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back to: ShootTheShaggyDog / Film

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16th May '13 7:22:45 PM XFllo

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moving questionable entries to the discussion.

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* An extreme example is seen in the 2007 horror film ''TheMist''. In the movie, a thick, billowing fog has swept over the countryside, bringing with it hordes of ravenous otherworldy creatures, and several dozen people are trapped inside a supermarket with the monsters outside and no way to contact the outside world. Near the end of the film, a group of people led by the protagonist make a break for it in the hero's jeep. After [[spoiler:a brief stop at the hero's house to confirm that yes, his wife is dead, the five of them (including the hero's little boy) decide to ride on until either the mist ends or their fuel runs out. Naturally, the fuel runs out first...and our group is surrounded by mist, likely to be snatched up and killed horribly as soon as they leave the car. They make an unspoken decision to commit suicide, but there's five of them, and only four bullets. We cut to outside the car, and there are four shots. Then we see the hero in a car full of corpses, screaming in grief and repeatedly trying to shoot himself with the empty gun]]. But it doesn't end there... [[spoiler:he exits the car, screaming for the monsters to come and get him...and not half a minute later, tanks and jeeps roll through the fog. Monsters are being blasted with flamethrowers, and trucks of survivors are being driven through. And the mist is being cleared]]...
** Also note the truck is coming from the back, so they were driving from salvation all along.
** There is one other interesting detail: The survivors include the mother who left in the beginning, having successfully found her children.
*** This mother begged the protagonist to come with her, but he declined because he had his own kid to look after. That sure backfired.
** You know what's ''really'' frustrating? The original short story by Creator/StephenKing ended with the first spoiler, [[spoiler: BolivianArmyEnding leaving it likely they would die, since the mist had spread all the way across New England, but allowing room for optimism]]. (Although King has said that he liked the [[spoiler: alternate]] ending of the film.)
* In ''TheStrangers,'' [[spoiler:the titular villains manage to overpower and kill the lead characters]].
** [[spoiler: Subverted. Yes, the villains stabbed Kristen and James seemingly to death. However, Kristen turns out to still be alive! At first glance, you might think that makes no sense. However, Dollface showed feelings of guilt. It can be inferred that she was the one who was supposed to stab Kristen to death, but since she didn't have the stomach for it right then, she actually didn't try that hard to kill her]]!
*** [[spoiler: Subverted by the opening of the film which states that it is based on actual events and that the "brutal events that took place are still not entirely known." They implied in the beginning that the protagonists would all die! ]]
* The Japanese {{Toku}}satsu feature film ''Casshern'' did this in spades. The story hinges on a CrapsackWorld AfterTheEnd where everyone is dying of pollution, fallout and biochemical warfare agents unleashed in the last world war. A scientist creates a 'Neo-Cell' project where new organs can be grown at will and the human body regenerated and rendered immortal. This is the setup for a FreakLabAccident that creates a race of Badass superhumans that must be battled by the hero, the scientist's dead war hero son resurrected by his father's techniques and suited up with an awesome cybernetic combat suit. Naturally this all goes horribly wrong - and turns out it was never right in the first place.
** If the fact that Casshern basically fails to do anything heroic whatsoever during the entire movie, backfiring spectacularly every time he tries to save innocent people and spending most of the film killing rather sympathetic {{Anti Villain}}s who themselves engage in [[KickTheDog pointless violence for no reason]] wasn't enough to make this pointless and {{Glurge}}y, the ending really cements it. I guess it was meant to be a {{Deconstruction}} of the usually upbeat Tokusatsu genre, but...what?

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* An extreme example is seen in the 2007 horror film ''TheMist''. In the movie, a thick, billowing fog has swept over the countryside, bringing with it hordes of ravenous otherworldy creatures, and several dozen people are trapped inside a supermarket with the monsters outside and no way to contact the outside world. Near the end of the film, a group of people led by the protagonist make a break for it in the hero's jeep. After [[spoiler:a brief stop at the hero's house to confirm that yes, his wife is dead, the five of them (including the hero's little boy) decide to ride on until either the mist ends or their fuel runs out. Naturally, the fuel runs out first...and our group is surrounded by mist, likely to be snatched up and killed horribly as soon as they leave the car. They make an unspoken decision to commit suicide, but there's five of them, and only four bullets. We cut to outside the car, and there are four shots. Then we see the hero in a car full of corpses, screaming in grief and repeatedly trying to shoot himself with the empty gun]]. But it doesn't end there... [[spoiler:he exits the car, screaming for the monsters to come and get him...and not half a minute later, tanks and jeeps roll through the fog. Monsters are being blasted with flamethrowers, and trucks of survivors are being driven through. And the mist is being cleared]]... The truck is coming from the back, so they were driving from salvation all along. The survivors include the mother who left in the beginning, having successfully found her children. This mother begged the protagonist to come with her, but he declined because he had his own kid to look after. That sure backfired. You know what's ''really'' frustrating? The original short story by Creator/StephenKing ended with the first spoiler, [[spoiler: BolivianArmyEnding leaving it likely they would die, since the mist had spread all the way across New England, but allowing room for optimism]]. (Although King has said that he liked the [[spoiler: alternate]] ending of the film.)
* In ''TheStrangers,'' [[spoiler:The titular villains manage to overpower and kill the lead characters]]. [[spoiler: Subverted. Yes, the villains stabbed Kristen and James seemingly to death. However, Kristen turns out to still be alive! At first glance, you might think that makes no sense. However, Dollface showed feelings of guilt. It can be inferred that she was the one who was supposed to stab Kristen to death, but since she didn't have the stomach for it right then, she actually didn't try that hard to kill her]]! [[spoiler: Subverted by the opening of the film which states that it is based on actual events and that the "brutal events that took place are still not entirely known." They implied in the beginning that the protagonists would all die!]]
* The Japanese {{Toku}}satsu feature film ''Casshern'' did this in spades. The story hinges on a CrapsackWorld AfterTheEnd where everyone is dying of pollution, fallout and biochemical warfare agents unleashed in the last world war. A scientist creates a 'Neo-Cell' project where new organs can be grown at will and the human body regenerated and rendered immortal. This is the setup for a FreakLabAccident that creates a race of Badass superhumans that must be battled by the hero, the scientist's dead war hero son resurrected by his father's techniques and suited up with an awesome cybernetic combat suit. Naturally this all goes horribly wrong - and turns out it was never right in the first place. If the fact that Casshern basically fails to do anything heroic whatsoever during the entire movie, backfiring spectacularly every time he tries to save innocent people and spending most of the film killing rather sympathetic {{Anti Villain}}s who themselves engage in [[KickTheDog pointless violence for no reason]] wasn't enough to make this pointless and {{Glurge}}y, the ending really cements it. I guess it was meant to be a {{Deconstruction}} of the usually upbeat Tokusatsu genre, but...what?

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16th May '13 7:18:24 PM XFllo

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* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. After searching for the Holy Grail almost the entire movie, [[spoiler: Arthur, Lancelot and Bedevier are all arrested by the police, and the camera is shattered by one of the policemen]]. In fact, to make it "worse", this ending occurs just as [[spoiler: Arthur and a miraculously-appearing army are about to assault the Castle Aaaagh where the Frenchmen are guarding the Holy Grail itself, presumably]]. The ending is, of course, a [[spoiler:[[IncrediblyLamePun cop-out]]]]. This is a Monty Python trademark, and is practically expected in each and every one their works.
** ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' - Loosely based on the life of Jesus Christ, you know from the start that the story can't possibly end well. Of course, there's somewhat of a [[spoiler: PetTheDog moment]] at the very end to [[IncrediblyLamePun brighten]] it up".
** And ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'': [[spoiler: We are all shaggy dogs, because life has no meaning. Now, piss off!]]. That pretty much also sums up everything the group's done during its long existence, and is the last film they ever made as a group.
* '' A.I.: Artificial Intelligence''. The end ([[EndingFatigue the ''last'' one]]) was much more than a DownerEnding--it was completely pointless.
** Yes and no. David was trying to become a real boy so he could get his mother to love him. He does not achieve the goal of becoming a real boy. However, it turns out that he did not need to achieve this goal anyway. He does get one day of happiness with his mother and she tells him before she dies that she loves him and always has. He dies shortly afterwards (Why? Well, maybe he ran out of battery juice or maybe by that point he had gotten everything he wanted and so he 'shut down' as a result of this). So the ending does not quite qualify as ShootTheShaggyDog, because David got what he truly wanted in the end. Also, he went to "...that place where dreams are born" (i.e. the afterlife). That should be impossible for a robot that is not human to achieve. But the fact that he did indicates that he did become human in a sense. So he ended up achieving more than he set out to do, which is another reason the ending does not quite qualify as ShootTheShaggyDog. It does, however, qualify for Fridge Horror when you consider what David has done to his mother to achieve this.

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* Creator/MontyPython:
** ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. After searching for the Holy Grail almost the entire movie, [[spoiler: Arthur, Lancelot and Bedevier are all arrested by the police, and the camera is shattered by one of the policemen]]. In fact, to make it "worse", this ending occurs just as [[spoiler: Arthur and a miraculously-appearing army are about to assault the Castle Aaaagh where the Frenchmen are guarding the Holy Grail itself, presumably]]. The ending is, of course, a [[spoiler:[[IncrediblyLamePun cop-out]]]]. This is a Monty Python trademark, and is practically expected in each and every one their works.
** ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'': Loosely based on the life of Jesus Christ, you know from the start that the story can't possibly end well. Of course, there's somewhat of a [[spoiler: PetTheDog moment]] at the very end to [[IncrediblyLamePun brighten]] it up".
** ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'': [[spoiler: We are all shaggy dogs, because life has no meaning. Now, piss off!]]. That pretty much also sums up everything the group's done during its long existence, and is the last film they ever made as a group.

2nd May '13 8:49:26 AM megarockman

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7th Apr '13 10:11:44 PM Doryna

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Removing Nightmare Fuel potholes. NF should be on YMMV only.

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7th Apr '13 5:47:50 PM Xtifr

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