---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want to have an ending where people…"
description: "\"I want to have an ending where people say: \"That's the most shocking ending I've ever seen in a mainstream horror film.\"\" — Eli Roth"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg"
---

#  I want to have an ending where people say: "That's the…

![“I want to have an ending where people say: &quot;That's the most shocking ending I've ever seen in a mainstream horror film.&quot;” quote by Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg)

> “I want to have an ending where people say: "That's the most shocking ending I've ever seen in a mainstream horror film."”

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A desire for a shocking, memorable climax that exceeds audience expectations for mainstream horror.

**In simple terms:** Want a jaw‑dropping horror ending.

Key Takeaway

Craft a twist that feels both shocking and earned.

Themes

horror storytelling audience expectations shock value

Mood

exciting tense anticipatory

Type

cinematic dramatic thriller

When to use this quote

- Screenwriting
- film direction
- marketing trailers
- festival pitches

Key Concepts

Narrative subversion psychological impact genre conventions

Questions to Reflect On

- What emotional payoff should the twist deliver?
- How can you balance surprise with story coherence?

A Different Perspective

Shock alone may feel gimmicky without narrative depth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Horror film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror-film/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [Everybody wants a happy ending, except me... I want a never ending happiness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-wants-a-happy-ending-except-me-i-want-a-never-ending/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I want an ending that's satisfying. I'm more of a classical writer than a modernist one in that I want the ending to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-want-an-ending-that-s-satisfying-i-m-more-of-a-classical-writer/)

[Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/)

> [It's not fair. It's not. But then, that's the game. It makes life great. The fact that it ends when we don't want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/it-s-not-fair-it-s-not-but-then-that-s-the-game-it-makes-life-great/)

[Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/)

> [Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/where-there-is-a-will-there-is-a-way-if-there-is-a-chance-in-a/)

[Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/)

> [You know, the best thing you can say about a horror film is, 'Don't see it.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/you-know-the-best-thing-you-can-say-about-a-horror-film-is-don-t-see/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I think that horror films have a very direct relationship to the time in which they're made. The films that really strike a film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-think-that-horror-films-have-a-very-direct-relationship-to-the-time/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [If you don’t want to be scared in a horror film, don’t close your eyes. Close your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/if-you-don-t-want-to-be-scared-in-a-horror-film-don-t-close-your-eyes/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I think there's been a gigantic shift in the way we talk to each other, and the way that we communicate with each other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-swanberg/i-think-there-s-been-a-gigantic-shift-in-the-way-we-talk-to-each/)

[Joe Swanberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-swanberg/)

> [Audiences are very sophisticated and they know the nuts and bolts of the genre - certainly with horror more than others I think. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-shearsmith/audiences-are-very-sophisticated-and-they-know-the-nuts-and-bolts-of/)

[Reece Shearsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-shearsmith/)

> [I've always loved... actually I didn't always love horror films. I started out and I only liked comedies and dramas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-raimi/i-ve-always-loved-actually-i-didn-t-always-love-horror-films-i/)

[Sam Raimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-raimi/)

> [I read a lot of ghost stories because I was writing a ghost story. I didn't think at all I was writing a horror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-read-a-lot-of-ghost-stories-because-i-was-writing-a-ghost-story-i/)

[Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/)

> [Some of my fondest and most impressionable movie memories are from those early sci-fi and horror films. I've always been a Dracula/vampire aficionado, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-wise/some-of-my-fondest-and-most-impressionable-movie-memories-are-from/)

[Ray Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-wise/)

> [What I love about watching classic horror films is that they take you on a ride and they obviously make you scared because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/what-i-love-about-watching-classic-horror-films-is-that-they-take-you/)

[Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/)

> ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/)

[Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/)

> [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/)

[Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/)

## More by Eli Roth

> [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [Twitter is wonderful. You can kill rumours instantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/twitter-is-wonderful-you-can-kill-rumours-instantly/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [Shooting at Quentin Tarantino movie was like a masterclass in directing. Although I went back literally right into rehearsal, started shooting... while I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/shooting-at-quentin-tarantino-movie-was-like-a-masterclass-in/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I need to eliminate 'like' from my vocabulary. I begin sentences with, 'That's seriously like ' I hear myself talking in this Los Angeles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-need-to-eliminate-like-from-my-vocabulary-i-begin-sentences-with/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [ I started the film \[Hostel Part II\]with the girls in an art class and there's a nude male model. People think that women are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-started-the-film-hostel-part-ii-with-the-girls-in-an-art-class-and/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I have so many different projects, I hear voices in my head - the characters talking all at once - and I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-have-so-many-different-projects-i-hear-voices-in-my-head-the/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I'd love to see us get to a point where you can make a movie and not worry about the limits of the violence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-d-love-to-see-us-get-to-a-point-where-you-can-make-a-movie-and-not/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [A comedy can actually get funnier and funnier. Even though you know the joke, you enjoy it so much, it's the facial expression, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/a-comedy-can-actually-get-funnier-and-funnier-even-though-you-know/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [The point of the first one was that it was about guys being lured by sex and the stereotypes... I always say it's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/the-point-of-the-first-one-was-that-it-was-about-guys-being-lured-by/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I've always dreamed of having a year-round haunted house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-dreamed-of-having-a-year-round-haunted-house/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [Look at comic books. It used to be something that only geeks were into. And now it's everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/look-at-comic-books-it-used-to-be-something-that-only-geeks-were-into/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I was listening to music to kind of pump myself up and get psyched up, like I was listening to Iron Maiden and Misfits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-was-listening-to-music-to-kind-of-pump-myself-up-and-get-psyched-up/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [One of the great elements of the supernatural is having that mystery and letting people's imaginations run wild with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/one-of-the-great-elements-of-the-supernatural-is-having-that-mystery/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [If you are having fun on the set, you are not getting things done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/if-you-are-having-fun-on-the-set-you-are-not-getting-things-done/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

> [I hear what people say, I read all the reviews, all the blogs, and I am always curious to hear it, because you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-hear-what-people-say-i-read-all-the-reviews-all-the-blogs-and-i-am/)

[Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

[Explore all 148 Eli Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/)

## More Ending quotes

> [So many times in television, you get cancelled arbitrarily as a result of your ratings in the off season, and you don't have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/so-many-times-in-television-you-get-cancelled-arbitrarily-as-a-result/)

[Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/)

> [So ,you're thinking it's ending but it's only just began.Your whole life is there right-right in front of you! Life's a story that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/so-you-re-thinking-it-s-ending-but-it-s-only-just-began-your-whole/)

Unkown

> [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [The happy ending is hardly important, though we may be glad its there. The real joy is knowing that if you felt the trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-happy-ending-is-hardly-important-though-we-may-be-glad-its-there/)

[Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/)

> [It doesn't matter to me if it has a surprise ending or not. I usually go for the material or the project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-if-it-has-a-surprise-ending-or-not-i-usually/)

[Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/)

> [Business, much like life, is not a movie, and not everyone gets to have a storybook ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/om-malik/business-much-like-life-is-not-a-movie-and-not-everyone-gets-to-have/)

[Om Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/om-malik/)

> [ Harvey \[Weinstein\] didn't want to release \[MY SON THE FANATIC\]; he held it for two years because he wanted a happy ending, although I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/harvey-weinstein-didn-t-want-to-release-my-son-the-fanatic-he-held-it/)

[Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/)

> [Pagan Romans started their midwinter celebrations with the feast of Saturnalia on 17 December, ending them with a new year festival, the Kalendae Januariae,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/pagan-romans-started-their-midwinter-celebrations-with-the-feast-of/)

[Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/)

> [Maybe my movie isn't over, I say, because sometimes moviemakers trick the audience with a false bad ending, and just when you think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/maybe-my-movie-isn-t-over-i-say-because-sometimes-moviemakers-trick/)

[Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/)

> [I loathe people who say, 'I always read the ending of the book first.' That really irritates me, It's like someone coming to dinner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-loathe-people-who-say-i-always-read-the-ending-of-the-book-first/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Friendship doesn't has ending...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-doesn-t-has-ending/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In 2010, Republicans took control of politics in Alabama by advocating for increased transparency and an end to government corruption, but instead of ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-crumpton/in-2010-republicans-took-control-of-politics-in-alabama-by-advocating/)

[Ron Crumpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-crumpton/)

> [Yesterday brought the beginning, tomorrow brings the end, and somewhere in the middle we became the best of friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yesterday-brought-the-beginning-tomorrow-brings-the-end-and-somewhere/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Break ups arent always meant for make ups. Sometimes relationships end in order for you to wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix-mae/break-ups-arent-always-meant-for-make-ups-sometimes-relationships-end/)

[Nix Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix-mae/)

> [Everything we do really is just a little marker on the long road to death. And sometimes that’s overwhelmingly depressing to me, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/everything-we-do-really-is-just-a-little-marker-on-the-long-road-to/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

Browse all 1,316 Ending quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I want to have an ending where people say: \"That's the most shocking ending I've ever seen in a mainstream horror film.\"",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eli Roth"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-say-that-s-the-most-shocking/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ending"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-say-that-s-the-most-shocking/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/eli-roth-2841_ending_i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-sa_797004.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I want to have an ending where people say: \"That's the most shocking ending I've ever seen in a mainstream…” — Eli Roth",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Eli Roth",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I want to have an ending...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-say-that-s-the-most-shocking/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-want-to-have-an-ending-where-people-say-that-s-the-most-shocking/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
