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List-o-Mania Addendum: The Bleakest Movie Endings

Posted by Scott Von Doviak

I’ve been alerted to a list we missed in last week’s roundup, so in the interest of equal time, please direct your attention to the REEL Addict’s Top 15 Bleakest Film Endings. But tread lightly, spoiler-phobes, because as you may have deduced, the list does reveal the endings to 15 films, some of which you may not have seen. In fact, I won’t even reveal any of the titles until after the jump (although I guess that picture is kind of a giveaway, huh?).

As regular Screengrab readers may recall, I’ve already determined that the title of bleakest movie ending of all time belongs to Beneath the Planet of the Apes. But perhaps the REEL Addict found it hard to take that one seriously, so he goes with a perfectly acceptable alternative in Chinatown. “The girl dies, the bad guy wins, and all the efforts of our hero to solve the case go for nothing. ‘Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.’” Well, gee, when you put it that way, I guess I can go along with it. Second place goes to Requiem for a Dream, and I have to disagree: the ending meant the movie was over and I could leave the theater, which I found a greatly uplifting experience. You can check the rest out for yourself, along with a selection of clips. My favorite is the finale of No Country for Old Men; I saw the movie twice, and I don’t recall the Burger King appearing over Tommy Lee Jones’ shoulder during his final monologue, but hey – YouTube don’t lie.


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Comments

TheREELaddict said:

Thanks for the write-up, Scott. You know, I'm ashamed to say I had entirely forgotten the ending of "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." If I had remembered I imagine it would have definitely made my Top 15, because I can still remember how it - like many of the other films on the list - made me feel like someone had punched me in the stomach. It's also a fantastic sequel, in my humble opinion.

March 31, 2008 6:51 PM

Santa C. said:

I find this list lacking.  What about In The Company Of Men, The Blair Witch Project, and Spartan?

April 2, 2008 11:14 PM