8 Movie Heroes You Didn't Realise Probably Died Horrible Deaths

3. Jaguar Paw - Apocalypto (2006)

The "Heroic" Ending...

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto is set at a time when you could get your head cut off in order to be sacrificed to a God, although nobody could deny that the surrounding scenery is absolutely fantastic. As a result of living in such a word, our hero Jaguar Paw doesn't exactly have a great time over the course of the movie. Having escaped a horrible death at the hands of the Mayans and defeated the highly-skilled hunters who set out to kill him, he's finally re-united with his wife and child (in the nick of time), and they flee.

In the movie's last moments, Jaguar Paw peers through the trees and onto a beach, where he notices a fleet of Spanish ships making their way toward the shore. He suggests that they get the heck out of there and start new lives... phew! Crisis averted!

But wait...

Alright, so Jaguar Paw and his family have avoided the Spanish troops for now, but what the movie doesn't tell you is that - over the next few years - they will take over the entire peninsula. If you know your history, you're well aware of what happens as a result of said "taking over," given that it's the 16th century - complete subjugation (not to mention the spread of European disease that came with the landings).

Which means that, yes, either Jaguar Paw will be killed by these invaders as he attempts to escape them, or both he and his family will be subjected to a life of capture and imprisonment. Either way you look at it, it ain't pretty. Apocalypto kind of glazes over the horror of what is to come in its final moments (perhaps purposely), which might of led some audience members to believe that some kind of "new beginning" was about to occur - one that benefitted Jaguar Paw and his family. Uh-uh. No. Not at all.