Netflix’s Most Controversial Addition Is Now Streaming Ahead of Halloween

October is here, and Netflix is wasting no time stocking its library full of spooky titles perfect for all of those Halloween binge lists. As the streamer continues to drop titles from its Netflix and Chills lineup, the latest addition is shrouded in plenty of chatter thanks to its history as one of the worst and most controversial horror movies of all time. On Friday, Oct. 1, Netflix made The Devil Inside available for streaming.

Making its theatrical debut back in 2012, The Devil Inside is directed by William Brent Bell and stars Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, and Suzan Crowley. The found footage supernatural horror film documents the story of Isabella Rossi, whose mother Maria murdered three people 20 years prior. In an effort to find out the truth, Isabella travels to an Italian hospital for the criminally insane, where she takes part in a series of exorcisms to determine if her mother is possessed. While the plot of the film itself doesn’t seem too controversial, it was the ending of the movie that sparked plenty of outrage and cemented The Devil Inside’s infamy. When movie goers headed to the theater, The Devil Inside ended abruptly with a title card reading, “The facts surrounding the Rossi case remain unresolved. For more information about the ongoing investigation visit www.TheRossiFiles.com.”

The ending of the film, particularly the decision to end the movie by directing viewers to a website where the rest of the movie seemingly was, sparked plenty of controversy. A Slate article at the time read, “Does The Devil Inside have the worst ending in movie history?” Richard Propes wrote for TheIndependentCritic.com that “the worst part of the film is its ending, an ending that certainly won’t be revealed here but one that is such a let down.” The film ultimately only earned just a 5% Tomatometer rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and even more jarring was its F rating from Cinemascore, a rare rating only handed out to 21 movies.

Addressing the film’s controversial ending in an interview with The Movie Crypt podcast, Bell explained that the president of Paramount expressed concern that the audience would be confused with the original ending and suggested, “What if we put a card at the end of the movie that says, ‘Go to this website’ and then it’s basically the DVD extras on this website?’” Bell said that “none of us looked at it as if the movie’s not over and you have to go watch this to understand the rest. This was just DVD extras, cut scenes, it was just in addition.” He added, “when it was a bold choice to end the movie like that but then to say that it gave the wrong impression and people took it the wrong way. Had we put it at the end of the credits it probably would have been a non-issue, that part of it, and it just would have been a bold ending.”

Despite its poor reception and its F rating, The Devil Inside did prove to be at least somewhat successful. The film topped the box office its opening weekend, pushing Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol out of the top spot, which it had held for three weeks. It was also the third-best opening weekend after Cloverfield and the Star Wars special edition at the time. Although it dropped in the following weeks, The Devil Inside still managed to gross over $101 million. Of course, you can weigh in on the movie by pressing play on Netflix, where The Devil Inside is now available for streaming. Stay tuned to PopCulture for the latest streaming updates!