Movie twists

redmgar

Whats the best movie twist of all time?
Seven "whats in the box"?

spacecoyote

It's all very subjective really.

The twist in the original Old Boy is a seriously messed up one, and absolutely brilliant

alchemist33

Probably The Crying Game for me. I, and probably many others, were thinking "she's kinda cute", leaving us questioning many things on the way out the door

mikhail

Oldboy is a good choice.

The Usual Suspects would make the list of the usual suspects on this subject.

The Prestige is similar in that it's twist is dramatic, but it was right in front of you if you only picked up on the clues.

Hard for someone my age to assess The Crying Game, as I knew the twist long before I saw it.

Mr E

The Keyser Söze twist in The Usual Suspects was incredible at the time. It totally caught me off guard and blew my mind (it helps that it wasn't spoiled or even hinted at beforehand).

The internet of 2018 would have ruined it months in advance.

Harry Palmr

Charade - 1963 when..ah but that would be telling. It's about four twists in one. Very good.

Kiith

Sixth Sense caught me completely by surprise.

redmgar

Yeah I've never seen the 6th sense because I know the twist. Probably would have been a good one if you didn't know.

Goodshape

Fight Club was a good one.


Unfortunately enough, I went to see Fight Club and 6th Sense as a double-bill in the cinema. Think they both came out the same day in Ireland? Anyway, having just had my mind blown by Fight Club I was extra aware that things might not be as they seem.

First scene of 6th Sense: Bruce Willis is shot. Then opening credits. Then it's not mentioned nor seemingly has any relevance at all as we skip a few years forward. In a film about a kid that sees ghosts. I copped on straight away. Didn't even realise that it was supposed to be an unknown – just kept waiting for someone on-screen to mention it. Was an hour and a half of tedium before they did. I just wanted to go back and watch Fight Club again.

valoren

Goodshape wrote: »

Fight Club was a good one.


Unfortunately enough, I went to see Fight Club and 6th Sense as a double-bill in the cinema. Think they both came out the same day in Ireland? Anyway, having just had my mind blown by Fight Club I was extra aware that things might not be as they seem.

First scene of 6th Sense: Bruce Willis is shot. Then opening credits, then it's not mentioned nor seems to have any relevance at all as we skip a few years forward. In a film about a kid that sees ghosts. I copped on straight away. Didn't even release that it was supposed to be an unknown. Kept waiting for someone on-screen to mention, what I thought to be, the very obvious. Was an hour and a half of tedium before they did. I just wanted to go back and watch Fight Club again.

What annoyed me about 6th Sense was that it was pretty unrealistic for Willis to spend that long a time and not discern that something was 'off' in his admittedly closed off life. Did he spend the months portrayed in the movie not eating, showering, sleeping like an alive person? Did it not click with him that nobody seemed to interact with him, did he even try to interact and notice nobody recognized him except Cole? The twist left me bemused. I think a far more effective twist would have been the reveal that he was a ghost all along and knew he was dead the whole time. That it plays as him being shocked at the idea that he'd dead just didn't sit right for me.

eviltimeban

valoren wrote: »

What annoyed me about 6th Sense was that it was pretty unrealistic for Willis to spend that long a time and not discern that something was 'off' in his admittedly closed off life. Did he spend the months portrayed in the movie not eating, showering, sleeping like an alive person? Did it not click with him that nobody seemed to interact with him, did he even try to interact and notice nobody recognized him except Cole? The twist left me bemused. I think a far more effective twist would have been the reveal that he was a ghost all along and knew he was dead the whole time. That it plays as him being shocked at the idea that he'd dead just didn't sit right for me.

He saw things the way he wanted to see them; like trying to open what he thought was a locked door (where in fact it was blocked by a table). You can assume everything else was treated the same way.

The Others had a similar twist.

Empire Strikes Back has a pretty big twist.

The end of Planet of The Apes (original) shocked me when I first saw it.

redmgar

Or primal fear is a really good one.

titanic!! who knew eh!:D

Johnmb

Mr E wrote: »

The Keyser Söze twist in The Usual Suspects was incredible at the time. It totally caught me off guard and blew my mind (it helps that it wasn't spoiled or even hinted at beforehand).

The internet of 2018 would have ruined it months in advance.

Forget the internet, the official movie marketing and posters would have ruined the twist going by recent examples!

MfMan

Others of note;

The Village
Presumed Innocent
Witness for the prosecution

redmgar

redmgar wrote: »

Whats the best movie twist of all time?
Seven "whats in the box"?

Moon.

It wasn't Earth!

Charlie19

MfMan wrote: »

Others of note;

The Village
Presumed Innocent
Witness for the prosecution

I was scrolling down the page thinking of The Village, I didn't see that ending coming.

I'd also have to give The Others a mention, the ending in that totally threw me.

Shutter Island.

brianregan09

Arlington Road with Jeff Bridges was the 1st big twist I have ever saw in a movie and it blew me away

s7ryf3925pivug

I copped the twist in The Usual Suspects early on when he says something like "If you ask me, you'll never hear from him again", and said it loydly enough to spoil it for the people around me in the cinema. I copped it becquse it reminded me of the same basic plot that I'd read in Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov

porsche boy

brianregan09 wrote:

Arlington Road with Jeff Bridges was the 1st big twist I have ever saw in a movie and it blew me away

That was a brilliant film, totally underrated.

skD13

What about Arrival? Loved it, though I experienced the short story reveal first, movie still did a great job.

Also The Truman Show, Cabin in the Woods, Memento?

And as others have mentioned Oldboy. That was one of those, "Oh God, no, please no." twists. Shattering.

Kirby

Deleted User wrote: »

Moon.

It wasn't Earth!

Er, what?

I'll admit its been a few years since I watched it but when exactly was that revealed in Moon?

denismc

I win:D

Panthro

Dumb and dumber.
Where they try to return the suitcase to the lady. Look for her name. It's on the suitcase. Samsonite.
Plot twist, the suitcase IS Samsonite.

Mind blown.

SimonTemplar

I would love to see Planet of the Apes for the first time again. I knew if the twist before seeing the movie because it is so iconic.

The Sixth Sense was spoiled for me too sadly. Willis not realising he is a ghost isn't a plot hole. It conforms with the rules of the movie set out by Osmond's speech - "They don't know they're dead. They only see what they want to see". That twist was impactful because it was at a time when most mainstream horror didn't feel the need to insert a twist just for the sake of it. The first Saw was pretty cool too.

Se7en is a fantastic twist too as is the scene in Silence of the Lambs were we realise Starling is ringing Buffolo Bill's door and not the SWAT guys.

SimonTemplar

MfMan wrote: »

Others of note;

The Village
Presumed Innocent
Witness for the prosecution

Loved the Presumed Innocent twist although I don't think the plot holds up with modern DNA methods.

I was lucky enough to see Witness for the Prosecution on stage in London recently. Another great twist. Totally didn't see it coming.

Man Vs ManUre

Sleepaway Camp 1. Great twisted ending to an enjoyable slasher film from the 80s.

Sideways88

porsche boy wrote: »

That was a brilliant film, totally underrated.

If anything it's one of the most over-rated movie twists ever.

bottlebrush

Malice

NIMAN

Shattered.

s7ryf3925pivug

There were a load of movies released after Fight Club with the same twist. It got predictable to the point of inanity after a while.

Skerries

Soylent Green and Switchblade Romance

trick

“The girl on a train”

Try not to google what it’s about. If you haven’t read the book or watched the movie. Choose one and have that *holy sheet* moment for yourself!

redmgar

Frailty is an underrated movie with a good twist.

Kenpo

The twist at the end of The Drop (Tom Hardy) was cool.

silverharp

Don't know if it counts as a plot twist or not but just watched Face Off with junior over the weekend as part of a movie night. Travolta's character escaping and the consequences were very entertaining

ziedth

Kenpo wrote: »

The twist at the end of The Drop (Tom Hardy) was cool.

I came in to say this. The movie itself is perfectly watchable up to that point but that scene/twist I thought made it a great film.

Ferris_Bueller

I thought the twist in Shutter Island was great, I remember watching it in the cinema and being completely engrossed in this film and didn't expect it at all.

skD13

The Skin I Live In

Pretty sick twist in that. Approaching Oldboy levels.

FortuneChip

The Usual Suspects & Prestige are two that stand out, but for very different reasons.

The Usual Suspects, the rug is just pulled out from beneath you.
When you know the twist and watch it again, you're not going to find any additional clues, save a line or two from an untrustworthy narrator.
There's no giveaway there.

The Prestige's main twist is hiding in plain sight. You'd probably never spot it on first viewing, you might guess it, but you wouldn't "know" it ("because you weren't really looking" :pac::pac:) . A second viewing actually shows how obvious it is, particularly in conversations between Alfred & his wife.

Sometimes the rug-pull is just woeful, and a twist for the sake of it. The Usual Suspects fits so well in with the interrogation, it's the last thing you'd expect.

Fight Club is another one that's hiding in plain sight, and brilliantly so.

NIMAN

I haven't seen Face Off but I'm getting the idea that it might have stolen the idea of Shattered?

ohnonotgmail

NIMAN wrote: »

I haven't seen Face Off but I'm getting the idea that it might have stolen the idea of Shattered?

Not unless the writers of Face/Off travelled forward in time, watched Shattered and then came back.

Mach Two

Surely the "Sixth Sense".

silverharp

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Not unless the writers of Face/Off travelled forward in time, watched Shattered and then came back.

time travel is an option but backwards

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102900/

ohnonotgmail

silverharp wrote: »

time travel is an option but backwards

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102900/

Didnt realise there were 2 films called Shattered.

redmgar

Psycho?