WARNING: Due to the nature of the question being answered in this post, several of the scenes shared include disturbing content. Also, there are some SPOILERS AHEAD for all of the following movies. We've listed the titles first so you can decide if you'd like to read on or skip. Please proceed with caution!
In a viral thread, redditor u/bartertownbeer asked, "What movie ending is horribly depressing?" and movie lovers on Reddit came through to share the tragic movie endings that struck them the hardest.
So, with that in mind, here are just a few of the most popular responses shared:
1. Stand By Me (1986)
HOW IT ENDS: The young boys all go on with their lives and grow up, eventually losing touch, with narration overheard stating: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?"
"Listening to the narrator talk about how friends fade into obscurity and only memories remain becomes more relatable every time I watch it."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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2. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
HOW IT ENDS: A hound dog and a fox, who are best friends as children, grow to realize they are natural enemies. However, in the end, the two reconcile their hate for one another, but still separate, moving on with their own lives.
"People always talk shit about how Disney movies go for the 'happily ever after' ending, but if anything, this movie does the exact opposite and 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 a bad thing."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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3. No Country for Old Men (2007)
HOW IT ENDS: After a game of cat-and-mouse between a man and a mercenary goes array, the man is killed — and not by the mercenary, but a third party. The mercenary escapes, but ends the film severely injured while the sheriff who chased the two the entire film muses on two dreams he'd had after the ordeal, and what they may mean.
"Nobody wins, except maybe Anton."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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4. Se7en (1995)
HOW IT ENDS: A serial killer whose murders are themed after the seven deadly sins is caught by two detectives. He reveals that, to complete his last two murders — themed as "envy" and "wrath" — he's beheaded one of the detective's wives and shipped her head to them in a box out of "envy" for his normal life. The detective kills the serial killer, completing the sins and becoming "wrath."
"This is the one that popped into my head right away. That was horrible. Definitely no warm and fuzzy feels with that ending."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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5. Cold Mountain (2003)
HOW IT ENDS: After finally consummating their relationship, one of the lovers dies tragically. Years later, it's revealed their consummation resulted in a daughter, which the living character raises alone.
"If you skip the last five minutes, the ending is pretty awesome."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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6. Mad Max (1979)
HOW IT ENDS: Despite being victorious against his enemy, the main character ends the film as a shell of their former self — vengeance having done nothing to satisfy them.
"Society is still fucked. Max has lost his wife and son. The last couple of shots are him just driving off with that thousand-yard stare into the lawless outback. It's very understated, but it lets you know that he's not at all sated by having taken out Toecutter and his gang, and he becomes the 'shell of a man' as described in the introduction of the sequel."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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7. Memento (2000)
HOW IT ENDS: After spending the movie chasing clues to solve his wife's murder, the main character — who has anterograde amnesia — discovers he actually killed the murderer long ago, but kept restarting the search to give his life some semblance of purpose.
"It's the singular movie where I thought it was brilliant, and I never wanted to watch it ever again."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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8. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
HOW IT ENDS: The lead character is hanged after killing a thief (who stole her money) in order to fund her child's surgery.
"I think it’s not just the ending. The whole movie is just hopeless. Terribly, beautifully hopeless."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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9. Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
HOW IT ENDS: A main character tragically dies after the rope they and their friend used to swing into a magical imaginary land snapped, causing her to hit her head on a rock in a creek and drown. The friend denies their death before accepting it.
"I saw that movie as a kid and rewatched it last year and again cried."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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10. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
HOW IT ENDS: The main character, who has fought their way to the top of the boxing world, is left a quadriplegic after a sucker punch from a competitor. After their condition increasingly worsens, they ask their trainer — whom they've become close to — to kill them as an act of mercy. While the coach initially denies the request in horror, they go through with it.
"Yeah, there's no tiptoeing or silver lining; it's just brutally honest, saying, 'Your life can completely change in a split second, and sometimes, there is no happy ending.'"
You can watch the ending scene here:
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11. Atonement (2007)
HOW IT ENDS: After the audience is lead to believe that the couple in the film — despite all odds and all they'd been through — end up together, only to discover their happiness was fabricated out of guilt by the very person who separated them, as they both died before they could ever be reunited.
"I had no idea what the movie was about and was blown away by it. I have never been able to stop thinking about what happened — the injustice, the separation before their love even got started, the sadness, the deaths."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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12. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
HOW IT ENDS: The film seeks to demonstrate the costs of war, and thus, ultimately, most characters die by the end.
"Hands down."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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13. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
HOW IT ENDS: A documentary sees the friend of a murdered man seek to collect videos of all of their friends talking about him, so that he may give the film as a gift to the man's son — only for the son to be murdered before the film could be finished.
"The worst part is this isn’t fiction, it’s a real-life nightmare that no family ever deserved. One of the few times I have felt physically gutted regarding people I’ve never met."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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14. Melancholia (2011)
HOW IT ENDS: Another planet collides with Earth, instantly killing all life.
"Great movie, but damn, the ending really left a hopeless feeling in me."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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15. Man on Fire (2004)
HOW IT ENDS: The main character — a former CIA operative turned bodyguard — dies protecting the young girl he's been charged to protect, with whom he's formed a bond.
"The ending is a gut punch."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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16. Logan (2017)
HOW IT ENDS: Wolverine dies.
"You go into watching that movie knowing it’s one of the final performances of Sir Patrick Stewart as Xavier and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Absolutely powerful, Oscar-worthy performances — probably better than everything in the MCU. It was hard to not have a certain attachment to these characters, having seen them played by the same people since 2000 because they were the living embodiment of their comic-book counterparts. I don’t know many who weren’t bawling their eyes out by the end."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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17. Precious (2009)
HOW IT ENDS: The abused main character's mother reveals just how far back the terrifying abuse goes.
"Great acting. Compelling story. This is one of those movies I will only ever watch once because I can’t go through that movie again."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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18. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
HOW IT ENDS: A disgraced screenwriter goes to Las Vegas with the exclusive intent to "drink themselves to death," where they develop a friendship and relationship with a local sex worker. In the end, they succeed, leaving their friend to deal with processing the aftermath.
"This one wrecked me for some time. When people hate on Nic Cage as an actor, I think about how affecting he was in this film."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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And finally:
19. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
HOW IT ENDS: The world ends after an asteroid makes contact with the planet, killing all life on Earth, while the couple we've been following the entire film comfort each other.
"The ending of this never fails to make me cry."
You can watch the ending scene here:
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You've read their picks, but now it's your turn. Which endings did they miss? What movie ending did you feel was "horribly depressing?" Share your pick(s) in the comments below.
Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: Reddit.