A strong conclusion is arguably what makes a movie memorable. There are many different ways a movie can leave you feeling adequately nourished, whether the director pulls the metaphorical rug out from under your feet with a clever turn or just neatly winds everything up. However, what about those other, less considerate films that keep you seated through 89 minutes of entertainment before ruining it all at the very end?
For this upcoming list of film endings that simply make no sense at all, we're going to avoid idiotic twists as much as we can since we've already discussed the ten most ridiculous movie twists of all time. Unfortunately, a few movies' climaxes were so abjectly bad that we felt obligated to include them on both lists, making them pay for hours of torturous viewing.
Our list of legendary film flops includes J.J. Abrams' horribly subpar conclusion to the Star Wars: Skywalker series as an example of a movie that didn't work even as the scripts were being written. Abrams and Disney failed to capture the enchantment of the original films in their continuation of the saga of Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker, resulting in the release of a heartless and morally bankrupt piece of blockbuster entertainment.
Illogical movie endings from 10 films
10. Remember Me (Allen Coulter, 2010)
Our list begins with a movie that, rather than making no sense at all, is wholly inconsistent with the remainder of the film. Before the shocking reveal that Robert Pattinson's heartthrob protagonist is mysteriously killed at the conclusion of the film around 9/11, the 2010 romantic comedy Remember Me, starring Emilie de Ravin, seems like any other young adult tearjerker.
Nothing in the film prepares you for such a strange, unsatisfying ending, and writer Will Fetters used the catastrophe to create an uncalled-for denouement that leaves every audience member with a bitter, perplexing, and mildly insulting aftertaste.
9. Bird Box (Susanne Bier, 2018)
Netflix's Bird Box had a similarly illogical climax to its science fiction story, which caused a fairly foolish social media trend when it was first released. A mother and her two children were attempting to survive in a world where an evil, unseen force was pushing people to commit suicide, according to the Sandra Bullock-starring movie. Along with a few other fortunate survivors, the group made an effort to survive in a place where it was dangerous to even open their eyes.
In spite of the fact that nothing at all had changed, the movie ended with an overpowering sense of optimism as the characters found protection in a sanctuary built by blind people in the middle of the woods. The characters were still trying to figure out what the mysterious creature was and how to stop it in the future, but it was still lurking in the air.
8. The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999)
The Sixth Sense's surprising twist ending, which slaps the audience in the face with a startling revelation, is regarded as one of the most famous movie conclusions of all time. The actual secret is that Malcolm Crowe, played by Bruce Willis and hired to assist a little boy who sees ghosts, is actually a spectre stumbling around the afterlife looking for ethereal explanations.
The issue with this "ingenious" twist is that while the young kid could see the dead, Anna (Olivia Williams), her mother, most assuredly, couldn't; therefore, there are multiple instances when she just had chats with empty rooms believing Crowe was a ghost.
7. American Psycho, (Mary Harron, 2000)
As the insane metrosexual businessman Patrick Bateman at the start of the 2000s, Christian Bale delivered a performance that would define his career. In the movie adaptation of the same-titled Bret Easton Ellis book, Bateman is depicted going about his everyday activities, which include expert manscaping, listening to Genesis CDs, and killing defenseless victims. However, does he ever murder any of his alleged victims?
We watch Bateman use an axe and a chainsaw to terrible, violent ends throughout the movie. He also engages in a gunfight with the cops at one point. However, as the movie draws to a close, it is hinted that the murders might have been the product of Bateman's uncontrollable fantasies. We are ostensibly not intended to be aware of the truth. Even if this enhances the creative quality, it is still only marginally annoying.
6. Tenet (Christopher Nolan, 2020)
The British director appreciates a few crossed wires, as anyone familiar with Christopher Nolan's career would know. It takes a few viewings of his 2010 box office sensation Inception to understand what the heck is going on. So what happens when the inherently perplexing concept of time travel is combined with this specific filmmaker? Tenet is the solution.
When Nolan's Tenet was released in 2020, it split moviegoers. Some praised the compelling, convoluted plot and flawless photography, while others experienced endless uncertainty and annoyance. The protagonist, played by John David Washington, is revealed to be the organization's founder in the film's final chapters, although there is no meaningful explanation for how the time loop works. Nolan chooses to let the audience fill in the blanks rather than sift through the murky water.
5. Saw (James Wan, 2004)
Anyone who has had the good fortune to view James Wan's clever little criminal drama can immediately conjure up the terrible concluding melody that plays over the end of his legendary horror film Saw. The conclusion, though, stands out for more reasons than just this. The ending of Saw delivers a shocking twist that hits you like a gut punch, but the more you think about it, the more ridiculous it seems.
At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to two unfortunate victims who are chained to the wall in a washroom and appear to have no way out. But in the final seconds of the film, a third person, who had been "dead" and lying on the floor, emerges, revealing himself to be the evil mastermind behind the horrifying torture. However, the twist makes us think that the killer remained motionless on the floor for a number of hours while the two main characters didn't care to assess his condition.
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019)
Even Star Wars creator George Lucas has acknowledged that the series may have outstayed its welcome and that he now regrets licensing the rights to Disney. The 2019 release of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker has drawn a torrent of criticism for its illogical plot. Most importantly, it didn't line up with what had happened in earlier episodes.
The most perplexing part of the movie was towards the end, when little context was provided for what happened. Lando rallies the galaxy against the First Order when Rey and Kylo Ren manage to construct a Force Dyad and leads them on the nearly impassable journey to Exegol. And to top it all off, Kylo uses the force to resurrect Rey. The conclusion felt more like an ending made up rather than written into the script from the beginning.
3. Planet of the Apes (Tim Burton, 2001)
Franklin J. Schaffner was highly regarded for his revolutionary 1968 novel, "Planet of the Apes." The dramatic conclusion of the film revealed that the "planet" was actually Earth all along, and it was partially based on Pierre Boulle's 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes. Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes from 2001 tried to top this conclusion.
Captain Leo Davidson returns from the future to find that the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., now has a statue of the chimpanzee military leader General Thade from the future as the remaking comes to a conclusion. The plot surprise leaves ample room for skepticism and speculative thought, mostly regarding the laws of time travel, by pointlessly hinting that apes may have once replaced human culture.
2. Now You See Me (Louis Leterrier, 2013)
Famous in the world of modern pop-culture laughter, Louis Leterrier's movie about a team of expert magicians who pull off a breathtaking bank heist is pure comedy from beginning to end—but for all the wrong reasons. The movie isn't all that bad, as Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine all give respectable performances. However, there are several moments of utter absurdity, and the unexpected ending puts the whole thing in a pitiful light.
It turns out that the FBI agent who has been looking for evidence of the magician's misdeeds is in on their secret and never intended to catch them in the act. In retrospect, it renders the entire movie unnecessary and completely dull.
1. High Tension (Alexandre Aja, 2003)
Who better than the late, famous American film critic Roger Ebert to explain why Alexandre Aja's senseless horror movie tops our list? Ebert claimed that the 2003 movie's surprise was "not feasible, given our current grasp of the laws of physics," and that the French slasher film left viewers with no clear sense of what had transpired as it told the tale of two girls who fell victim to a cruel serial killer.
The plot is straightforward and somewhat cliche, but the twist, which reveals that the killer is one of the major protagonists themselves, is so intricate that it defies common sense. We don't know what was going through the minds of screenwriters Aja and Grégory Levasseur when they wrote this drivel, which renders half the movie to be pure nonsense.
There you have it: the top 10 classic movies whose endings still leave us feeling slightly confused and irritated.
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