A lot of great sci-fi movies end with memorable final scenes, and these can be the most emotionally devastating part of the entire movie. The final moments of a movie can change how an audience feels as they walk away, so a shift toward darkness can be hard to shake.

More so than most other genres, sci-fi tries to surprise the audience. Because there are unfamiliar and interesting concepts at play, there’s the possibility of shocking and depressing storytelling that other genres couldn’t even attempt. When this idea is well-executed, it can create an unforgettable finale.

10

Planet Of The Apes (1968)

Planet Of The Apes Ends With An Iconic Twist

It’s hard to put the ending of Planet of the Apes into context, because it’s already been spoiled countless times over the years, including the way that the prequel series unpacks the big reveal in forensic detail. Still, watching the original movie can have a lasting impact on audiences.

There’s an intense hopelessness to the reveal that George Taylor had been on Earth all along. It instantly changes the entire complexion of the story, while simultaneously banishing any doubt about the grim prospects of George’s future. There’s a reason it’s one of the most iconic plot twists in movie history.

9

District 9 (2009)

District 9 Ends With The Protagonist In The Place Of The Oppressed

District 9‘s ending delivers a darkly ironic twist, as Wilkus finally comes to understand the experiences of the aliens who he has been treating as second-class citizens in an apartheid state. The tragic part is that he is forced to live under the same oppressive system that he helped to perpetuate, just as he sees the true injustice of it all.

There have been reports about a District 9 sequel for years now, but the fact that it has taken so long adds another layer of tragedy to the original movie’s ending. Wilkus is forced to wait for Christopher to return from his home planet, but his fate is in limbo until a sequel comes to pᴀss.

8

Ad Astra (2019)

Ad Astra Is Just As Bleak As Its Source Material

Ad Astra is loosely inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, but it transposes the story of colonial horrors in Africa onto a spacebound sci-fi narrative with impressive scope. While this necessitates many changes, Ad Astra retains the same bleak feeling in its ending.

There are some rays of hope as Roy puts his past behind him, but these are overshadowed by the dark fate of his father. Clifford McBride spends the last years of his life holding onto bitter obsessions which ultimately poison his mind, and he would rather die than face the truth.

7

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One’s Ending Is Unusually Dark For Star Wars

Rogue One was the first Star Wars spinoff movie, and it does a few things to differentiate itself from the main continuity of the Skywalker Saga. One thing that immediately stands out is the ending, which is unbelievably dark for the standards of the franchise. It would be a shock if any of the upcoming Star Wars movies echoed this bleak tone.

Rogue One introduces a whole cast of characters who aren’t in the original trilogy, which means that they have to be killed off before the narrative catches up to A New Hope. Since Rogue One, the Star Wars series Andor has added even more depth to the final battle on Scarif.

6

Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation’s Ending Casts A New Light On The Beginning

Annihilation follows a group of scientists as they investigate a surreal scientific anomaly. As the narrative progresses and the scientists journey deeper into the Shimmer, a sense of creeping dread starts to take hold. The women are picked off one-by-one, culminating in a finale that gets even darker than expected.

Annihilation‘s strange ending represents the peak of the movie’s progressive march into surreal and twisted territory. While some mysteries are solved, there are many more questions which remain unanswered. The subtle hint towards Lena’s true idenтιтy suggests that the Shimmer has malevolent intentions.

5

The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter’s Classic Ends On An Ambiguous Note

John Carpenter is one of the greatest horror directors of all time, and The Thing shows again that he can find the darkness in sci-fi concepts like nobody else. The Thing remains one of the most disturbing, paranoid sci-fi thrillers of all time, and the ending is the icing on the cake.

Throughout The Thing, the real idenтιтy of each character is often unclear. When it comes down to it, there are only two men remaining, and thus ensues a game of bluff. There’s also an even darker possibility that both men are safe, but their trauma and distrust prevents them from working together for survival.

4

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Spielberg’s Divisive Sci-Fi Movie Has A Memorable Ending

A.I. Artificial Intelligence split opinions when it was first released, but its ending demonstrates Steven Spielberg’s ability to reduce audiences to floods of tears. It delivers the kind of melodramatic tragedy that could easily come across as heavy-handed in the hands of a lesser director, but Spielberg makes it work.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence returns to Spielberg’s recurring motif of children struggling to cope with absent or insufficient parental figures. The ending spells out this depressing theme in bold lettering, as David spends thousands of years of anguish to gain the bliss of one day of happiness.

3

12 Monkeys (1995)

Terry Gilliam Spoils The Ending, But That Doesn’t Make It Any Less Powerful

12 Monkeys has a tangled non-linear timeline, and not just because the story revolves around time travel. As well as flitting between the present and the past, James Cole frequently has flashbacks to a traumatic event from his childhood. The ending reveals the hidden truth behind the shooting at the airport.

12 Monkeys ends with Cole’s strange odyssey wrapping around to his own childhood, as he dies in front of his younger self. This closes the loop, proving that Cole’s fate was sealed before he ever knew it. Like with other Terry Gilliam movies, this devastating finale is laced with the darkest kind of humor possible.

2

The Mist (2007)

Frank Darabont Adds His Own Spin To A Stephen King Novel

The Mist is one of the best Stephen King adaptations, although Frank Darabont makes a few important changes to the novella. The most eye-catching of these changes is the ending, but this is one thing that makes the movie so hard to forget. It’s a heartbreaking finale that surpᴀsses anything in the book.

The Mist‘s ending would be dark enough without the grimly ironic timing of the army’s arrival. This final flourish adds even more depth to the tragedy of David’s decision. Suddenly, he is forced to live with immeasurable guilt, all handed down to him by the random odds of unfeeling cosmic forces.

1

Okja (2017)

Bong’s Dark Environmental Fable Ends With A Reminder Of Reality

Bong Joon Ho’s Okja often gets overlooked, possibly because it came sandwiched between Snowpiercer and Parasite, but it deserves more attention. It starts off as a cute environmental fantasy story, but this soon morphs into something more dark and disturbing once the reality of industry rears its ugly head.

While Okja‘s ending has a few moments of positivity, these victories are tempered by the fact that the Mirando Corporation’s relentless slaughter of super pigs will continue unchecked. One personal triumph doesn’t stack up to the extreme suffering of an entire species, biologically engineered only to die.