Films that end on a cliffhanger/open ending
All of these films end on a cliffhanger, or have an open ending that leaves you wanting more - which best uses the technique?
Warning some spoilers - all major spoilers are covered up!
Discuss here
Warning some spoilers - all major spoilers are covered up!
Discuss here
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- DirectorJuan Carlos FresnadilloStarsJeremy RennerRose ByrneRobert CarlyleSix months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes according to plan.The Children have escaped to France - they're safe now - The infection has spread to France!
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown."It's your kids, Marty! Something has to be done about your kids!" Hmm, sequel anyone?
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleMichael CaineKen WatanabeAfter witnessing his parents' death, Bruce learns the art of fighting to confront injustice. When he returns to Gotham as Batman, he must stop a secret society that intends to destroy the city."Take this guy, armed robbery, double homicide, got a taste for the theatrical, like you. Leaves a calling card" Nolan stated this reveal of The Joker was not for the sequel, but to give a sense that even if there wasn't another film, Batman still had things to overcome.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator."It's too bad she won't live. But then again who does?" A dubious ending that some have taken to mean that Deckard may have been a replicant, soon to die.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsChris EvansHugo WeavingSamuel L. JacksonSteve Rogers, a rejected military soldier, transforms into Captain America after taking a dose of a "Super-Soldier serum". But being Captain America comes at a price as he attempts to take down a warmonger and a terrorist organization.The Captain wakes up in modern day and is recruited by Nick Fury for... The Avengers!
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsMike VogelJessica LucasLizzy CaplanA group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.The end credits played backwards reveal the message "It's alive" Maybe the monster wasn't killed?
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleTom HardyAnne HathawayBane, an imposing terrorist, attacks Gotham City and disrupts its eight-year-long period of peace. This forces Bruce Wayne to come out of hiding and don the cape and cowl of Batman again.The ending is left open when Blake is confirmed to be named Robin
- DirectorNeill BlomkampStarsSharlto CopleyDavid JamesJason CopeThirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth to find refuge. Separated from humans in a District 9, they are managed by Multi-National United. When a field agent contracts a virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place to hide.Wikus has been transformed into a "prawn" alien due to being exposed to the mysterious substance; the alien ship has departed, with "Christopher" (one of the aliens) promising to return in three years with a cure for Wikus' transformation; the aliens remaining on Earth are transferred to a larger ghetto designated "District 10".
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.Will Scarlett and Rhett get back together, well "Tomorrow is another day"
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsMark WahlbergZooey DeschanelJohn LeguizamoA science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.When everyone believes things are back to normal, the film ends in Paris (What is it with France huh?) where a scream is heard, maybe it's another attack?
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsIan McKellenMartin FreemanRichard ArmitageThe dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, their homeland, from the dragon Smaug.Smaug - "You care about them, do you? Good! Then you can watch them DIE!" Bilbo - "What have we done?" [Smaug flies away to begin his attack on Lake Town and the film ends]
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenAnnika WedderkoppA teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.Lucas and his friends go hunting a year after the events of the main film, a few dirty looks aside he seems to be absolved of the accusations. But through the sun Lucas can't make out the identity of the person who fires a shot at him, someone still believes him to be guilty
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellBrendan GleesonCiarán HindsAfter a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.Ray is loaded into the ambulance but the film ends before we know whether he dies, or not
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA 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.Cobb spins his totem, do we see it flicker? Is is about to stop?
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.The photograph reveals that Josh has been possessed and then kills Elise, when Renai hears the scream she enters the room but can't find Josh he grabs her on the shoulder and says "I'm here"
- DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsMichael CaineNoël CowardBenny HillA comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam.A literal cliff hanger where the van loses control, and is half hanging from the edge of the cliff - after a few failed attempts to get the gold without tipping the van Charlie claims "I've got a great idea"
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl HannahAfter waking from a 4-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.Bill has the pleasure of revealing the last lines "One more thing Sophie...Is she aware her daughter is still alive?
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsDavid StrathairnMary Elizabeth MastrantonioVanessa MartinezIn an economically devastated Alaskan town, a fisherman with a troublesome past dates a woman whose young daughter does not approve of him. When he witnesses the murder of his shady brother, he, the woman and the kid run to the wilderness.A small group of people are stranded on an island in the middle of the Alaskan frontier in winter time. The movie ends with a small seaplane landing in nearby. Are they the drug smugglers purported to work in the area (this ending means our party will likely end up being killed) or is it a rescue team.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsJason FlemyngDexter FletcherNick MoranEddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.Will Tom throw the guns into the river, or answer the phone call telling him not to throw them into the river? Maybe we should call this one bridgehanger..
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossFreedom fighters Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation.Neo found out that he has powers outside of the matrix and we know that Agent Smith managed to board the ship in the body of one of Zion's resistance fighters.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.Did the hypnosis actually work?
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.Was Ofelia killed at the end or really saved at the last second by Fauno?
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsPeter O'TooleRichard AttenboroughCliff GormanRenowned producer-director Otto Preminger captures international terrorism in this film about five teenage girls who are kidnapped from a yacht by the P.L.O. Stars Peter O'Toole and Richard Attenborough.The girls are saved, the terrorist leader is captured. He says his capture will lead to further attacks. The film ends with a passenger plane being hijacked.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawRachel McAdamsDetective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.Moriarty was involved and is a threat - cue the sequel!
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.The two remaining characters think that each other are 'the thing' so they wait each other out, which one will show themselves first? Or will they both die of exposure? Well no one really knows!