17 Devestating Films That People Were In No Way Prepared For

by · BuzzFeed

Recently, u/VaskaElGato asked r/moviecritic, "Which movie you started to watch thinking it will be an relaxing ride but left you devastated at the end?" So here are some of the most common responses:

A24

1. Click

Sony Pictures Releasing

"I remember my girlfriend at the time suggested we go see it. It was the anniversary of a friend of mine passing. She thought it would be a funny Adam Sandler movie to help take my mind off things. Near the end she leaned over and said 'I’m so sorry, this was a bad idea'."

red7227

2. Jojo Rabbit

Searchlight Pictures

"Despite the theme, I thought it would just be an absurd comedy…"

starrieEyezz

3. Oldboy

Show East

"I just thought it would be a drama, and not the bat shit crazy thriller it actually is."

Ironmonkibakinaction

4. Kids

Shining Excalibur Films

"I was 14 and wayyy too young to be watching that movie."

unicornviolence

5. Into the Wild

Paramount Vintage

"Did not have any prior knowledge of the story. Thought I was sitting down for an inspiring story of self discovery and communing with nature… My disappointment was immense."

SubstantialDust9422

6. Bridge to Terabithia

Summit Entertainment

"I remember throwing this on thinking it would be a nice uplifting coming-of-age story..."

Accurate_Koala_4698

7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Focus Features

"It was translated to Spanish as 'Olvídate de mí' – 'forget me', (yes, I know). The title and the cast made teen me guess it was a silly romcom. Flash forward to last year. My ex girlfriend of 15 years decided, seven months after the breakup, she's ready to have a movie night with me as friends. Guess which movie silly me chose..."

NonPlusUltraCadiz

8. A Monster Calls

Universal Pictures

"Initially thought it was going to a be an adventure story about dreams. Instead it wrecked me by the end and I was crying, I forgot the kid's name (Lewis MacDougall), but he acted brilliantly."

Reasonable-Island-57

9. Saturday Night Fever

Paramount Pictures

"I thought it was going to be a feel good, slice of life easy popcorn movie but damn, that movie gets pretty dark."

Realistic-Hippo8107

10. Pan's Labyrinth

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Granted, I figured it was a darker fairytale, but I wasn't ready for the devastation at the end."

mssheevaa

11. About Time

Universal Pictures

"I didn't know anything about it, but it's described as romance/comedy. It's an absolutely wonderful movie, but it still left me sobbing. Oh, and I was eight months pregnant when I saw it."

Anuhsiya

12. Grave of the Fireflies

Toho

"I was just going through a Ghibli phase and my dad picked up a few DVDs I asked for. I honestly didn't really look into what it was about. I knew it was about two kids in World War II. Damn, man. If you haven't seen it, please do!"

Emmannuhamm

13. Kumiko The Treasure Hunter

Amplify

"The trailer looks like a whimsical adventure. It's actually a story about devastating loneliness, alienation, and mental illness. Absolutely wrecked me. 10/10 best film ever."

metro_photographer

14. Manchester by the Sea

Amazon Studios

"Heard it was good but didn’t know much about it, no idea I was getting myself into. Damn."

ohhallow

15. Cyrano

Universal Pictures

"I knew nothing about the opera it was based on. Thought it was going to be a musical romcom where one guy that fell in love with a woman asks for help from her very eloquent friend who is also in love with her. Then by the end of the story she'd have to pick between two guys and it would probably be the poetry guy. I was NOT prepared for the ending AT ALL."

blueberrycat34

16. My Dog Skip

Warner Bros.

"My aunt was babysitting me and we picked it out at Blockbuster. After it ended she left the room and I found her on our back porch smoking her regrets away."

januarysdaughter

17. Stand By Me

Columbia Pictures

"I thought it was going to be a kid's movie like The Sandlot or Little Rascals. Oh dear Lord, how wrong I was... Years later I found out it was a movie based on a Stephen King book."

Roland_De_Schain

H/T to u/VaskaElGato and r/moviecritic for having the discussion!

What film caught you by surprise in a pretty devastating way? Let us know in the comments below!