I guess this can apply to any type of literature, but movies and TV are probably the main area where this is relevant.

Anyways, what do you guys think of depressing/downer/nihilistic endings? It seems to have become an obsession among movie-watchers, and whenever a serious movie has a happy or neutral ending, you have asswipes complaining that the ending wasn't dark enough. What's with the obsession with depressing endings?

I personally don't have any inherent problem with downer endings, but there's a time and a place for it. For instance, people complained about 28 Days Later because Jim survived. His death wouldn't have added anything to the film, so why on Earth would you want the main character to die? Recently I was on the message board for The Fall. A few morons wanted Roy to commit suicide in the end, despite the 2-hour journey that was all about him recovering emotionally. Not only would his death have added nothing to the film, it would have destroyed the significance of what came before it.

Downer endings can work perfectly sometimes...it just has to fit the overall tone. Like, the Dawn of the Dead remake was all about how fucked the survivors were, so the downer ending was perfectly fitting (though I do appreciate them offering a neutral/happy ending before the credits). I also don't think The Blair Witch Project would have worked half as well if it had ended on a happy note. Same with Saw...if everything turned out well and Jigsaw got arrested/killed, it wouldn't be very chilling at all.

So what do you guys think? Am I the only one that gets sick of people wanting a depressing ending for every single serious movie that comes out?

Old ladies just wanna get around town,
they don't want to sit next to something brown,
You're vile, disgusting, revolting and black
so keep walking nigger
and get in the back

Back of the bus, back of the bus, we don't want you to sit near us (x2)

That stupid fucking chimp Rosa Parks was a cunt, that brain-damaged monkey tried to sit in the front,
she forgot that she was from an inferior class,
If she was here now i'd kick her primate ass

Back of the bus, back of the bus, we don't want you to sit near us (x2)

You stupid fucking ugly nigger piece of shit,
You'd better find yourself another place to sit,
When you get on the bus you'd better walk by,
'Cause if you sit in the front you're gonna die.

Back of the bus, back of the bus, we don't want you to sit near us

Chinatown has a nice little downer of an ending. Just watched it recently.

A lot of the time having a more depressing ending is more realistic for movies that have been depressing all the way through. Like you were saying, the Blair Witch Project or Saw would have been fucking stupid if everything worked out in the end because the whole movie was leading up to the depressing ending.

no country for old men great movie until the final few moment....still pisses me off

There's nothing better than a well-done happy ending. See Raising Arizona for example.

fucking AWESOME movie. One of, if not, my favorite movie

But The Mist is the king of depressing, but lulzy, endings.

Hard Candy.

The pedo definitively didn't get away with it.