# Is there a name for this kind of downer movie ending? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095 "2022-10-31T20:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/1 "2022-10-31T20:40:27Z")
I watched a movie yesterday that was pretty good throughout and held my interest, but then the ending was just a huge downer. I’ve seen movies with unhappy endings before, but this was just… hard to explain why I found it so offensive. It’s like the tension was building the entire time between the protagonists and these people they met, which were gradually revealed to be creepier and creepier, and then when all was revealed near the end, the antagonists just did exactly what they planned and killed off the protagonists, and that was the end! No twist or even a glimmer of hope that it was going to go any other way. I mean, I guess there was a glimmer as they were trying to drive off to safety, but that ended very badly in a ditch on the side of the road. The movie was Speak No Evil ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/2 "2022-10-31T20:58:11Z")
The name for that kind of ending is: bummer. “Anticlimactic” also comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/3 "2022-10-31T22:04:33Z")
That’s a horror movie, right? It’s not uncommon for horror movies (or novels) to end with the protagonist(s) dying, or everybody dying, or the end of the world, or something dark like that. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/4 "2022-10-31T22:07:03Z")
Yeah but typically that is done after some hope or some victory by the protagonist. Like you think they’ve defeated the monster but NO it jumps out and kills them at the very end or something. This was just like if they were running from the monster the whole movie and then the ending was it caught and ate them. Roll credits. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/5 "2022-11-01T02:37:02Z")
Tragic endings are fairly common in fiction, including movies, books, songs, etc. I’ve never heard them called anything other than ‘tragic ending’. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/6 "2022-11-01T02:51:59Z")
Spellbinder and The Wicker Man both fall into this category for me. Protagonist tries to save the girl, who turns out to be a villain in the end. All his efforts only led him deeper into the trap. He gets killed. The End. Blech! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/7 "2022-11-01T12:17:06Z")
Documentary. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/8 "2022-11-01T12:19:34Z")
Don’t ever watch _Funny Games_, is all I can say. Either version. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/9 "2022-11-01T15:21:26Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Tragic endings are fairly common in fiction, including movies, books, songs, etc. I’ve never heard them called anything other than ‘tragic ending’. But tragedy is a very specific sort of ending. It’s not “suddenly, everyone got run over by a truck.” That’s a futile ending. I’ve also seen it referred to at as “truck ending.” _City of Angels_ is a literal example. A tragic ending is when the person dies in the end due to their own flaws and actions. _Othello_, for instance, dies because of his own jealousy. More recently, in _Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring_, Caesar destroys himself in his desire to have a son to take over his lands. _White Heat_ has Cagney trying to get to the top of the world. _McTeague/Greed_ has people destroying themselves by greed. Tragedy is powerful. Futility is just a gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/10 "2022-11-01T16:18:06Z")
“Bummer” is an apt description! What about movies that aren’t horror and have bummer endings? Ten Little Indians they all die in the book, leaving no clue to others what happened; the movie had a happy ending. The Coca Cola Kid The film ends with this text: “A week later . . . while cherries blossomed in Japan the next World War began.” And in 1985, that pretty much meant nukular war. We all die. Yeah? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/11 "2022-11-01T16:24:12Z")
Bleak endings? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/12 "2022-11-01T16:33:20Z")
_Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry_(1974), in which the three protagonists spend the movie being pursued by law enforcement, figure out a way to finally outwit said law enforcement via a convoluted chase scene, get away scot free, and > **Summary** > > get hit by a freight train in the last scene of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/13 "2022-11-01T16:37:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Ten Little Indians they all die in the book, leaving no clue to others what happened; the movie had a happy ending. I was going to ask which version but the 1965, 1974 and 1989 versions all changed (and ruined IMHO) the ending from the book, as does the 1945 version (under the title _And Then There Were None_). I recommend the 2015 BBC miniseries which expands the character backstories but doesn’t change the plot. That said, given what those backstories are, I’m not sure the book ending constitutes a “bummer”. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/14 "2022-11-01T16:52:45Z")
I was just thinking the same thing. _The Mist_ had a pretty brutal ending. The protagonists make it to a car and drive away but run out of gas in the middle of nowhere before they can reach help. With four of them in the car and only three bullets, and hearing things approaching, the main protagonist shoots his three companions, including his own child, then waits for the monsters to come for him, but instead the military emerges from the mist. They had been driving away from help the whole time. The end. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/15 "2022-11-01T18:27:40Z")
But at least that’s an interesting twist! (referring to The Mist ending) – what if as they were driving away, one of the giant monsters simply crushed their car into pulp. The End. That would have been the kind of pointless downer I am talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/16 "2022-11-01T18:31:33Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Yeah but typically that is done after some hope or some victory by the protagonist. Like you think they’ve defeated the monster but NO it jumps out and kills them at the very end or something. That’s due to the classic Flaw of the Imperiled Victim, who injures or renders unconscious the Evil Protagonist, but instead of administering the coup de grâce, runs off in a panic, allowing the EP to revive and renew the pursuit. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/17 "2022-11-01T18:36:14Z")
Folk Horror? I haven’t seen the film so I don’t know if it qualifies as actual Folk Horror. Films that also conclude similarly are On the Beach, The Rapture, …its not ‘a 70’s ending’ cause those usually make you think the good guy will win and then pull the rug. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry and Run From the Devil are 70’s endings. Same with Electra Glide in Blue. So its an ending where you keep waiting for the good guys to win annnnnd…nope. Roll credits, pull jaw off floor. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/18 "2022-11-01T18:47:06Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Yeah but typically that is done after some hope or some victory by the protagonist. Like you think they’ve defeated the monster but NO it jumps out and kills them at the very end or something. This was just like if they were running from the monster the whole movie and then the ending was it caught and ate them. Roll credits No one told them about hitting the F key. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/19 "2022-11-01T19:34:26Z")
TvTropes has the trope [Downer Ending](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DownerEnding) which lists a number of specific variations such as: [“Everybody Dies” Ending](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EverybodyDiesEnding), [Shoot the Shaggy Dog](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShootTheShaggyDog) and [The Bad Guy Wins](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheBadGuyWins). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095/20 "2022-11-01T21:02:21Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I was going to ask which version but the 1965, 1974 and 1989 versions all changed (and ruined IMHO) the ending from the book, as does the 1945 version (under the title _And Then There Were None_). I recommend the 2015 BBC miniseries which expands the character backstories but doesn’t change the plot. Agatha Christie adapted her own novel as a stage play, with a happier ending. So I don’t think it’s necessary for screen versions to have the same ending as the book. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-downer-movie-ending/974095.md?page=2)