20 Best Movie Endings Ever
This is my list of what I feel to be the 20 best movie endings of all-time. Being as such, be advised, there may be spoilers included. If a movie that is generally known as a "good ending" film doesn't appear here, it doesn't mean I've forgotten to include it - it just means that I wasn't as impressed with the ending as others were or I haven't seen it yet. These are presented in no particular order. Feel free to leave your opinions and comments below.
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- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteMalcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife."I see dead people" - and indeed he does. This one is a no-brainer when it comes to awesome movie endings. Imagine the shock of finding out that you aren't really alive at all - that you are one of the dead people he sees, and have been all along. A jaw dropping revelation.
- DirectorPhil JoanouStarsRichard GereKim BasingerUma ThurmanA psychiatrist becomes romantically involved with the sister of one of his patients, but the influence of her controlling gangster husband threatens to destroy them both.When I was going in to see this one, I asked someone coming out, "So, how was it?" He replied, "You need a psych degree to see this one". I wasn't really sure what he meant until the final reveal. Without giving anything away, I will just say when the final words of the movie are spoken, I get a chill down my spine ... every time.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSusan SarandonGeena DavisHarvey KeitelTwo best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two women escape for the crimes they committed."Let's keep going." Knowing what this means, Thelma and Louise grasp hands, hit the gas pedal in their convertible and plunge themselves off the top of a cliff to their death in one of the most iconic endings to a movie ever filmed. I loved this movie.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsRichard BohringerMichael GambonHelen MirrenAt Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.This is one of the most unusual movies I've ever seen, but what an ending! Let's just say that the "thief" in this film gets his just deserts. This one-ups Fried Green Tomatoes in a big way. Bon appetit!
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsRalph MacchioPat MoritaElisabeth ShueA martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.One of my all-time favorite movies with one of my all-time favorite endings. The now famous crane kick is one of the most memorable and emulated endings ever filmed. It is one of the best feel-good endings you can ever hope to see.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsJason PatricCorey HaimDianne WiestAfter moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.Great movie - after all the carnage, blood and vampirism, the family is standing together at the end gasping for air when Grandpa casually grabs a drink from the fridge, and says: "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach - all the damn vampires". LOL, he knew all along.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsNicole KidmanChristopher EcclestonFionnula FlanaganIn 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.A dark and brooding film, a woman and her two children are haunted by sounds and visions of "others" who inhabit their house. In the final reveal however, we find it to be quite the opposite and the reason behind it is even more startling.
- DirectorRobert HiltzikStarsFelissa RoseJonathan TierstenKaren FieldsBunks and showers are a mad stabber's beat at a summer camp strictly for teens.Yeah, you are seeing this correctly. In a movie that was cringe-worthy and laughable at best throughout its entirety, the ending made me stop and my jaw dropped. Wow ... how could such a terrible film have such a good ending? Unbelievable.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Classic movie with one of THE best endings ever filmed. Even after we are shocked with the knife wielding, wig wearing dutiful son in the dirty, dark basement - we are given one last little treat on the way out. "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly"...
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England."The prisoner wishes to say a word." - William Wallace in excruciating pain looks heavenward and screams with all of his strength and soul, "Freedom!" Wow ... simply wow. Knowing this means his death, we shout that along with him. Unforgettable moment, unforgettable ending.
- DirectorMichelle MacLarenStarsDavid AmesLeigh EnnsSusan KelsoA census-taker (Sisto) is sent to investigate why a certain small town has had the same population -- 436 residents -- for the last 100 years.In an otherwise drab film, the final chapter was pretty amazing. How has this town managed to keep itself at a population of only 436 for all these years? When the curtain drops and you realize the answer to that question, it may just shock you.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyEdward NortonAn altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.This is one of the best psychological thrillers I can remember ever seeing. We are all completely fooled until the very end when our killer is revealed, leaving us just as shocked as the story's main character, and in a stupor. We are left standing on the sidewalk with the same chills he is undoubtedly experiencing at that moment.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.A vietnam war vet is haunted by unknown forces in his quest to find out what really happened to him behind enemy lines. Well, when we finally DO find out what happened to him, we can hardly believe it. What a great story with an even better ending.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff GoldblumWhen strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.This is my personal favorite film version of this classic story. We follow a group of friends as they do their best to avoid detection by an alien force that has inhabited earth. At the end, when one of the friends approaches the other, what he does to her will make your skin crawl.
- DirectorSylvester StalloneStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungRocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch."Yo, Adrian! I did it!" - your spirits are lifted, as a battered, bloodied and victorious Rocky Balboa stands in the middle of the ring crying out to his wife. One of the best movies in the Rocky franchise with one of the best endings in all of movie history.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.One of the very best Stephen King adaptations, The Shawshank Redemption delivers on all counts, especially in the very end. When all is revealed and discovered, you just can't help but smile in guilty pleasure. Bravo, bravo!
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim MathesonJennifer Jason LeighWilliam AthertonA husband finds out that his wife and her lover are trying to kill him.This was a made-for-tv movie, but it has one of the best endings I have ever seen in a film. Memorable for sure. A man is able to escape the diabolical plan of his wife and her lover to have him murdered, instead exacting his own style of justice in the end. Loved it.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup."Who is Keyser Söze?" - well, when we find out exactly who he is, it is pretty much a guarantee that you will never forget this iconic moment in film history. Yes, just like in another entry on this list "Primal Fear", we are all completely fooled until the very end.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.One of the darkest, and perhaps sickest entries on this list - it features an ending you will not see coming. And once you've had time to digest what you've just been exposed to, and the diabolical plan behind it, you want to stop and watch the whole movie over again.
- DirectorJames WanStarsCary ElwesLeigh WhannellDanny GloverTwo strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.This movie has been placed on "worst ending" lists, but to me this was one of the most original and best endings to a film I've ever seen. I'm not a big fan of this particular series overall, but this very first film with it's final revelation actually made me say "Holy sh*t!" - LOL