Summary

• Thrillers excel at making you uncomfortable, but the impact is worth it, leading to unforgettable experiences and emotional connections.
• Visual style and storytelling in gritty thrillers immerse you in intrigue and mystery, often leaving a lasting impact on you.
• Bleak and heart-wrenching endings in thrillers like Taxi Driver and Speak No Evil leave a lasting impression, showcasing the darker side of storytelling.

It doesn't matter how uncomfortable a movie may make you, chances are you will be right back. In fact, sometimes you do back-to-back sessions in which you submit yourselves to excruciating experiences that leave you shaking, but in a weird "this is just escapism, and tomorrow everything will be fine" sort of way. But we don't blame you. Genres, mediums, and careers have been born out of making people uncomfortable, and thrillers seem to be where it all begins.

There are numerous ways to create thrillers. They can be friendly, PG-rated adventures, disturbing, fictional, or even based on true stories. It all depends on the director behind the camera, who will design a scheme to have an impact on those who sit at the other end. Usually, when it comes to gritty thrillers, a blend of visual style and storytelling will be responsible for forcing you down the spiral of intrigue and mystery that'll make you feel like what's on the screen could actually happen to you.

However, those gritty thrillers don't always carry a last blow to the heart. In fact, most of the time, thrillers end with a happy ending, as they often represent a harrowing journey that viewers need to get a break from. But when that last blow comes in the form of a bleak and dark ending, chances are you will suffer. As follows, these are the gritty thrillers with the bleakest and heart-wrenching endings you will never forget.

The following list is full of spoilers.

20 Taxi Driver (1976)

In Martin Scorsese's classic thriller, Travis Bickle (Dobert De Niro) is a PTSD-riddled war veteran who drives around New York City, trying to make a living as a taxicab driver. Bickle finds no reason in the gritty lifestyle of New York's underworld, and every day he falls deeper into a desperate state of hopelessness and solitude. Sure, he meets Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a campaign volunteer for a politician who's running for president, but Betsy finds out about Travis' rotten state of mind. When he meets a young sex worker named Iris (Jodie Foster) and can't find a way to help her, Bickle "explodes."

New York City Is Anything But a Symbol of Hope in Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver ends with Travis' rampage of destruction. He attempts to murder the presidential candidate, Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris), but fails. Then he decides he will kill Iris' pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel), because he finds there's no other way to help her. The shootout leaves him injured, and when he desperately tries to commit suicide, he finds out he's out of ammo. Through his delusional glance, we see he fantasizes about dying.

The ending then shows Travis falling into a coma, being considered a hero in the city, and even reconnecting with Betsy when he wakes up. The problem is that the effects of the city's mechanics are much too strong, and Scorsese ultimately reveals Travis will always have a connection to his approach to destruction. You can rent Taxi Driver on Apple TV.

19 Speak No Evil (2022)

Bjørn (Morten Burian), Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch), and Agnes (Liva Forsberg) are a Dutch family of three on vacation in Italy. As it usually happens in real life, they meet another family that is also on vacation. Patrick and Karin are a seemingly perfect and attractive couple, whose son, Abel, was born without a tongue and can't communicate.

However, they hit it off, and when it's time to say goodbye, Patrick and Karin invite Bjørn and Louise to spend a couple of days at their house in the Netherlands. When Bjørn and Louise get back, they decide to accept the invitation and travel to the remote town where Patrick and Karin live. They should have given this more thought.

Speak No Evil's Ending Is One of the Most Searing Moments in Modern Cinema

Speak No Evil is a very original European thriller that sails into horror territory in the final act. Bjørn and Louise aren't exactly in tune with the hosts' attitude and ways, but they decide to give it a shot.

The problem is when Bjørn finds out the truth about Abel, and Patrick and Karin show their true nature. In a nightmare-inducing scene, the innocent couple is separated from their daughter Agnes, who will become Patrick and Karin's new daughter, and guess what? She won't be able to speak in the future. Bjørn and Louise are killed in the most horrific of ways, and right after, the serial killers go on vacation to find another family of victims. Stream Speak No Evil on Shudder.

18 The Vanishing (1988)

Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna ter Steege) are a young couple on a road trip in France. Saskia seems disturbed by recurring dreams but finds comfort in Rex. The problem is that when they stop for gas in a rest area, Saskia disappears without trace. Rex desperately tries to find her, but years pass before he gets a clue about where she might be. Someone contacts him and claims to have some answers, and Rex decides to meet up with the man who claims to have kidnapped her. Oh, answers will come alright.

The Nature of Evil

George Sluizer's groundbreaking thriller, The Vanishing, is a spectacular sample of the genre that, decades after its release, still has the capacity to leave you in absolute distress. The movie ends on a very passive note as Rex and Raymond meet, and the killer slowly reveals why he does what he does. But still, he doesn't say what he did to Saskia. Raymond drugs him and lets him know that he will experience Saskia's end. Eventually, he finds out. He wakes up in a box, buried underground, as Raymond keeps on living his life with his family. You can stream The Vanishing on The Criterion Channel.

17 The Snowtown Murders (2011)

Based on the true story of the Snowtown murders in Australia in the 1990s, Snowtown (alternatively known as The Snowtown Murders) tells the story of a 16-year-old boy named Jamie (Lucas Pittaway). He lives with his mother and his brothers, one of whom abuses him repeatedly. His mother's boyfriend is also a monster, but eventually, an outside force drives him away. John Bunting enters the picture, becomes a father figure to Jamie, and accomplishes some balance in the community. The problem is that John's true nature will soon arise.

The Vicious Acts of Monsters

Snowtown ends as Jamie is already under the spell of John and his ideas. He can't get away from him because he has already participated in a killing rampage. In the film's final scene, Jamie convinces his half-brother, Dave, to buy a used computer.

Dave is one of the few "uncorrupted" characters in the film, which makes the conclusion even more harrowing. Jamie leads Dave into the hands of monsters and even becomes one as he closes the door of a room, as we can see the barrels where Australia's notorious serial killers hid the bodies. There's a very high chance that Snowtown will become a genre classic, even if it's a film that's incredibly hard to rewatch. You can stream Snowtown on AMC+.

16 Se7en (1995)

Se7en follows two detectives — David Mills (Brad Pitt) and Morgan Freeman (William Somerset) — dealing with a particularly cunning killer. Using the seven deadly sins as themes for his murders, the serial killer is driving law enforcement agents insane, as they're unable to find clues about who could be the vicious culprit responsible. As envy and wrath are left on the roster, a man claiming to be the killer surrenders himself. He informs Mills and Somerset that his rampage isn't over, but to reveal where the bodies are, they will have to meet some conditions.

"The World Is a Fine Place"

One of David Fincher's most important films ends as Mills and Sommerset are in the middle of nowhere with John Doe, following his orders. A courier arrives to deliver a box that Sommerset opens, before instantly running towards Mills and Doe. He pleads for Mills to lower his gun, as Doe has revealed that he felt envious of Mills' perfect life and family. As a consequence, he has killed Mills' wife and their unborn child, leaving her head in the box.

Knowing Mills will kill him because of his wrath, Doe is revealed to have completed the circle. When Mills fires, he not only kills Doe, but also emerges victorious. In the final scene, Sommerset delivers a very important line that he took over from Hemingway: "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." He also says he agrees only with the second part. Buy or Rent Se7en on Prime Video.

15 Oldboy (2003)