We go to the movies for a lot of reasons, but most of them can be boiled down to our
desire to feel or experience something that we wouldn't be able to otherwise.
The best filmmakers can put us directly in touch with these emotions and sensations,
and it can be pretty great.
It can also be pretty seriously distressing when skilled filmmakers use their gifts to
punch us straight in the gut, particularly when that punch is unexpected.
These are films that promised us a rollicking good time, and they delivered.
But along with the thrills and chills came moments of pure, unadulterated trauma that
lingered long after the credits rolled.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens was generally seen as a satisfying return to form
for the series after the plodding lows of the prequels.
While the story it told was occasionally criticized as being not much more than a rehash of the
1977 original, it also gave us memorable new characters like the malevolent Kylo Ren, Force-sensitive
scavenger Rey, and renegade stormtrooper Finn.
Plus, there were the welcome returns of Han Solo and now-General Leia.
Harrison Ford's older-and-wiser Han was a highlight, and the revelation that Kylo Ren
had been born Ben Solo to Han and Leia raised the film's dramatic stakes considerably.
The scene in which Han goes to confront his son on a bridge spanning a seemingly bottomless
abyss is fraught with tension, and for a moment, Haan appears to be getting through to his
son, until Ren does the unthinkable.
It's been speculated by fans that Han may have gone to his death willingly, in order
to help his son transition fully to the dark side so he can successfully infiltrate and
bring down the First Order.
But even if this turns out to be the case, it doesn't make this scene any less shocking,
abrupt, or upsetting.
And it wasn't even the first heart-wrenching death in Star Wars.
Star Wars: A New Hope
When Star Wars was released to theaters in 1977, nobody had ever seen anything even remotely
like it.
We all know about the cultural juggernaut it became, but it's impossible to overstate
what a blast of filmmaking ingenuity it represented at the time.
The project was almost shelved pre-release due to its budget and perceived lack of marketability.
Also surprising was just how many young moviegoers were traumatized during the film's most heart-rending
moment — Darth Vader's vanquishing of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"You can't win Darth.
If you strike me down I'll become more powerful than you could possibly imagine"
Audiences were left with their jaws on the floor when the Jedi Master lowered his defenses
as Luke Skywalker looked on.
Luke's reaction mirrored the audience's, and even the Rebels' eventual triumph during the
film's conclusion wasn't entirely enough to wipe away the sting of Kenobi's seemingly
senseless death.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Raiders of the Lost Ark became an instant classic upon its 1981 release, and there was
never any doubt that audiences would get much, much more of the adventures of Indiana Jones.
The climax of that film was pretty traumatizing in its own right, what with the angry spirits
and Nazi face-melting.
But 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom promised to go quite a bit darker.
It was the film that created the PG-13 rating, largely due to one unexpected, jaw-droppingly
violent scene.
It comes fairly early in the film, as Jones and sidekicks Willie Scott and Short Round
observe a sacrificial ritual being performed by the villainous Mola Ram and his Thuggee
cult.
"ah"
The scene traumatized young fans and received strong criticism.
The New York Times called the film "too violent" based partly on that scene - and probably
that one where they ate the monkey brains.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Steven Spielberg has never been unwilling to toy with the feelings of his audience.
Even when giving his characters the happiest of endings, he's skilled at drawing genuine
performances out of his actors.
His 1982 masterpiece E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.
Its climactic scene, in which young Elliott and his friends evade federal agents in order
to help E.T. get home, manages to be suspenseful, action-filled, and hilarious at once.
But it's not until the threat is over and E.T. is about to return safely home that the
waterworks start.
"I'll be right here"
It's not so much the delivery of the animatronic alien as it is the absolutely heart-crushing
reaction shots of Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and and Dee Wallace, literally falling to
her knees with emotion.
Even bullying big brother Michael appears to be holding back the tears, and for many
young viewers, the scene would have represented their first exposure to genuine heartbreak
and loss.
It
Stephen King's novel It is a catalog of pure, unadulterated terror, and widely considered
one of his finest works.
The book had already received an acceptable live-action adaptation in the form of the
1990 TV miniseries, so the 2017 adaptation was viewed with a healthy amount of skepticism.
Fortunately, the cast and crew delivered not only a ferocious new vision, but one of the
very best horror films of the last decade, thanks in no small part to Bill Skarsgard's
absolutely masterful portrayal of Pennywise.
Even viewers already familiar with the novel or miniseries couldn't help being shocked
to their cores by the character's introduction.
Young Georgie loses his paper boat in a storm drain, only to see the clown's predatory eyes
peering at him from out of the drain's darkness.
Over the course of their conversation, the clown convinces the boy to reach on in and
grab his boat.
It's the last decision Georgie will ever make, and the graphic nature of his demise makes
the scene land with a punch that no television adaptation could ever match.
Avengers: Infinity War
Marvel fans were thrilled when the studio reached a deal allowing for joint custody
of Marvel's flagship character: Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man.
They were even more excited when the MCU incarnation of Spidey lived up to any expectation they
possibly could have had.
Tom Holland's endlessly wisecracking version of the wall-crawler hit the sweet spot with
fans that had been left somewhat cold by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb's
reboots.
News of Holland's six-picture contract meant that we would be treated to Spidey's adventures
in the MCU for years to come.
Then we were given Avengers: Infinity War, the lead-up to the end of the MCU's first
three-phase Thanos mega-arc.
We all knew there would be blood.
Thanos' killing of Loki and Heimdall in the picture's first five minutes confirmed that
the Mad Titan was a threat unlike any the Avengers had yet faced.
But few expected the carnage of the film's climax, in which Thanos actually manages to
succeed in wiping out half of all life in the universe with one snap of his fingers.
Watching fan favorites like Doctor Strange and Black Panther crumble to dust was bad
enough.
But Spidey's demise was utterly crushing.
"I'm sorry."
Of course, he'll be back but in that moment, it didn't matter.
Serenity
The Fox TV series Firefly aired for only one season in 2002, but all these years later,
its imprint on pop culture refuses to fade.
The story of an intergalactic band of ne'er-do-wells on the run from the galactic Alliance introduced
us to the crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity.
This included sardonic Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, his second-in-command Zoe Washburne,
and her husband Hoban "Wash" Washburne, the ship's wisecracking pilot.
After the series' abrupt cancellation, creator Joss Whedon gave fans a proper sendoff with
the 2005 theatrical release Serenity.
But he also saw fit to give them a healthy dose of heartbreak while he was at it.
Late in the film, the crew succeeds in provoking the Alliance into a battle with the animalistic
Reavers, and Wash manages to pilot the damaged Serenity through the melee, landing on the
surface of the planet over which the battle is taking place.
Just at the moment all appears safe, Wash utters his final words before being impaled
by a Reaver spear, dying instantly in front of his horrified wife and Captain.
"I'm a leaf on the wind"
"Wash!"
Whedon is well-known for bestowing cruel fates upon beloved characters, but the death of
Wash is one that even his most ardent fans have a hard time forgiving him for.