20 Horror Movies Ruined By TERRIBLE Reveals
15. Pinbacker The Stowaway - Sunshine
Danny Boyle's Sunshine is, for its first two-thirds, a visually stunning and richly atmospheric sci-fi thriller, albeit one which ironically goes spectacularly south when it pivots into more overtly horror territory.
In the third reel, we learn that Pinbacker (Mark Strong), the captain of the previous unsuccessful mission to re-ignite the dying sun, is still alive and has stowed away on board Robert Capa's (Cillian Murphy) ship.
More to the point, Pinbacker has been driven insane by his prolonged exposure to the sun in isolation, prompting him to try and kill Capa and prevent him from completing his mission.
It's a disappointing reveal because it causes Sunshine to transition into a conventional slasher film scenario, when leading up to this, Alex Garland's script opted for a more philosophical, psychological bent.
Humanity staring down its extinction against a dying sun is more than enough conflict for any movie, and so tossing in a murderous psychopath for kicks just feels like ill-advised overkill.