This article contains major spoilers for multiple movies.

A movie's end should bring a sense of closure, and leave audiences feeling satisfied. While a good ending shouldn't be entirely predictable (some of the best movies have had surprising conclusions), it should certainly match what came before it. Sometimes, however, an ending will miss the mark. It might try to be too clever or come as such a huge surprise that it doesn't provide any satisfaction for the audience, or leaves them wanting more.

A great movie will make sure that the audience gets attached to its characters. As such, the ending should fit their journey, but they may surprise viewers in an unpleasant way. These bad endings sometimes sacrifice previously established goodwill in favor of an unearned surprise. Others go too far and shatter the audience's suspension of disbelief.

Updated by Fawzia Khan on March 12th, 2024: Watching a movie requires interest, patience, and investment from the audience, which is why it can be jarring when a movie can't stick its landing. There are plenty of movies that captivated viewers with a fantastic story and engrossing characters, but had endings that just didn't match the story. This list has been updated with new formatting and information about the same.

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25 Grease Suddenly Had Surreal Elements At the End

Olivia Newton John and John Travolta on the Grease Poster
Grease
PG

Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?

Director
Randal Kleiser
Release Date
June 16, 1978
Cast
Olivia Newton-John , John Travolta , Stockard Channing , Jeff Conaway
Runtime
1 hour 50 minutes
Main Genre
Musical

IMDb Rating

7.2

Rotten Tomatoes Score

66%

Metacritic Score

70

The summer romance between exchange student Sandy and roguish greaser Danny is iconic for many reasons, but many elements were questionable especially Sandy's transformation at the end of Grease. After spending the entire movie as a demure good girl, it was quite unexpected to see her suddenly flip and become a provocative greaser herself.

Many viewers found this makeover demeaning, but the clincher was the final sequence. The end saw Danny and Sandy getting into a car, which literally flew into the sunset, after which the movie ended. Since there had been no hints of surrealism in the movie beforehand, this was a weird touch. This rushed and nonsensical ending has left audiences scratching their heads to date.

24 Remember Me Went From Love Story to 9/11 Movie

Robert Pattinson and Emilie De Ravin embrace in the poster of Remember Me
Remember Me
PG-13
Drama

A romantic drama centered on two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder.

Director
Allen Coulter
Release Date
March 1, 2010
Cast
Robert Pattinson , Emilie de Ravin , Chris Cooper , Lena Olin
Runtime
1 hour 53 minutes
Main Genre
Romance

IMDb Rating

7.1

Rotten Tomatoes Score

26%

Metacritic Score

40

Largely a coming-of-age movie, Remember Me was sweet and relatable, but only up till its end. Tyler and Ally's budding relationship and Caroline's bullying problems were elements of an evocative young adult movie, and their story was building up in a tender direction before the writers blew it up for shock value.

The movie strayed in the wrong direction in the final moments when Caroline's teacher wrote out the date -- Tuesday, September 11, 2001 -- on the blackboard, and Tyler was seen sitting in his father's office in the World Trade Center. This sudden change in course threw audiences off greatly, for many reasons. Using a national tragedy as a plot twist didn't sit well with many viewers and critics, and they felt misled by what the movie had promised to be. The earlier buildup was also totally wasted.

23 The Grey Didn't Commit To A Conclusion

The Grey
The Grey
R
Adventure
Drama

After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.

Director
Joe Carnahan
Release Date
January 27, 2012
Cast
Liam Neeson , Dermot Mulroney , Frank Grillo
Writers
Joe Carnahan , Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
Runtime
1 Hour 57 Minutes
Main Genre
Action
Production Company
Open Road Films (II), Inferno Distribution, LD Entertainment

IMDb Rating

6.7

Rotten Tomatoes Score

80%

Metacritic Score

64

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Liam Neeson's John Ottway led The Grey, a survivalist movie that enthralled audiences with its premise, but had little payoff in the finale. After a plane crash, Ottway, a known survivalist and expert on grey wolves, leads the group of victims away from the lethal animals so thst they don't get attacked.

Towards the end, a shocking plot twist emerges — Ottway has led the survivors right into the mouth of the wolves, instead of the opposite direction. This made little sense since the protagonist was supposed to be an expert. Even so, audiences were prepared for a tense and action-filled fight between Ottway and the wolves, but it ended rather anticlimactically with the animal and human lunging at each other, which faded to black. The post-credits scene added even more confusion, as it showed both the Alpha wolf and Ottway in the aftermath of the battle, alive but only barely.

Ottway runs in the snow with a knife in his hand in The Grey

22 Planet of the Apes

Tim Burton's Planet of The Apes featuring warrior apes on horses.
Planet of the Apes (2001)
PG-13
Action
Adventure

In 2029, an Air Force astronaut crash-lands on a mysterious planet where evolved, talking apes dominate a race of primitive humans.

Director
Tim Burton
Release Date
July 27, 2001
Cast
Mark Wahlberg , Helena Bonham Carter , Tim Roth
Writers
Pierre Boulle , William Broyles Jr. , Lawrence Konner
Runtime
2 Hours
Main Genre
Sci-Fi
Production Company
Twentieth Century Fox, The Zanuck Company, Tim Burton Productions

IMDb Rating

5.7

Rotten Tomatoes Score

44%

Metacritic Score

50

Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes was a visually beautiful movie, and his apes were compelling with their unique personalities. Unfortunately, the ambiguous ending of the movie detracted from the rest of the good parts. After escaping Ashlar and traveling through time again, Leo ended up back on Earth, except everything was not as it seemed.

Instead of the Lincoln Memorial as Leo had expected, stood a statue of General Thade, the commander of the ape forces. The connection between the crashing of Oberon on another planet and Earth becoming ape-dominated was not established clearly making for a confusing ending. Thade had already been defeated in the future, so him ruling Earth in the past didn't make sense, and no real explanation was provided in the movie.

General Thade looks dangerous in Planet of the Apes

21 Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Was Not Faithful to the Book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 movie poster
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two
PG-13
Fantasy
Family

Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.

Director
David Yates
Release Date
July 15, 2011
Studio
Warner Bros.
Cast
Daniel Radcliffe , Rupert Grint , Emma Watson , Ralph Fiennes , Helena Bonham Carter , Jason Isaacs , Alan Rickman , Maggie Smith , Tom Felton , Warwick Davis , Julie Walters , Robbie Coltrane
Runtime
130 minutes
Main Genre
Adventure

IMDb Rating

8.1

Rotten Tomatoes Score

96%

Metacritic Score

85

The final installment of the Harry Potter series was highly anticipated, especially to see how Voldemort and Harry's saga ended. With rich source material, it was expected to be a faithful recreation. However, for the sake of visual excitement and drama, there were some changes made to the final scenes.

Voldemort disintegrated into ash instead of being a normal dead body, which was the entire point of his death -- that he was just a mere mortal like everyone else. Harry broke the Elder Wand and threw it into nothingness, which went against what happened in the book, too. Moreover, the convoluted flying fight scene between Voldemort and Harry before the final fight only served to disappoint fans. These took away from the meaningfulness of the conclusion of the series, cheapening it with gimmicks.

20 Law Abiding Citizen Should Have Let Clyde Win

IMDb Rating

7.4

Rotten Tomatoes Score

26%

Metacritic Score

34

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Law Abiding Citizen isn't a bad film, but it holds itself back by refusing to let Clyde win. Clyde's journey toward revenge for his family's death is compelling. He's interesting even before he meets Nick Rice, who tries to reason with Clyde. Understandably, Clyde finds it difficult to take advice from the man who has caused most of his problems.

Law Abiding Citizen is a rare film that needs a dark ending. Everything it does sets up Clyde's ultimate victory and his achieving his revenge at all costs. Instead, the ending sees Clyde fall for an obvious trap laid by Rice, which made little sense. It's not satisfying, not an effective twist, and not a good way to handle either character.

Jamie Foxx's character talking to Gerard Butler's in Law Abiding Citizen movie.

19 No Country For Old Men Ended With a Disjointed Monologue

No Country For Old Men
No Country for Old Men
R
Crime
Thriller
Drama

Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.

Director
Ethan Coen , Joel Coen
Release Date
November 9, 2007
Studio
Miramax Films
Cast
Tommy Lee Jones , Javier Bardem , Josh Brolin
Writers
Joel Coen , Ethan Coen , Cormac McCarthy
Runtime
122 minutes
Main Genre
Drama

IMDb Rating

8.2

Rotten Tomatoes Score

93%

Metacritic Score

92

The tale of the hunter who chances upon money from a drug deal, and the killer who chases him makes for a compelling watch, but No Country for Old Men loses its touch by the end. Many viewers consider the film a great watch until its closing monologue. For most of its runtime, the film closely follows Chigurh and Llewelyn's story. They're both compelling; Anton Chigurh is mesmerizing and Llewelyn is resourceful and likable. The film invites the viewer to connect with its characters.

However, near No Country's end, Chigurh kills Llewelyn entirely off-screen. The story then wraps up Anton Chigurh's narrative with a random car crash and closes out with a monologue. Despite a solid setup packed with chills and thrills, the film sort of peters out. Nothing feels resolved in this ending, which was sad because the rest of the movie was so good.

Sheriff Bell glaring in No Country for Old Men movie.

18 Thor: Ragnarok Sacrificed Its Ending For Continuity in the MCU

Thor Ragnarok Film Poster
Thor: Ragnarok
PG-13
Superhero
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Fantasy
Comedy
6
10

Imprisoned on the planet Sakaar, Thor must race against time to return to Asgard and stop Ragnarök, the destruction of his world, at the hands of the powerful and ruthless villain Hela.

Director
Taika Waititi
Release Date
November 3, 2017
Studio
Marvel Studios
Cast
Chris Hemsworth , Tessa Thompson , Tom Hiddleston , Mark Ruffalo , Jeff Goldblum , Cate Blanchett , Idris Elba , Karl Urban
Runtime
130 minutes
Main Genre
Superhero
Franchise
Marvel Cinematic Universe

IMDb Rating

7.9

Rotten Tomatoes Score

93%

Metacritic Score

74

The unique nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe allows it to change its films' endings. Most MCU movies lead into at least one other film, but few do so as directly as Thor: Ragnarok. The final scene of the film sees the defeat of Hela, but also the destruction of Asgard as they knew it.

It leads directly into the opening of Avengers: Infinity War. Unfortunately, it does so at its own expense.Thor: Ragnarok shows Thor, Loki, and their allies struggling to protect the people of Asgard. At great cost, they manage to evacuate the population. It's a hard-fought, heroic, and satisfying victory. To lead into Infinity War, the film has to end with Thanos' attack. Ultimately, the protagonists achieve little, and the Asgardians get decimated anyway.

Thor and Loki see Thanos' ship in Thor: Ragnarok ending.

17 La La Land Separated the Main Couple

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land
La La Land

While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.

IMDb Rating

8

Rotten Tomatoes Score

91%

Metacritic Score

94

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La La Land is a beautiful musical romance, and the chemistry between Sebastien and Mia is electrifying. However, its ending disappoints many viewers, especially romantics. The central couple decides to go their own ways and pursue their careers rather than the relationship. This is not necessarily terrible, but it simply doesn't meet the expectations the film establishes. From the start, Sebastian and Mia are dreamers who support one another while pursuing their goals.

The two break up by La La Land's end, and it's unclear whether this was the correct choice. La La Land almost manages to have its cake and eat it by showing a montage of them fantasizing about their life together. However, things still feel too bittersweet to match the rest of the film.

16 Bullet Train Became Too Absurd At The End

Brad Pitt in the front on the Bullet Train movie poster
Bullet Train
R
Comedy
Thriller

Five assassins aboard a swiftly-moving bullet train find out that their missions have something in common.

Director
David Leitch
Release Date
August 5, 2022
Cast
Brad Pitt , Joey King , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Brian Tyree Henry , Hiroyuki Sanada , Andrew Koji , Michael Shannon , Bad Bunny , Sandra Bullock
Writers
Zak Olkewicz
Runtime
126 minutes
Tagline
The End of the Line Is Just the Beginning
Main Genre
Action
Where to watch
Netflix
Studio(s)
87North Productions , Columbia Pictures

IMDb Rating

7.3

Rotten Tomatoes Score

54%

Metacritic Score

74

Bullet Train is an unexpected delight of an action film. It's funny, stylish, original, and stuffed with great action scenes. A large part of its unique tone comes from its ruthless self-indulgence. Bullet Train delights in coincidences, happenstance, and unbelievable action scenes. These work for most of the film.

Bullet Train's ending tips it over the edge into absurdity, however. A water bottle gets a backstory flashback. Ladybug's flight through the train is stopped by a mascot's costume. Lemon survives certain death to kill the Prince. Ryan Reynolds appears in a distracting cameo. It just goes too far and upsets the audience's suspension of disbelief. It was too scattered to be believed.

Brad Pitt as Ladybug holds a briefcase in Bullet Train.

15 Source Code's Ending Went Against In-Universe Laws

IMDb Rating

7.5

Rotten Tomatoes Score

92%

Metacritic Score

74

A good ending should catch the audience off-guard, but it shouldn't have to lie to do so. Source Code repeatedly states that the film's plot device isn't time travel or a new world: It's a simulation made from the last memories of bombing victims. Every time protagonist Colter Stevens goes into the Source Code, he only has a limited time -- up until the ending.

Source Code builds toward a grim climax. Stevens accepts his death in the real world and asks for his life support to be switched off. He only asks to go back into the Source Code once more. When he does, he manages to hijack another man's body and live a full life inside the Code. It breaks the film's rules with little justification. The results are more baffling than profound.

Colter Stevens in the capsule in Source Code movie.

14 The Shape Of Water Lost Its Message in its Ending

The Shape of Water movie poster
The Shape of Water
R
Drama
Romance

At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

Director
Guillermo del Toro
Release Date
December 22, 2017
Studio
TSG Entertainment, Double Dare You
Cast
Sally Hawkins , Octavia Spencer , Michael Shannon , Richard Jenkins , Doug Jones , Michael Stuhlbarg
Writers
Guillermo del Toro , Vanessa Taylor
Runtime
123 minutes
Main Genre
Fantasy

IMDb Rating

7.3

Rotten Tomatoes Score

92%

Metacritic Score

87%

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The Shape of Water is a visual masterpiece that deserves numerous awards. The movie's story is beautiful, and the audience can truly feel the love between Elisa and the amphibious man. Their fundamental incompatibility forms the foundations of this story. The ending, however, does not live up to the rest of the film's greatness.

The Shape Of Water runs the risk of being cliché with its ending. There's tension throughout the film about the sheer incompatibility of the two characters. However, The Shape of Water ends with Elisa sprouting gills and joining her lover in the water, which was an odd choice for a movie that aimed to be profound. For such a serious film, its ending still made it feel like an inverted version of Disney's The Little Mermaid.

the shape of water guillermo del toro trailer header

13 The Wolverine Had A Jarring Antagonist at The End

The Wolverine Movie Poster
The Wolverine
PG-13
Superhero
Action
Adventure
7
10
Director
James Mangold
Release Date
July 26, 2013
Cast
Hugh Jackman , Tao Okamoto , Will Yun Lee , Rila Fukushima
Runtime
126 minutes
Main Genre
Superhero

IMDb Rating

6.7

Rotten Tomatoes Score

71%

Metacritic Score

61

The Wolverine is one of the more divisive entries in the uneven X-Men film franchise. Fans like it and many others overlook it. Nonetheless, it's a well-made film for most of its runtime. It has plenty of scenes of relatively grounded action, but the film's focus is squarely on Wolverine's trauma and the consequences of his long life.

The Wolverine is a surprisingly sober, respectful, and serious film. In its climax, Ichirō Yashida reveals himself to be the film's villain and attacks in a robotic Silver Samurai suit. This strange comic book villain is completely at odds with the rest of the film and its tone, and it cheapens the audience's entire experience.

Ichirō Yashida as the Silver Samurai in The Wolverine.

12 West Side Story Had a Hollow Ending

West Side Story offiicial poster
West Side Story
PG-13
Romance
Drama

In 1957 New York City, two rival gangs, the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks, clash over territorial boundaries and cultural differences. Tony, a former Jet yearning for a better life, falls in love with Maria, the sister of the Sharks' leader, Bernardo. Their forbidden love story unfolds amidst escalating tensions and violence, highlighting the destructive nature of prejudice and the power of hope in the face of adversity.

Director
Steven Spielberg
Release Date
December 10, 2021
Studio
20th Century Studios, Amblin Entertainment
Cast
Ansel Elgort , Rachel Zegler , Ariana DeBose , David Alvarez , Mike Faist , Josh Andrés Rivera
Runtime
2h:36min
Main Genre
Musical

IMDb Rating

7.1

Rotten Tomatoes Score

92%

Metacritic Score

85

West Side Story adapts Romeo and Juliet's narratives with some significant changes. It takes place in 1950s New York City and focuses on warring gangs made up of white and Puerto Rican youths. It also tweaks the ending significantly. Maria lives where Juliet dies, and Tony is murdered instead of taking his own life.

West Side Story's ending shows the gang feud, which resembles a Shakespearean plot, ending with Tony's murder and Maria's tearful monologue to both gangs. It's a powerful moment. However, it's undercut by the Jets' earlier actions. The film indicates that they've found peace and can move on with their lives. It doesn't address their attempted sexual assault of Anita in an earlier scene. This can make the ending ring hollow and incomplete.

Ansel Elgort as Tony and Rachel Zegler as Maria holding hands in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story

11 Lucy's Climax Defeated The Point of the Movie

IMDb Rating

6.4

Rotten Tomatoes Score

66%

Metacritic Score

62

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Lucy was an all-around great film up until its finale, detailing the journey of the titular charater who ends up with miraculous abilities after being a part of a drug deal. Sadly, it lands on a rather odd note. Instead of following the same logic as the rest of the film, the end runs in a different direction, leaving many viewers in disbelief. By the movie's end, Lucy is using 100% of her brain.

She becomes the equivalent of a supercomputer and is overtaken by a black substance. The movie closes as Lucy seemingly disappears, leaving nothing but her knowledge behind. Lucy spends most of its runtime upholding the suspension of disbelief despite its unlikely premise. The ending pushes things too far and comes off as ridiculous.

Scarlett Johansson as Lucy using her psychokinetic powers.

10 I Am Legend Had To Have an Alternate Ending

Poster of the film I am Legend
I Am Legend
PG-13
Thriller
Zombie
Horror

Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

Director
Francis Lawrence
Release Date
December 14, 2007
Studio
Warner Bros.
Cast
Will Smith
Runtime
1 hour 41 minutes
Main Genre
Survival

IMDb Rating

7.2

Rotten Tomatoes Score

68%

Metacritic Score

65

I Am Legend details the dystopian world where Robert Neville is the lone survivor after a deadly virus outbreak. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up all that well in the current day. It was once considered a good movie once, but one that was marred by a terrible ending. Many viewers walk away unsatisfied with an over-the-top sacrifice that doesn't really make anything better.

Shortly after I Am Legend's release, however, the filmmakers released an alternate ending. Here, Will Smith's character, Neville, realizes he unwittingly caused much of the chaos. His capturing of the vampires' leader kicked off the film's events. The alternate ending is better, even if neither lives up to the original novel's denouement.

Will Smith with his dog in I Am Legend movie.

9 Inception's Ending Didn't Pay Off

The characters of Inception on an empty street on the poster of the film
Inception
PG-13
Action
Adventure

A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.

Release Date
July 8, 2010
Studio
Warner Bros.
Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio , Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Marion Cotillard , Cillian Murphy , elliot page , Michael Caine , Tom Hardy
Runtime
2 hours 28 minutes
Main Genre
Science Fiction

IMDb Rating

8.8

Rotten Tomatoes Score

87%

Metacritic Score

84

Inception is easily one of the greatest movies of all time, with complex layers of reality and dreams within dreams. The premise allows fans to apply themselves intellectually and look for the right answers to all of its questions. The effects are amazing, and the story is compelling despite its constant exposition.

However, its infamous twist ending eclipses everything about the rest of the film. Its characters, concepts, and daring heist plot haven't made a fraction of the impact its final shot has. In Inception's ending, Cobb spins his totem, a top. The film cuts away before he can find out if the top spins forever or not. This ending casts the entire film in a new light but makes much of the movie irrelevant. Furthermore, either possibility contradicts the rest of the film. Overall, this ending is too clever and doesn't pay off.

Leonardo DiCaprio looking at the spinning top in Inception.

8 Enemy Toed The Line Between Symbolism and Reality

IMDb Rating

6.9

Rotten Tomatoes Score

71%

Metacritic Score

61

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Enemy is everything a psychological drama should be. Adam Bell's obsession with his doppelganger Anthony Claire makes for thrilling material. Its plot deals with the interplay between the two men and the detrimental effects on themselves and their wives. Enemy matches its bizarre motifs and events with profound themes. However, this balance falls apart in its ending.

Enemy uses spiders as a symbol of corruption and the treatment of women. However, it restricts this to real-life spiders and elements in dreams. In its final scene, Adam looks back at Anthony's wife Helen and sees her transformed into a giant tarantula. It abandons the film's mostly believable moments to overindulge in motifs and symbols. It's also a nasty shock for those who have a strong fear of spiders.

Jake Gyllenhaal's Adam Bell meeting the identical Anthony Claire in Enemy movie

7 Soul's Ending Was Too Low Stakes

The Characters walking down a stairs of piano keys on the Soul Promo
Soul
PG
Animation
Adventure
Comedy

After landing the gig of a lifetime, a New York jazz pianist suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.

Director
Pete Docter , Kemp Powers
Release Date
December 25, 2020
Studio
Disney/Pixar
Cast
Jamie Foxx , Tina Fey , Graham Norton , Rachel House , Alice Braga , Richard Ayoade , Phylicia Rashad
Writers
Pete Docter , Mike Jones , Kemp Powers
Runtime
100 minutes
Main Genre
Animation

IMDb Rating

8

Rotten Tomatoes Score

95%

Metacritic Score

83

Soul is one of Pixar's most charming and profound films of recent years. Protagonist Joe Gardner attempts to return himself to life while accompanying the spirit 22. 22 struggles with a lack of passion that prevents her from becoming a person in her own right. 22 begins to develop a personality and proper spirit through her time in the real world in Joe's body.

The ending sees Joe give up his second chance at life so 22 can become a proper spirit and start her own life on Earth. It's a moving sacrifice that pays off a movie's worth of character development. At the last second, another spirit offers to resurrect Joe for helping 22. Soul ends up with a last-minute happy ending that takes away much of its stakes and poignancy.

Joe and 22 as spirits in Soul movie

6 Shutter Island Had An Unreliable Narrator

Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island
Shutter Island
R

Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.

Director
Martin Scorsese
Release Date
February 19, 2010
Studio
Paramount Pictures
Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio , Emily Mortimer , Mark Ruffalo
Runtime
2 hours 18 minutes
Main Genre
Thriller

IMDb Rating

8.2

Rotten Tomatoes Score

69%

Metacritic Score

63

Shutter Island twists and turns to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The movie has a great build-up until it reaches its climax, where all is lost. Throughout the movie, the audience follows Teddy Daniels: He's a US Marshall exploring the titular institution after a patient goes missing.

Shutter Island's end reveals that this isn't the case at all. Everything the audience watched throughout the film was a lie, and Teddy himself was the cause of most of the problems. Shutter Island makes use of a common plot twist and unveils its unreliable narrator at the end. However, this twist seems to come out of nowhere and leaves the film feeling hollow. Its ambiguous ending needs more substance.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Andrew Laeddis in Shutter Island movie.