The Top 15 Plot Twists
To be fair to the possibly dozens of people who might read this, I have made the text which reveals the twists unreadable unless you highlight it. So if you want to read what I wrote about each film, just click and drag to highlight the text below the film title.
Psycho
One of the many things that makes this movie so great is that there are two great plot twists.
The first twist is the one of the boldest and most original ideas in film: to kill off the star a third of the way through the film. What giant God-like balls Hitchcock had. The second twist was just as shocking: The mother was only alive in Norman Bates' mind. The person who we were led to believe was the killer turned out to be an alter ego of the creepy Norman Bates. This had never been done before and has been mimicked in films like Fight Club, Identity, Primal Fear and The Other.
Empire Strikes Back
"Luke, I am your father." Although Darth Vader never said those exact words, they are as recognizable as "That's one small step for man..."
Who would have expected the sequel to Star Wars to have such depth. The best Star Wars movie and one of the best twists ever.
The Crying Game
She has a penis. My God, she has a penis. This is one of the biggest surprises in cinema unless you noticed the size of her hands earlier in the movie. Or if you've seen her/him in Stargate.
The Sixth Sense
Haley Joel Osment sees dead Bruce Willis and M. Night Shyamalan becomes convinced he's a cinematic god. (Insert Village joke here)
The Usual Suspects
Who's Keyser Soze? Kevin Spacey. How could the most obvious answer seem so shocking? Writer Christopher McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer. One of the best endings to a film, ever.
No Way Out
Back when Kevin Costner made good movies he made this one about a navy officer who becomes aware of Gene Hackman killing an innocent woman. To cover his tracks Hackman sets Costner up as a KGB mole. The plot is much more complicated than that, but at the end of the day Costner gets away only to reveal he is a KGB mole.
Unbreakable
In M. Night Shyamalan's much under rated follow up to The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis finds out he has super natural powers thanks to Sam Jackson. Then he finds out Sam Jackson is his arch nemesis. In what Tarantino calls the best comic book movie of all time, Shyamalan delivers a twist that's just as shocking as Willis being a ghost and much more original. God made sure this film was under rated so that Shyamalan's ego wouldn't explode his own head.
Primal Fear
In Edward Norton's debut film, he delivers possibly his finest performance. The twist is the equivalent of Norman Bates revealing that he not only faked thinking he was his mom but that he faked being Norman Bates.
Jacob's L
adder
Before there was The Sixth Sense there was Jacob's Ladder. The twist is the same but the film is much darker and more disturbing.
Fight Club
In one of the most innovative films of the 90's, Edward Norton finds out Brad Pitt is his alter ego. This isn't a revolutionary twist by any standard, but the film is so god damn cool that I had to include it on the list. Plus, if you had an alter ego would you rather it be Brad Pitt or your mom? It's gotta be Pitt.
12 Monkeys
This is one of the best time travel films ever made with an incredibly original twist that is too confusing for me to go into. Just go rent it. It's one of Terry Gilliam's best.
The Other
Not The Others! The Other. Never has a little kid seemed so frightening. In this little known 1972 horror film, two twin boys live in a small town where horrible accidents resulting in death begin to happen on a regular basis. One of the twins starts to suspect the other is behind the evil deeds. The twist: the other twin was pushed to his death in a well years ago. Another case of multiple personalities, only this time it's a nine year old so it's way creepier.
The Shawshank Redemption
Salvation lies within. This may not be a standard plot twist but it's still shocking as hell the first time you see the warden open up the Bible.
Planet of the Apes
The only thing that is great about this movie is the ending. Besides that, there's not much to talk
about. However, the film does seem much better after watching Tim Burton's failed remake.
Wild Things
I don't even know where to begin. There are so many twists in this surprisingly good sexed up thriller. A lot of movies are filled with twists after twists that are much better- The Spanish Prisoner, Charade and House of Games to name a few- but lets be honest, they don't have the sex scenes that Wild Things does. Denise Richards and Neve Campbell in a threesome and a lesbo scene. Plus Kevin Bacon's cock. That's worth the ticket price alone.
Psycho
One of the many things that makes this movie so great is that there are two great plot twists.
The first twist is the one of the boldest and most original ideas in film: to kill off the star a third of the way through the film. What giant God-like balls Hitchcock had. The second twist was just as shocking: The mother was only alive in Norman Bates' mind. The person who we were led to believe was the killer turned out to be an alter ego of the creepy Norman Bates. This had never been done before and has been mimicked in films like Fight Club, Identity, Primal Fear and The Other.
Empire Strikes Back"Luke, I am your father." Although Darth Vader never said those exact words, they are as recognizable as "That's one small step for man..."
Who would have expected the sequel to Star Wars to have such depth. The best Star Wars movie and one of the best twists ever.
The Crying Game
She has a penis. My God, she has a penis. This is one of the biggest surprises in cinema unless you noticed the size of her hands earlier in the movie. Or if you've seen her/him in Stargate.
The Sixth Sense
Haley Joel Osment sees dead Bruce Willis and M. Night Shyamalan becomes convinced he's a cinematic god. (Insert Village joke here)
The Usual Suspects
Who's Keyser Soze? Kevin Spacey. How could the most obvious answer seem so shocking? Writer Christopher McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer. One of the best endings to a film, ever.
No Way Out
Back when Kevin Costner made good movies he made this one about a navy officer who becomes aware of Gene Hackman killing an innocent woman. To cover his tracks Hackman sets Costner up as a KGB mole. The plot is much more complicated than that, but at the end of the day Costner gets away only to reveal he is a KGB mole.
Unbreakable
In M. Night Shyamalan's much under rated follow up to The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis finds out he has super natural powers thanks to Sam Jackson. Then he finds out Sam Jackson is his arch nemesis. In what Tarantino calls the best comic book movie of all time, Shyamalan delivers a twist that's just as shocking as Willis being a ghost and much more original. God made sure this film was under rated so that Shyamalan's ego wouldn't explode his own head.
Primal Fear
In Edward Norton's debut film, he delivers possibly his finest performance. The twist is the equivalent of Norman Bates revealing that he not only faked thinking he was his mom but that he faked being Norman Bates.
Jacob's L
adderBefore there was The Sixth Sense there was Jacob's Ladder. The twist is the same but the film is much darker and more disturbing.
Fight Club
In one of the most innovative films of the 90's, Edward Norton finds out Brad Pitt is his alter ego. This isn't a revolutionary twist by any standard, but the film is so god damn cool that I had to include it on the list. Plus, if you had an alter ego would you rather it be Brad Pitt or your mom? It's gotta be Pitt.
12 Monkeys
This is one of the best time travel films ever made with an incredibly original twist that is too confusing for me to go into. Just go rent it. It's one of Terry Gilliam's best.
The Other
Not The Others! The Other. Never has a little kid seemed so frightening. In this little known 1972 horror film, two twin boys live in a small town where horrible accidents resulting in death begin to happen on a regular basis. One of the twins starts to suspect the other is behind the evil deeds. The twist: the other twin was pushed to his death in a well years ago. Another case of multiple personalities, only this time it's a nine year old so it's way creepier.
The Shawshank Redemption
Salvation lies within. This may not be a standard plot twist but it's still shocking as hell the first time you see the warden open up the Bible.
Planet of the Apes
The only thing that is great about this movie is the ending. Besides that, there's not much to talk
about. However, the film does seem much better after watching Tim Burton's failed remake.Wild Things
I don't even know where to begin. There are so many twists in this surprisingly good sexed up thriller. A lot of movies are filled with twists after twists that are much better- The Spanish Prisoner, Charade and House of Games to name a few- but lets be honest, they don't have the sex scenes that Wild Things does. Denise Richards and Neve Campbell in a threesome and a lesbo scene. Plus Kevin Bacon's cock. That's worth the ticket price alone.
posted by MW at 7:40 PM
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