What is the best "bad" ending you've seen/read? [Spoilers abound]

[Rackhir]

Event Horizon - Yeah, the movie itself was mediocre. However, having the captain willingly sacrifice himself so the others could escape was the saving grace for the film. And the actual closing scenes were creepy as hell, emphasizing the trauma that a event like that can cause a person.

I was furious at the waste of this movie. It seems like it should have been so much better. It had such terrific atmosphere, promising plot, fantastic set design. Personally I'm also convinced that the script at one point was for one of the Hellraiser movies. I mean tell me that the Black Hole Drive wasn't straight out of Hellraiser. It looks like there may be a Special Edition released with an extensive amount of extra footage, so perhaps there is a good version lurking in there someplace.

I always interpreted the ending as a "Oh! The monster isn't dead yet!" scene that they seem to be obligated to put into every horror flick. But I suppose your take is plausible.

 

[dogoftheunderworld]

No Way Out - with Kevin Costner (yeah, I know -- but I liked this movie)

spoiler for those that have seen or will never see the movie:

Spoiler

And I wife still doesn't get that he is the Russian spy.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Lots of interesting takes here.

Haloween: Well, you're still alive, but the bad guy has gotten away and you're pretty messed up.

Exorcist: She's cured but the two priests are dead.

Event Horizion: Heck, I like this type of movie.

Mouth of Madness: Heroe's alive, but insane and the world is overrun with Cthulhu and his brothers.

Man on Fire: Yeah, the girl is safe but...

Night of the Living Dead: Bang!

Dawn of the Dead (remake): If you watch past the credits... it's bad news on the island skipper!

The Thing: Yeah, another one where the ending just isn't too happy here.

12 Monkeys: Good stuff there.

Sin City: The first comic. Ah Marv, we hardly knew ye.

300: Another Frank Miller masterpiece with a weird format.

Screemer: A comic in the future after the fall and rise of man.

Hawkmoon: As someone else mentioned, it's got it's tragic moments.

Elric: Very tragic. Farewell old friend, I was a thousand times more evil than thee.

Corum, 2nd series: I'd say he yanked a little too much from Elric in terms of mood here but it's his series.

Berserk (manga/anime): The anime has one of the most brutal endings ever, but it's just the first part of the manga.

Lone Wolf and Cub (manga): Man, 28 volumes and you blew it at the end... tragic really...

Cowboy Bebop (anime): You've won Spike... it's all over... you can rest now...

 

[Elemental]

Nobody mentioned Cowboy Bebop yet?

"Bang."


Also, the ending of Season 5 of Buffy, with the final shot of the tombstone and the best epitath ever.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

The original Evil Dead. Like Rami says in the commentary, everyone and everything dies at the end of the movie.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

So how does WarCraft: Frozen Throne end?

 

[GSHamster]

Neil Gaiman's Sandman

Any of Shakespeare's tragedies. My personal favourite is Othello.

 

[Sarigar]

Seconding (or Thirding?! ):
The Thing
Boondock Saints
Usual Suspects
Se7en
12 Monkeys
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Way of the Gun

How about:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Fight Club
Memento
Identity

 

[The Forsaken One]

So how does WarCraft: Frozen Throne end?

It ends with the blood elves having traced Arthas all the way to the peak of Icecrown Glacier where they prepare to destroy the Lichking in his "frozen throne" where his essence is stored in. Arthas destroyed everything that wanted to prevent him from reaching icecrown glacier and there before the base of the glacier waits Illidan the demonhunter, the corrupted nightelf who still has a place for love in his heart as the storyline shows and for compassion, but his hunger for magic and his F*cked up deal with Kiljaeden force him to this path allthough he doesn't want to in his heart.

Before the base of the glacier he and Arthas duel and Arthas cuts Illidan down, as he leaves him bleeding in the snow to a cold death, Arthas climbs Icecrown glacier in a AWSOME cinematic (like we expect less from blizzard these days). There he breaks the frozen throne with his sword Frostmourne, everything starts to collaps arround him and then he picks up the helmet that was stored in the icy throne and that comes rolling out after he destroyed it to free his master.

He puts on the helmet, his eyes go all awsome blue and stuff and then *they* go "AND NOW WE ARE ONE!"

And it ends with Arthas sitting lonely on the frozen throne in northrend plotting his vengeance on the world, because for now, unopposed he will devise his machineries to turn the whole world into his mindless spawn!

Well.. but who or what he or they is/are now... noone knows... I guess we'll have to wait for the expansion set of World of Warcraft to figure that out

 

[Felix]

Unforgiven
The good guys can't win when there arn't any good guys.

Shane

Old Yeller

One Flew Over the Cokoo's Nest

The Shining
(ok, the kid and mom got away, but the old man gets an axe to the back)

All Quiet on the Western Front

Green Mile

Sands of Iwo Jima

The Shootist

The Godfather
(a patriot and a morally speaking innocent turning into a crime boss, who will soon become an evil crime boss, is a "bad" ending)

Akira
(And I say that only because that one girl who likes Tetsuo, who I think is Kaori, gets smushed into pulp when Tetsuo gains the Pseudonatural template.)

Othello
Iago is the best villan ever.

8mm
Nothing in that movie is remotely anywhere near "Good". Greusome film though.