movies with "WTF?" final shots...

... and I'm not referring to films with twist endings, or surprise revelations that make you re-think the entire movie you just watched. I'm talking about those bizarre, out-of-place, totally "WTF?" final shots that seem completely out of context with the rest of the movie... ones that don't make any sense, and really don't need to be there in the first place.

(Please remember to use the spoiler tags!)

A couple examples I can think of:

Macabre (1980, directed by Lamberto Bava) -

Spoiler

the severed head suddenly springs to life and bites a guy on the neck

Being There (1979, directed by Hal Ashby) -

Spoiler

Peter Sellers walking on water

(And I really hope no one says 2001: A Space Odyssey.... )

 

Well, that was the ultimate WTF ending.

 

Betty Blue (1986) Final scene

Spoiler

It seems like the cat is talking to Zorg.

 

That Tim Burton 're-imaging' of Planet of the Apes. To his credit, he's pretty much disowned it.

 

I've gotta go with Magnolia

 

When I saw a screening of the original Phantasm, I can remember the audience yelling "WTF?" at the screen on the final scene. Not a bad movie, but weird as hell.

 

Agreed.

 

I believe that ending is symbolic of Sellers' character of Chance in that he's so far removed from reality that he's not bothered by logic, very similar to Spike Milligan's character of Eccles from the Goon Show which co-starred Sellers and Harry Secombe. Sellers has said that Chance was inspired by Stan Laurel, another character un-fazed by logic.

 

The original theatrical cut of Blade Runner. Where did all those trees come from?!

 

"The Shining", IIRC!

 

The rat at the end of the Departed. A not-so-subtle movie ending with a very cheesy piece of symbolism. I suppose you could say that was also not-so-subtle.

 

The music cue there was my favorite part of the whole film.

I don't know where trees come from. Then again, who does?

The ending to Being There is one of the most stunning things I've ever seen. I don't know if it makes much sense but it isn't supposed to.

Two I can think of, Invasion of the Body Snatchers with it's horribly contrived and coincidental tacked on ending and the ending to Bad Lieutenant which had me going "Why?"

 

I always thought the ending shot of BEING THERE was absolutely perfect.

 

"The rat sybolizes obviousness" -Ralph Wiggum

To be fair though...the Beacon Hill Neighborhood of Boston has no shortage of rats.

 

None are more WTF than the end of A Serious Man.

 

The opening scene was a WTF moment too compared to the rest of the film.

 

I used to think that the ending to Repo Man,

Spoiler

with Miller and Otto getting into the car and flying around

seemed like a tacked-on cop-out to cover up that they didn't know how to properly end the movie. But, I like it OK now.

 

Beat me to it, grin and all.

My example goes back to 1969- "Hell In The Pacific", one of my favorite movies. The original final scene (available on the DVD) is vastly superior to the lazy, ridiculously coincidental ending that seems as tacked-on-at-the-last-minute as it in fact was.
.

 

Polanski's "The Tenant".

 

I felt the film The Thirteenth Floor mimiced it,somewhat.

 

A couple of folks beat me to it, but the rainstorm in Magnolia definitely qualifies. I was drunk the first couple of times that I saw the film and chocked my reaction up to that. I've seen the film sober recently......and it is still the same.

 

Blow up

 

There has been a litany of 'WTF' endings in Europeon films but different to what is being exactly sought here: but all wanting to complete the job of registering alienated human bewilderment, complimenting everything -that has gone before in the film

Thus giving another form of meaning to what a 'WTF' ending is. Not from some plot twist, or something totally out of left field in the film's previous content. But more a final reinforcement of arty-farty representations of de-personalized existence....the viewer just thinks "WTF!...Who cares anyway?"
The best WTF ending in a film for all time I ever saw, was some Korean film - thankfully its name escapes me. A full length film.... the heroine for the last 15 minutes of the film's running time just walked , walked and walked! Finally she sat down on a park bench.... the Film ended.

 

Greatest WTF ending of all time is Takashi Miike's 'Dead Or Alive'

Especially if, when you first see it, you're already aware that it's the first film of a trilogy.

 

At the opposite end, Performance by Nic Roeg starts with a shot of Concorde .

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