When it comes to sad movie endings, the filmmakers are attempting to elicit one of two responses from viewers. The most manipulative is bringing the audience to tears with an end that they might have seen coming but hoped to avoid. However, sadness and tear-jerk moments are a dicey tool. Some movies use them far too heavy handedly, and many viewers report them as simply too bleak to revisit as a result. While an ending that pulls on the emotional heartstrings is all well and good, some movie endings don't pull their emotional gut punches — and rewatchability suffers as a result.

Sometimes movies build up to their incredibly bleak ending, but others drop in a moment that's far too depressing right at the very end. The fact of the matter is, when a movie has a deeply sad and depressing ending that prompts more of an emotional response than most viewers signed up for, they're not going to revisit it — even if it marketed itself as a tear-jerker from the off. Movie fans on Reddit love to discuss all cinema, and when it comes to the bleakest sad movie endings that make them never want to revisit the film, there are plenty of options.

12 Prisoners (2013)

Debus Vukkebeuve is one of the best directors working in Hollywood, and his breakout movie was the 2013 thriller Prisoners — a bleak and tense thriller throughout. Prisoners starred Hugh Jackman as Dover, a father whose daughter was abducted and remains missing. Jake Gyllenhaal is Detective Loki, the investigator working the case. Things get really dark when Dover believes he knows who the killer is and tortures him, demanding to know what happened. However, when the truth is revealed, it ends on one of the most horrifying sad movie endings that leaves his fate up to the audience. As lionbatcher wrote on Reddit, "That movie was SO uncomfortable to watch, but the ending....my god."

11 Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Nicolas Cage won an Oscar for his performance as Ben Sanderson in the movie Leaving Las Vegas, which has since become notorious for its bleak ending. Based on the novel by John O'Brien, the movie tells the story of an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter (Cage) and a Las Vegas prostitute (Elisabeth Shue), two broken people who meet each other and try to help the other get through their lives. However, it all ends in tragedy with one of the most depressing sad movie endings. One Redditor wrote, "I have seen it - earlier in my drinking days, but I couldn’t watch it again after where my drinking then went, and my now early sobriety."

10 The Road (2009)

When it comes to movies that are so bleak most people only watch them once, few titles are as notorious as The Road. The Road was always going to have one of the sad movie endings thanks to its source material. Based on the Cormack McCarthy novel, the story took place in a post-apocalyptic landscape where an unnamed father and son traveled the country, looking for a safe place to live. Along the way, they encountered cannibalistic warriors and death at every corner. Every minute of The Road is bleak, but as far as sad movie endings go this post-apocalyptic thriller stands out because it, surprisingly, is less uncomfortable than the preceding movie. On Reddit, c4ptm1dnight wrote, "It was not as bleak as the entire story up to that point. I was waiting to completely devastated, and I was only emotionally drained."

9 Never Let Me Go (2010)

The inevitability of death is one of the most common themes explored in sad movie endings, and Never Let Me Go took the idea to its fullest. Reddit user slicshuter defined what the movie meant for them when they said "'Bleak' is the perfect word I'd use to describe Never Let Me Go's ending.... Never Let Me Go left me as a traumatized, emotionless, husk of a person for the rest of the day." Using sci-fi to tell its pseudo-dystopian narrative, the film is otherwise a gripping interpersonal drama. What makes it so difficult to rewatch is that its downbeat ending colors everything that comes before. The inescapable nature of death, even in a society of expanded lifespans, is just as dark as in the real world.

8 The Wrestler (2008)

Some sad movie endings are left vague, and in that vagueness exists the possibility of an ending so bleak that it is almost indescribable. User civonakle mentioned one such film when writing "The Wrestler...I have zero interest in rewatching - and I'm a big rewatcher." Watching Randy "The Ram" torture his broken down body for money is heartbreaking enough, but director Aronofsky further twists the knife with the open-to-interpretation finale. Though most of the best sports films have upbeat endings, The Wrestler seems to suggest that "The Ram's" last dance is truly that.

7 Gone Girl (2014)

Sad movie endings can be bleak because of death or imminent doom, but Gone Girl's ending is unique among downbeat finales. User NonStopDiscoGG loved and hated the movie's ending when they said "I really love Gone Girl's ending...and I still DESPISE (in a good way) the ending." Second-hand embarrassment, or watching a character make the worst possible choices can leave audiences exasperated. Gone Girl is the story of a mutually toxic relationship, and the whole thing culminates in a seeming confirmation of the worst parts of both lead characters. Though it is well made, the ending doesn't make Gone Girl one of David Fincher's most rewatchable movies.

6 A Simple Plan (1998)

Thrillers and action films often don't stop to reflect on the emotional state of their characters, but A Simple Plan seems to revel in reminding the audience of just how dark it is. When mentioning sad movie endings, user PanhandleMan54 wrote "A Simple Plan...the book was even bleaker." Futility is a powerful theme in films, but when that futility is the backdrop for a series of betrayals and murders, it can leave the audience gutted. Though A Simple Plan is mostly remembered as a cult classic, its extremely downbeat ending makes it a difficult rewatch when compared to contemporary films like Fargo.

5 Dancer In The Dark (2000)

Director Lars von Trier is known for his sad movie endings, but with Dancer in the Dark, he took things further than ever before. User bugspotter made it clear which movie ending was too bleak for them, saying "Dancer in the Dark. Love Bjork and I don't need to watch that again." Dancer in the Dark puts the sadness pedal to the floor and never lets up until it culminates in an ending that would be cheesy if not in the deft hands of von Trier. Despite being a non-actor, Bjork delivers a towering performance that only helps to make the heartbreaking ending hurt all the more.

4 Philadelphia (1993)

Though it is generally regarded as one of Tom Hanks' best films, Philadelphia has an earned reputation for its sad movie endings. User brotherharambe420 got specific about the movie when they said "Philadelphia...ending always kills me especially when the song plays." Hollow victory would be the term best used to describe Johnathan Demme's film about the AIDS crisis, and the movie beautifully mixes triumph and tragedy in its final scene. Helped along by Neil Young's haunting title song, the audience is inundated with a deluge of conflicting emotions that never fails to leave them exhausted.

3 Atonement (2007)

Some sad movie endings are rather obvious while others are thinkers that truly embed themselves in the audience's heart. A deleted user knew exactly which bleak movie ending they could never watch again when they said simply "Atonement is so brilliant but so sad." Told over the bulk of a century, the story is essentially the consequences of a youthful mistake that ruined lives. What's worse, the film never gives the audience closure and insists that everything turned out poorly in the end. Atonement could have been chintzy and melodramatic, but the subtlety of the writing makes it a tour de force of sadness.

2 Brokeback Mountain (2005)

LGBTQ+ cinema has come a long way in recent years, and Brokeback Mountain was one of the first films to bring it mainstream. User FrenchMaisNon summed up their relationship with this sad movie ending when they said, "I've seen Brokeback Mountain only once because of this." Star-crossed lovers who are kept apart by society's prejudice is a tale as old as time, but Brokeback Mountain's depressing ending rivaled even the most classic of romantic tragedies. The simplicity of the tale is what helps it shine the brightest, and many viewers couldn't handle the harsh realities presented within the picture.

1 Requiem For A Dream (2000)

Though that was the intended purpose of the movie, some viewers were left with a visceral reaction to Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream. User Faded_Sun was one such viewer and commented "I remember feeling physically ill after the end of Requiem for a Dream. I'll never watch it again." Films have depicted substance abuse in a variety of lights over the years, but no movie was as scant and unflinching as Requiem. Intentionally emotionally torturous, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and it is no surprise that audiences get their fill of it on first viewing and never want to return for these sad movie endings.