What's up with the ending?

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2009)

Words can't really do this movie justice. It needs to be seen, period. I've never experienced such an intense crowd reaction to a film...this is just raw, primal fear - no CGI (except for the damn ending), no overt violence - it's just genius filmaking.
Except for that damn ending I keep mentioning. And by ending I'm talking the last 20 or 30 very crucial seconds. The ending all of us Midnighters are experiencing is NOT the same ending that played in the festivals, it's also not the same ending that so infamously spooked Steven Spielberg in his California home..and by all accounts this new ending is much much weaker. I've read a description of how the original wraps itself up and by comparison it really seems to be much more disturbing, emotionally devastating, evil - while at the same time remaining much more realistic and logical. Who was behind this decision I wonder? Do they think we can't handle it? It's still an excellent horror movie, but its overall long-term impact on the individual human psyche has been diluted with this silly, schlocky new ending...IMO