15 Most Unexpectedly Depressing Movies Of All-Time

Nobody could have been prepared you for these.

It happens. You're sitting down to a movie, thinking you know exactly where you stand, and all of a sudden you're plunged into a unexpected depression, the likes of which nobody could have ever predicted from what came before. A movie that you thought you knew decides that no, it isn't going to stick to the genre rules; instead, having lured you in with a decisively trailer or an upbeat first half, it's going to proceed to break your soul. Of course, movies of this kind - those that are "unexpectedly depressing," if you will - are a curious sort. Much of this comes down to advertising and marketing. Unless it's a "big" subject (the holocaust, for example), studios are always reluctant to market a movie as inherently depressing, because people don't like paying to be sad. So what do they do? They make the trailer full-on funny, leaving out any sad, melancholic or gloomy parts. Which means that, when it comes time to actually watch the thing, those depressing parts come as kind of a buzzkill. It's not just "comedy" movies that disguise themselves, though - motion pictures have been pulling this sh*t for years, be they drama, western or rom-com. And whilst it's kind of nice to be thrown for a loop once in a while, there's something jarring about an unexpectedly depressing movie that makes you want to say: "Why me?" Here, then, are 15 unexpectedly depressing movies; motion pictures that you happily sat down to "enjoy," never anticipating the sense of woe inherent to each and every one...

Contributor

Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.