# Most depressing movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509 "2019-01-27T23:50:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/21 "2019-01-28T01:21:21Z")
**[House of Sand and Fog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Sand_and_Fog_(film))**. OMG I’m still depressed over this one over 15 years after having seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/22 "2019-01-28T01:33:20Z")
Am I the only one that saw Melancholia? Christ, it’s right there on the side of the package. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/23 "2019-01-28T01:36:50Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Am I the only one that saw Melancholia? Christ, it’s right there on the side of the package. No, I count two. and jfc, was that awful ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/24 "2019-01-28T01:59:11Z")
Dancer In the Dark. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/25 "2019-01-28T02:07:29Z")
_ **Twelve Years a Slave** _, by far. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/26 "2019-01-28T02:10:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **[House of Sand and Fog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Sand_and_Fog_(film))**. OMG I’m still depressed over this one over 15 years after having seen it. Most depressing Jennifer Connelly double-feature? Add in “Requiem For A Dream”. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/27 "2019-01-28T02:18:51Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Dear Zachary That was especially disturbing because it was a true story. When I saw it, I didn’t know about the big twist beforehand. If you don’t know yourself, don’t look it up before seeing it. I also found “Death and the Maiden” extremely unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/28 "2019-01-28T02:29:34Z")
Obviously none of you has ever seen Old Yeller: > **[Old Yeller (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Yeller_(film))** > > Old Yeller is a 1957 American drama western film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney. It stars Dorothy McGuire and Fess Parker, with Tommy Kirk, and Kevin Corcoran. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The film is based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Fred Gipson. Gipson also co-wrote the screenplay along with William Tunberg. The film's success led to a 1963 sequel, Savage Sam, which was based on a 1962 book by Gipson. > In 2019, the film was sel... [spoiler]Old Yeller (the dog) died! I saw the movie decades ago when I was 8 or 9–and with a such a depressing movie ending I would never see it again! [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/29 "2019-01-28T02:34:20Z")
Yeah, _The Road_’s certainly a contender, but I’ll be contrarian and nominate [_Ironweed_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093277/). So depressing that no network ever shows it. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/30 "2019-01-28T04:10:31Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Threads, of course. A far more realistic portrayal of nuclear war than The Day After. The trailer below gives no indication as to how horrifying this film is. > > [https://youtu.be/vgT4Y30DkaA](https://youtu.be/vgT4Y30DkaA) On the subject of depressing films about a post nuclear society, Testament (1983) is excellent. The people weren’t in the strike zone, but they saw infrastructure fall apart and radiation poisoning happen. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/31 "2019-01-28T04:47:19Z")
The Road and Melancholia are both deeply depressing, but fantastical. I personally think House of Sand and Fog is more depressing because it’s rooted in reality. Sounds like there are other realistically depressing movies suggested, but I haven’t seen them. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/32 "2019-01-28T05:02:26Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Dancer In the Dark. This is what I came in to nominate. Dark from beginning to end. I thought, “Oh hey, Bjork’s in it, should be interesting.” And it may have been a phenomenal movie, but it was just too gut-wrenching for me to notice. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/33 "2019-01-28T05:18:33Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Graveyard of the Fireflies - I’m not crying, you’re crying! I think you mean [_Grave_ of the fireflies.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/?ref_=ttls_li_tt) And I agree with that one, with a mention of _They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?_ (1969). I think I was 10 years old when I saw it late at night on TV in the old country. Felt like taking a huge, almost deadly, dose of cynicism early in life. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/34 "2019-01-28T07:16:42Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **[House of Sand and Fog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Sand_and_Fog_(film))**. OMG I’m still depressed over this one over 15 years after having seen it. > [@Shoeless](#): > > Most depressing Jennifer Connelly double-feature? Add in “Requiem For A Dream”. _Shelter_ wasn’t a big laugh-fest either. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/35 "2019-01-28T07:18:30Z")
As “Requiem For A Dream” was already mentioned: [Kids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/36 "2019-01-28T07:33:46Z")
_The Trojan Women_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/37 "2019-01-28T08:03:27Z")
_ **The Last Picture Show.** _ ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/38 "2019-01-28T08:42:52Z")
**terentii** , is Russkie cinema as soul crushing and happiness sucking as their literature? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/39 "2019-01-28T09:20:26Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > **terentii** , is Russkie cinema as soul crushing and happiness sucking as their literature? I think that’s an overgeneralization. For example, I had to read _ **Crime and Punishment** _ when I was in grad school, and quite honestly I found it rather tedious. The Soviet film version with Innokenty Smoktunovsky, on the other hand, is very, very good. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509/40 "2019-01-28T10:56:46Z")
[The Grey Zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grey_Zone). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-movie/828509.md?page=3)