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I am a first time writer and am writing a suspense/crime thriller. I am bad with stories but I was wondering if it is a bad way to end a movie by leaving the audience in suspense (Cut to black and hear a gun shot whaen the an- and protagonist anre facing off) at the end of a movie. If not, how can I make a good ending without making it too "Hollywood"? Thanks! [img]graemlins/film.gif[/img]
I think that would be a very unsatisfactory ending unless you are able to weave in clues that let the audience imagine the outcome. Then they can discuss it in the pub afterwards and you have built-in marketing as part of the overall design of your production.
To be honest "who shot who" isn't very interesting to me personally. In fact guns in general I find incredibly overdone and dull. Few films explore what it is to take a life, what it is to have a life taken, what it is to watch your blood streaming away, your very lifeforce ...
I totally agree with miker about the guns thing - they're a main feature of sooooooooooooo many films now that they just send me to sleep.
But the ending you mention could be interesting (they do something similar in French Connection) it all depends how you set up the characters and story before it happens.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 08, 2004 09:26 AM: Message edited by: Justin M. ]</font>
Thanks for the response guys. I havent really worked out the paramiters of the film yet but I have a basic premise and a really creepy serial killer guy who sets up his victims with stigmata ( I have to find a way to do the crown of thorns) and poses them as if they were on crucifixes. By what I mean of paramiters, I mean that i'm writing it as I go and I have constant review from my friends and my self.
BTW About the crown of thorns, any one here know a simple way to do it?
Thanks for the support. BTW- Is there any input on the story I got brewin' here or should i give up and work on something else?
How can that be called an unsatisfactory ending?!?
The ending to La Haine ends brilliantly (I won't explain it entirely) cutting to blak without any HUGE hint at the outcome.
I'd say go for it, even if you write an outcome in the script.
If you're unsure about your ending then film an alternative and see what people prefer when they can watch the whole movie. My opinion is that if the rest of the film is good enough to hold the audience’s attention an ambiguous ending guarantees your movie won’t be forgotten.
And how can anyone think that guns are boring? They’re just props, a means to an end. Props can't be boring - it's how you use them. Did anyone come out of Black Hawk Down thinking “Good film, but they should have used less guns?” I didn’t think so.
<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ May 09, 2004 05:18 AM: Message edited by: Kiff_Kroker ]</font></font>
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 09, 2004 05:18 AM: Message edited by: Kiff_Kroker ]</font>
Blackhawk Down may be an exception, as may war movies be in general.
Gun-Kata, Wire-Fu, anyone?
I came out of black hawk down thinking "shit movie they should've turned the guns on themselves"
John Carpenter made a number of semi-successful movies with ambiguous endings. The Thing, Prince Of Darkness, Halloween III, Escape From New York (along with EFLA), They Live, In The Mouth Of Madness, etc.