Holy Shit That Was Bleak, I Love It

[AM City Watch]

Supergod by Warren Ellis. Five short issues about how a superhuman arms race pretty much ended life on earth. Turns out the superhumans aren't just stronger, faster, and better than us. They are other, as fundamentally unknowable as any of Lovecraft's tentacled monstrosities, and just as ambivalent towards our lives and suffering.

"Praying to be saved by a man who can fly will get you killed."

 

[Sheen Lantern]

All of Telltale's Walking Dead.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

...No really. Despite it's cutesy outwards appearance there's a lot more going on in the show then it's pretty facade would suggest. I highly recommend this show to the curious... just be warned, its one best gone into blind spoilers-wise. Just... trust me on this one.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Definitely the ending of Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2. It was just so brutal, I'm not going to tell you what happens, but that last half hour you barely take any shots and just watch your main character get shit on by everything.

You probably need to have played Bioshock 1 for it to impact you a little more, because technically it's Irrational's version of the prequel.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

A song called Far Away Boys by Flogging Molly. It's the saddest song I know that doesn't annoy me.

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

...really...this thread has gone without the obvious choice for bleakest stuff ever?

Spoiler: I mean come on people!

...one of the most haunting reads I had the pleasure of reading, because you little fuck of a human can't do shit against the system. Ever.

Also....

Jean-Paul Sartres Le Mur (The Wall): because being set for execution is not a nice feeling. And even then the world will screw you over.

and finally....

China Mievilles The Scar[footnote]Admittedly far less bleak than the other two but still undoubtedly cynical with its message[/footnote]: because people will use you for their own gains. And you won't even notice.

 

[Padwolf]

Where to begin...

Silent Hill 2. God that game is bleak and dark. I don't think I really need to go into too much detail about it here, since most of you already know it. But I loved that game, still in my top 10 for sure.

The Long Walk, by Stephen King. That was a bleak book. It's about teenage boys who have to walk without pause. The worst part is that it's a competition, a race type of thing, and there are people cheering it on and loving it. It's horrifying.

Carrie, also by Stephen King. Be ready for a lot of Stephen King. This book is very bleak, and I absolutely adore it, one of my favourite books. Nothing really happy happens in this books. It gives you some hope, but you know that's redundant because you know the outcome of the book from the start. It's written in such a great way, I do think he got the writing style from Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is written in the same fashion.

Fallout 3. Well, it's a world that's been torn apart and torn even more by nuclear war. It's incredibly bleak, from the setting, to the characters, the way they live.

Memories of Matsuko, a film. One of the greatest films I have ever seen. Go watch it. Go now. It's the first film that's left me sitting there stunned for a good 10 - 20 minutes after just from how good it was. It's very bleak, despite how bright and colourful the film is.

Breaking Bad. Goddamn that TV show. God damn. Just when I think it couldn't be more bleak it just goes and does more.

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. A book of much controversy, but a very interesting read and one I recommend, but it is very dark.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm also going to go with The Road. That movie was so good and so depressing at the same time. I have only watched it once, but I can recall most of what happened in it because it was so well done. All of the fear, desperation, and sadness really took it out me, but I was so glad that I experienced it. Someday I'll watch it again when I'm in the right mood and mindset for it. That movie really sticks with you.

 

[Folksoul]

An anime called "Bokurano". Quite possibly my favourite anime ever, the manga is bleaker.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Everything involving Eugene Sledge in The Pacific. Peleliu and Okinawa were some of the most unrelentingly grim ordeals I've had to watch. Day after day of clearing ridge lines on a volcanic coral island, or mass slaughter of civilians in human wave attacks on Okinawa.

It's no wonder the guys who fought there had trouble sleeping at night.

 

[Ieyke]

Veronica Mars.
It's just super depressing while also being hilarious and awesome.
Easily one of the best shows ever made.

 

[Artina89]

Breaking Bad. Just... Breaking Bad.

I'm sure everyone's seen that though.

I was thinking Breaking bad as well. It has amazed me how my mind has changed about that show. I went from not really getting it, to it being one of my favourite shows. It has definitely grown on me.

 

[Godhead]

Blade Runner. I don't know why, but dystopian futures in video games and movies seem to be my fetish.

Also those tears in the rain man.

 

[Marik2]

Muv Luv Alternative fits that well.

Main guy goes through so much hell in war and can't go back to a peaceful life. His PTSD arc was a very well written story that is still on my mind after a year.

 

[Vigormortis]

Exceptionally bleak media? Hmm...

Adventure Time springs to mind. While certainly not the bleakest thing I've ever watched, it's certainly up there. The deeper you dig into it's world and mythos the more bleak, dark, and down-right depressing it gets. And that bleakness is ironically bolstered by the shows colorful, mad-cap, and upbeat art style and dialog.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I suppose the Warhammer 40,000 universe as a whole would qualify, but it's so over-the-top that it frequently crosses over into absurdity and self-parody. The novel Space Marine by Ian Watson plays it terrifyingly straight however and demonstrates just how inhumane and dystopian the Imperium really is. Instead of Space Marines being noble and heroic Space Knights, the book portrays them as barely constrained psychopaths with potentially crippling emotional baggage. They are kept in line only through threat of extreme punishment and a twisted portrayal of familial bonds with their "battle-brothers."

It's definitely a "your mileage may vary" read. It's written in a very flowery and poetic manner at times, and the author seems to have a strange preoccupation with scatological references. It's also not considered part of the "official" WH40k fluff anymore. It was written back around the 2nd Edition of the tabletop game and contains many elements that have been retconned out over the years. In spite of that, I'd say it's still worth checking out for those that want a truly "mature" (as in challenging and thought-provoking instead of "PEW PEW FOR TEH EMPRAH") take on the WH40k universe.

 

[SadisticBrownie]

For a more recent note, the Hannibal season 2 finale. Just...holy shit. It makes the Red Wedding look like a barrel of laughs.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Radiohead's "The Pyramid Song". It's based on Herman Hesse's book, Siddhartha; the second half of the third act - and the most significant part of the good - is kicked off with the main character hearing a holy sound coming from an all-guiding river.

It's bleak, depressing, fantastical, and simplistic. Love it.

 

[RedDeadFred]

For a more recent note, the Hannibal season 2 finale. Just...holy shit. It makes the Red Wedding look like a barrel of laughs.

This would be mine as well. I've decided to call it the Red Dinner. The soundtrack (which is always awesome) and cinematography took the feeling of bleakness to new levels for this show. As depressing as the episode was though, I honestly think it was one of the greatest episodes of TV I've ever seen.