do on Netflix, where they try to conclude a season's story, in case the next season isn't greenlit, but also try to leave it open at the same time, in case it is.
That is the death of storytelling.
In hindsight, the Wachowskis really should have just done one Matrix. The Animatrix was awesome, but the rest of the trilogy is so incredibly lackluster.
Good to see this series return and hopefully he can cover more
Props on the "Alex died on the way back to his home planet"/Poochie reference..* chuckle *
i like this kind of meta film analysis, if you have more ideas you should make more of these!
:)
You do such great work. Thank you.
Thank you so much!
Awesome format, would love to see more like this.
Thanks! I have a playlist of at least 5 of these already
Think you could do more of these "WTF Happened to [insert topic here]" videos? Because they're extremely informative! Iove them!
Thanks! They take a while to do though, hence why they aren't often
I'm still waiting on Citizen Kane 2 Electric Boogaloo
My friends and I struck gold when we rented Cube from the video store.
Always love seeing your uploads!
he said, "cave diving" instead of spelunking and i wanted to punch myself for noticing. he doesn't deserve my petty bullshit.
Thanks!
I know spelunking is the term but it just sounds so weird to me lol
Star trek 2 popping up at the end made me smile.
KHAAAAAAN!
The ending of the first Escape Room struck me as uber ridiculous.
I was laughing at how over the top it was.
I couldn't agree more! And I really appreciate your take on this, Cecil. I kind of figured 'all' of Hollywood is just trying to cash in on the franchise concept, but as you noted, there are probably some really good standalone film ideas that are being ignored. While reboots and remakes and sequels have plagued us for decades now, audiences have the final say and we can hope the pendulum will swing back to some great one-off movies again!
Thanks!
So much of this was dedicated to Paranormal Activity, it should’ve been its own video.
More Lore! More Lore! More Lore!
Also the movie The Limey is an awesome film, would love your take on it.
The ending of Descent 2 was lit . . . how did you just gloss by that!?!?
Always awesome to get a WTF episode! We here got the ending with the 5 candles!
Thanks!
We got the one with the fork handles.
I saw the original ending of paranormal activity and the theatrical ending and was so mad at the reshot ending.
Halloween and The Exorcist definitely didn’t need to be a franchise.
About time, this guy made another WTF Happened video. Looks he's had quite a field day with the Exploring series for a long time.
As you would imagine, they take a while :)
Sequels are good if they improve on the original. Franchises are only good if they do it like Mission Impossible - bigger, longer, more dangerous.
Problem is most sequels just repeat the original.
@@GoodBadFlicks
Absolutely.
I hate bad endings so damn much! But must admit they did the Descent dirty. Great video as always!
Thank you!
Excellent video. I agree 💯% with you, this absurd obsession Hollywood has with not only settling almost exclusively on pre-existing IPs and trying to turn them all into multi-billion dollar franchises, but also churning out movies and series of these franchises on a yearly basis; it's just exhausting. Franchise fatigue has always been a very real thing, but under the current trends within the entertainment industry, it starts showing earlier than it once used to.
Thanks!
Great points Cecil, totally agree...the shameless & insatiable greed on Hollywood. The greatness of horror / sci fi has always been mood, setting, building tension , less is more & what is not seen... the mind & human imagination will fill in. "Alien", "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" 1956 & 1978 versions, "Rosemary's Baby ", "Forbidden Planet", the 1951 version of "The Thing", John Carpenter's "The Fog" among countless others are good examples.. It's the slow death of film making before our eyes 😢😢😢. The Fast & Furious franchise is mindless...BS!👎
Thanks!
@@GoodBadFlicks Keep them coming!!👍👍
They still could’ve franchised Paranormal Activity while it had its original ending. Each sequel could’ve been about different families in different houses dealing with it’s own unrelated haunting.
This topic reminded me of a quote by Bruce Campbell in a 2015 Reddit AMA that stuck with me for a while
"At the end of the day, too, it's also OK to not make a sequel. We've all gone a little sequel-crazy.[...]It's okay for original ideas to get made and made *once*, that's what they used to do."
Amen!
Couple of years ago I thought that streaming might become sort of "indie gamedev" of cinema, especially after pretty good 2018, there Netflix had Outlaw King, Hold the Dark, Mute and Apostle, which I enjoyed.
I think it could have been since it's a niche that benefits from larger portfolio and frequent releases, so it makes sense to make more original low and mid budget movies. But it kinda turned into Cable 2.0 with big budget series being the main focus. Streaming platforms still produce ton of movies, but they aren't giving the amount of opportunity for new talent and not really looking for any interesting ideas as I hoped.
They are falling for the same things plaguing the big studios.
lol why do i always act surprised when i get a notificastion from this channel? i'm always like, "whoah! GBF has a new video!" i'm dumb, but happy.
:)
I like what little romance they hinted at between Alex and Clear in Final Destination 1.
love your long-standing WTF series
Thanks!
Very nice ! I did skip the Escaperoom part because i intend to watch it soon
Its a fun movie, hope you enjoy
It’s a curse of assembly line film marking, which I’ve grown to hate more than the Chicago bears ownership.
I dunno about the rest, but I think they made the right call in the case of the Final Destination movies. Nobody was going to consider a teen romance subplot "deep", although I suppose they could have kept the original ending and easily kept on going with sequels. It's not as though you get attached enough to any of the characters that they could have had an entirely new cast if they wanted to.
Love these kinda videos from ya my dude!
Thanks!
I feel like we almost had a standalone with Joker(2019), but now there's a sequel coming out. Even though there's really nothing else to tell on the Arthur Fleck story as a whole.
Joker 2 should not be a thing
“Good Bad Flicks: The Movie”. It’s an established IP. It gets a movie. And a sequel. And a prequel. And a reboot. And a “reimagining”. And a video game.
Perfect chance to tease 'WTF Happened to Standalone Movies II' at the end, and you blew it!😂 Sorry man, I just think that would have been hilarious.
Great commentary, as usual, I definitely agree. The other issue I have is how the sequels are outlandish. Going to extras to make another movie happen is a sign that it doesn’t need a sequel.
Thanks!
Can we admire the fact if Paranormal Activity didn't catch the eye of Jason Blum, we wouldn't have gotten Blumhouse and all the movies that came from it
Wow I was wondering Wtf happened to the Wtf series. Glad we have a new one.
:)
Patiently waits for "WTF Happened to Standalone Films? Part Deux" or "WTF Happened 2 Standalone Films?"
Marvel has popularized the
post-credit scene that leads
into the next chapter.
This might be a new trend.
What's kind of funny is they did the opposite of this with with I Am Legend (2007). Test audiences thought the original ending was dumb and confusing so they changed it into a cliche "heroic sacrifice" ending... only to then backpedal and retroactively alter the film so the originally-planned ending is reinstated as canon for the sake of sequels with Will Smith reprising his role.
speaking of "throwing money". can you do a video about how budgets gets so much higher and what's your opinion about
Movies have become too expensive
From the very beginning of MCU I was saying that superhero movies are going to kill the movies. They turned things upside down: what should've existed on TV as a niche serialised thing for dedicated fans - became the main focus of the cinema chains, and in turn - made real movies a niche thing on TV for dedicated fans... It's sad, really. I'm afraid we'll never again have what we had in the 80s, 90s or even the 00s: every month there were big movies competing and complementing each other, especially during summer. Nowdays it's all about various caped jokers with a sprinkle of something else...
This definitely reflects my views on the matter. I must admit that I was also a tad baffled when i heard about there being a Descent 2.
Yeah that sequel should never have happened.
I don’t mind having sequels and standalone movies
Money. There are probably big giant spreadsheets for these movies, with a line item for return customers for sequels.
There is too many to list in a 20 minute video.
Amazing video and analysis as always!
Thanks!
The worst part about how they changed the ending of _The Descent_ is that it was a really unnecessary change, hundreds of horror films end with the death of the main characters and then have a sequel about a friend or relative of the main characters searching for them
Exactly. They could have sent in a new team or it could have been a group investigating the caves after hearing about the disappearance.
The first half of The Descent scared the hell out of me…then they managed to regroup and the sense of claustrophobia was lessened and I just waited for the deaths.
I really hoped The War Below was going to be like that too, or at least as dark, and was sorely disappointed.
Empire Strikes Back and Aliens are definitions of squels done right.
THE GODFATHER, Part 2. was the
one that Really opened the door
for sequels.
TRIVIA NOTE: Francis Ford Coppola
was a film school instructor to
a young upstart filmmaker named
.........George Lucas.
The First film Trilogy that broke
the mold was
Sergio Leone's Man With No Name ,
that introduced us all to
Clint Eastwood.
Not to say that the Star Wars sequels are bad, but as an experiment you should watch the first movie while just pretending that the sequels do not exist. Forget that Vader is Luke's father, forget that Leia is his sister, forget everything about the franchise and just watch that first movie as if it were the only thing that exists. It absolutely feels like a stand-alone film that was never intended to have sequels.
Yea I have some of the same thoughts in regards to movies or shows I watch.
Here in Brazil we got the original ending for The Descent.
Awesome!
I remember watching Paranormal Activity (the original ending) then talking about it at school with friends and being confused when people said she lived at the end lol
The Paranormal Activity films were freakishly lucrative. A movie executive would have to be complete saint/monk/pacifist/angel not to keep that gravy train going. Props to the Blair Witch creators for cracking that money code.
Years and years ago I watched the original Paranormal Activity online somewhere. Liked it quite a bit. It's more than just the ending that was changed from the festival to the theatrical cut. I can't remember them now, it's been so long, but it was just a better movie on the whole. Can't find that festival cut ANYWHERE now. It's just gone.
The only place I was able to find it was on the special edition set in the UK.