12 Movie Endings We’re Not Okay With

Oh No They Didn't.

Who doesn't love a good movie with the perfect ending that leaves you on the edge of your seat? I'd even take a nice drama or rom-com where things work out in the end. Some movies, however, just miss the mark.

When it comes to making movies, ending them at the right time and place in the story is essential to a good audience experience. Writers and directors may love playing around with plot twists and surprise endings, but when these go sour, the one little change could ruin an entire feature film.

On this list, we've included some good movies with bad endings, as well as some bad movies with even worse endings! Anyone was fair game when it came to picking the top films that we would have stopped watching right then and there...except that they were already over.

Start the slideshow below to see 12 movies with absolutely terrible endings. SHARE with your friends if you agree, and let us know if we missed anything in the comments below!

1. "Batman" (1989)

Something I love and really respect about Batman—at least as depicted in the canon—is that he doesn't kill people. Typically, he just acts as the hand of justice in delivering Gotham's criminals to the authorities.

That's why it's just not okay when he grapples the Joker's leg to a gargoyle at the end of this movie and lets him fall to his death, thereby killing his arch nemesis. Uh, what just happened? Even the original comic with the Joker knew better than to go through with that.

2. "Halloween 4" (1988)

Halloween is one of the best horror franchises out there, surprisingly surviving the '80s when most teen horror saw ridiculous new lows. Each installment continued the horrifying saga of Michael Myers, bringing back fans time after time. This installment, however, has such a bad ending that we're left regretting even watching.

After successfully avoiding her psychopathic uncle for the entire film, little Jamie inexplicably takes on some of Michael Myers's evil by touching his hand. At the very end of the movie, she stabs her adoptive mom nearly to death, repeating the night that drove Myers insane in the first film. Between this annoying twist and Donald Pleasence painfully yelling "No!" for what feels like an eternity, the ending will have you crawling out of the movie theater. Awful.

3. "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" (1983)

Everybody loves a happy ending, but the popularity of the teddy bear-like Ewoks became too much of a good thing when we're forced to watch them dance their furry butts off for just a tad too long during the celebrations following the collapse of the Empire.

4. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)

These movies are epic, but there's just one thing that left a bad taste in our mouth: the ending. Somehow Bruce miraculously recovers from a broken back with virtually no modern medicine, and then he manages to sneak all the way from Asia into a quarantined Gotham.

Next, we find out that Bane wasn't even the real bad guy. Bane is one of the most notorious criminals and formidable enemies in Batman canon, and yet this movie decided to turn him into a puppet. A puppet with a silly voice, at that.

Lastly, the chances that Alfred sees the happy couple Bruce and Selina in Italy are astronomical, not to mention Blake happening upon the Batcave and leaving us wanting another sequel (which we're not getting, I guess). In general, just a terrible third act to an otherwise good movie and great franchise.

5. "Titanic" (1997)

There's no arguing that this is a great movie, but let's just address the scene I think really bothers all of us. And no — I'm not talking about Jack dying and drifting away into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. I'm not even talking about the ambiguous scene where we're left to wonder whether or not the elderly Rose is dead or just asleep in bed.
I'm talking about when Rose sneaks out of her cabin on the salvage ship in the middle of night and tosses the Heart of the Ocean—a priceless jewel—into the sea. Don't you have grandkids you want to set up trust funds for? What. A. Waste.

6. "Ghost Ship" (2002)

It's pretty safe to say that horror movies often abuse the plot twists and surprise endings, but Ghost Ship makes you want to throw your popcorn at the screen. The movie involves a pretty sweet mystery and plot twist, and it turns out the devil was among the salvage crew all along. This was an awesome development that we were all okay with.

Yet just when everything seems to have gone pretty well, and the demonic forces behind the ghost ship sent back to heck, the devil and his crew are seen boarding a new boat, ready to capture a thousand more souls. HOW? WHY? So frustrating.

7. "Signs" (2002)

M. Night Shyamalan is notorious for his plot twists and surprise endings. In fact, after a few successful runs, they became the hallmark of his suspense and horror films. As a whole, Signs is a good movie. It's filled with suspense, fun, and scares, and that quick moment where we see an alien on the news invading a Mexican birthday party has got to be one of the creepiest things ever.

Then the ending comes around, and we learn that water can kill the aliens. Tap water, actually. There's a big difference between a plot twist and a letdown, and this was certainly the latter.

Tap water. Smh.

8. "Night of the Living Dead" (1968)

One of the greatest zombies movies out there–and arguably the one that started it all–Romero's Night of the Living Dead is fantastic... until the ending. Just when you're so happy that at least one protagonist made it through the night from heck, Ben takes a bullet straight in the head from the cops. Give me a break.

9. "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001)

This entire film was a massive undertaking that was in the works for many years, with a final result feeling like a futuristic Pinocchio that dragged on maybe just a bit too long. Trapped under the waters of the rising sea for all eternity, David (Haley Joel Osment) is left staring at the Blue Fairy he'd chased for so long, hoping to become a real boy. As if that weren't depressing enough, David "dies" down and humans become extinct.

Then, thousands of years later, advanced alien-like-androids find David and bring his mother back to life, but only for one day. This is sort of like a failed fairytale that will leave you very unsure about David's entire saga. Just one day certainly doesn't sound advanced to me.

10. "Grease" (1978)

Hands down, Grease is one of my favorite movies of all time. I am in no way ashamed to admit that, and I'll even go so far as to say that Grease 2 is wonderfully entertaining and kitsch. Don't lie and pretend you don't love when "Summer Nights" comes on in a bar.

But then, just as the whole cast brings down the house while singing "We Go Together," and just as things all seem to be working out for the movie's couples, everything goes to sh*t. Because suddenly and for NO REASON at all, Danny and Sandy fly away in a flying car that the T-Birds fixed up in shop class (from stolen parts).

Why, Grease, why?

11. "Hide and Seek" (2005)

Easily one of the worst plot twists of all time, this thriller stars Robert DeNiro worrying about "Charlie," a murderer who seems to have interacted with his daughter on several occasions. Wouldn't you know, Charlie is actually a manifestation of DeNiro's split personality. AKA, DeNiro is Charlie.

This is like one step beyond saying "It was all a dream!" Lame and anticlimactic, this movie actually had five alternate endings, all succumbing to the same dramatic cliches.

12. "The Return of the King" (2003)

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By this point, you've watched hours on end of the Fellowship of the Ring trekking across Middle-earth, all to destroy one little piece of jewelry. And to be honest, it's been time well spent... until the ending.

The good news: the Ring and Sauron are destroyed. The bad news: the movie goes on for another 45 minutes, tying up all the trivial loose ends and boring us half to death.