Everyone loves a movie with a good twist, and the Hollywood engine knows that and exploits it. Almost every film that comes out now has at least one twist or another, but some really stand out for their brilliance or shock value. This is the list of the 15 best film twists. Contains Spoilers.
15. The Village [2004]
Story: In a quiet, isolated village in olde Pennsylvania, there lies a pact between the people of the village and the creatures who reside in the surrounding woods: the townspeople do not enter the woods, and the creatures do not enter the village. The pact stays true for many years, but when Lucius Hunt seeks medical supplies from the towns beyond the wood, the pact is challenged. Animal carcasses, devoid of fur, begin to appear around the village, causing the council of elders to fear for the safety of the village, the pact, and so much more.
The Twist: The monsters are the elders dressing up to hide the fact that they are living in a fake world fenced off from modern society
14. 12 Monkeys [1995]
Story: An unknown and lethal virus has wiped out five billion people in 1996. Only 1% of the population has survived by the year 2035, and is forced to live underground. A convict (James Cole) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to 1996 to gather information about the origin of the epidemic (who he’s told was spread by a mysterious “Army of the Twelve Monkeys”) and locate the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. Unfortunately Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.
The Twist: It wasn’t the Army of 12 Monkeys, it was Dr Peter’s who worked with Jeffrey Goines father
13. Unbreakable [2000]
Story: After walking unscathed from a train wreck, security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is approached by Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson), a comic book collector convinced he is, in reality, a super-hero. Dunn is skeptical, but gradually realizes he has superhuman strength and paranormal crime-fighting abilities.
The Twist: Price is the villain
12. No Way Out [1987]
Story: Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner), a naval attaché at the Pentagon, is ordered to locate the murderer of a high-class escort he himself had been seeing. The real killer, Secretary of Defence David Brice (Gene Hackman), has pinned the blame on a bogus Russian mole, codename “Yuri”.
The Twist: Tom is Yuri
11. The Others [2001]
Story: A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she’s waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.
The Twist: They are all ghosts
10. Primal Fear [1996]
Story: An arrogant, high-powered attorney takes on the case of a poor altar boy (Aaron) found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who has taken him in. The case gets a lot more complex when the accused reveals that there may or may not have been a “third person”, Roy, in the room during the murder.
The Twist: Aaron is Roy and he did it
9. Dogville [2003]
Story: The beautiful fugitive, Grace (Nicole Kidman), arrives in the isolated township of Dogville on the run from a team of gangsters. With some encouragement from Tom, the self-appointed town spokesman, the little community agrees to hide her and in return, Grace agrees to work for them. However, when a search sets in, the people of Dogville demand a better deal in exchange for the risk of harbouring poor Grace, turning her into a virtual slave, and she learns the hard way that in this town, goodness is relative.
The Twist: The mobster is Grace’s father and he kills everyone in the town at her request
8. Saw [2004]
Story: A sadistic serial killer known as ‘Jigsaw’ by the police is kidnapping people to teach them the value of life by making them choose between losing a part of their body and/or hurting someone else to survive. One of his victims is a young man named Adam who awakens in a bathtub to find that he is chained by the leg to a pipe in the basement of a crumbling building. Adam sees another person chained on the other side of the room; his name is Dr. Lawrence Gordon. They both discover a dead man, who committed suicide, laying between them in a pool of blood with a gun in one hand and a tape recorder in the other
The Twist: The man on the floor is Jigsaw and he is alive
7. Sixth Sense [1999]
Story: Malcolm Crowe is a child psychologist who receives an award on the same night that he is visited by a very unhappy ex-patient. After this encounter, Crowe takes on the task of curing a young boy with the same ills as the ex-patient. This boy “sees dead people”. Crowe spends a lot of time with the boy (Cole) much to the dismay of his wife. Cole’s mom is at her wit’s end with what to do about her son’s increasing problems. Crowe is the boy’s only hope.
The Twist: Malcolm Crowe is dead
6. Fight Club [1999]
Story: A lonely, isolated thirty-something young professional (The Narrator) seeks an escape from his mundane existence with the help of a devious soap salesman called Tyler Durden. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world now denies them. Their boxing matches and harmless pranks soon lead to an out-of-control spiral towards oblivion.
The Twist: The narrator and Tyler Durden are the same person
5. The Empire Strikes Back [1980]
Story: Fleeing the evil Galactic Empire, the rebels abandon their new base on Hoth. Princess Leia, Han Solo and the droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 escape in the damaged Millenium Falcon, but are later captured by Lord Darth Vader on Bespin. Skywalker, meanwhile, follows Ben Kenobi’s posthumous command and receives Jedi training by Yoda on Dagobah.
The Twist: Leia is Luke’s sister and Darth Vader is their father
4. The Crying Game [1992]
Story: An unlikely kind of friendship develops between Fergus, an Irish Republican Army volunteer, and Jody, a kidnapped British soldier lured into an IRA trap by Jude, another IRA member. When the hostage-taking ends up going horribly wrong, Fergus escapes and heads to London, where he seeks out Jody’s girlfriend, a hairdresser named Dil. Fergus adopts the name “Jimmy” and gets a job as a day laborer. He also starts seeing Dil, who knows nothing about Fergus’ IRA background.
The Twist: Dil is a man
3. Planet of the Apes [1968]
Story: In the year 3978 AD a spaceship with a crew of 4 crashes down on a distant planet. One of the crew members had died in space and the other 3 head out to explore the planet. They soon learn that the planet is much like their own and they find that it is inhabited by intelligent apes. One of the men is shot and killed and the others are taken to the apes’ city. After being put through ape trial one escapes with a female human native to the planet. After helping his ape friends escape a religious heresy trial he flees into the wilderness with the female.
The Twist: It is the future Planet Earth after an atomic war
2. Psycho [1960]
Story: Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam’s California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother.
The Twist: The mother is Norman in drag
1. The Usual Suspects [1995]
Story: Police investigating an exploded boat on a San Pedro pier discover 27 bodies and $91 million worth of drug money. The only survivors are a severely burned and very scared Hungarian terrorist and Verbal Kint, a crippled con-man. Reluctantly, Kint is pressured into explaining exactly what happened on the boat. His story begins six weeks earlier with five criminals being dragged in by New York police desperate for suspects on a hijacked truck and ends with the possible identification of a shadowy criminal mastermind, Keyser Soze.
The Twist: Kint is Soze and the whole story he tells the police is made up
Notable others: Blood Simple, House of Games, Identity, The Spanish Prisoner, Mulholland Drive
I always thought Luke found out about Leah and Darth Vada in Return of the Jedi.
Wheres the Shutter Island twist?
Shutter Island a great movie don’t get me wrong but the twist was noticeable from the trailer.
Also the list was created before Shutter Island
The movies in the list all sound great, but the greatest movie twist IMHO came in the 2003 South Korean movie Old Boy. And to think I watched that movie with, of all people, MY DAD, thinking it was an action/gangster movie. Awkward doesn’t begin to describe that experience.
Trust me, watch it.
Memento?
Agreed. The guy who compiled this list must never have seen it. It should be in the top 3 or 4 let alone top 15.
Vader reveals his identity to Luke in Empire Strikes Back, and Yoda confirms that it is true in Return of the Jedi.
nice list. how about lost highway, which has a great twist which nobody understands.
great list.
can the brilliant ending in ‘Se7en’ be considered a twist?
inanytime: Lost highway is a good choice – but like Mulholland drive, I wouldn’t rate in the top 15.
dalandzadgad: I was going to put Se7en in, but I wasn’t convinced that is was in the top 15.
steve: agree completely about Lady in the Water – what a let down that was!
Dude, this list is like a crime. Hopefully, everyone who reads it has already I think that movie was just marketed wrong. It was sold as a horror movie, or a movie that might have a “twist”. Instead, it was a modern fairytale. Highly underrated.
The village? When I saw that I thought the list was going to be the top 15 most disappointing movie twists.
what about The Illusionist? or did anyone see that one coming? there was another movie with Hugh Jackman and Edward Norton where 2 rival magicians are competing to develope a similar trick. i think it is called The Magician, but i could be wrong.
"The Prestige" awesome movie
It was actually called the Prestige and it was with Christian Bale not Edward Norton. Edward Norton was in the Illusionist with Jessica Beil.
it was christian bale and hugh jackman…The Prestige was the movie…
Paul: aww – I had to include it because it is so famous! At least the rest are awesome
80toy: The Magician was excellent – not sure about the Illusionist.
evan: I had a lot of difficulty with that one – what actually is the twist in that film?
Since he cant remember short term memories he purposely includes only so much information on his notes about the “bad guy” to allow new people to become the person who he is looking to kill. He does this over and over again thinking its the original killer. He is helped by his friend, to kind of give his life some purpose.
What about high tension?!
evan: but isn’t that the whole premise of the film rather than a twist in the plot?
Michelle: I haven’t seen that – what is it about?
good list, i noticed that M. Night Shyamalan has a fair share of movies on the list, he’s good.
as for the village, i liked that movie, it wasn’t his worst one (Lady in The Water), but it was good nonetheless.
Also, i joke guessed the ending of the movie halfway through, so i guess that’s why its number 15
Fe: you are right about Shamyalan – you do just expect a twist now. He has typecast himself.
Jack: Thanks for clarifying that – no one seems to know what the twist is!
Ian: I will have to check that out.
Molly/Jack: I actually haven't seen the Prestige yet – I will have to now though
Christian Bale is one of the best British actors around at the moment.
The Prestige is truly excellent and has more than one twist; they pretty much all sort of come rapid-fire at the end and leave you floored. I can watch that movie any time and love it just as much as I did the first time. Can’t believe you haven’t seen it yet!
I’m such a dink for not noticing the date on this. UGH. Sorry. SO stupid.
In line with Christian Bale movies, The Machinist also falls in the same category as the movies in the list (although it was probably more memorable for bale’s act of self-starvation for the role).
The problem anymore with Shyamalan is that everyone goes into his movies expecting the twist. It’s hard to enjoy the movie when you know there is a trick coming up. The Village was all right, but the ending was obvious about halfway through the movie.
Jfrater- About Memento, the twist is that you find out his whole quest to find the killer is a repeat of similar quests he’s done before. And you find out in the last scene of the movie that the last “clue” he uses to find the killer (his friend), he purposefully wrote down knowing it wasn’t true and that his friend wasn’t the killer. He did it so that his friend couldn’t keep pushing him into killing people. It’s kinda hard to explain, it’s a complex movie.
I haven’t seen Primal Fear, but in my drama class last year someone performed a cutdown version of the movie. It was so awesome, the person playing Aaron did so well, no one saw that twist coming. When they revealed it my whole class was like “What the hell!?”
As for whoever mentioned The Illusionist, I thought it was a good movie, but I predicted the outcome, and so did several people I know. Still, maybe a notable mention? And what about The Prestige? I think that was fairly good and should go under the notable mentions.
Actually he killed his mate so he could keep killing. His mate had tried to help him but had finally had enough and told he he had found the killer already but becasue he could not remember he could never be satisfied and stop looking for the killer Because of his memory problem his life was pointless unless he had something to do, some mission to keep him going so he wrote the note to get rid of his mate who was going to stop him killing anyone else and who was telling him the truth.
‘Une pure formalite’… admittedly French language but probably the biggest shock I’ve had at the end of a movie. Made in 94 with Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski.
To 80toy, the movie you are thinking of is called The Prestige. Definetly should be on this list!!
Also the illusionist had a good twist, but i dont think it would make top 15.
Molly/80toy: Yeah the movie is The Prestige, but Edward Norton isn’t in it. It’s Christian Bale
If anyone didn’t see the plot twist of The Village coming from a mile away, then you weren’t paying attention, because it was really f**king obvious!
M. Night Shamalamdingdong is a hack with a massive Twilight Zone jones.
I agree, High (Haute) Tension would fit perfectly.
80Toy– The movie with Hugh Jackman is called the Prestige, and he stars in it with Christian Bale, not Edward Norton. That movie kept me on my toes the entire time! I loved it!
I always liked the ending of the original Oceans 11 (the Rat Pack one). It’s just so much fun and makes up for the movie’s shortcomings.
Great blog.
Furthermore in Dogville: Tom, who Grace really was the most connected to and felt the most protected by, was actually the one to keep her staying in Dogville and therefore went from being the good guy more than anyone to being the bad guy more than anyone.
Great comments guys – very insightful
In Memento, doesn’t it turn out that the main character’s wife was not killed in the attack at all, but that the main character actually accidentally killed her with an insulin overdose? I seem to recall that the story that he was relating about the insurance case that he had investigated was actually his story.
Dot the i has a very good twist. It starts off as a light romance about a woman who meets a handsome stranger right before her wedding to a her nice, rich, dull boyfriend. About two-thirds of the way through the movie it suddenly completely changes; it turns out that several of the characters have been manipulating the others in incredibly callous ways. I don’t want to say more and ruin the surprise for anyone!
Mathilda: Thank you for mentioning Dot the I – I am going to find a copy ASAP – it sounds fascinating!
About the Star Wars movies, you’re partially correct. Luke finds out about Vader being his father in Empire, and Yoda confirms it in Jedi. However, although Yoda makes a passing reference to another Skywalker in Empire, we don’t find out about Luke and Leia being siblings until Jedi.
Matt: Thanks for clarifying that.
The House of Yes is an interesting movie with a pretty good twist. Plus it’s got Parker Posey who I think should only ever play evil/twisted characters
GuppyKat: I haven’t seen that one – I will have to look out for it.
It’s not a great movie twist if it doesn’t mesh with dialogue in the plot, so a great twist ought to be planned from the beginning. In Star Wars this didn’t happen. An entire scene had to be created in ESB where ObiWan explains his ‘lie’ in the first film. But G.Lucas couldn’t explain the warm smile on Luke’s Aunt’s face when she exclaims, “Luke just has too much of his father in him!” That kitchen scene in Epi.IV doesn’t mesh with the ‘twist’.
You’d think G.Lucas would have learned his lesson to plan ahead with the twists, but he does it again in RotJ. When Luke finds out Leia is his sister he asks her if she remembers her mother. She says, YES she does, bits of memories, mostly feelings. She remembers that her mother was a sad woman. But then we find out in Epi.III that her mother died in childbirth. So she couldn’t have remembered anything about her mother.
So the Star Wars twists should not be included in a top 10. The twists were not conceived from the beginning, and as such, they do not mesh.
Lol, I liked hot fuzz, but depending on how observant you are you might have seen it coming
i dont know if these should be on the list but Mr. Brooks was a really good movie, it had a few twist, but the one twist that got me was the one with his daughter. I dont want to ruin go and see it, its a really entertaining movie.
Guillermo: thanks for mentioning it – I haven’t seen it but will definitely add it to my list of films to watch.
Crimanon: Bruce must love films with a twist
What about 23? I thought that had a great twist.
Vanilla Sky came out of No Where. And does anyone else find it Odd that there are three Bruce Willis movies in this list. Edward Norton Rocks!!!
This post sounds really immature. Wow I’m Tired.
M. Night Shamalamdingdong needs to look up the meaning of “twist ending” come on the sixth sense is about a kid who can see ghost and no one else talks to crowe i figured it out about 10 minutes in,, not to mention the village and unbreakable
the leia is luke’s sister thing isnt revealed up until rotj….
How about Jacob’s Ladder, which did the protagonist is actually dead thing LONG before the derivative Sixth Sense?
ESB doesn't really belong, imo– that wasn't much of an "unexpected twist." i remember the rumors circulating that darth was lukes' father back in '77 when the first film came out (the poster who says the darth-luke father-son thing wasn't planned from the beginning is WRONG– the very name "darth vader" was meant to suggest it, as "vader" was derived from "vater," the german word for father).
what i can't understand is how you could have a list of "plot twist" movies and not include any based on the books of philip k. dick, the MASTER of the reality-bending plot twist. no blade runner (the director's cut, which includes the scenes suggesting that deckard is a replicant)? what about total recall??? that movie could very easily be #1 on a list like this.
or what about the first matrix movie? i realize it's no longer "cool" to like those movies, since the 2nd one was mediocre and the last one sucked, but if you can't admit that the first movie contained one of the biggest mind-f–ks in cinema history, and that it deserves a place on a "top plot twist" list, then you need to find some way out of your deluded fantasy-land (might i suggest taking a red pill..?).
Or maybe you should move to your own planet where you only have your own opinion to deal with. Holy smokes.
Brazil should be on this list for the ending where you think he escaped from the interrogation room but it turns out it was all in his head.
THE MACHINIST is not only an excellent film, but also has one of the coolest and thought provoking twists that i have seen. the ending definitely doesn’t insult your intelligence. i won’t ruin it for the people who haven’t seen it. but, jfrater, if you haven’t seen this film yet rent it ASAP.
I loved The Machinist! Christian Bale is actually amazing in that one, he looks so emaciated and skeletal. He really put his soul, and body!, into that role. I watched it on Netflix and was so glad I did.
tonybrush: I own a copy – I love that film.
jfrater: you don’t think it ranks top 15?
The Prestige was great. You really don’t quite get it all till the end, and then it’s just wonderfully horrible when you realize what exactly has been going on and what exactly both characters are capable of.
I also agree with Devil (never thought I would say that…) The Matrix was one of the most shocking twists when it first came out. It all seems kind of blase now, familiarity breeds contempt and all that, but who doesn’t remember the jaw dropping moment that you see Neo wake up for the first time? Fantastic.
tony: top 20 maybe
heavenlymayday: very true.
The movie was quite horrible, but if you read the book it had a lot more to it- Derailed. Major twists coming from every direction. I would recommend though that if anyone ever thought to watch the movie, to stay far far away, and just pick up the book. It’s worth the extra time.
I'd just like to say that this list is very good, but there is one major flaw. The Prestige with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale had the biggest twist of any movie i have seen, and the craziest part is that tells you from the very start that there will be a huge twist and you should look for it but you don't really want to know what it is and it even gives it away more than once but still amazes you and makes you slap your forehead thinking i can't believe that i missed that.
The Prestige is amazing! Before that I didn’t know the CB was British and I felt like an idiot afterwards! I mean, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, even the woman whose name I can’t remember, it’s really a great film. The magic tricks, the ending that I know I never saw coming. There’s like 5 twists to the end, it’ was just amazingly thought out.
There were two women; Scarlett Johannson was in it as was Piper Perabo was the wife at the beginning. Great movie.
what about the skeleton key? i dont know about you guys but i thought that was a pretty good twist…and i just watched the prestige yesterday and i thought it was great…great twist
I agree with some of the people here. I thought the village was a terrible movie. Its in-your-face symbolism was nothing short of annoying, and the twist was not even that good. I know its already in another list, but I think the departed should take the village’s spot. If not that then at least Wizard of Oz, Shawshank Redemption, or Toy Story 2(hah).
Anyone else notice the single frame subliminal shots of Brad Pitt in Fight Club? That and the Usual Suspects would have to be my favorites. In fact, both of those are on “On Demand” right now. Might have to watch them again.
As for literature, have to go with Phillip K. Dick. I didn’t start reading him until I saw “A Scanner Darkly”. Now that was a good twist. And a perfect role for Downey Jr. What a creep.
“Why don’t you get her flowers? Little blue flowers are in season.” Something like that.
Oh, and is it just me or does that whole movie remind you Narconon too?
Well, at least now I don’t have to bother actually wacthing any of these that I hadn’t seen already…
Kelsi: there is a spoiler warning at the top
I think people who say “I figured it out in 10 minutes and anyone who didn’t is a moron” need to lighten up and remember that many people go to watch movies to be entertained. Even when they know there will be a twist, they purposefully avoid looking for the signs so they can be surprised and entertained at the end. Then its even more fun to watch the movie again and intentionally look for the signs, to see how well the director put the pieces together. And if you want to see some masterful plot twisting, go read some Dickens. PS The Others and Sixth Sense are my favs.
while im not sure if it counts, i remember watching Match Point and thinking it was oing to be a sappy romantic movie and then maybe a forbidden love but cant actually go through with it movie. but the ending took me by total surprise, haha!
I'm gonna have to agree, Jacob's Ladder needs to be on this list. That whole movie messed with my head…much like the "drugs" in the movie.
Agreed.