Everyone has seen at least a few movies with ambiguous endings. These are the endings that make Reddit threads go wild, and viewers have a hard time sleeping afterwards. "What did I just watch? What does it all mean?" These are just a few thoughts running through the minds of everyone after watching a movie with an ambiguous ending.
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Viewers' feelings are all over the place, as they're trying to piece together what they should be feeling after the experience. Some movies can be pieced together after a while, and a lucky few receive explanations from creators not long after the movie is released. But most of these mind-benders never get a satisfying conclusion, making fans either give up hope completely or forcing them to be satisfied with their own interpretation of the story.
10 Doubt (2008)
Anything starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman is sure to be a masterpiece. Yet, the audience wasn't ready for the ambiguous ending. While it's not the most mind-bending of ambiguous endings, it's still one of the more iconic conclusions in history, especially taking into account the build-up to the last seconds. But everyone knew what they were getting into; the title is literally Doubt. At this point, everyone asked for it.
Streep's character, Sister Aloysius, was convinced that Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has sexually assaulted a young boy. As the movie reaches its conclusion, the Sister's faith is shaken, and her last words are "I have doubts!" This emphasizes, that she's way in over her head and possibly was wrong all along, but the audience will never know what the truth actually is.
9 The Graduate (1967)
Some people don't like intense movies like Inception or Fight Club, but still want the thrill of an ambiguous ending they won't get over. For those people, The Graduate is the perfect movie. While the ending may serve as a reflection on the unrealistic endings of romantic comedies, it still leaves viewers with a knot in their stomachs. What's more, The Graduate does it so elegantly, with only the actors' facial expressions speaking loudly.
After going to incredible lengths to get the girl, Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) and Elaine (Katharine Ross) sit on a city bus, excited about their future. But it doesn't even take ten seconds for that excitement to become pure terror and confusion. As with most romantic movies, viewers will never truly know what comes after the happily ever after.
8 Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca has possibly the most unsatisfying ending ever, especially for the romantics out there. The entire movie, the build-up, the ups and downs were so beautiful and satisfying, yet the ending flopped on an unexpected cliff-hanger or some weird kind of ambiguous ending.
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Viewers will never know the fate of Ingrid and Paul, and Humphrey was just kind of left there with the barest hint of a future with…Claude? While it can't be said that the ending was an epic twist or classic cliffhanger, it still left many viewers with an empty feeling and a giant question mark above their heads.
7 The Shining (1980)
The Shining features possibly one of the most iconic movie endings of all time. Even those who haven't seen the movie know about it, and those who've seen it can't stop talking about it. Reading the book won't get anyone closer to the truth, as it leaves the same question lingering.
Even with the villain gone, this terrifying movie cuts to the credits with a just as terrifying ending, as viewers try to interpret the meaning of what they just saw. Is it an endless loop? What does this mean for the plot of the movie? What does this mean for the past of the hotel? So many unanswered questions. Maybe after watching it for the seventeenth time, they'll finally understand the riddle.
6 The One I Love (2014)
The One I Love works around an uncomfortable subject: What are people willing to ignore for the sake of love? Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) try to rekindle the romance in their marriage by going on a retreat.
Soon after, they realize that they're encountering their doppelgangers, who are trying to drive a wedge between them. Finally, Ethan's had enough and escapes the estate, taking Sophie with him. After they return home, it becomes clear that he's not sure "which Sophie" he ran away with. But he's willing to live in uncertainty, and unfortunately, this means viewers will have to as well.
5 Blade Runner (1982)
Another true classic, Blade Runner's ending is mind boggling. Rick (Harrison Ford) finds an origami figure he'd only seen in his dream. The movie made it clear that no one on Earth knew about these figures, ruling out the possibility of a practical joke.
Was his dream never a dream at all? Or is he dreaming at the end of the movie? While Ridley Scott attempted to explain the ending in later interviews, fans never truly got a satisfying explanation to this conundrum, leaving it unanswered possibly forever.
4 Inception (2010)
A modern classic, Christopher Nolan's Inception ended the way it started: in the middle of pure chaos and confusion. Anyone trying to grasp the story of the movie, not to mention the ending, has to watch it at least twice if not more. After a rollercoaster of feelings viewers didn't even know they had, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) finally gets the ending he deserved.
He's finally done it, finally fought his way back to his long lost family –but this is a Nolan movie. As Cobb twirls the top that spins eternally in a dream and falls in reality, a suspicious amount of time goes by. Just as the top wiggles a bit, the movie cuts to the credits. And because it's Christopher Nolan, fans are certain they'll just have to make do with this.
3 Enemy (2013)
Two identical people (both played by Jake Gyllenhaal) find each other and think, "Neat, let's do a little switch". Ultimately, only one is left standing, taking over the other's life and family. A beautifully made psychological thriller, this film's ending makes people sit through the credits.
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After the doppelgänger left standing walks into the bedroom, instead of seeing "his wife", he sees a room-sized tarantula. Even more frustrating, he doesn't seem surprised at all. Viewers receive absolutely no explanation for why the movie ended like that, or what it means. There are a few promising interpretations, but none of them make the ending actually satisfying.
2 The Thing (1983)
The most terrifying end of all: uncertainty. While all movies with ambiguous endings leave people wondering, The Thing does it in an especially thrilling way. After watching the movie, people walked around in irrational fear that their friends are actually aliens.
Monstrous aliens attack people on the Antarctic outpost. Only two make it through the attack (Kurt Russell and Keith David), and as they're trying to stay warm and survive, a sense of calm takes over the viewers. The evil is gone, the good guys survive. But right before the credits, the audience sees that both survivors are sure that the other one is possessed by an alien. Exceptional writing and directing meet, and the audience leaves with knots in their stomachs.
1 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
One of the classics of movie history, the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey is a buffet of exceptional film-making. Viewers don't even dare to blink. The finale, "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" features astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) being transported after encountering one of the monoliths.
After that, he appears in a bedroom by himself and rapidly ages, finally transforming into a Star Child. This meaningful and suggestive ending is never actually explained, but hints at all sorts of different interpretations. It's a remarkable piece of film, and viewers everywhere remember it like it was yesterday.