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The problem is that when you say you disliked an ending that wasn't good/happy people usually jump to say "ha, you hated it because it was sad."

No, I disliked it because it was shit. A good bleak ending is just as good as a happy ending. It will take some time for people to understand that though.

 

[zelas]

Original Little Shop of Horror is soooo much better than the happy ending version.


https://youtu.be/7RjFvcw6ToQ

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

The

Spoiler

season 2 finale that was for a long time the conclusion to the series

of Twin Peaks was beautifully, shockingly, perfectly bleak and sinister.

If

Spoiler

the supporting cast had been worth a damn

, then I wouldn't even hesitate to call it a masterpiece.

 

[KnowOne]

Old Boy

Memento

both have dark endings but I loved them both!

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

If done right yes. They aren't always in horror movies either. Not sure if anyone has seen The Fault in Our Stars or movies like that but those can end pretty sadly as well. However, it's done right so I have no qualms with it.

When it comes to Aliens movies, most fans want to see the Alien take out the entire crew because they want to see how creatively it can be done. It extends back to campy horror movies like Jason and Halloween.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

YES! In fact, i enjoy more when there's a bad ending, or that everything isn't happy (but not alien covenant, this movie was shitty anyway)

i'm getting tired of the obligatory good ending, most of the time it's too predictable

One of the reasons i freaking loved Black Mirror! Of course that's not the only reason, but it was so well done, that shit was tough to watch!)

 

[Nev]

Yeah why not, if done properly.

Garbage "horror" movies where the bad guy is (oh, surprise!) alive at the end despite being utterly destroyed by various means is not a dark, bleak, hopeless or sinister ending, it's just complete trash of the cheapest order.

Speaking of Sinister, having the bad guy jumping out of the screen with a cheap jumpscare at the end of the movie is even worse. That movie was absolute junk by itself, but that ending just solidified its rubbish, offensive-to-viewers status

"Oh, that person who was supposed to be good is actually bad, roll credits" is another kind of stupid ending.

On the other hand, films like Melancholia have horrible hopeless endings but at least they make sense, have a purpose and are not cheap. I don't mind it in those.

 

[Barrylocke]

I think Bittersweet endings are my favorite. If there's at least a nugget of silver lining, I'm usually good. I can do completely bleak, but only im small doses.

 

[Fuchsdh]

No thats why most horror movies suck.

I think they suck because their bleak ending usually goes against everything you've seen up to that point. The classic example is "we defeated the big bad, yada yada but in the final two minutes/frames/etc. we find out... the evil is still alive! the monster is jumping out!" stuff. What was the point of watching then? It's not like horror movies have particularly good characterization.

 

[shawnbuddy]

people = shawnbuddy

Well, at least me and Norm Macdonald. His tweets were convincing.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/04/norm-macdonald-tells-you-how-breaking-bad-really-ended/

 

[Fancy Clown]

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.

Yeah the ending was pretty great. Very malicious and in keeping with Covenant's depiction of David as like the ultimate malicious mad scientist.

 

[LeadenStride]

I don't only enjoy them, but I also like them more along with ambiguous endings.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Yeah the ending was pretty great. Very malicious and in keeping with Covenant's depiction of David as like the ultimate malicious mad scientist.

Also, given what David could accomplish in a cave, just imagine what he can do with a proper lab and technology. He's like the evil, robotic Tony Stark!

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

Not me. Those kind of endings are just not my cup of tea. I avoid horror or tragic stories for this reason.

 

[Eidan]

Sure. The Mist is one of my favorite films.

 

[Astral Dog]

They weren't depressed they were BORED

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

I mean, I've watched Requiem For A Dream probably 5-6 times, so yeah, I absolutely can.

 

[Zutrax]

Definitely, I've never understood it as being a negative from an objectivity standpoint for a films quality.

"Downer" endings can actually be a lot more interesting to me and provide really good "oh snap" moments that leave me excitable when leaving the theater or finishing the film. I don't have to necessarily be feeling happy emotions to be having a blast with a movie. For instance the film The Mist wouldn't have been nearly as impactful if it's ending wasn't as bleak as it was. It made for an incredibly memorable experience. People who don't find value in darker, bleaker experiences, frankly, confuse me. I get the reasoning, but for me it's just fun experiencing my full range of emotions from media, since I can easily separate the idea behind experiencing negative emotions in a positive context rather than a real world negative context that is directly effecting me.

Edit: Also like someone else said, in regards to Alien Covenant, I quite enjoyed it more than most people probably. But i seriously doubt everyone was quiet and long faced due to the depressing ending, it was probably because they were just bored and didn't feel like talking about the predictable ending that wasn't very impactful at all. But I could just be projecting here.

 

[Fuu]

I mean, I've watched Requiem For A Dream probably 5-6 times, so yeah, I absolutely can.

Now that's just fucked up!

jk. But that's one movie that even though I thought was great I never want to watch again.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Now that's just fucked up!

It was mostly me showing others the film, but I could go for another. It's been awhile!

 

[Subpar Scrub]

I like them a lot more than happy, complete endings. They often feel more real and leave space for discussion more frequently than "everything's all finished and wrapped in a cute little bow" endings.

 

[firelogic]

While I used to think I could, I think they're starting to wear on me. Especially in the theater.

I watched Alien Covenant last night in the theater with a few friends and after the ending rolled, I swear it felt like the at the atmosphere was thick with depression. Long faces, no talk, etc.

It just feels odd to see characters in a movie go through shit, feel like they have triumphed, in a way, only to have it stolen from them. I remember watching Kids years ago and the entirety of that movie was just bleak and depressing.

What about you?

Since someone mentioned it: Earth sends out a crew of 2000 colonists + crew to start a colony on a new world. They bring an android that is their caretaker for the long trip. A natural space phenomenon damages the ship and brings the crew out of hypersleep, killing a portion of them as well as the main character's spouse. The captain decides to check out a signal on a nearby planet, lands there, encounters aliens and a crazed android from the first movie that actually created the alien species. He looks exactly like the android the crew brings with them. Of course, the crew gets decimated by the aliens and only like two + the android survive (the twist is that android that was with the crew is not replaced with the crazed android). They fight an alien on the ship and win, thinking it's over and that they will continue to their original planet. However, it's reveal to the main character as she is being put into hypersleep by the android that he is not the one they came with. It ends with you knowing that the android will "probably" eventually slaughter everyone on that ship to advance his alien creation. The movie ends.

That feeling you felt wasn't because of the tone of the ending. It was because the movie sucked.

For me a good movie is a good movie. I'm not going to not like one because it doesn't have a happy-go-lucky optimistic hopeful ending, or that kind of tone throughout the runtime. "Bad" endings are so far and few between in Hollywood and I guess it's because the general public really does want a happy ending/movie most of the time. I kind of hate that.

 

[Lmo911]

Planet of The Apes?

I guess it depends on how much you sympathize and what movie you watch.

You blew it up! Damn you all to Hell!

 

[EGM1966]

I fine with bleak films where its artistically and thematically valid and don't mind considering the implications they raise.

Covenant though for me is an example of not doing it well though. It's a compromised piece and ends up feeling for me too much like its bleak just to be bleak.

I think there's actually an interesting core to Promethous/Covenant that could be quite interesting if properly realized but a combination of scripts that simply aren't polished enough, retconning and trying to fit it into Alien mythology when it would be better as purely original piece robs it of impact.

But yeah I like a mix. Happy endings and bleak endings are both fine for me but whatever they are execute them well: both are pretty lame when poorly executed.

 

[Jobbs]

(Recent movie)

Spoiler

----Life----

had a sinister ending and I thought it was perfect

 

[bonesmccoy]

Yes, as long as it's earned.

And yea, AC earned it for me. Even though I would have staged that scene differently, I give credit to Scott and his for making me forget that there was no way in hell anyone - David, Walter, MUTHUR, Daniels, Tennessee, the colonists and their embryos - was going to actually survive this.

 

[Stallion Dan]

Don't care as long as a good ending.

Apparently US audiences don't like them though, which is why US versions of movies get happier alternative endings to the originals.

 

[Harmen]

I personally prefer a (small) sparkle of hope (Children of Men, for example), but yes, I can "enjoy" a bleak ending. However, enjoyment in this case is not really the same as having outright fun with a film, rather a bleak ending can keep me engaged and have me think about it long after the film is done.

 

[brandonh83]

If the conversation can outdo the emotion.

I loved the ending to The Mist as it blew my mind and everyone was talking about how crazy it was. It was extremely upsetting, but completely bonkers and gutsy. That's what I took away from it more than actually feeling like complete shit. Now, if something is just cruel for the sake of it and there's no conversation to be had, or not much of one, that's off-putting to me and I can think of many movies like this, such as Sinister.

 

[Kart94]

Yes if it is done well.

The whole "Oh i defeated the monster/killer then two minutes later...oh it is alive. Jumpscare time, the end" horror movie thing can get fucked though.

 

[Enduin]

Hell yes. I love well done "bad" endings. They can be super cathartic to me for some reason.

 

[Prince of Space]

Covenant's ending was great, and I really hope we get one more of these from Scott showing David perfecting his creation. To hell with the canon and mythos and whichever Zelda timeline it all falls under.