Twist Endings in Movies (Please Use Spoiler Tags)

st_andalou

*Note: if you give away the endings of any movie, try to use the Spoiler tags so as not to ruin it for others that may not have seen the movie. This way we can decide which parts we want to read and which ones we don't.

Are you a fan of "twist endings" in movies? Which are your favorites? And which ones did you hate? Care to give us a list of your best and worst?

My favorites are:

1. The Sixth Sense: I know it's a bit of a clichéd choice, and there are lots of people who will no doubt disagree. I saw this first when I was 15, and I did not see it coming at all. I rewatched it recently (which is what inspired this post) and I admire the way M. Night was so audacious in rubbing the truth in people's faces.

2. Psycho: I loved when it was revealed that

Norman's mother was in fact just Norman's alternate personality

. The scene where

Norman's mother's corpse is shown

is one that sticks with me.

3. The Prestige: There are so many twists and turns here that I think it's a credit to Nolan that the audience is able to follow them.

4. The Usual Suspects: I don't like The Usual Supects all that much. I don't think it's bad or anything, but I just don't see why other people love it so much. However, I think the ending is clever and it redeems it for me.

5. Se7en: I saw this one when I was quite young. Does it count as a twist ending? It was just so disturbing. When it was revealed that

Spacey had killed Pitt's wife so that Pitt would kill him, and Spacey was egging Pitt on to pull the trigger

, I was literally on the edge of my seat.

6. 12 Monkeys: I loved this film, partly because it was so hard to see where it was going. The flashbacks to the child watching someone get shot are so confusing. Then it's revealed that

it is in fact the child version of Bruce Willis watching his older self get killed and that Willis has failed to save the planet from the virus

.

7. Saw: A decent horror flick and the ending where

the killer has been in the room all along pretending to be dead

really came from left field.

8. Shutter Island: I think that this one divided people a little. I loved that it felt like a paranoid Hitchcock filck for ages, then it's revealed that

it was all in DiCaprio's imagination

. I would have placed it higher but as far as I recall, there weren't really that many obvious hints all along so I understand why many felt cheated.

Worst list:

1. The Village: I liked the fact that the Victorian villagers

were in fact modern-day people who had cut themselves off from the world

. I know a lot of people will say that was obvious, I didn't think so. It was the monsters

that the villagers created

that ruined it for me. There were too many plot holes.

2. Fight Club: I thought it was a good movie. I hated the ending (and I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this one). For me the fact that

they were the same person

just seems a little silly and ruins the movie a little. It doesn't stand up to repeat viewings either.

3. Signs: Another M. Night one. I enjoyed the movie. Then it's revealed that

Mel Gibson's wife knew all along of the alien invasion before she died, and her advice to "swing away" had proven to be prophetic

. The movie's pacing is all wrong and in the end I felt a little cheated.

So yeah, I'd be really interested to read other people's best and worst lists.

Sir Gallagher

Has anybody seen Far North with Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean? It's by far the most insane and unneccesary twist i've ever seen in any film ever. It's a bit late for me to explain it now but i will tomorrow.

pixelburp

st_andalou wrote: »

6. 12 Monkeys: I loved this film, partly because it was so hard to see where it was going. The flashbacks to the child watching someone get shot are so confusing. Then it's revealed that

it is in fact the child version of Bruce Willis watching his older self get killed and that Willis has failed to save the planet from the virus

.

I think the ending was a bit more than just that, my understanding was:

The whole thing wasn't an effort to kill the man who spread the virus, because you can't change the past etc etc, but it was to use Willis as a distraction so that one of the future scientists could sneak onto the plane and get a sample of the virus (by shaking hands with the man already infected). I didn't realise it until watching it again that the woman speaking on the plane was one of the scientists from the future. I suspect that they knew all along and so everything Willis did was to get him to the airport.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Best - Se7en, as mentioned

Village - also as mentioned

I did enjoy the ending to The Game (same guy who did se7en) but the build up was a bit long and laboured.

Cantona's Collars

Titanic:

It sinks!

filmfan

Still like watching The Sixth Sense now even though it's no surprise at the end but a really good movie, pity things went down hill from there, anyone seen The Happening?:eek:

Morlar

Surveillance

Cantona's Collars

The Crying Game,not technically the ending but.......:eek:

DrumSteve

zerks wrote: »

The Crying Game,not technically the ending but.......:eek:

That was the bell-ending.

Mickeroo

I thought Fight Club was better the second viewing because of the twist. I though the twist in Saw was ridiculous and completely implausible. The rest on your list are all solid examples i think

The last film i watched that i remember being ruined by the twist was probably Haute Tension/Switchblade Romance, the old

they were the same person all along!

I thought it was a really good slasher movie up to that point.

cson

I think the Fight Club twist is fantastic -

you can see he creates the alternate personality of who he wants to be as a result of the complete and utter mundane existence of his 'real' life.

As for Signs -

I can't see where his wife knew all along about the alien invasion; I thought the twist where you could kill them with water was pretty innovative thinking too

Mickeroo

As for Signs -

I can't see where his wife knew all along about the alien invasion; I thought the twist where you could kill them with water was pretty innovative thinking too

Innovative maybe but also a huge plot hole.

Why would an alien race invade a planet covered in a substance that is extrememely toxic to them, where it makes up 20% of the air and also falls from the sky often?

cson

Mickeroo wrote: »

Innovative maybe but also a huge plot hole.

Why would an alien race invade a planet covered in a substance that is extrememely toxic to them, where it makes up 20% of the air and also falls from the sky often?

Fair point, maybe they hadn't researched it thoroughly enough!

Uriel.

cson wrote: »

Fair point, maybe they hadn't researched it thoroughly enough!

I wouldn't have thought it would required an awful lot research.. but what would I know.

LadyW

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Has anybody seen Far North with Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean? It's by far the most insane and unneccesary twist i've ever seen in any film ever. It's a bit late for me to explain it now but i will tomorrow.

I've seen it Sir Gallagher... Insane is an understatement... I look forward to your explanation of it !

Magic Eight Ball

zerks wrote: »

The Crying Game,not technically the ending but.......:eek:

I hear it's being re-released in 3D.

Magic Eight Ball

Mickeroo wrote: »

Innovative maybe but also a huge plot hole.

Why would an alien race invade a planet covered in a substance that is extrememely toxic to them, where it makes up 20% of the air and also falls from the sky often?

I was just about to make that point. Stupid twist, stupid movie!!

van damme

Mickeroo wrote: »

The last film i watched that i remember being ruined by the twist was probably Haute Tension/Switchblade Romance, the old

they were the same person all along!

I thought it was a really good slasher movie up to that point.

Agreed!! Only say this recently myself, and enjoyed it up until the "twist". It just DID NOT make sense at all.

Greyfox

Can't believe nobodys mentioned the Mist yet...this gem has easily the most shocking ending ever!

Although the actual "best" twist ever has got to be the Usual Suspects

St._Andalou

pixelburp wrote: »

I think the ending was a bit more than just that, my understanding was:

The whole thing wasn't an effort to kill the man who spread the virus, because you can't change the past etc etc, but it was to use Willis as a distraction so that one of the future scientists could sneak onto the plane and get a sample of the virus (by shaking hands with the man already infected). I didn't realise it until watching it again that the woman speaking on the plane was one of the scientists from the future. I suspect that they knew all along and so everything Willis did was to get him to the airport.

Ah, OK. I remember that the woman on the plane was the scientist. I just thought that because Bruce Willis

had failed to stop the virus, she had been sent back as a kind of plan B option, or a back up, to stop the guy

.

El Horseboxo

Orphan had one of the best twists that i have seen in a long time. I honestly did not see it coming at all. I had never seen any trailers and didn't know anything about the film before seeing it so that probably helped a bit. Not to mention the acting from Isabelle Fuhrman was top notch and the film was good overall.

Turtyturd

Greyfox wrote: »

Can't believe nobodys mentioned the Mist yet...this gem has easily the most shocking ending ever!

Although the actual "best" twist ever has got to be the Usual Suspects

I like the Mist ending, it's shocking but its not exactly a twist, kinda like The Wrestler and Inception.

For me number 1 is Fight Club and I think it stands up to repeat viewings.

Others I like are

Identity.
Unbreakable...Much better than the 6th sense and less obvious.
Planet of the Apes.
Lucky Number Slevin.
The Life of David Gayle.

To a lesser extent I also enjoyed Cloverfield although that might fit in with The Mist etc.

mikhail

The Orphanage was ruined for me by how it's all wrapped up.

That she was (completely accidentally) responsible for her son's death was surprising (though I saw it coming when she 'found' him). That she kills herself is tragic. Then they go and pretend it's a happy ending. Screw you, scriptwriter, screw you.

Skerries

no thats The Orphanage, a good film but i preferred Orphan better

and how can you say Switchblade Romances ending wasn't good? it was brilliant

Skerries

Twister

theres no twist at the end :rolleyes:

mikhail

Skerries wrote: »

no thats The Orphanage, a good film but i preferred Orphan better

You're right. I'll edit my post before someone who's only see Orphan reads the spoiler!

and how can you say Switchblade Romances ending wasn't good? it was brilliant

I saw it with a few friends. Only one of them liked the ending. The rest of us were yelling at her about plot holes.