10 Movies You Never Expected To Have A Happy Ending

Lars von Trier has dedicated his filmmaking career to upsetting people. Be it through dropping offensive pro-Hitler remarks at Cannes or making many of the most controversial movies of the last 30 years, von Trier is one hell of a confrontational filmmaker. He's a talented guy, but his films definitely aren't for everyone, and a lot of them aren't necessarily what you'd call 'enjoyable'. 

Therefore, the upbeat ending of his 2018 serial killer horror The House That Jack Built was quite the ironic turn. It's definitely not like von Trier to give viewers something so satisfying and cathartic, and it was particularly unexpected at the end of a picture so brutal that it caused around 100 people to walk out of its Cannes screening. 

But yes, this concludes with the titular Jack (a superb Matt Dillon) - an evil serial killer who's literally murdered over 50 people by this point - falling right into Hell itself. The movie's last half-hour is, memorably, an elaborate and surreal homage to Dante's Inferno, as Jack and Virgil (Bruno Ganz) travel through the circles of Hell. Eventually, Jack falls into a pit of fire while trying to escape Hell - take that! 

At the time, this was said to potentially be von Trier's final film (although he is now working on another one), so perhaps this ending was designed as a sort of goodwill farewell gesture? Anyway, it was the most fitting end for such an evil character.