10 Deceptively Innocent Movies With Incredibly Dark Moments
7. The Incredibles
Acclaimed as one of the greatest superhero films of all time, trailers for 2004's The Incredibles hinted at little more than an animated action offering that was typical fare for a children's film.
As such, the amount of disquieting elements that came crashing out of Brad Bird's effort almost defied belief. For starters, the movie is barely five minutes in before viewers have been treated to the sight of an attempted suicide. The aftermath of said suicide attempt swiftly morphs into a storyline featuring collateral damage lawsuits, the depressing effects of a monotonous civilian existence, and a mid-life crisis storyline that stops just short of full-on infidelity from a purported family man.
Bird wasn't done cramming morbid material into this seemingly innocent narrative vehicle, either. The once wide-eyed superhero fan Buddy is eventually unmasked as "Syndrome", a now-wealthy weapons designer who made his fortune off a systematic and bloody purge of former superheroes. A seemingly endless catalogue of names marked "Terminated" highlights the sadistic extent of Buddy's campaign, having used his Omnidroid robot to mimic the powers of its victims to create a terrifying killing machine.
The Incredibles ultimately delivers a message of family unity and the importance of embracing what makes one unique, but decidedly does not skimp on the darkness.