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10 Devastating Movie Endings That Came Out Of Nowhere
By Barbara James
August 26, 2024
Sometimes, it’s easy to predict how movies will end, and sometimes, it’s even easier to predict the twist that’s coming. In the most obvious cases, finding a real shocking twist is not always possible, as sometimes films make red herrings too obvious. Sometimes, the overshadowing is too apparent. But that doesn’t make films any less enjoyable.
However, there’s nothing more significant than being completely surprised at a twist within a film that viewers don’t suspect or see coming. Some shockers include films like Gone Girl, Shutter Island, Us, and The Village. However, while these films successfully shock viewers, others devastate viewers and break hearts. These films are the saddest, with endings you never typically see coming—a hand of applause to those films.
Editor’s note: This article discusses heavy spoilers for all films listed.
10 ‘Train to Busan’ (2016)
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho
Workaholic Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) agrees to take his estranged daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an) to her mother’s for her birthday. They hop on the next train to Busan; however, complications arise when a zombie outbreak occurs, leading Seok-woo to defend himself and his daughter against the zombies. The inhabitants aboard the train must team up if they want to survive.
While a disaster and a zombie film are all in one, viewers usually expect characters to die. However, they also expect at least the main character(s) to live, too, and they also don’t expect to get attached to characters in a zombie film, as horror films usually do not do well at developing characters most of the time. But it’s also good to note that Train to Busan is not like any other horror film;, while it establishes a good zombie plotline, it also develops the main cast of characters well, making viewers grow attached. At the end of Train to Busan, the overworked father, who seems to lack empathy or fatherly instinct, is turned into a zombie as he attempts to protect his daughter. Before he turns, he resolves to unexpectedly throw himself off the moving train, to which beforehand he recalls Su-an when she was a baby in his arms. He smiles as he falls off, leaving viewers just as devastated as Su-an.
9 ‘Stand by Me’ (1986)
Directed by Rob Reiner
A group of four friends from Oregon go to see a dead body after learning about an accident that killed someone. This exploration leads to an adventure that the boys go on together to learn more about one another, and it becomes one of the most critical moments in their lives.
Stand by Me starts with one of the main characters, Gordon “Gordie” Lachance (Richard Dreyfuss), reading a newspaper and learning about the stabbing of a close friend. From there, he reminisces about the adventure that defined their lives. So, while viewers are already aware of the death of one of the main characters, the last few lines come as a devastating surprise when present-day Gordie finishes his memoir with a few lines, stating that he would miss Gordie forever despite not seeing him in years. Then, for a second, he notes that he never had friends like the ones he had at age twelve, and if anyone ever does. While these are the final lines in his memoir, they struck viewers because of their somewhat devastating impact; it is the realization that sometimes we drift from people, which is sad. Only when they’re gone will we realize how important they were and how much we will miss them.
8 ‘Beaches’ (1988)
Directed by Garry Marshall
Actress and singer Cecilia Carol “C.C.” Bloom (Bette Midler) stops her concert rehearsal when she receives a letter from her lifelong friend Hillary Whitney (Barbara Hershey). C.C. drives to see Hillary, and as she does, she reminisces on their past together.
Initially, viewers do not know what the letter to C.C. is about, though they know C.C. must drive down to her. Throughout the film, the viewers learn about the relationship between C.C. and Hillary and, as a result, grow close to them. However, the devastation comes when viewers realize that Hillary is dying. From the beginning of the movie, it is something viewers don’t see coming, and since we’ve grown close to the characters, learning about their imperfections.
7 ‘The Mist’ (2007)
Directed by Frank Darabont
After a severe storm, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) takes his son and neighbor to the town store to purchase supplies. However, a thick fog envelops the town, and monsters appear. Based on the work of Stephen King, The Mist is more about human paranoia than supernatural occurrences. envelops
The Mist is a horror film, so not every viewer expects a happy ending. However, the ending of The Mist is so bleak, so devastating, that viewers are still divided on it. It ends with David’s car running out of gas as they escape the store and try to get as far away as possible. In the end, he shoots everyone in the car but himself, and a few minutes later, David learns that if he had just waited for a few more minutes, they would have all been saved.
6 ‘Steel Magnolias’ (1989)
Directed by Herbert Ross
A tight-knit group of women (Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine headline the cast) who gossip and share stories are struck by grief when losing one of their own. They must now learn to cope and grieve with one another.
Again, this is another film where devastation strikes when you’re not looking. Shelby Eatenton (Julia Roberts) is a diabetic who is discouraged from having children. Still, she has one anyway, and while everything seems to go well for the most part, until she experiences kidney failure. Sometime later, despite treatment going well, she falls unconscious when home alone with her child; she becomes comatose. Although viewers are hopeful she can make it through this, it turns out that Shelby’s condition is considered irreversible, and she is ultimately taken off life support. Everything about this scenario is so sad, especially for a woman who wanted a baby so badly. Steel Magnolias is hilarious for most of the film, so this sequence devastates viewers when they least expect it.
5 ‘Michael’ (1996)
Directed by Nora Ephron
Two journalists—Huey (Robert Pastorelli) and Frank (William Hurt)—and angel expert Dorothy (Andie MacDowell) travel to Iowa to speak to a woman who is said to be living with an actual angel. Upon their arrival, they meet Michael (John Travolta), who is a tenant of hers with wings. He claims to be an archangel, and while appearances seem to match, his attitude and behavior so far seem to prove otherwise. After Pansy (Jean Stapleton), the landlord, passes away unexpectedly, Michael agrees to go with the journalists to heaven, and it becomes his mission to get Dorothy and Frank together.
It is a fun and charming movie, and viewers will love Michael. However, unexpectedly, Michael does end up dying after saving a dog named Sparky, who had passed away. Using the last of his miracles to do this, he vanishes after visiting Chicago, and the trio copes with losing a newly developed friend. This unexpected turn of events in such a lighthearted movie is bound to break hearts, especially since Travolta makes for a charming angel.
4 ‘My Girl’ (1991)
Directed by Howard Zieff
Young Vada (Anna Maria Chlumsky) is the daughter of a mortician. Her best friend is Thomas (Macaulay Culkin), and she dreams of becoming a writer. She is full of personality and has many fleeting dreams. She also spends most of her time with Thomas, and the two go on adventures together.
My Girl is a definite heartbreaker. It’s such a fun, wholesome, and lighthearted film that viewers don’t expect the twist that sneaks up on them: Thomas passes away due to a severe allergic reaction. He goes out into the woods to look for something for Vada, disturbs a bees’ nest—something he is allergic to—and is almost immediately swarmed by them.
3 ‘I Want to Eat Your Pancreas’ (2018)
Directed by Shinichiro Ushijima
High schooler Haruki Shiga is a loner at school. Then, one day, he runs into classmate Sakura Yamauchi, who is revealed to be dying. She spends most of her time with Haruki so that she can do things she’s always wanted to do and because he doesn’t treat her like she’s dying.
It is made known from the get-go that Sakura is dying, and there is no changing it. However, while viewers expect her to die in a hospital from her disease, they are later shocked to find out that despite already being unlucky as is, she is also murdered by a serial killer stalking the streets. It’s a devastating moment, knowing that Sakura, who was already on her way out the door, was also murdered, and it’s a heartbreaker for sure. But it reminds viewers that life’s draw is never fair, and cruelty does not partake in fairness.
2 ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (2014)
Directed by Josh Boone
Hazel Grace (Shailene Woodley) is a cancer patient. She then meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) at a cancer support group. He is cancer-free. They decide to hang out more, charmed by each other, and they make the best of life.
In another film that throws a curveball at the audience, viewers already expect that Hazel will potentially die, as she has cancer and he is cancer-free. However, things shift unexpectedly, and Gus’ cancer returns. As his condition goes downhill, he grows incredibly sick, and he is the one who ends up passing away by the end of the film. The return of his cancer is a complete shocker; of course, this is not abnormal by any means, but while viewers were focusing on the blossoming of love, they were then surprised by this unexpected twist, leading viewers to immense heartache and tears as Gus passes away. In his final farewell to the beautiful Hazel Grace, viewers will undoubtedly be devastated, as the man loved her so much.
1 ‘Bridge to Terabithia’ (2007)
Directed by Gábor Csupó
Jesse (Josh Hutcherson) meets new student Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) and befriends her. One day after school, they venture into the woods and swing across the creek to the other side. There, they build an imaginary world called Terabithia, where they rule as the king and queen despite the complications and difficulties in their growing lives.
Based on the classic book of the same name, Bridge to Terabithia is a film nearly every student has watched once. It’s a beautiful story based on imagination and the power that comes with it. While it is an exciting movie relatable to most people and children, sorrow strikes viewers unexpectedly at the loss of a significant character: Leslie. Toward the film’s end, while Jesse spends his day doing something else, Leslie attempts to cross the creek to Terabithia alone. Jesse learns from his father that the rope unexpectedly snapped, and she hit her head on the side of the creek, leading to her death. This is a heartbreaking situation when one best friend loses another, and though this film is targeted towards children, any adult will find themselves in shocked anguish at the loss and grief that Jesse faces all on his own.
