• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Can you enjoy a movie with a dark, bleak, hopeless, or sinister ending? *SPOILERS*

P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
i feel like theres a place for all types of endings. some bad endings are good like the original nightmare on elm street or cabin in the woods.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Absolutely. The objective of any creative work is to emotionally resonate with the person experiencing it through an expression of concepts and themes, either directly or abstractly, and for me personally the most successful films are those that I leave the cinema/television and feeling that resonance with potent and moving. What I mean by this is that even if I feel unsettled and disturbed, or an overwhelming sense of hopeless, I know that the artwork has accomplished something important by simply managing to make me feel this way with such authenticity despite the fact everything I watched/read/played was an artificial, fictional construct. For creators to create something that evokes a very real response within me is something I find immensely impressive and accomplished.
 
manfestival

manfestival

Member
Dark endings are great and it even gives me a laugh sometimez. In fact when I left alien covenant I could hear another movie goer complain about how the alien movies never truly seem to have happy endings
 
O

overcast

Member
Absolutely. A happy ending is cool too but I don't expect one or another going into a movie.

Bleak endings are some of my favorites too. Just depends.
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
To me it's more of a question of the story earning it or not. That goes for all types of endings.
 
P

Professor Beef

Banned
If the ending is done well, then sure. I liked the original ending for "I Am Legend" waaaaaay more than the theatrical release, as an example.
 
B

Briarios

Member
I'm fine with a bleak or hopeless ending when there is a message -- if the purpose is simply to be brutal, then no.
 
B

Bit-Bit

Member
I grew up watching Asian films and American films. A lot of Asian films end on a very somber note. I think it's odd that so many American films always have to have a happy ending. And I know tons of people that will like a film and call it shit if it ends without the heroes winning or everything being hunky dory.

Some of the greatest movies of all time challenge this notion though.

Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight comes to mind when I think of American films that end on a somber note AND is also beloved by many.
 
M

Matty77

Member
Fuu said:
To me it's more of a question of the story earning it or not. That goes for all types of endings.
Click to expand...
To me this is the only answer. I hate tacked on Hollywood tropes and endings positive and negative. I prefer endings to logically unfold from all the story before it and sometimes the good guy loses, the MC doesn't get the romantic interest, and sometimes everyone dies.
 
S

shawnbuddy

Member
Oh well, guess I won't be seeing Alien: Covenant this weekend. I thought it was, like, his spec script or something until I got to the end and realized I'd been spoiled.
 
M

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
manfestival said:
Dark endings are great and it even gives me a laugh sometimez. In fact when I left alien covenant I could hear another movie goer complain about how the alien movies never truly seem to have happy endings
Click to expand...

Aliens does. And it earns it, too. Alien 3's laughable failure to properly follow up on that is (one of innumerable reasons) why Alien 3 is such garbage.
 
S

shawnbuddy

Member
I don't mind the story having a bad or downbeat ending. The ending just needs to fit the story and be earned. Spoilers for Breaking Bad:

It's so neat and fantastic and out of sync with what has gone before that people think it's a hallucination. C'mon, that's not what really happened.
 
R

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Those are the only ones I can enjoy actually.
 
Machine

Machine

Member
If it's well done, I don't mind but frequently it's just tiresome. All too often it's the same stupid situation where the last survivor(s) think they've beaten the bad guy/monster and all is well. Then either the bad guy wakes up in an body bag and breaks out or there is a monster egg hidden under a table or some other unoriginal shit.
 
Z

Zelenogorsk

Banned
lol I thought this movie would be about Covenant. Personally I can totally get down with a dark ending. I love when a story is willing to go there, and even more so if it's done in an interesting way.

I've seen too many stories where the "dark" ending is just everyone dying and that can get boring after awhile. Now Covenant on the other hand did an amazing job with it. Daniels finding out that it was David right as she's about to go into cryosleep and can't do anything about it was brutal. And then knowing that he has 2000 sleeping bodies to experiment with over the next 7 years, I'm not going to lie I had a huge grin on my face as the Wagner started to play.

I love the idea of a colonist waking up from cryosleep expecting to be on a beautiful new colony planet only to have a xenomorph burst from their chest. So damn sinister!

I've always loved sinister endings ever since reading Stephen King's The Jaunt.
 
C

Count Dookkake

Member
I was cackling with glee at the end of Alien: Covenant. My pleasure was augmented by the presence of a nearby young couple, of which the girl was about to cry.

The Beyond has a pretty great bleak ending.
 
Laughing Banana

Laughing Banana

Weeping Pickle
Van Bur3n said:
They're usually better than your typical happy ending. I enjoy them far more, in fact.
Click to expand...

It seems like nowadays "happy ending" is the exception rather than the rule, and it is dark/bleak/hopeless/sinister that's becoming 'typical'.

It's kinda tiring, for example, as a fan of horror/thriller-style movies, to see that it seems like there's this rule that everyone follows that a SHOCKING TWIST must be inserted in the end to the movies no matter what, that a happy ending is forbidden somewhat.
 
P

Platy

Member
If It fits thematically with the movie or TV series, why not ?

For example :

The Mist has lots of themes of faith and the end is about the total lost of it by people who depended on it.

The Angel TV series ending is awesome because it is about how to fight evil. You fucking fight it. Till the end.
 
captainpat

captainpat

Member
Nope, I'll take a asspull happy ending or at least bittersweet over a bad ending.

Doesn't help that most bad endings are usually because of the MCs being idiots in some fashion.
 
P

polyh3dron

Banned
I knew this would be an Alien Covenant thread.

I enjoyed it.

Also, how are people going to know what movie this is spoiling before entering the thread?
 
M

miller.skippins

Banned
Have you watched the Godfather movies? You can't get more bleak and dark for their endings as that (vanquished your enemies but lose all your family in the process)..

And those movies are still awesome.

Fairy tales Endings stories are more for kids. As an adult, i will expect more 'grey' stories and endings.
 
K

kyser73

Member
MattKeil said:
Art doesn't have to make you feel good to be worth experiencing.
Click to expand...

Jarmel said:
It depends, mainly in how the movie is structured and the overall tone. If the atmosphere is bleak throughout then I'm fine with it however if it's some last minute swerve or if the movie seems to just unnecessarily try and beat down the characters then no.
Click to expand...

Nielm said:
Of course, as long as it makes sense.
Click to expand...

Fuu said:
To me it's more of a question of the story earning it or not. That goes for all types of endings.
Click to expand...

All of the above.
 
M

mokeyjoe

Member
Totally. When it's done well.

But like a happy ending it has to be done well. The film has to earn a downer ending. If you just tack one on the end it can seem contrived and a desperate plea to be interesting.
 
A

Air

Banned
Yes. I'm very much a "It's about the journey" person than a "It's about the destination" person.
 
R

rekameohs

Banned
If Alien Covenant was supposed to have a depressing ending, then Ridley really dropped the ball. I thought it was funny. Like, in a good way. I didn't like that movie overall, but the ending was goofy and the people that it ends bad for totally deserved it.
Well, except for all of the civilians, hehehe
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
Not at all.

I can appreciate the intent and artistry behind them. I can commend them when done well.

But in the end they're all eclipsed by the negative mood I get from watching them.
 
J

joesmokey

Member
The Descent is a great example of this. The original ending is definitely preferable to the American theatrical cut.

I agree with the other posters though that "dark" endings only work if they're actually good and fit the narrative themes of the movie.
 
S

Slackbladder

Member
The worst thing a film can do is have no effect on you at all. That's just a waste of time. And there's nothing wrong in feeling depressed or down after watching a dark or depressing ending. If anything they tend to be closer to reality.
I actually find downbeat films quite reaffirming of my beliefs, as if the bleakness strengthens my resolve to being positive. I'm suspicious of people who desire happy endings.
 
D

daffy

Banned
shawnbuddy said:
I don't mind the story having a bad or downbeat ending. The ending just needs to fit the story and be earned. Spoilers for Breaking Bad:

It's so neat and fantastic and out of sync with what has gone before that people think it's a hallucination. C'mon, that's not what really happened.
Click to expand...
people = shawnbuddy
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
If bleak depressing movies were too much for me to handle I probably wouldn't be alive. I usually know what I'm getting into when I go see a specific movie. The potential for a depressing ending is typically pretty easy to peg from the trailers, and as long as the movie is done well and the depressing ending fits, I won't hold it against the film.
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
I love the Cohen brother's movies, so yeah. I love that shit.

Barton Fink and A Serious Man
have two of my favorite film endings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

"Mass Effect: Parallax" -- Can an AI write a complex, branching video game story?
Game Dev
31
2K
Denton replied
Shocking new documents shown how the Hunchback of Notre Damme was greenlit
Clickbait Cringe
46
3K
Trogdor1123 replied
How the Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster devs Nightdive Studios enhanced the classic FPS
Game Dev
14
959
Alexios replied
High on Life, how many jokes can you tolerate?
10
995
Shut0wen replied
Starfield Q&A on Discord Details
15
2K
balls of snow replied
Top Bottom