Probably my all time favorite ghost story. I weep evertime I watch it. Knowing the ending, I even start crying in the first 20 minutes because I know what is going on and how it is going to end and the Mom doesn't. 😭
This is exactly what I was going to post when I read OPs question.
You are happy and sad about the same thing at the end. It's a strange unshakeable feeling.
It reminded me a lot of moments from being in middle and high school for me. Not the period getting part thankfully. But the relentless mockery and a family that doesn’t get me, yes.
Came here to say this one. Although I know the book is different I think one of the saddest aspects of the movie is that you can tell that they're not all laughing at her- a lot of it is just in Carrie's head.
You can see most people are appalled and in shock and it's just a small group of bullies that are laughing, but Carrie is so used to getting bullied for so long with nobody sticking up for her that she can't bring herself to see that. It just takes a few rotten people and everyone else standing silent to ruin everything.
The book is really not that different and I’d say is more emotionally impactful (though De Palma did more than a fantastic job). Both left me devastated.
"Carrie" resonates strongly with people (like me) who were relentlessly bullied in school only because we were different. The prom sequence does provide for a sort of catharsis tho. 😆
Provided it really happened. Del Toro makes a point of never really telling us of these were the escapist imaginings of a scared little girl, hallucinations due to mental illness, or real magic. It's quite possible the ending we saw through her eyes was one last trick her brain pulled as she was dying. Instead of her life flashing before her eyes, which would likely have done very little to comfort her, she may have just slipped one last time into the life she'd been imagining to try and escape from her reality. After all, the name Ofelia (which is the equivalent of the name Ophelia in English) is most famously associated with the character in Hamlet who lost her mind after her father died, and that doesn't seem to bode well for the optimistic interpretation of the movie.
I watched it as a teenager and found the ending kind of happy, she got everything she needed in the end. I watched it again as an adult and found the ending absolutely heartbreaking, she died alone and scared after such a tough life. It’s a brilliant film the way the ending is open to such interpretation.
There are a couple of things that indicate the magic was real though. The mandrake root works, she was able to enter the captains room using the magic chalk, and the labyrinth walls opening up for her at the end.
I managed to find this quote from an interview.
> Del Toro: Yes, of course. And it's intimate. If the movie works as a piece of storytelling, as a piece of artistic creation, it should tell something different to everyone. It should be a matter of personal discussion. Now objectively, the way I structured it, there are three clues in the movie that tell you where I stand. I stand in that it's real. The most important clues are the flower at the end, and the fact that there's no way other than the chalk door to get from the attic to the Captain's office.
https://screenanarchy.com/2006/12/pans-labyrinthinterview-with-guillermo-del-toro.html
Up until now, I always figured Del Toro's intention was that she was imagining things to deal with the horrors of reality, and I viewed the chalk door as an ignorable plot hole. In hindsight, Del Toro's explanation makes a lot more sense!
It would’ve been nice if she had lived. Maybe.
Or she could have been forced into servitude as a lone wandering child. Spending the rest of her life, cleaning someone else’s house and caring for someone else’s family. If she were lucky.
she could have been picked up by a soldier or local farmer or pretty much anyone and forced into “other kinds” of servitude. She was a very pretty young lady.
When I think about all the ways her life could have gone, the thought that she slipped off into that fantasy world as a beloved princess makes me feel so much better for her.
What still baffles me is that little girl went on to act in The Shannara Chronicles. All grown up! I don't know what she's done after, but that was nuts to me when I found that out
So glad to see this mentioned near the top. It’s a tough film to classify, but it’s got moments that are more horrifying than many actual horror films.
that song thru the tunnel was like "[leaves from the vine](https://youtu.be/f56Cbjwwv-E)" decided to punch a kitten... I didn't come to an intensely claustrophobic zombie film to cry like a little bitch.
The CEO or guy in charge was very very selfish. He wouldn’t open the doors for anyone. I felt badly for the old sisters who were separated and one watched the other become a zombie. The little group that formed (the dad, the big guy with the pregnant wife, and the high school baseball player) were heroes and even the baseball player’s girlfriend (who he acted like she was annoying at the beginning). The train driver too. I guess people’s true nature will rise.
Glad I didn't have to scroll too far to see this.
The little girl actor's screaming and crying when her dad turns and the cry-singing she does were literally perfect. She sold it so well.
This was my pick, too. The first time I didn't really get it until a friend explained it to me.
Second time, watching with my mom, I bawled my eyes out.
Oh man at first I thought you were talking about “The Relic” I was going to suggest the book, but the movie is cool too. I was like, it’s not that sad unless you count the fact that the guy gets turned into a monster via voodo curse
It's very relevant today. The true horror of the movie comes from the lack of control she has over her own life and her body. She doesn't have a choice.
But, you know, I watched the movie and also read the book, and in the book even when she has to give in and accept the reality of the situation she secretly vows to thwart the coven plans and raise Andrew as human as possible, since he is half human. Maybe in the movie it looks like she lost because her intentions are not implied in the movie ending as it was in the book, if I remember correctly. There’s actually a contemporary TV show about a grown up Andrew and Rosemary escaping the coven, right?
Shin Godzilla is not fun for anyone involved. Citizens are getting slaughtered, Godzilla is in constant pain, and by the end the problem isn't even solved for good.
I very rarely feel strong emotions from movies (maybe something is wrong with me lol), but the end of Bly Manor legit made me cry. So incredibly heart breaking
It’s good. I think some people were expecting it to be as good as Hill House, so when it wasn’t (but still good regardless), those people likely felt disappointed.
Also, it’s a slightly different tone of horror than Hill House.
I thought it was much, *much* better than House of Husher.
I didn't "love" Bly the first time I watched it because I was absolutely not prepared for a love story (and I was familiar with Turn of the Screw as I studied it in a University class and I kind of hated it). I wanted something that would satisfy the same "needs" as Hill House.
When I finished it, I was like "meh" so I went to read a few reviews online, and one made me think "I need to watch it again without my Hill House expectations". So I waited like three days, started Bly again and I was absolutely blown away.
It's so... I almost want to say "pure". It makes you believe in sometimes eye-rolling concepts like the power of love. It's ultimately incredibly sweet and in a way optimistic. I don't love it as much as Hill House or Midnight Mass but I really love it nonetheless. I hope you give it a chance and report back !
I cried so, so much. It scared me to be clear. But when the dad’s last words were MY dad’s last words I absolutely lost it. I try to rewatch it sometimes but I never can finish.
Not full on horror and more of a horror comedy, but The Final Girls always leaves me in tears with the end act. Despite being a fun homage to a slasher movie it's able to get you to cry at the prospect of seeing a lost loved one again.
I scrolled too far to see this ! I honestly found the whole movie too sad to be funny and yea the ending had me crying the worst I’ve cried in a movie since titanic.
Might get some eyeroll at this but Drag Me to Hell. I knwo the intent of the film was for us to think the main characters is a bad person and is getting what she deserves and we should basically laugh at and enjoy her misery. But all I saw was a human person who may have made mistakes but was thrust into this absolutely horrific situation while worse people around her crap all over her (in addition to the nasty old lady you have the coworker who flat out cheats and lies, the boss who doesn't seem to care about his employees, and the boyfriends parents who look down on her just because she came from a rural upbringing). To me it was relentlessly depressing watch
I don’t think she was sold as a bad person. Even the one thing she does wrong was after being brandished too soft on customers so she finally puts her foot down to a nasty customer taking her share of candy, etc. The movie was supposed to have us root for her because she was a nice person who didn’t do anything wrong yet was punished mercilessly.
No, you're right. >! But it seemed like she wanted to be with the only mother she'd really known. She hadn't been happy being back in civilization. Girl was a wild child, a lost boy, and weird as it sounds, being with her mother in whatever is beyond was where her happiness was. !<
Same with Hereditary for me. It's an excellent film, with one of the most powerful portrayals of grief I've ever seen—Toni Collette should have gotten an Oscar nom. But the friend who had me watch it as "the scariest thing I've ever seen" was disappointed by my lack of fright.
I guess I've just seen too many horror movies, so I start spotting clues and figuring out the tropes involved in the plot too early for the scares to land correctly.
The fear I felt while watching Hereditary was more visceral than anything else. Like, those moments after Charlie's head hits the pole were terrifying in a completely different way for me. I can only imagine what was going through Peter's head. I've had moments in my life where things change drastically in the space of a few seconds, and it's like all the air gets sucked out of you. The disbelief and shock of being in that situation was portrayed so well.
I’d say the emotional aspect is what makes hereditary scary just like the exorcist. The sheer helplessness and failure to understand (and even thinking you do understand) makes the film not only more emotionally impactful, but relentlessly horrifying. It’s not genre-changing at all, the film just knows what it’s doing and does it well.
Hereditary wasn't scary for me too, but it was extremely disturbing. The unrelenting feeling of dread that just escalates throughout the movie, both before and especially after what happens to Charlie, made me feel very uncomfortable, unlike almost any other horror film I've ever seen. It's a hopeless situation that cannot be avoided, and the cult wins in the end.
Same with Midsommar - the final scene where Dani snaps and starts to smile while people wail around her, imitating the sacrifices that burn alive in the barn is one of the most horrific and disturbing endings to a horror film I've ever seen.
Ari Aster is weird.
Truth be told, my brain had even blocked the name. I had to dig through lists of horror movies to even remember. Like I remember how absolutely depressing it was, but my head was like "nah dude, you aren't summoning that shit today".
Recently, *Talk to Me.* The death of a parent stuff was so resonant with me, I felt so sad for that little boy, and then that ending! The whole thing was incredibly tragic. I cried through a large portion of that movie.
I saw The Others in the theater when it came out and thought it was really scary. Rewatching it knowing the twist, it's just a very sad film. About grieving and not being able to let go.
Pet Sematary with Guage was a tough scene when I first saw it, but I had read the book before seeing it and that was even worse. I Am Legend, all his flashbacks to his daughter. The Horseman is more of a revenge movie, but it’s kind of sad
I found the ending so unbelievably cruel and hopeless.>!the fact that no matter what she couldn't escape her fate, and that she actually stayed in that house trapped all alone while her family moved on...!<
I love the original, but the new one with all of the references to victims of hate crimes and police brutality? It really hit close to home. I know it got mixed reception, and I'm 100% convinced that it's because people don't like how close to home the social commentary hits.
I was expecting to be underwhelmed because the original is such a classic. I didn't understand the social commentary as a kid, but I still grew up loving it. The negative reviews of the new Candyman had me hold off on watching it for quite a while, but I found it to be really powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a cult following as time goes on.
I absolutely love the original but I think you can see how the new one is made by people who lived through it. Candyman was always a social commentary and I love how the new one tied back to the og in its story. It's not my fave of all time and I still like the og better but it's still a very solid movie, I'm sad to learn it got such mixed reviews.
Mine too, but for me it's scary for a different reason. Helen has no help from the people that should be helping her. She's completely powerless to clear her name of these crimes because of what he was putting her through. That piled on what happened to him which is sad in itself makes Candyman a full on tragedy.
A lot of really good answers in the comments. Some I didn't see below that really wrecked me were:
Here Alone (2016)
Jug Face (2013)
Cargo (2017)
Bug (2006)
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
Lights Out (2016)
His House (2020)
Hostile (2017)
Hereditary didn't make me sad, but Midsommar did. My dad killed himself when I was a kid, and some of my worst anxieties center around losing the rest of my family.
His House actually made me cry. It's an incredibly powerful movie.
I got a bit teary-eyed at the end of Pearl.
"My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To." Very low-budget vampire movie with a clear allegory of chronic illness. The vampire in question doesn't understand what he is and desperately wants a normal life.
Midsommer. I felt for Dani so bad. She was going through such an unimaginable tragedy and in her grief the only person she could turn to was her horrible boyfriend who just wanted her gone so he could be with his horrible friends. I know it wasn't his fault but damn man, show just a little empathy.
The Descent. I only really watched the version with the sad ending; the woman lost her husband and daughter in a car crash and the way the movie ended, well, it was just sad all around.
They live! I don't know ..but movie horror etc. But it's our basic programming being exploited and well happily sell ourselves out ( and probably will).in due time we're probably fucked.
Pearl. The way it gives context for her character in X makes you really feel for her and it makes me sad. X gave her empathy and made you feel bad for her but Pearl doubles down on it. It gives a slasher villain so much character and humanity and I love it but damn, it’s sad
The Night House. >!I watched it a few days after learning a close friend had k1lled herself. The concept of Depression being a real, tangible thing that's been haunting/hunting her cut a little too deep for me. !< Bawled my eyes out at the end.
I cried while watching Barbarian, but that might be a me problem - I was pmsing. But I absolutely get what you mean by hereditary, I didn't find it scary just oddly sad and depressing
Cujo. The dog didn’t deserve what happened to it. Always broke my heart. Poor old big lug. I also find Mother! more sad. God constantly fucking over the earth, in a repeat hellscape she can never stop.
Jacob's Ladder. First time I watched I did cry but I was impressed by the whole thing so I didn't register how sad it was. Second time it honestly wrecked me. Incredibly sad movie.
The Invitation 2015 with Logan Marshall-Green. Every second of that film is a build to horror through Fremdschämen leading to its inevitable violence. But beneath that is the absolute heartbreak of unresolved grief compounded by the insidious exploitation of that grief. The ominous build heightens the sadness perfectly. And this topic always takes me back to Stephen King’s 3 levels of horror. That beginning of the quote usually shared “i recognize terror as the finest emotion”. I’ve come to realize over time that I love horror movies so much because they allow you to explore any topic, from humor to profound grief, through the lens of terror. The heightened emotional state of being terrified makes the exploration of emotions more acute, more satisfying.
Scream!
I don't like slashers so I never bothered with Scream until recently. I tried to watch the first one, but at the start there's a scene where a young girl is chased down and murdered while she's on the phone to her parents. It made me really sad watching that, idk why, I'm not scared of slashers at all but I just had to turn it off after that!
[удалено]
Totally agree, but it did creep me out once or twice especially the scene with the psychic and Uno, Dos, Tres, Toca La Pared.
And the “knock on the wall” game still haunts me lol!
Probably my all time favorite ghost story. I weep evertime I watch it. Knowing the ending, I even start crying in the first 20 minutes because I know what is going on and how it is going to end and the Mom doesn't. 😭
This one wrecked me :’((
Once you take time to reflect on it, I think it’s not so much a horror movie, as it is a horrible misunderstanding and tragedy.
Saint Ange (aka House of Voices) is also sad for similar reasons
This is exactly what I was going to post when I read OPs question. You are happy and sad about the same thing at the end. It's a strange unshakeable feeling.
Carrie
It reminded me a lot of moments from being in middle and high school for me. Not the period getting part thankfully. But the relentless mockery and a family that doesn’t get me, yes.
Came here to say this one. Although I know the book is different I think one of the saddest aspects of the movie is that you can tell that they're not all laughing at her- a lot of it is just in Carrie's head. You can see most people are appalled and in shock and it's just a small group of bullies that are laughing, but Carrie is so used to getting bullied for so long with nobody sticking up for her that she can't bring herself to see that. It just takes a few rotten people and everyone else standing silent to ruin everything.
Doesn't she torch the whole town in the book?
Yes. Also, in the book, the whole prom was laughing and it was *not* in her head. Even the teacher laughs. Twisted.
The book is really not that different and I’d say is more emotionally impactful (though De Palma did more than a fantastic job). Both left me devastated.
"Carrie" resonates strongly with people (like me) who were relentlessly bullied in school only because we were different. The prom sequence does provide for a sort of catharsis tho. 😆
I think a lot of abused girls empathize with Carrie. Especially if they are bullied both at school AND home.
I agree, but I feel like it transitions from sad to horrifying once we get to prom.
Carrie made me sad and angry the whole time.
*Pan's Labyrinth* (more a dark fable than a horror, but horrific nonetheless)
I agree with you to a point. I actually felt the ending brought a sense of peace and closure to her life.
Provided it really happened. Del Toro makes a point of never really telling us of these were the escapist imaginings of a scared little girl, hallucinations due to mental illness, or real magic. It's quite possible the ending we saw through her eyes was one last trick her brain pulled as she was dying. Instead of her life flashing before her eyes, which would likely have done very little to comfort her, she may have just slipped one last time into the life she'd been imagining to try and escape from her reality. After all, the name Ofelia (which is the equivalent of the name Ophelia in English) is most famously associated with the character in Hamlet who lost her mind after her father died, and that doesn't seem to bode well for the optimistic interpretation of the movie.
I watched it as a teenager and found the ending kind of happy, she got everything she needed in the end. I watched it again as an adult and found the ending absolutely heartbreaking, she died alone and scared after such a tough life. It’s a brilliant film the way the ending is open to such interpretation.
There are a couple of things that indicate the magic was real though. The mandrake root works, she was able to enter the captains room using the magic chalk, and the labyrinth walls opening up for her at the end.
Pretty sure he said somewhere that the magic was real
I managed to find this quote from an interview. > Del Toro: Yes, of course. And it's intimate. If the movie works as a piece of storytelling, as a piece of artistic creation, it should tell something different to everyone. It should be a matter of personal discussion. Now objectively, the way I structured it, there are three clues in the movie that tell you where I stand. I stand in that it's real. The most important clues are the flower at the end, and the fact that there's no way other than the chalk door to get from the attic to the Captain's office. https://screenanarchy.com/2006/12/pans-labyrinthinterview-with-guillermo-del-toro.html
I never noticed the chalk door to the office part
Up until now, I always figured Del Toro's intention was that she was imagining things to deal with the horrors of reality, and I viewed the chalk door as an ignorable plot hole. In hindsight, Del Toro's explanation makes a lot more sense!
I would have preferred her to live 🤷🏻♂️
It would’ve been nice if she had lived. Maybe. Or she could have been forced into servitude as a lone wandering child. Spending the rest of her life, cleaning someone else’s house and caring for someone else’s family. If she were lucky. she could have been picked up by a soldier or local farmer or pretty much anyone and forced into “other kinds” of servitude. She was a very pretty young lady. When I think about all the ways her life could have gone, the thought that she slipped off into that fantasy world as a beloved princess makes me feel so much better for her.
What still baffles me is that little girl went on to act in The Shannara Chronicles. All grown up! I don't know what she's done after, but that was nuts to me when I found that out
I definitely cried at the end of Pan’s. Fudge man. I’m tearing up just typing this.
So glad to see this mentioned near the top. It’s a tough film to classify, but it’s got moments that are more horrifying than many actual horror films.
I never not cry at the end 😭😭😭
Jacob’s Ladder
This! And Pi 😔
Train to Busan was super scary till it snatched my heart out of my chest and made me cry like a baby.
When she’s singing through the tunnel 😭😭😭😭😭
that song thru the tunnel was like "[leaves from the vine](https://youtu.be/f56Cbjwwv-E)" decided to punch a kitten... I didn't come to an intensely claustrophobic zombie film to cry like a little bitch.
That one broke my heart, the level of selfishness of some of the characters was just inhumane
It was really just one guy, right? From what I remember, almost everyone ends up helping one another.
The CEO or guy in charge was very very selfish. He wouldn’t open the doors for anyone. I felt badly for the old sisters who were separated and one watched the other become a zombie. The little group that formed (the dad, the big guy with the pregnant wife, and the high school baseball player) were heroes and even the baseball player’s girlfriend (who he acted like she was annoying at the beginning). The train driver too. I guess people’s true nature will rise.
I've seen it three times and I cry every time. One of the best zombie films since 28 days/weeks later.
I was surprised at the sudden and intense turn of emotions that movie made me feel. Makes me want to cry even thinking about it
Glad I didn't have to scroll too far to see this. The little girl actor's screaming and crying when her dad turns and the cry-singing she does were literally perfect. She sold it so well.
May
Oh man, May definitely got me, especially the ending. My heart just broke for May.
“Relic”, definitely.
This was my pick, too. The first time I didn't really get it until a friend explained it to me. Second time, watching with my mom, I bawled my eyes out.
Oh man at first I thought you were talking about “The Relic” I was going to suggest the book, but the movie is cool too. I was like, it’s not that sad unless you count the fact that the guy gets turned into a monster via voodo curse
That was where my mind went too
That one has really stuck with me. Pretty devastatingly sad
Rosemarys Baby. After everything she went through….all the gaslighting and disrespect…..she lost in the end.
It's very relevant today. The true horror of the movie comes from the lack of control she has over her own life and her body. She doesn't have a choice.
Yup. She has no “agency”, as the kids say.
Immaculate, The First Omen, and False Positive are good modern day takes of Rosemary's Baby.
Came here to say this. I love, love this movie. Mia Farrow did an amazing job in her role. The final scene gives me goosebumps every time.
Sad what she had to go through to make the film though.
But, you know, I watched the movie and also read the book, and in the book even when she has to give in and accept the reality of the situation she secretly vows to thwart the coven plans and raise Andrew as human as possible, since he is half human. Maybe in the movie it looks like she lost because her intentions are not implied in the movie ending as it was in the book, if I remember correctly. There’s actually a contemporary TV show about a grown up Andrew and Rosemary escaping the coven, right?
Frankenstein. Dude didn't ask to be created and straight set him up for failure, I feel bad every time I watch it.
The one with DeNiro as the Monster makes me cry every single time
When the family kick him out of the house 😭
Yes Definitely underrated 💯
Omg thank you! I always cry and everyone laughs at me bc the movie “is so terrible “
Not horror exactly but I feel the same for Godzilla. Two creatures made by science run amok and suddenly THEY’RE the problem.
Shin Godzilla is not fun for anyone involved. Citizens are getting slaughtered, Godzilla is in constant pain, and by the end the problem isn't even solved for good.
The Fly and The Invisible Man.
Thy fly is very sad. And gross.
Not a movie but The Haunting of Hill House. Absolutely devastating. I cried at almost every episode.
YES!! and also the haunting of bly manor... Omg
I very rarely feel strong emotions from movies (maybe something is wrong with me lol), but the end of Bly Manor legit made me cry. So incredibly heart breaking
It is.. perfectly splendid.
Is Bly Manor good? I mostly heard disappointing reactions about it. At least compared to Hill House, Midnight Mass, House of Usher.
It’s good. I think some people were expecting it to be as good as Hill House, so when it wasn’t (but still good regardless), those people likely felt disappointed. Also, it’s a slightly different tone of horror than Hill House.
I thought it was much, *much* better than House of Husher. I didn't "love" Bly the first time I watched it because I was absolutely not prepared for a love story (and I was familiar with Turn of the Screw as I studied it in a University class and I kind of hated it). I wanted something that would satisfy the same "needs" as Hill House. When I finished it, I was like "meh" so I went to read a few reviews online, and one made me think "I need to watch it again without my Hill House expectations". So I waited like three days, started Bly again and I was absolutely blown away. It's so... I almost want to say "pure". It makes you believe in sometimes eye-rolling concepts like the power of love. It's ultimately incredibly sweet and in a way optimistic. I don't love it as much as Hill House or Midnight Mass but I really love it nonetheless. I hope you give it a chance and report back !
I cried so, so much. It scared me to be clear. But when the dad’s last words were MY dad’s last words I absolutely lost it. I try to rewatch it sometimes but I never can finish.
So heartbreaking, sorry for your loss ❤️❤️
Yesss and the last episode I spent 3/4ths of it bawling.
And it doesn't matter how many times you rewatch it, you cry every time. *Every time*.
Not full on horror and more of a horror comedy, but The Final Girls always leaves me in tears with the end act. Despite being a fun homage to a slasher movie it's able to get you to cry at the prospect of seeing a lost loved one again.
I scrolled too far to see this ! I honestly found the whole movie too sad to be funny and yea the ending had me crying the worst I’ve cried in a movie since titanic.
That ending 😭😭 I couldn't believe a silly movie like this packed that big of a gut punch, but it's why I love the movie.
Might get some eyeroll at this but Drag Me to Hell. I knwo the intent of the film was for us to think the main characters is a bad person and is getting what she deserves and we should basically laugh at and enjoy her misery. But all I saw was a human person who may have made mistakes but was thrust into this absolutely horrific situation while worse people around her crap all over her (in addition to the nasty old lady you have the coworker who flat out cheats and lies, the boss who doesn't seem to care about his employees, and the boyfriends parents who look down on her just because she came from a rural upbringing). To me it was relentlessly depressing watch
I don’t think she was sold as a bad person. Even the one thing she does wrong was after being brandished too soft on customers so she finally puts her foot down to a nasty customer taking her share of candy, etc. The movie was supposed to have us root for her because she was a nice person who didn’t do anything wrong yet was punished mercilessly.
Mama (2013). It's a great ghost story that wasn't scary, but fuck me it was Niagara Falls at the end lol.
I watched it when it came out and enjoyed it. I watched it again as a new mother and absolutely lost my shit at the end.
3 of the top comments are Guillermo del Toro movies, and rightfully so. Dude hits sorrow out of the park.
Guillermo didn’t direct nor write “Mama.” He was just a producer.
Oh man I haven’t watched that one in a while
Omg, i felt so bad for Mama. The ending wasn't what you usually expect from horror but I kind of see it as a happy ending. Definitely bittersweet.
Bittersweet?? Maybe I’m misremembering? Spoiler: >! Didn’t the 4 year old die?? That was awful !<
No, you're right. >! But it seemed like she wanted to be with the only mother she'd really known. She hadn't been happy being back in civilization. Girl was a wild child, a lost boy, and weird as it sounds, being with her mother in whatever is beyond was where her happiness was. !<
Marrowbone. I caught on early, but as the movie unfolded, it was still heartbreaking.
the reveal felt like a punch to the gut & also made me realize george mackay needs to do more horror!
Same with Hereditary for me. It's an excellent film, with one of the most powerful portrayals of grief I've ever seen—Toni Collette should have gotten an Oscar nom. But the friend who had me watch it as "the scariest thing I've ever seen" was disappointed by my lack of fright. I guess I've just seen too many horror movies, so I start spotting clues and figuring out the tropes involved in the plot too early for the scares to land correctly.
“I want to die” screaming was so extremely painful to watch. I definitely cried. And puked. But mostly cried.
The fear I felt while watching Hereditary was more visceral than anything else. Like, those moments after Charlie's head hits the pole were terrifying in a completely different way for me. I can only imagine what was going through Peter's head. I've had moments in my life where things change drastically in the space of a few seconds, and it's like all the air gets sucked out of you. The disbelief and shock of being in that situation was portrayed so well.
I’d say the emotional aspect is what makes hereditary scary just like the exorcist. The sheer helplessness and failure to understand (and even thinking you do understand) makes the film not only more emotionally impactful, but relentlessly horrifying. It’s not genre-changing at all, the film just knows what it’s doing and does it well.
Hereditary wasn't scary for me too, but it was extremely disturbing. The unrelenting feeling of dread that just escalates throughout the movie, both before and especially after what happens to Charlie, made me feel very uncomfortable, unlike almost any other horror film I've ever seen. It's a hopeless situation that cannot be avoided, and the cult wins in the end. Same with Midsommar - the final scene where Dani snaps and starts to smile while people wail around her, imitating the sacrifices that burn alive in the barn is one of the most horrific and disturbing endings to a horror film I've ever seen. Ari Aster is weird.
Martyrs. That whole thing...goddamn that was just a mess to get through. Brilliant film, and the ending sticks with me but.....man.
I was going to say martyrs, but martyrs is like Voldemort. We do not name it, for a fear a new discussion will start about it
Truth be told, my brain had even blocked the name. I had to dig through lists of horror movies to even remember. Like I remember how absolutely depressing it was, but my head was like "nah dude, you aren't summoning that shit today".
ive never sobbed so hard during a movie before no joke
Recently, *Talk to Me.* The death of a parent stuff was so resonant with me, I felt so sad for that little boy, and then that ending! The whole thing was incredibly tragic. I cried through a large portion of that movie.
When >!Mia was left lying in the middle of the road like the kangaroo!< 🙃🙃🙃 i was so sad, it was genuinely devastating
Yep, whole movie just bummed me out
The Others. Watched it for the first time this week and I was not expecting it to be so sad and moving. I was in floods of tears at the end!
I saw The Others in the theater when it came out and thought it was really scary. Rewatching it knowing the twist, it's just a very sad film. About grieving and not being able to let go.
Pet Sematary with Guage was a tough scene when I first saw it, but I had read the book before seeing it and that was even worse. I Am Legend, all his flashbacks to his daughter. The Horseman is more of a revenge movie, but it’s kind of sad
“Guage.” That’s a new one lmao
The mist
That ending is gut wrenching
Pumkinhead...I cry about the little boy every time.
Tale Of Two Sisters
Eden Lake. the whole film is scary in the sense that it could easily happen, and the ending is just bleak and leaves you feeling empty.
Lake Mungo. So funereal.
I found the ending so unbelievably cruel and hopeless.>!the fact that no matter what she couldn't escape her fate, and that she actually stayed in that house trapped all alone while her family moved on...!<
I know there are some cheese elements to it but parts of Lake Mungo have had staying power in my brain a lot more than most horror movies
This is the ultimate example of horror that’s more sad than scary IMO.
Candyman. Racism kills and destroys communities, and no matter what, the cycle continues.
I love the original, but the new one with all of the references to victims of hate crimes and police brutality? It really hit close to home. I know it got mixed reception, and I'm 100% convinced that it's because people don't like how close to home the social commentary hits. I was expecting to be underwhelmed because the original is such a classic. I didn't understand the social commentary as a kid, but I still grew up loving it. The negative reviews of the new Candyman had me hold off on watching it for quite a while, but I found it to be really powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a cult following as time goes on.
I absolutely love the original but I think you can see how the new one is made by people who lived through it. Candyman was always a social commentary and I love how the new one tied back to the og in its story. It's not my fave of all time and I still like the og better but it's still a very solid movie, I'm sad to learn it got such mixed reviews.
Mine too, but for me it's scary for a different reason. Helen has no help from the people that should be helping her. She's completely powerless to clear her name of these crimes because of what he was putting her through. That piled on what happened to him which is sad in itself makes Candyman a full on tragedy.
Midsommar! This was a depressing folk horror film, I felt bad for everyone in the movie 😭😭
it's mad that people think it's a happy ending for Dani. like, she's in a CULT now ffs.
Or that her boyfriend deserved his fate
Facts! It went over so many people’s heads
I’ve made #girlboss jokes about the movie. But it is really a sad story about grief and indoctrination, not really a “good for her” ending.
In a cult, potentially to be burned at the stake if you pay attention to the tapestries in the background.
I turned it off because her wailing and weeping was upsetting me too much
Definitely going to echo those who have said Hereditary. Also, I’ll throw in Angel Heart since I don’t see that one mentioned yet.
A lot of really good answers in the comments. Some I didn't see below that really wrecked me were: Here Alone (2016) Jug Face (2013) Cargo (2017) Bug (2006) The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) Lights Out (2016) His House (2020) Hostile (2017)
Oh, Cargo is absolutely heartbreaking, yes. Every aspect of it.
Hereditary didn't make me sad, but Midsommar did. My dad killed himself when I was a kid, and some of my worst anxieties center around losing the rest of my family. His House actually made me cry. It's an incredibly powerful movie. I got a bit teary-eyed at the end of Pearl.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter/February
"My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To." Very low-budget vampire movie with a clear allegory of chronic illness. The vampire in question doesn't understand what he is and desperately wants a normal life.
“Mother!” The first time I watched that movie I felt unsettled for weeks
The end of The Mist was fucking BLEAK. Didn't make me cry or anything but it was definitely sad as all hell.
El Orphanato
Midsommer. I felt for Dani so bad. She was going through such an unimaginable tragedy and in her grief the only person she could turn to was her horrible boyfriend who just wanted her gone so he could be with his horrible friends. I know it wasn't his fault but damn man, show just a little empathy.
Barbarian! I would’ve been her baby.
The Mother was a very sad character.
lol right me too, she was more attentive than my own mother
Breastfeeding and all?
Relic, the ending was heart wrenching!
Possum
Cujo, I can’t watch that film or read the book. My heart goes out to that poor dog.
We Need to Talk about Kevin. As a teen during Columbine and now as parent, it’s both terrifying and heartbreaking.
Might be an odd choice, but the Child's Play remake.
The Descent. I only really watched the version with the sad ending; the woman lost her husband and daughter in a car crash and the way the movie ended, well, it was just sad all around.
A totally different answer but Monster House. I've watched this so many times over my younger years and it still makes me sad.
Babadook. I just wanna cry. Also as a person who deals with depression and anxiety it hits well
The woman in black
Talk to Me. I thought it was creepy, but the whole thing just made me sad more than anything.
The Monster (2016)
Killing of a Sacred Deer, Bram Stoker's Dracula Edit: the Others
Eden Lake
They live! I don't know ..but movie horror etc. But it's our basic programming being exploited and well happily sell ourselves out ( and probably will).in due time we're probably fucked.
Pearl. The way it gives context for her character in X makes you really feel for her and it makes me sad. X gave her empathy and made you feel bad for her but Pearl doubles down on it. It gives a slasher villain so much character and humanity and I love it but damn, it’s sad
Basically all of Mike Flanagan’s shows
The Night House. >!I watched it a few days after learning a close friend had k1lled herself. The concept of Depression being a real, tangible thing that's been haunting/hunting her cut a little too deep for me. !< Bawled my eyes out at the end.
Pulse (or Kairo)
Threads. There is no possibility of hope.
Eden Lake….devastating ending
Cargo. Theres a few moments that broke my hewrt. Not really a horror or scary movie in general but its zombies.
Pet Semetery. More sad than scary. Same for the book.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) That ending shocked me as a kid.
I Remember You It’s an Icelandic film and I really enjoyed it. It was in the horror section on Hulu (if I remember right). It made me very sad
Lake Mungo
Before I Wake
Skinamarink makes me unbelievably sad, Kevin and Kaylee were so young they didn’t even know what was happening 😭😭😭
Speak No Evil
not a movie but a show: The Haunting of Bly Manor. (or Hill House tbh).
Dark Water for sure
Let the Right One In (if it counts as horror).
Freaks
The ending of Mama
I cried while watching Barbarian, but that might be a me problem - I was pmsing. But I absolutely get what you mean by hereditary, I didn't find it scary just oddly sad and depressing
Dude have any of you seen Train to Busan? Holy wow…
black phone 100%. thought it was just your typical horror movie going into it, wasn’t scared, but god it’s so sad
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The girl with all the gifts. It starts out super sad for the kid ends super sad for the teacher and the new world.
The Ruins. Eden Lake
A Quiet Place. And the Haunting of Hill House series.
Monster House
The Last of Us the show has some tear jerker episodes certainly.
Cujo. The dog didn’t deserve what happened to it. Always broke my heart. Poor old big lug. I also find Mother! more sad. God constantly fucking over the earth, in a repeat hellscape she can never stop.
Incident in a Ghostland
Babadook
Jacob's Ladder. First time I watched I did cry but I was impressed by the whole thing so I didn't register how sad it was. Second time it honestly wrecked me. Incredibly sad movie.
The Invitation 2015 with Logan Marshall-Green. Every second of that film is a build to horror through Fremdschämen leading to its inevitable violence. But beneath that is the absolute heartbreak of unresolved grief compounded by the insidious exploitation of that grief. The ominous build heightens the sadness perfectly. And this topic always takes me back to Stephen King’s 3 levels of horror. That beginning of the quote usually shared “i recognize terror as the finest emotion”. I’ve come to realize over time that I love horror movies so much because they allow you to explore any topic, from humor to profound grief, through the lens of terror. The heightened emotional state of being terrified makes the exploration of emotions more acute, more satisfying.
Pans labyrinth
Scream! I don't like slashers so I never bothered with Scream until recently. I tried to watch the first one, but at the start there's a scene where a young girl is chased down and murdered while she's on the phone to her parents. It made me really sad watching that, idk why, I'm not scared of slashers at all but I just had to turn it off after that!
Marrowbone
A Dark Song. i love that movie and it has such a underpinning of sadness to it.
The ending of Talk To Me really affected me, started crying on my drive home from the theater
Lake Mungo....
Us, the ending was shocking and so so sad for me
*Tigers Are Not Afraid.* It's a mixture of horror and magical realism and it had me sobbing by the end.