15 Worst Movie Endings Ever
This is my list of what I feel to be the 15 worst movie endings of all-time. Being as such, be advised, there may be spoilers included. If a movie that is generally known as a "bad ending" film doesn't appear here, it doesn't mean I've forgotten to include it - it just means that I liked the ending or I haven't seen it yet. These are presented in no particular order. Feel free to leave your opinions and comments below.
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- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsDebra WingerTheresa RussellSami FreyA federal investigator tracks down a gold-digging woman who moves from husband to husband to kill them and collect the inheritance.A classic case of a movie with solid direction, a good story, excellent pacing and great acting that leaves you feeling cheated at the end. The tension builds to what should have given us a confrontation between our two main characters - something memorable and satisfying. Instead one of the two gets arrested and is visited by the other while she is behind bars. So disappointing - I was left feeling robbed and deflated. The ending to this one could've been SO much better.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.To be fair, I really did like this movie - that is right up until the final scene. It was very well developed with excellent acting, I was drawn in and the special effects were second-to-none. Jodie Foster's character, Ellie, is chosen to make "contact" with an alien life force and when she finally makes it to the outer reaches of space, she has a heart-to-heart moment with her dead father on a beach. Are you kidding me? Her father ... on a beach. Few movies have left me feeling as angry and frustrated at the end as this one.
- DirectorRobert SchwentkeStarsShailene WoodleyTheo JamesJeff DanielsAfter the earth-shattering revelations of Insurgent, Tris must escape with Four beyond the wall that encircles Chicago, to finally discover the shocking truth of the world around them.The inclusion of this movie you might consider to be a no-brainer. I loyally followed this series with Divergent, then Insurgent. I waited for, anticipating this 3rd installment to the franchise, and watched it as well. Then, we find out that due to a lack of box office draw, the studio decided that the 4th and final film would not be made. Seriously? I hate that. It's like when one of your favorite TV shows is ended mid-season with no conclusion. The only thing worse than a bad ending, is no ending at all. I know, I know ... I can always go read the book. But still ...
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsVin DieselMichelle YeohMélanie ThierryVeteran-turned-mercenary Toorop takes the high-risk job of escorting a woman from Russia to America. Little does he know that she is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah.I was excited for this movie when it first came out. All the promos and trailers made it look like a film that would deliver on its promise, especially since Vin Diesel was hot property back then. Unfortunately, it did not. In fact, quite the opposite. I was so disappointed with this movie and the only reason I stayed was in hopes that the ending would somehow be able to salvage the wreckage I had endured up to that point. But, it actually made it worse. Out out nowhere, our hero ends up with two children and domesticated at the end. I walked out shaking my head. What a complete waste of time.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsSteven StraitSebastian StanToby HemingwayFour young men who belong to a New England supernatural legacy are forced to battle an elusive fifth power.There were two reasons I went to watch this movie. 1 - It was directed by Renny Harlin, who's work I had really liked up to that point. and 2 - the girl I was dating at the time wanted to see it, so we went. It is basically the story of teenage boys who are witches in a classic story of good vs. evil. For most of the movie I was rolling my eyes and cringing, certainly not up to Renny's usual standards. But at the end, during the heat of the final battle (which was pretty lame btw), when the evil witch shouts out to the good witch, "I'm gonna make you my Wee-Yotch!", I lost it. I laughed so hard, my date was embarrassed. Awful, just awful.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJamie Lee CurtisRon SilverClancy BrownA rookie in the police force must engage in a cat-and-mouse game with a pistol-wielding psychopath who becomes obsessed with her.It baffles me to this day how this travesty is still considered to be one of Jamie Lee Curtis's best films. The movie starts out pretty good. I became invested in the story and characters, and it moved along at a good pace. But then it loses itself along the way and becomes such a mess. Her partner is shot in the bathroom right next to her, and she doesn't hear it? (The shot was muffled - not buying it) After this happens, the villain proceeds to rape her, to which she is completely oblivious until he escapes. Then the movie drags on in scene after scene where he gets shot and survives time and again until he is finally gunned down at the end. Only Jason Voorhees has endured being shot so many times without dying. I was disgusted.
- DirectorRob ZombieStarsScout Taylor-ComptonTyler ManeMalcolm McDowellLaurie Strode struggles to come to terms with her brother Michael's deadly return to Haddonfield, Illinois; meanwhile, Michael prepares for another reunion with his sister.This movie was just bad front to back - all the way through. So its inclusion here on this list may not seem right since it was ALL bad. First, they took away the iconic mask of The Shape, Michael Myers, and replaced it with a hobo-looking, overweight, hooded man with a bushy beard. Okay then. At the end of the movie, he is isolated in a dilapidated building with the ghost of his mother who now resembles an angel, her glowing white horse (where did that come from?) and a younger version of himself as all three are hell bent on killing off Laurie Strode. I don't know what movie I was watching, but it wasn't a Halloween film.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsPeter SellersDavid NivenHerbert LomJournalist Marie Jouvet attempts to uncover the mysterious disappearance of Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau.I absolutely adore the Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies ... well, all except for this one. When Peter Sellers passed away before production on this film even started, instead of canning the project, they decided to paste together some deleted scenes from previous movies and then follow that up with interviews and conjecture. And for the most part, these were entertaining. The ending really left something to be desired though, leaving us with the question ... could Inspector Clouseau still be out there somewhere? The man is dead, at least make it a nice tribute to him at the end instead of this stupidity.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.This particular movie has made it on to many "bad ending" lists, and sad to say, I have to agree with it. First, I love the Harry Potter universe. Love the movies, the books ... everything that is, until the ending of it all. After Voldemort is defeated and Hogwarts is saved, Harry is walking through and it is very, very somber. Nobody walked up to Harry and said, "Thank you" or "Good job". No celebration ensued - in fact, Hagrid received more of a hurrah at the end of Chamber Of Secrets than Harry did in this one. Cut to the future where our three main characters are adults and ushering their own children off to school. There they all stood, sad, reflective, quiet. I left the movie and the series feeling very depressed and unsatisfied. Not what they (or us as viewers) deserved.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.I love a good, well filmed crime story, and this was no exception. The characters were strong, the story engaging, and direction tight, and the pacing very good. The ending however, was something altogether different. Rather than bore you with how it ends (because if you are here reading this list, you already know how it ends), I will just say that you are given no resolution or absolution. Like the main character at the end of the movie, you just kinda have to walk away from it all. This movie was about the journey, not the destination. Maybe, I just don't handle movies like that very well. I certainly didn't with this one.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.I'm a big fan of Stanley Kubrick, so I had high hopes for this one. Especially knowing that this was his final film. This movie had all of Kubrick's trademarks - slow, deliberate pacing and careful dialogue. Well developed characters, a story to draw you in, and good camera work. But after all the pain, the decision making and heart-to-hearts endured by our married couple, it came down to one very simple solution at the very end that would save their marriage. That was that they needed to go somewhere and do something as quick as possible - and that was to "(drop the F-bomb here)". Yeah - that's how it all ends. Why Stanley, why?!?
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsSean ConneryWesley SnipesHarvey KeitelWhen an escort girl is found dead in the offices of a Japanese company in Los Angeles, detectives Web Smith and John Connor act as liaison between the company's executives and the investigating cop Tom Graham.This was actually a very good movie. With Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes working together in tandem to solve a murder, I was immediately attracted to this Crichton film adaptation. It also featured Tia Carrere in what was (in my opinion) one of the best roles of her career. And it was also fun to see Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, normally cast as a bad guy heavy, in a lighter likeable role. Throw in Harvey Keitel and Mako for good measure, this one just couldn't miss. However, after all the great movie making, the film leaves you feeling empty and deflated at the end. When the killer tries to get away, we don't get to see the good guys confront him. There is no final battle. We are simply informed that he was killed by some of the victim's friends. And then, we are presented with the question, was he really the killer or was he just acting in behalf of a higher source? I hated this ending. SO unsatisfying.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsSharon StoneWilliam BaldwinTom BerengerA woman moves into an exclusive New York City apartment building that she soon discovers houses tenants with all manner of shocking secrets.Hot on the heels of the success of Basic Instinct, this film finds Sharon Stone at the height of her career and in her prime. It was pretty well filmed, and draws us into a voyeur's world with a mix of intrigue and mystery. We watch as Sharon becomes enamored with the building's owner and his surveillance room (which is a character all to itself) - peeping into other people's lives when they shouldn't be. But when she is forced to kill someone in defense of her life and she finds out that her lover knew all along what was happening, she destroys his room and walks away telling him in disdain, "Get a life". Shallow, weak, and just plain bad. That is what I trailed along to hear at the end. Ugh.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsJustin LongMichael ParksHaley Joel OsmentA brash and arrogant podcaster gets more than he bargained for when he travels to Canada to interview a mysterious recluse... who has a rather disturbing fondness for walruses.This is quite possibly the weirdest, strangest, and sickest movie I have ever seen. I'm racking my brain to think of another that has come close to this one in that regard, but I can't think of one. Throughout the course of this movie, we watch as a man is inexplicably transformed by another very sick individual from a man into a walrus. Yeah, you read that right. I tagged along in hopes that the ending would somehow, someway make everything right again. But, it does not. Our victim is doomed to spend the rest of his days as a wallowing walrus where his friends visit him from time to time, lamenting on his condition, but not really caring about it at all.
- DirectorGeoffrey SaxStarsMichael KeatonDeborah Kara UngerIan McNeiceAn architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.This movie was a very different turn for Michael Keaton, but was successful in drawing the viewer in. When his wife disappears, he sets up various EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) recording devices in an effort to contact her. He hears what appears to be her voice in static white noise and follows his search for her to a large, abandoned building. Instead of finding her in a satisfying end to his search, he is maimed and thrown off the top floor by 3 (very weakly made CGI, F/X) demons to his death. That is how this ends? I'm still shaking my head over this one. I feel like I have wasted my time and should have never started watching it at all. This movie did spawn a sequel which I completely ignored.