Are you a sucker for movies with tragic endings? You've got company. Recently someone in an online forum asked, “What movie ending is horribly depressing?” Well, the internet exploded to deliver this impressive list of depressing film endings.
1. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Redditor Kryotheory answered, “No Country for Old Men. Nobody wins except maybe Anton.”
Laika_JR1390 agreed, “It's such a good commentary on how sometimes, despite the effort, motivation, and ethical behavior, good people lose, and lousy people face no consequences. It's an excellent film, and the monologue at the end by Tommy Lee Jones is fantastic.”
2. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
One person suggested Requiem for a Dream as the “Best movie no one ever wants to watch twice.”
28smalls said, “I think I may have heard it on the commentary track as ‘a movie nobody should see, but everybody should watch.' The music makes it uniquely stressful.”
3. Memento (2000)
Rogue_Like confessed, “Memento is a singular movie to me where I thought it was brilliant, and I never want to watch it again.”
YariAttano shared, “The ending lines are burned forever into my mind. ‘I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning, even if I can't remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there. Do I believe the world's still there? Is it still out there?… Yeah. We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I'm no different.'”
4. Pay It Forward (2000)
LingonberryWrong3832 admitted, “I worked at Blockbuster the summer when it came out on VHS/DVD. This guy comes in to rent it, and making small talk, he tells me he's renting it to watch with his kid. And I must have given him a look because he asked if I watched it. I say yes. He asked if it had a happy ending, and I said, “No.” So, he put it back and rented a comedy.
5. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Xenovitz quoted the film, “We'll always be friends, won't we?” And Caitlinisgreatlin admitted, “Just READING that hurts my heart. Ugh!”
User phantom_avenger said, “People always talk about how Disney movies always go for the happily ever after ending.”
They continued, “But if anything, this movie does the exact opposite. It gives us a very mature ending that relates more to reality. Sometimes the meaningful friendships we build with people don't last, but sometimes that's not always bad.”
6. Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
DarkZek22 said, “Bridge to Terabithia. I saw that movie as a kid and rewatched it last year, and again, I cried like a baby.”
Redditor Capribex suggested, “The trailer is misleading. It makes you think it's a happy-go-lucky fantasy movie for kids.” Finally, Kotekan shared, “I was NOT prepared for that in the slightest, my best friend and I sat in shock.”
7. American History X (1998)
Redditor Ilikedmatrixiv stated, “The ending of American History X hit me pretty hard the first time.”
Wishart2016 shared, “The original ending is bleaker. It shows Norton looking in the mirror and then starting to shave his head.”
8. Se7en (1995)
Cynthus68 admitted, “Seven is the one that popped into my head right away. That was horrible, and there are no warm and fuzzy feelings with that ending, ‘What's in the box?'”
Redditor Operablesocks agreed, “Yeah. That was brutal. I wasn't expecting anything like it.”
9. Stand By Me (1986)
RabbiCartman responded, “Stand By Me. Listening to the narrator talk about how friends fade into obscurity and only memories remain becomes more relatable every time I watch it.”
Awesomekip quoted the film's end “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”
Finally, clint_g confessed, “Just reading that gave me goosebumps.”
10. The Mist (2007)
Redditor toooldforthis64 gave the number one voted answer. “The Mist. I think it's why they made an alternate ending. Redditor pipboy_warrior added, “If I remember, the movie ending was much darker than the original Stephen King story.”
Finally, another user acknowledged, “Stephen King said he preferred the movie ending and wished he had thought of it.”
Melenduwir answered, “Yeah, it's horrifically ironic to the point of being beautiful. People often throw around phrases like ‘fate worse than death.' But the movie created a situation where death would have been a merciful alternative.”
There were honorable mentions to add to this list, such as Grave of the Fireflies, My Girl, Million Dollar Baby, The Green Mile, and the original ending to Clerks.
What do you think? Did people online get this list of movies with horribly depressing endings right, or is something significant missing from this list?
A thread inspired this article.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Featured Image Credit: Artisan Entertainment.