Top 10 Movie Endings That Give Us Chills

Peter Graham goes through the ringer as his family falls apart. Not only are his sister and father dead, he then has to avoid his possessed mother. After being revived, he enters the treehouse and finds himself to be King Paimon. It’s nothing short of unsettling after a whirlwind of tragedy. There’s nothing to do but reluctantly accept this new reality, but the chaos around him is nothing short of freaky. It appears that the coven finally gets what it wants in this shady ritual. As filmmaker Ari Aster leaves you pondering existence, he provides one last disturbing note to finish the story.

Ben Braddock has had nothing short of a strange time in his post graduate life. While in the midst of an affair with Mrs. Robinson, he falls for the older woman’s daughter Elaine. Braddock ends up interrupting the latter’s wedding and riding off with her in a bus. This appears to be a happy ending — until we see that the two look completely lost. It’s uncertain whether or not they’ll last, with the pair going silent as they ride away. They might have jumped the gun a little too soon and possibly ruined one or both of their lives. Accompanied by the sounds of Simon & Garfunkel, the melancholic ending makes us wonder whether cinematic romance is all it’s cracked up to be.

In the third act of this film noir, private detective Jake Gittes uncovers a conspiracy and the horrors within the Mulwray family. Gittes tries to help Evelyn and her daughter get away, but the police intervene and kill Evelyn. The violent conclusion leaves the private eye looking hopeless in the face of corruption. He realizes that this case is much worse than he could’ve imagined, breaking down in a devastating finale. Sometimes the hero doesn’t win, and even makes things worse. Hearing a final, immortal line of dialogue, the broken protagonist walks away from a complete mess, leaving us perturbed.

Andy’s collection of toys have gone through a lot, even escaping a fiery death at one point during “Toy Story 3.” Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang ultimately find themselves with another owner. The heartfelt ending gives them a final moment before their human friend Andy leaves for college and they begin anew. It’s such a bittersweet sequence, filled with all the sadness and uncertainty of goodbyes. For an animated movie about talking playthings, Pixar leaves us on a mature note as we think about the concept of growing up. You might cry or be left feeling melancholic depending on how you interpret this one.

After the serial killer John Doe turns himself in, he takes Detectives Mills and Somerset to a remote location. This prompts one of the most chilling endings of the 1990s. The gruesome contents of a package are said to be the head of Mills’ wife, prompting the latter to seek revenge on Doe. It’s all part of the killer’s plan to engineer the last steps of his seven-deadly kills. Putting these sins into practice, the villain finishes out his brutal scheme, essentially from beyond the grave. Most movie bad guys are awful, but this proves that some are downright diabolical.

Helping a kid who sees dead people, Dr. Malcolm Crowe doesn’t understand that he has some ghostly problems of his own. Crowe later tries to reunite with his wife, but realizes he didn’t survive the opening scene where he got shot. This shocking twist marks one of M. Night Shyamalan’s greatest filmmaking feats. As viewers, we have to rethink everything we’ve just seen, which gives the story a newer, much darker context. The hero comes to understand that he can’t exactly have his happy ending. With Bruce Willis’ fantastic performance, the emotional and unexpected finale gives us chills to this day.

Dani and Christian have a questionable relationship that’s pushed to extremes during their deadly visit to Sweden. Many others are killed, but the final segments take it all up a notch. Indeed, Christian ends up paralyzed as Dani becomes the May Queen. This horror plot does more than ensure there’s not going to be a happily ever after. She ultimately has to choose who else will die in a chilling finale. As the villagers play the couple against each other, they let the lead character seal her lover’s fate. It’s exactly the kind of horrifying conclusion you’d expect from an Ari Aster film.

After the death of their daughter, a family grieves in Venice. Dad John Baxter starts to have all kinds of spooky visions. These end up being glimpses into the future, but by the time he realizes that, it’s too late. He sees his child’s red coat once more on his killer. With the hero’s death, the twisted nature of this thriller comes to light. It’s definitely a gut punch for all of us hoping that the haunting mystery would end on a better note. Under the skilled direction of Nicolas Roeg, “Don’t Look Now” channels grief, violence, and family strife into a finale you’ll never forget.

The ending of this Stephen King adaptation is more than a little ominous. Wendy and Danny manage to escape, and Jack Torrance is left to meet his demise. It would seem that the nightmare at the Overlook Hotel is over. Before letting us go though, director Stanley Kubrick points us toward a vintage photograph that shows Jack at a party decades before. This leads us to believe that maybe the lead character’s identity is more complicated than we could’ve imagined. It’s an unsettling way to end things, as we’re left wondering about this haunting ghost story.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

The Older Woman, “Orphan” (2009)
Esther’s True Age & Identity Are Revealed & She Forces Her New Family Into a Violent Finale

Bowling Alley Showdown, “There Will Be Blood” (2007)
Daniel Plainview Finishes off His Rival Eli in One Last Moment of Greed & Violence

Trapped, “Gone Girl” (2014)
Amy Returns Home & Coerces Nick Back Into the Ultimate Toxic Relationship

Deadly Union, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969)
James Bond’s Saddest Moment Comes When He Loses the Love of His Life

Accidental Shooting, “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
Ben Survives the Night Only to Be Treated like Another Monster

As if things aren’t dire enough by this point in “The Mist,” the survivors now believe they’re about to die and decide to take matters into their own hands. So leader David makes the impossible decision to use the last of his ammo on the others in a show of mercy. Afterwards, he sees the military, and learns they all could’ve been saved. It’s an earth-shattering realization that leaves us speechless. Thanks to Thomas Jane’s acting, his character’s final scream makes us feel the pure anguish he’s experiencing. It’s one of the most tragic endings on this side of the 21st century, showing that even heroes sometimes can’t catch a break.

Did we forget a classic movie that left you devastated? Let us know in the comments below.