20 Most Intense Movie Endings Of All Time

3. The Godfather Part II (1974)

Though it doesn't feature giant spiders or people being beaten to death with blunt objects, the ending to Francis Ford Coppola's statuesque sequel is one of the most psychologically intense, fraught moments in cinema history.

It is in of itself a simple, quiet series of moments, but informed by the context of both the rest of the movie and the film that preceded it, it's absolutely devastating.

Mob boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has reluctantly ordered the assassination of his own brother, Fredo (John Cazale), after which we witness a flashback to a family dinner where Fredo is the only brother supportive of Michael's decision to enlist in the Marine Corps. Finally, in the present, Michael is seen contemplating the meaning of it all on a bench, alone.

It's not easy to match the unforgettable final image of the first film - a door literally and metaphorically closing on Diane Keaton's Kay - but by furthering the emotional complexity of Michael as a character, it is a closing sequence loaded with urgent meaning.