Are These The 10 Most Depressing Movie Endings Ever?
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Right off the bat, I have issues with this list. Not so much for the fact that almost all of the films are sci-fi horror/thrillers, but because they left off a film with such a depressing ending that it still haunts me to this day. But first off, Den of Geek has compiled a list of what they feel are the 10 most depressing movie endings ever. Before you click over and check them out, be warned that massive amounts of spoilers await you. Here's their top ten: Soylent Green, The Elephant Man, The Descent, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Spider, Nineteen-Eighty Four, A.I. and -- drum roll please for number one -- The Mist.Yes, valid points are made on all of them. Yes, they are depressing. But what about The Last American Virgin? Now there's a film with the most depressing ending I've ever seen (and if you've watched that film, you know exactly what I'm talking about). Off the top of my head, No Country for Old Men had a pretty depressing ending -- as did Goodfellas. There's Untamed Heart, Venus, Requiem for a Dream -- pretty much any film where someone is dying of an illness, but gets one last chance at love. Though it served as a bridge film, I thought Empire Strikes Back had a pretty depressing ending. Check out their list, then tell us which films were left off.
In your opinion, which film has the most depressing ending of all time? (Dammit, now I have The Last American Virgin ending stuck in my head. Sigh.)
UPDATE: Here's another list from our friend Alex on the 15 Bleakest Film Endings of All Time. A lot of the films you folks talked about in the comments are on his list, so hop on over and check it out.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-09-2008 @ 1:25PM
FYROM said...
I'd have to say the ending to Life Is Beautiful (La Vita e bella), when Guido's son "wins" the game.
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4-09-2008 @ 1:35PM
Gina said...
I don't know if it's one of the most depressing ever, but the end of "Funny Girl" was such a downer it pretty much ruined the whole movie for me. (Not that that one didn't have other problems . . .)
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4-09-2008 @ 1:45PM
CPav said...
Seven? It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I remember being extremely depressed at the end, to the point that, while I acknowledge that it's a really good movie, I've actively avoided seeing it since its initial run.
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4-09-2008 @ 1:57PM
James Ryan Hamm said...
They left off Pan's Labyrinth?
Hands down the most depressing, AND contemporary enough to still be on the public radar.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:53PM
soulpopped said...
Pan's Labyrinth was the only film I've gone to in a theater where I left and people were openly weeping. That was powerful.
4-09-2008 @ 2:07PM
jim said...
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
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4-09-2008 @ 2:16PM
Chris said...
Although I wouldn't classify all these "depressing"; some of these endings are definite downers... Blow, Arlington Road, The Departed (although there is some closure), Edward Scissorhands.... I'm sure there are tons more.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:19PM
AstronautDinosaurFiretruck said...
McCabe & Mrs. Miller. When McCabe dies alone in the snow as the woman he thought cared about him sits, stoned on opium, staring at a jar.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:19PM
Gregory Rubinstein said...
It is unbelievable that Requiem For A Dream is not on this list. Unforgivable.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:22PM
AstronautDinosaurFiretruck said...
The most depressing movie of all time: The Bicycle Thieves.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:25PM
Chupacabra said...
Jim's got it right: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
so tragic
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4-09-2008 @ 2:28PM
Hendrik said...
Dancer in the Dark (wow!)
At the Beach
Quiet Earth
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4-09-2008 @ 2:33PM
Sean Means said...
David Gordon Green's "Snow Angels." Absolutely brutal.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:41PM
that one guy said...
I agree 100% with Requiem for a Dream. The entire film is downward spiral and ends at the most downward point. An absolute masterpiece that physically and emotionally beats the shit out of you the whole time you are watching it. How that isn't number 1 baffles me.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:44PM
blessingx said...
I know these lists tend to be complied by those with short films histories (and overly sci-fi saturated), but "The Third Man" has about the most depressing ending long shot I've seen. The anti-"Casablanca".
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4-09-2008 @ 2:53PM
Drew said...
I don't know about you, but the ending of Bridge to Terabithia was pretty depressing. Even though the last scene was somewhat uplifting, it was a tough sequence to handle.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:54PM
Max said...
Completely agreed, the fact that Requiem or a dream isn't on this list is ridiculous. when I walked out of The Mist I remember thinking, among many other things, that the only movie that had made me feel so depressed up until that point had been Requiem. Also I always found the ending of The Elephant Man to be quite a bit more ambiguous, and I didn't actually consider it depressing at all. It wasn't exactly uplifting, and I disagree with the philosophy of life it proposed, but I never found it depressing.
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4-09-2008 @ 3:03PM
Shlomo said...
Although this can be highly debated and even be considrered a happy ending, I was shocked and depressed whent he movie Brazil ended, and continued to sit and stare at my screen in disbelief even as the credits rolled...
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4-09-2008 @ 3:07PM
Matt said...
i thought terms of endearment was pretty depressing. but maybe that was just the whole movie and not merely the ending.
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4-09-2008 @ 3:18PM
bluesilo said...
Requiem for a Dream
Dancer in the Dark
The Hours
Magnolia
Donnie Darko
Million Dollar Baby
(I wanted to have a marathon of the most depressing films and come out alive.)
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