You know the story: A hero journeys into a strange land, discovers a strange new item, uses it to defeat a villain, then returns home victorious. But what if the hero didn't win, and instead was crushed by the evil forces arrayed against him? Then you'd have a film worth celebrating in the list below. First, some caveats. Slasher films were out entirely, since there the villain almost always wins. So were films where an anti-hero wins (Hannibal) and films where the bad guys are defeated by other, bigger bad guys (Cabin in the Woods). We also tried to avoid films where the bad guy merely doesn't lose, or where a seemingly good guy reveals himself as the villain at the last minute. In other words, we wanted movies where the hero and the villain squared off with battle lines clearly drawn, and the hero took the L anyway. Suffice it to say, this list includes major spoilers.
