Like a Fox!

Generally speaking, I like to stick to a plan. The plan was to review The House of the Devil, but I was doing a cursory search of how new readers end up finding the Cap'n, and one of them was so amazingly out of left field that I'm dropping the plan in order to devote an entire entry to it.

You see, somebody found the blogorium by looking for movies where the "character goes insane at the end", and I can't back away from a challenge like that. The kind reader ended up on one of my many Friday the 13th tangents, so in order to give the people what they want, the Cap'n is going to try to name as many movies as I can where the character goes insane at the end.

Because so many of these are going to sound abundantly clear, I'm going to pepper in some movies that are maybe a little less obvious, and make an argument that some may find ridiculous. Would you expect any less from the Cap'n?

For example:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - I guess it's debatable whether you think Kevin McCarthy goes insane at the end or the world goes insane, but I say it counts.

Citizen Kane - Okay, this is technically a cheat. Charles Foster Kane goes insane near the end, and is clearly insane at the beginning, but if we take the story as a narrative of his descent into madness, then technically speaking I'm correct.

Sunset Boulevard - No doubt here; Norma Desmond is bat-shit crazy at the end of the movie.

In the Mouth of Madness - Not to spoil anything if you haven't seen it, but the title should give that away.

Martyrs - more than one person loses it by the end of this movie.

The Return of the King - It's fair to say that Frodo loses his mind and has to leave because he's never coming back mentally or emotionally.

Taxi Driver - Don't be fooled by the coda. Travis Bickle is still a ticking time bomb of insanity.

The Major Works of David Lynch (excluding, perhaps, The Straight Story, Dune, The Elephant Man, and Wild at Heart. Okay, maybe not Wild at Heart) - I was going to rule out Wild at Heart because Sailor and Lulu get together and seem happy, but then again Sailor does see Glenda the Good Witch float down from the sky first. As for the rest, you tell me which characters in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Eraserhead, Lost Highway, Mullholland Dr., and INLAND EMPIRE aren't crazy at the end.

D.O.A. - In addition to dying at the end of the movie, Edmund O'Brien's character is pretty bonkers.

Detour, Night and the City, Out of the Past, The Underneath, Ace in the Hole, Chinatown, oh to hell with it most noir and neo-noir - I could probably do an entire piece on the suicidal psychotic era of Film Noir and its echoes in neo-noir, but almost all of them end with the main character no longer in control of their mental faculties. The exceptions, oddly, are the two best known: Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil.

Soylent Green - you could lump this in with the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" argument, but Chuck Heston screaming "IT'S PEEEEEEOOOOOPLE!!!!!!" really doesn't do him any favors in the sanity department. Speaking of which:

The Planet of the Apes - I contend that Heston's Taylor never recovers from the Statue of Liberty reveal at the end of the film, and when James Franciscus finds him in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, he's as looney as a Dodo.

Gremlins 2 - I'm just going to go out on a limb and say this: to live through the events of this film, everybody that walked out of that building was crazy at the end.

Casino Royale - Considering that the entirety of The Quantum of Solace involved James Bond trying to regain his sanity, I don't think I have to argue too much that he went crazy when Vesper died. That, or from the rope to the gonads.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Again, kind of a cheat, because Francis is already crazy. We just don't know it until the end of the film.

The Wrestler - Well, it's one of two things. Either Randy "The Ram" has a sobering epiphany that he only belongs in the ring, or he goes mad from an crazy combination of 'roid rage and crowd fervor. Take your pick.

There Will Be Blood - I shouldn't even have to argue this. Daniel Plainview goes from sociopath to bonkers by the end of the film.

Rescue Dawn - Technically speaking, Dieter Dengler starts going crazy after Steve Zahn's character dies about 3/4's of the way in, but I'll allow it.

Observe and Report - Seth Rogen's shift from crazy to crazy dangerous is still an issue of going crazy at the end. I mean, he doesn't shoot anyone in a crowded mall until the end.

The Bridge on the River Kwai - Poor Alec Guinness. He put so much effort into building that bridge, only to go nuts and destroy it. Spoiler.

Chasing Amy - To propose what Holden does at the end of Chasing Amy (the threesome), you either have to be an idiot or crazy. I'm leaning crazy.

World's Greatest Dad - If I have to see Robin Williams do a naked diving board jump, then he's crazy. The rest of the movie supports my case. See for yourself.

Oldboy - That twist would drive you crazy too.

Heathers - Forget the whole "shooting J.D." or the "murdering people and trying to blow up the school" arguments. No way a Heather (okay, a Veronica) would hang out with Dumptruck. She must be nuts.

Crank: High Voltage - I include this because when Chev Chelios is on fire, he finally turns his insanity away from the movie and directs it at the audience. Now that's just crazy. We didn't do anything but cheer for him!

81/2 - I'm not sure how else you would characterize the end of this movie without resorting to film school snobbery.

The Mist - Few sane characters are screaming on their knees at the end of a movie because they killed everyone else out of desperation only to discover the military was restoring normalcy. Spoiler.

Drag Me to Hell - According to a reading of the film by Patton Oswalt, this is as logical a conclusion as Alison Lohman actually being dragged to hell. It's actually a rather good reading of the film, which I suggest you seek out.

Mother Night - You go undercover as a Nazi propagandist only to be disavowed by your country and branded an actual Nazi propagandist and try to maintain your faculties. Oh, and you're Nick Nolte. Good luck.

Donnie Darko - Donnie embraces his madness, and an airplane engine.

One Hour Photo - A slow burn still ends with crazy in the end for (shock!) Robin Williams!

Insomnia - For the purposes of this list, I'm dealing specifically with the 1997 Stellan Skarsgard version, where his sanity degrades in a much clearer way than Al Pacino's loose grip on reality as it is.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (parts 1 and 2) - Both final girls lose it, which is the logical reaction to what happens in to them.

The Wicker Man (both, I guess) - I never finished the remake, but Edward Woodward's Sgt. Howie certainly goes crazy. Nicolas Cage is arguably always crazy, but for the sake of argument I'll include the remake.

Videodrome - You call "embracing the New Flesh" clarity. I call it insanity. Different strokes for different folks.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - Corey Feldman and Danielle Harris both go psycho at the end of their respective fourth chapters. Neither series bothered to take this seriously in subsequent films.

Vertigo - Anybody going to argue this? Scotty doesn't go totally nuts? Anyone?

Brazil - Again, I don't think I need to make a case for this. It's pretty straight forward. Big Brother wins; Sam Lowry loses.

Blood Car - It was inevitable, considering what happens in Blood Car.

The Descent - Certainly the UK cut makes no bones about whether Sarah is crazy or not at the end. I do not acknowledge The Descent 2 for the purposes of this argument.

The Hills Have Eyes - Wes Craven's expressed intent for the film was that the "civilized" family would become as crazy as the cannibal family. He succeeded.

The Limits of Control - Oh, wait; I went insane at the end of this movie.


Is there anything I forgot? (hint: yes) Leave a comment or drop the Cap'n a line.