10 Great Films With Soul-Destroying Endings

10. Midsommar

Ari Aster has become known for his devastating films. His directorial debut, Hereditary, left some audiences in such a state of shock over that scene so much that they barely made it to the equally hopeless ending.

Midsommar is no further up on the happiness scale. The very first scene sets the tone for the film to come, with the tragic death of Dani's whole family leaving the protagonist with no one but her awful boyfriend to support her.

As the film progresses we see not only all of the friends surrounding Dani being murdered, but her boyfriend also gaslight and betray her over and over again. By the time we reach the big finale, Dani is inconsolable as in a final moment of anguish she chooses her own boyfriend to be sacrificed.

Where some people saw the ending of the film as a triumph for Dani and a weird example of ‘girl power’, it was more a demonstration of the character’s complete emotional breakdown.

Her life is left completely at the mercy of the murderous cult, her friends and family have all suffered brutal deaths and, as she is hailed as the May Queen, she smiles as she realises he has absolutely nothing left to lose.