10 Movies Saved By Their Final Shot
2. Leave The World Behind
Netflix's recent Leave the World Behind is one of the year's most polarising films - a slow-burn apocalyptic thriller in which the United States is subject to a cataclysm which progressively wipes out technology.
A recurring gag throughout the film is that the Sandford family's daughter, Rose (Farrah Mackenzie), has been unable to watch the series finale to Friends due to the Internet going down at the rental house they're staying at.
Hilariously, Rose basically appears to be living to see whether Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) get back together or not, culminating in a note-perfect final scene.
Rather than conclude on the haunting late-film glimpse of the United States being bombed, the ending goes on to show Rose hanging out in her neighbour's house.
She enters their underground bunker where she finds a DVD copy of Friends' final season, which she promptly puts in the DVD player. In the film's final shot, her face lights up with joy as Friends' iconic title track plays out, leading us into the end credits.
Divisive though this film's take on the apocalypse might've been - especially its lack of clear answers - it was tough not to grin like an idiot at this thoroughly unexpected rug-pull of an ending.
At once it cements the comfort that our favourite things can bring us in even the worst of times, and makes a deeply ironic battle cry for physical media... in a film that released direct to the world's biggest streaming service. Glorious.