Best Tragic Past Movies & TV Shows

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

A retelling of the biblical book of Hosea set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush of 1850.

A detective thinks about quitting his job. He takes on a female university student murder case that was disguised as a suicide. The detective becomes obsessed with solving the case. He has a young sister and she meets a man. The man does not remember when he was little. He is not a good person, but she has sympathy for him. The detective tries to push the man away from his younger sister. The detective suspects that the man is somehow involved in the female university student murder case. The man and the detective's younger sister fall in love.

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.

An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

Though Kevin has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher, there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey, Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him — as well as everyone around him — as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.

When Cassie's father finds himself vulnerable and bedridden, she believes she has the perfect revenge for her mother's death.

Driven by the desire to avenge his mother, a former gangster turned lawyer uses both his fists and the loopholes in law to fight against those with absolute power.

During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away: the fact that he is seeking political refuge in Québec – and that he, like the children, has suffered an appalling loss.

After serving prison time for a self-defense killing, Sailor Ripley reunites with girlfriend Lula Fortune. Lula's mother, Marietta, desperate to keep them apart, hires a hitman to kill Sailor. But he finds a whole new set of troubles when he and Bobby Peru, an old buddy who's also out to get Sailor, try to rob a store. When Sailor lands in jail yet again, the young lovers appear further than ever from the shared life they covet.

In the summer of 1995, two vulnerable teenage girls are accused of murdering their schoolteacher. For seventeen years, the two girls go their separate ways, Poppy having been charged with the murder. Fast-forward to modern day. Happily married mother Serena is now back in the same seaside town for the first time as she cares for her dying mother Rachel. Poppy is living in quite different circumstances. Having served seventeen years for a crime she still insists she didn’t commit, she has only one thing on her mind… the truth. And if she didn’t kill Marcus, then who did?

A low-ranking thug is entrusted by his boss to dispose of a gun that killed corrupt cops, but things spiral out of control when the gun ends up in wrong hands.

A detective suffering from a personal loss receives a call from his recently deceased niece. Being able to communicate across time, the two work together to try and stop the crime before it occurs.

Aaron Falk returns to his drought-stricken hometown to attend a tragic funeral. But his return opens a decades-old wound - the unsolved death of a teenage girl.

Rookie cop, Amelia Donaghy reluctantly teams with Lincoln Rhyme – formerly the department's top homicide detective but now paralyzed as a result of a spinal injury – to catch a grisly serial killer dubbed 'The Bone Collector'. The murderer's special signature is to leave tantalizing clues based on the grim remains of his crimes.

Edee, in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.

A fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.

The Shift is the story of one 12 hour night shift in the ER and the life and death decisions that have to be made. With the issue of euthanasia in the headlines this is a timely and compelling story.

Ninja Assassin follows Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.

A bank robber tries to turn himself in because he's falling in love and wants to live an honest life...but when he realizes the Feds are more corrupt than him, he must fight back to clear his name.

A group of teens make a pact that has deadly consequences.

A Minnesota police officer crosses paths with a committed and tireless vigilante as he follows the trail of a ruthless predator responsible for several abductions and murders.

Julie is a new mom and children's book author, who escapes into the bright Crayola-colored world of her creation in order to leave behind the darkness caused by her post-partum depression.

After two girls cruelly impersonate her online in a "reverse cyber bullying" plot, Ashley's reputation is ruined and she and her mother flee a growing threat to their lives. Starting over at a new school, romantic interests and the poignant lessons from an eccentric history teacher draw them out of seclusion until they realize confronting a hurtful past is essential to ensure a brighter future.

While sorting her dead grandmother's affairs, a young woman boards in a southern mansion and soon discovers the matriarch may desire more than just her company.

Following the murder of his fiancée, Mitch Rapp trains under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley. The pair then is enlisted to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on military and civilian targets.

When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As the national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger disaster.

An amazing murder mystery taking place in a setting that no one would expect the coast of Mississippi. A young woman tried to live a normal life despite a horrible upbringing. But she will learn her past will haunt her once more.

Travis Block is a shadowy Government agent who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed. He then has to uncover a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power.

In the early 1800s, a group of fur trappers and Indian traders are returning with their goods to civilization and are making a desperate attempt to beat the oncoming winter. When guide Zachary Bass is injured in a bear attack, they decide he's a goner and leave him behind to die. When he recovers instead, he swears revenge on them and tracks them and their paranoiac expedition leader down.

The story of a dangerous little girl who is reunited with her natural mother after living with her controlling grandparents in a rural farmhouse in seclusion.

Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.

As the 15th anniversary of a fatal high school shooting approaches, former pupil Diana McFee is haunted by memories of the tragedy. After losing her best friend Maureen in the attack, Diana has been profoundly affected by the incident - her seemingly perfect life shaped by the events of that day.

A troubled veteran gets a chance at redemption by protecting a girl from an assassin after she witnesses a murder. Holding a shotgun with a single shell, he engages in physical and psychological warfare in a desperate fight for the girl's life.

Ezekiel Mannings, a vicious crime boss, is out to kill Nick, the lone witness set to testify against him. He hires a mysterious female motorcycle courier to unknowingly deliver a poison-gas bomb to slay Nick, but after she rescues Nick from certain death, the duo must confront an army of ruthless hired killers in order to survive the night.

In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.

Valerie is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry another man. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter plan to run away together when Valerie's older sister is killed by a werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. Panic grips the town as Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect...and bait

Jack, a man desperate to improve his life, throws away his beloved childhood plush, Benny. It’s a move that has disastrous consequences when Benny springs to life with deadly intentions!

Following a mysterious disappearance on a jump, a group of skydivers experiences paranormal occurrences that leave them fighting for their lives.

A prisoner in a state-of-the-art penitentiary begins to question the purpose of the emotion-controlling drugs he's testing for a pharmaceutical genius.

When a New York lawyer returns to his Boston hometown to reunite his dying friend with his young son, he is forced to finally confront a childhood trauma.

An entry-level employee at a powerful corporation finds himself occupying a corner office, but at a dangerous price—he must spy on his boss's old mentor to secure for him a multi-billion dollar advantage.

Chris O'Brien, devote Catholic and rookie cop with LAPD, is assigned to partner with the hard-edged, street-smart Nora Hugosian. A serial killer is loose, and all the victims are low-life guys whom Nora has dealt with. So, when the tire tracks of a police car are found at a murder scene, she's the prime suspect of internal affairs investigator Simon Hertzel...

Five medical students, hoping to understand the mystery of what lies beyond life, embark on a dangerous experiment. When their hearts are stopped for a short period of time, they have a near-death experience…

A young widow returns home for the first time in three years to help prepare her sister’s wedding. She is forced to confront her past, including the man she never expected to fall for.

A grieving father grapples with the seedy, manipulative world of high stakes debt collection while struggling to shed the tragedies of his past. He find's himself pitted against his best friend with troubling consequences.