Top Ten Disjointed Film Endings

Sometimes a film’s ending can completely take you by surprise, forcing you to question everything you’ve seen prior to its startling resolve. These films have the ability to completely shock you in their final act, or divert audience expectations in the very last scene. These are films that tend to linger on the mind, and urge you to comprehend just why the shift in tone or narrative was important to the final piece. These types of endings tend to be rather controversial, as audiences and critics can find them jarring, and feel they are simply too disjointed from the narrative. However, this is a choice. The signs of tremendous change may be there all along, lurking just beneath the surface waiting to bewilder the audience, and whether negative or positive, these endings make an immense impact and raise questions as to the directors’ rash decision to alienate and challenge the viewer in those last important moments, abandoning closure to provoke awe and confusion.

Listed below are ten disjointed endings. Although there are many these are the one’s that resonate with audiences, encouraging discussion and debate as to just how the narrative ended in such contrast to the film’s prefiguring acts. (SPOILER ALERT)

10. Sunshine (Danny Boyle, 2007, UK/USA)

Danny Boyle’s science-fiction thriller starring Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and Chris Evans was very divisive upon its release, and many would agree rightly so for its endings change in tone and its tendency towards the horror-genre. The film’s plot concerns a team of astronauts embarking on a high-risk mission to re-ignite the earth’s perishing sun with a nuclear fission bomb. Taking place in the year 2057, this sci-fi gem contains everything audiences could have expected from Danny Boyle’s venture into the genre. Written by Alex Garland, director of 2015’s outstanding Ex Machina, the film expertly blends sophisticated dialogue with impressive spectacle.

Many have dismissed the film’s final act and argue that it leans more towards the Slasher sub-genre, as rather than maintaining the narrative of the mission, the crew discover the identity of a fifth member aboard the ship. This escalates into a fight for survival as the crew fend off Pinbacker, the being that has spent several years subjected to radiation, giving him a fitting appearance for the final act that follows; resembling a space-themed Horror film in the style of Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon. This shift in tone feels very different to the rest of the film, and many considered it to have sabotaged what could have been a great work of science-fiction. Sunshine has grown in popularity amongst fans of Boyle in recent years, and has been re-considered by those skeptical of it’s genre-shifting innovation.

9. Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980, USA)

Ken Russell, the director of 1971’s The Devils, is renowned for pushing cinematic boundaries. Altered States offers as a prime example of Russell’s ability to present the audience with imagery capable of no other. With psychedelic scenes reminiscent of the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the film follows Harvard scientist Jessup (William Hurt) who becomes increasingly obsessed with self-experimentation, using a dangerous hallucinatory drug and confining himself to an isolation chamber. His search for an enlightening experience results in a number of bizarre, compelling sequences that dangerously transcend mere hallucination.

The film somewhat takes the form of a creature feature in the final act, with the protagonist transforming into a primordial ape-like creature. This considerable change to the nature of the protagonist is initially very shocking, and the characters journey as we know it feels like it has come to an end. These changes to Jessup’s physical state herein are triggered without the use of the drug, and the film becomes less an insightful, creative tale of out-of-body experiences and more of an explosive tale of pure science-fiction, providing memorable images for years to come. It has become a beloved cult favourite, and rightfully so.

8. The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard, 2012, USA)

The Cabin in the Woods is undoubtedly one of the most important and original horror films of the decade. Goddard’s subversion and obvious critique of genre conventions was hilarious and entertaining, offering so much more than the average horror-comedy. This is very much a film about the creative process of film-making itself, and comments on the state of modern horror frequently with excellent subtext laden with a sharp-wit.

Five friends plan to spend the weekend at a remote cabin in the woods. Although, all is not as as it seems when they begin to experience a stream of horror movie clichés. It is only when they gain access to the laboratory responsible for the creatures pursuing them that the film becomes unlike anything in recent memory. The debates and conversations of those in charge satireise the making of a generic horror movie, with the ‘ancient ones’, yearning of sacrifice, representing the casual audience, furious that their expectations have been over-riden.

The ending is catastrophic and incredibly entertaining, but is in fact very intelligent and excellently written. A must-see and a sure favourite of many die-hard genre fans.

7. Dead or Alive (Takashi Miike, 1999, Japan)

Fans of Takashi Miike can never know what to expect. Arguably the master of the extreme, Miike’s career has seen many a bizarre premise. Dead or Alive is rather commonplace, it’s familiar Yakuza narrative concerns a Yakuza and a cop confronting the Japanese mafia. Boasting one of the most dazzling, impressively edited opening sequences of the nineties, this is pure Miike madness.

However, when our protagonists’ paths finally cross in a climactic stand-off, the audience is given one of the most bizarre and disjointed endings of all time. What has been a Yakuza drama becomes more of an episode of a bizarre Anime, with the characters severing their own limbs and conjuring beams of energy, with the film’s final shot showing us the world and the damage inflicted from this collision of characters.

Many fans of Miike will argue incessantly about their favourite films from the cult figure, but none remain as truly irrational as the ending of Dead or Alive, it really is totally insane and has to be seen to be believed. His recent Yakuza Apocalypse is rather similar in shockingly bizarre content and imagery.

6. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001, US)

Hailed by audiences and critics alike as Lynch’s masterpiece, the haunting Mulholland Drive is an immersive mystery surfacing the dark, twisted nature of an idyllic Hollywood. Lynch himself has issued clues as to unlock the film’s true secrets, and many interpret the film’s eye-opening ending differently. The film’s ending reveals the true nature of the characters we have spent time with in our protagonists fantasy.

Following a car-crash on Mulholland Drive, a fleeing amnesiac (Laura Harring) finds a Hollywood hopeful (Naomi Watts) and a search for the truth ensues. The truth however, is very unexpected. Lynch conjures a world that comes crashing down, only to reveal the hostility of the true nature of Hollywood. Upon first viewing the ending feels like it belongs to a completely different film, because it is the reality of the narrative, despite the sinister nature that the dream-scape occasionally adopts.

Mulholland Drive may not be Lynch’s most challenging film, which many would agree is his often incoherent yet underrated Inland Empire, but it is the film that completely dashes your interpretation of the first two acts and makes you want to watch it again instantly. It’s a masterpiece of surrealist cinema.

5. The Last Broadcast (Stefen Avalos, Lance Weiler, 1998, USA)

The Last Broadcast very much resembles the nineties paranormal/creature TV documentaries with low production values. The film details the mystery of two TV producers who have disappeared while undertaking a TV episode searching for the legendary Jersey Devil.

The film feels very authentic which makes it much scarier than the average found-footage movie, of which have become very tiresome in recent years. Prefiguring Myrick and Sanchez’s The Blair Witch Project, this feels very similar in its method of capturing the on-screen dread of its prime subjects.

The directors do a great job of raising anticipation, the audience desperately perseveres through the obsolete format of this fake documentary to discover the fate of the characters. The truth however is extremely unexpected.

As the audience expects to catch a glimpse of the Jersey Devil Creature it is revealed that the crew were murdered by the very man who has created the documentary we are witnessing. The format then changes to a home-made movie of sorts. Extremely shocking and rather disturbing, this is an ending which takes you by the throat and raises harsh questions. Very underrated.

4. Red White & Blue (Simon Rumley, 2010, USA)

Self destructive Erica (Amanda Fuller) merely survives, she sleeps around and ensures no feelings come from her encounters. She meets Nate (Noah Taylor), an ex-army interrogator who begins to fall for her. This is very much a film of three acts, the first comprising of a bittersweet, twisted romance, and the second following the life of a young man she encounters in an orgy in the films exposition. However, it is the last act that truly takes a shocking turn. It feels completely different to the tone of the rest of the film. Red White & Blue takes on the form of a gruesome revenge thriller as Nate hunts down those responsible for a savage murder.

The films navigation through different themes and narrative arcs is intriguing, but it really is the film’s final act that just feels so startling, particularly in its uncompromising portrayal of violence. The sense of dread and regret is infinitely powerful, and really raises the question as to how the film progresses to such heights of brutality. A must see for any fans of extreme Cinema.

3. Kill List (Ben Wheatley, 2011, UK)

Ben Wheatley has definitely created a very interesting body of work, responsible for the brilliant Down Terrace and until most recently the star-studded Free Fire. On the other Hand, Kill List is arguably his best film to date. Feeling like a modern re-imaging of Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man, Kill List has plenty of surprises in store for even the most seasoned of audiences. Yet, nothing sticks with you quite like the ending to this tale of two hit-men undertaking an unfathomable job.

Ben Wheatley’s gritty British thriller feels similar to his previous film Down Terrace in some respects, as it deals with the drama of unconventional family relationships and crime eroding away civility. But, as the list draws to an end the film escalates into the horror-genre, and terrifyingly so. They encounter a cult and must fend for their lives in dimly lit tunnels and brooding woodland, ratcheting up the tension and paranoia with intimately hectic camerawork.

This change in genre feels completely unexpected, and makes you question what you have missed, and even upon many re-viewing the signs of such a bizarre reveal are methodically concealed. The film then maintains its sense of terror and becomes even more horrific. The lifting of genres really works, and Kill List has already become a cult favourite amongst film fans, triggering discussion to this day and surely for years to come.

2. Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999, Japan)

Takashi Miike’s second entry onto this list, and definitely no coincidence. Miike is confident in his craft, knowing just how to shock and surprise his audience.

None of his endings are as shocking as the vivid Audition. The film begins as a Japanese melodrama, following a widower’s attempt at finding a new wife through a series of fake movie auditions. He appears to have found the woman of his dreams in the quiet Asami (Eihi Shiina. It herein takes on the form of a romance, only jarred by the odd insert of sinister imagery of a mysterious room. Miike maintains this until the very end, but following the disappearance of Asami the truth begins to surface.

Audition has secured itself a permanent place in film history with one of the most shocking endings of all time. It genuinely feels as though the film takes most drastic and unimaginable turn, becoming a gruesome revenge tale with such masterful progression. The ending’s reveal of the sadistic, twisted nature of Asami is extremely horrific and has become immortalised in the memories of its viewers, with the last words of the film sending endless shivers down the spine of all those who dare to experience it until the very end.

1.Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat, 2001, France/Italy)

Catherine Breillat is notorious for the explicit, thought-provoking nature of her films. Fat Girl is a film about two sisters while on holiday conflicting in sexual attitudes. The older sister, Elana, is attractive, whilst the younger sister, Anais, insecure and overweight. The film explores sexuality in youth explicitly but with maturity. However, it is the film’s ending that couldn’t feel any more different.

In the very last scene, the sisters and their mother decide to take a rest while progressing through a long drive. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, an axe murderer breaks into car of the family and murders the mother and Elena, and then proceeds to rape Anais off-screen. This brutal final scene comes as an utter shock,feeling world’s apart from the rest of the film’s rather enclosed premise. It is an ending which unbearably wrestles you into submission, provoking the ultimate question, "is anything possible in film?" There is no security, these characters are expendable and never safe. Fat Girl boasts the most startling ending of all time, and once seen is never forgotten.

Thank you for reading.

Written by Chris Weston