10 Amazing Horror Movies With Soul Destroying Endings
Kill List, I Saw The Devil, Inside - which other horror movies left you reeling?
Horror movies and soul destroying endings go hand in hand. While some like to reassure the audience come the credits, and let them know that the monster (for now at least) has been vanquished and someone made it out to enjoy a happy ending (until the sequel at least), there are just as many that take pride in ruining the lives of audiences.
You know the kind - the ones directed by the likes of Lars Von Trier, Rob Zombie and Ben Wheatley - that revel in nihilistic themes and dark subject matter to the point that things like "hope" and "happiness" become distant memories.
Of course, horror hounds love these films as much as anything else in the genre, as movies that end on a total downer can leave an impact that's hard to shake in the weeks that follow. It can be even more powerful when it looks like the story is building towards a happy ending too, just to flip the switch at the last moment.
There's a reason we still bring up the likes of The Mist, The Thing and Funny Games decades after they released. In a way, audiences never got over the emotional gut punch they all ended on, and it's likely they won't for the following movies either.
Spoilers ahead.
10. The Killing Of A Sacred Deer
An adaptation of a Greek myth, Killing of A Sacred Deer follows Colin Farrell's Steven Murphy, a surgeon who contributed to the death of a young boy's father during an operation.
While trying to atone for his mistakes, he's cursed by the boy with a sinister ultimatum: Steven has to either kill a member of his family - his wife, son or daughter - or watch as they all die a painful death via an unexplained illness.
Unsurprisingly, Steven isn't too fond of the idea of killing either his young kids or the woman he loves, and tries to find a way to break the curse. Eventually though it becomes apparent that's not going to be an option, and in the final scenes he's forced to make a decision.
In a harrowing long take, Steven ties his family up in the living room, rifle in hand. Unable to bring himself to decide who deserves to die, he spins around blindfolded and fires off shots wildly. After a few misfires, he finally hits a target: his young son, who dies on the couch.
It's hugely uncomfortable to watch, made even more soul destroying in the final scene where Steven's remaining family silently eats in a diner.