Summary
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Fan theories in horror movies often speculate about mysterious characters and unanswered questions, and some of them are confirmed in sequels or in the movies themselves.
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Theories about Richie having a crush on Eddie in IT were confirmed in IT: Chapter Two, where flashbacks reveal their special relationship, leading to Richie being heartbroken after Eddie’s death.
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The theory that Jason Voorhees is a dead man from the Evil Dead universe was confirmed in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, with the director revealing that Jason is “Jason plus the Evil Dead.”
There are countless different theories horror movies, and while many of them have been debunked, many others have proven to be true. While movie theories are common in all genres, the horror genre seems to be particularly prone to them due to its mysterious characters, their backstories, and movies that often leave questions unanswered to make way for sequels. Fan theories are especially common in horror franchises, as they often leave plot holes that audiences do their best to solve.
Many horror movie theories are eventually debunked either in sequels or by the filmmakers themselves, such as John Carpenter dismissing the “eyeshine” theory for The thing, while others have never been confirmed or denied. However, there are many theories that ended up being true and were confirmed in the sequels or in the film itself, as some theories surfaced before the film came out based on trailers and other clues in the film’s marketing.
10 Richie Tozier was in love with Eddie Kaspbrak
Confirmed in: IT: Chapter Two
After being adapted into a miniseries in 1990, Stephen King’s It made the leap to the big screen in two parts. Directed by Andy Muschietti, It made several changes to the novel but stayed true to its story and message and gave way to theories about Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard). The prankster of the group was seen in the first film having a special relationship with fellow loser Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), leading to theories about this version of Richie having a crush on his friend.
This was confirmed in It: Chapter Two, where flashbacks reveal that Richie has had a crush on Eddie since childhood, but never told anyone about it. Unfortunately, It: Chapter Two I saw Eddie die right before Richie’s eyes, who was absolutely heartbroken.
9 It’s not about aliens
Confirmed in: No
None of Jordan Peele’s films have revealed much about their plots in their posters and trailers, and no was no exception. The poster with a kite tail cloud and the characters looking fearfully at the sky has led to theories of no for aliens. Some theories went so far as to suggest that the film’s title actually meant Not From Planet Earth, and although this was not true, the film was about aliens, though not the traditional big-headed, big-eyed aliens.
8 Jason Voorhees is a dead man
Confirmed in: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
Jason Voorhees has been terrorizing Camp Crystal Lake for years, and while his backstory is well known, the fact that he died as a child and came back to kill as an adult (and is very hard to kill) has made way for many theories. One in particular, based on details found in Jason Goes to Hell: The Last Fridaysuggests that Jason is a demon, more precisely a dead man like those from Sam Raimi An evil death universe as in the ninth Friday the 13th movie, the Necronomicon can be seen as well as the Kandarian dagger.
Director Adam Marcus revealed that these are more than Easter eggs like his Friday the 13th the film is associated with An evil death franchise, explaining that Pamela Voorhees read from the Necronomicon to bring Jason back, so the Jason Voorhees in his movie is not Jason, but instead “Jason plus the Evil Dead.” With that, Marcus explained why Jason turned from a child to an adult after his death and why he was so hard to kill.
Note: Jason Voorhees being dead is an explanation that only applies to Jason Goes to Hell: The Last Friday.
7 There is time travel in The Blair Witch Project.
Confirmed in: Blair Witch
The Blair Witch Project intentionally left many questions unanswered that made room for countless theories, but that doesn’t mean those questions needed to be answered in a sequel (nor was a sequel really needed). One of the most popular theories says that there is time travel The Blair Witch Project, which is why Heather, Mike, and Josh couldn’t find a way out of the woods and ended up at Rustin Parr’s cabin. The theory was confirmed in the 2016 sequel Blair Witchwhere the characters go into the woods after seeing a video that supposedly shows Heather, but at the end of the film it is revealed that the video was filmed by themselves, creating a time travel paradox.
6 Anthony is the new Candyman
Confirmed in: Candyman (2021)
When it’s a “rehash” of the 1992 horror film Candyman was announced, speculation began as to how the protagonist’s legend would be addressed in a modern setting. The trailers for Candyman made way for theories about the main character, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), becoming the new Candyman, and that’s exactly what happened. Candyman explained that there is a Candyman “hive” formed from the souls of murdered innocent black men, such as the original Candyman, Daniel Robitaille (Tony Todd). Anthony is possessed by Candyman’s spirit and completely transforms into the new one after being shot by the police.
5 Dr. Gordon became Jigou’s accomplice
Confirmed in: Saw 3D
The end of Saw left the fate of Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) unknown after cutting off his leg and crawling out of the bathroom after shooting Adam. Lawrence did not return after that Saw films, giving way to theories about his survival and joining Jigsaw as an accomplice. The theory was confirmed in I saw 3D, with his survival revealed early in the film and his alliance with Jigsaw revealed right at the end. Gordon killed Mark Hoffman after he killed Jill Tuck, as Jigsaw had instructed him to take immediate action if anything happened to Jill.
4 Final Destination 5 is a prequel, not a sequel
Confirmed in: Final destination 5
Although the title of Final destination 5 hinted at being a sequel, fans of the saga weren’t convinced when the trailers came out and started theorizing that it was actually a prequel. Their theories were subtly confirmed throughout the film, with hints such as dates not matching up Ultimate goal timeline and it was finally confirmed in a shocking twist. In it, survivors Sam (Nicholas D’Agosto) and Molly Harper (Emma Bell) board a plane to Paris, which turns out to be Volée Airlines Flight 180, the one from the first film. Sam witnesses the fight between Carter and Alex, which results in them, Mrs. Luton and others being thrown from the plane, but it is too late for him and Molly.
3 Split is part of the indestructible universe
Confirmed in: Split
M. Night Shyamalan Split raised suspicions of a connection to his 2000 hit Unbreakable given the protagonist’s superhuman abilities. For most of the film, Split is a stand-alone story with a villain with dissociative identity disorder who can become a very dangerous person, but has one of the most exciting twists in Shyamalan’s films. In it, in a diner, a woman notes similarities between the criminal and a man in a wheelchair who was incarcerated more than a decade earlier and given a nickname. To everyone’s surprise, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is revealed to be sitting next to her and tells her it’s Mr. Glass, and rightly so, Split confirm your relationship with Unbreakable.
2 Michael Myers was cursed
Confirmed in: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Throughout the original timeline of Halloween, Michael Myers was almost invincible, so it’s not surprising that various theories emerged about what was going on with him. Among the most popular explanations was that Michael Myers was cursed, and this was confirmed in the sixth Halloween movie, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. The film introduces the thorn cult and explains Michael Myers carried Thorn’s curse, due to which he was forced to kill his family and was almost immortal. This is one of those cases where it would have been better if the theory had never been confirmed.
Note: The Curse of Michael Myers has been converted to Halloween: H20 timeline and the reboot trilogy where he had no ties to the Cult of Thorn.
1 Kirby Survived Scream 4
Confirmed in: Scream VI
The Vik saga has spawned various theories, and one of the most popular that has been confirmed is the survival of Kirby (Hayden Panettiere). Kirby was attacked by Charlie in cry 4 and left for dead, but since her body was not shown afterwards, many viewers believed she survived. After years of speculation, Kirby’s survival was confirmed in Vic VI and she was brought back now as an FBI agent who arrived in New York to help Sam, Tara and the others solve Ghostface’s new murders.