10 Most Unexpectedly Depressing Movies

Movies are above all else intended to make us feel something, whether joy, exhilaration, sadness, or rage, and generally speaking audiences want to know what sort of experience they're letting themselves in for ahead of time.

And so, it's always jarring when a film takes a sudden left turn into depression town, eschewing the status quo for a downcast plot twist designed to make everybody watching feel like pure garbage.

These 10 movies, for better or worse, bamboozled viewers with unexpectedly bleak, agonising narratives, no matter that the marketing sold them as considerably cheerier and more optimistic escapist works of cinema.

In some cases the outcome was simply too dark for general audiences to bite, while in others the reveal was ultimately potent enough to compensate for the sheer shock of it.

It's a tough trick to pull off and presents a major risk both critically and commercially, hence why most directors don't do it. Get it right and you've given the audience something they didn't even know they wanted, but get it wrong and you'll be accused of employing shock value for the mere sake of it...

Unless you read Katherine Paterson's novel on which this coming-of-age fantasy-drama is based, there was absolutely nothing clueing you in on the emotional destruction Bridge to Terabithia was set to wreak in its traumatising third act.

For its first hour, this is a charming film about two 12-year-old neighbours, Jess (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb), who create the titular fantasy world in their minds to escape their daily troubles.

But one day, Jess comes home and learns that Leslie has died after hitting her head when the rope they used to swing across a creek snapped.

The remainder of the film deals with Jess coming to terms with his grief, and though it ends on something of a hopeful, bittersweet note, few had child death on the cards when they sat down to watch this seemingly cute dramatic fantasy tale - least of all young children themselves in the market for a frothy adventure romp.