Unforgettable Plot Twists: Plot Twists That Left Viewers Speechless
By Sophia Maddox | March 7, 2024
Bruce Willis Was Dead In The Sixth Sense
Are you someone who delights in the art of plot twists, eagerly anticipating the moment when a story takes an unexpected dive into the unknown? Perhaps you pride yourself on your keen eye for unraveling narrative mysteries, or maybe you simply revel in the thrill of being caught off guard by a cleverly concealed surprise. Join us on a journey through cinematic history as we unveil some of the most mind-bending plot twists that have left audiences reeling. But beware, as we delve into these twists, be prepared for major spoilers ahead!
(Buena Vista Pictures Distribution)
M. Night Shyamalan entered Hollywood in a big way with "The Sixth Sense" in 1999. Bruce Willis plays Malcolm Crowe, a psychologist who works with children. When the film opens, Crowe finds his former patient, Vincent, in his home. Vincent shoots Crowe and then turns the gun on himself. The film jumps forward to find the now-recovered Crowe working with a new patient. Cole is a young boy who confesses he sees dead people.
"The Sixth Sense" did such a great job of setting up the story that viewers didn't think twice when Cole revealed his secret. They thought it was just a boy with an imagination until the film introduced them to the ghosts only he could see. The twist comes as Crowe loses his wedding ring and hears his wife crying in her sleep about him leaving her, finally showing that Crowe was dead the whole time.
The Planet of the Apes Was Actually Earth
Charlton Heston took the world by storm in 1968's "Planet of the Apes." Based on the book of the same name, the film starred Heston as George Taylor, one of three astronauts who wake when their ship crashes on a foreign planet. The trio finds a lush landscape but encounters strange things, leading to apes capturing Taylor and taking him to their home called Ape City. Taylor also meets Dr. Zaius, the ape in charge of his case, and Nova, a female ape.
"Planet of the Apes" left viewers on the edge of their seats as Taylor fought with the apes who wondered where he came from and later escaped. In the final few moments, Taylor finds the Statue of Liberty and learns that their ship traveled through time and landed on Earth where apes ruled after humans were wiped out.
Everyone Is A Ghost In 'The Others'
Nicole Kidman picked up an Oscar nomination for her work in "The Others," a modern horror movie with a vintage flair. Kidman played Grace Stewart, a woman who lives in a remote house with her two children during World War II. Due to the children's sensitivity to light, Grace keeps the windows covered with heavy curtains. When she hires a few people who previously worked in the house, things begin going wrong.
Grace finds strange photos and hears the piano playing on its own. She then sees an old woman dressed as her daughter and attacks the figure, only to realize it was her daughter all along. As more strange things happen, Grace has to confront the truth: she and her children are ghosts. "The Others" she heard and saw were people who lived in the home. Viewers were just as shocked as Grace when the truth came out.
In 'Orphan' The 9 Year Old Adoptee Is Actually A 30 Year Old Woman
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After suffering a stillbirth, Kate and her husband, John, decide to adopt a child. "Orphan" follows the action when they bring home Esther, a young girl from Russia. Max, their deaf daughter, loves having a new sister, but their son, Daniel, thinks Esther is strange. The weirdness continues when she interrupts her new parents having sex and then kills a bird in front of her siblings. John refuses to believe anything is wrong and worries that Kate relapsed into her alcoholism.
Through research, Kate learns that the orphanage in Russia doesn't exist and that Esther came from a mental institution. In a big twist, viewers learned that Kate was right all along with her suspicions. Esther removes her fake teeth and the makeup that made her look young before trying to seduce John, whom she kills. It all leads to a fight to the death, where only Kate walks away.
In 'Sorry To Bother You' Employees Are Turned Into Horse People
Cash is a young man down on his luck in "Sorry to Bother You." After falling behind on his rent, he begins working as a telemarketer. A coworker encourages him to adopt a “white voice” to appeal more to customers. Cash does such a good job on the phone that he receives multiple promotions and transforms his life. While attending a party with some higher-ups, Cash takes cocaine and finds a surprise: hybrids of horses and humans.
He learns that the company deliberately turned their workers into these creatures because they will become better and more efficient. They turned after snorting a white powder. As if that twist wasn't enough, the film has a second. Cash shares a video of the horse people begging for help just to have people love them and support the company so much that stocks go through the roof.
There Are Two Killers In 'Scream'
"Scream" is a meta horror movie that paved the way for modern horror flicks. Viewers knew this film was different from the opening scene. Drew Barrymore was one of the biggest stars at the time and appeared on the film's poster, so no one expected to see her die before the opening credits. "Scream" then introduced Sidney, a teenage girl still trying to get over the murder of her mother the year before. Other characters included her boyfriend Billy, his friend Stu, and her best friend Tatum
The film played heavily on the plot twist. It featured multiple characters who wore the same boots as the Ghostface Killer. As it turns out, the film couldn't have just one killer because it had two. "Scream" ended with Sidney cementing her place as the final girl when she took out both Billy and Stu.
In 'Fight Club' Tyler Durden And The Narrator Are The Same Person
If you're looking for a wholesome movie to watch with your family, "Fight Club" isn't it. Edward Norton stars as the Narrator, an average man living an ordinary life. That changes when he meets the unusual Marla and the even more unusual Tyler. The two men live together and start an underground fight club, even though the Narrator isn't happy when Tyler and Marla sleep together.
As their fight club grows, the Narrator allows Tyler to turn it into a group called Project Mayhem. The members perform acts of vandalism around town. Viewers watch as the Narrator blackmails his former boss and slowly takes on some of Tyler's traits, but it's still a huge surprise when the film reveals that Tyler and the Narrator are two personalities sharing the same body. Many viewers never saw the ending coming.
Soylent Green Is Made Out of People
Heston pops up again on our list with "Soylent Green," another sci-fi thriller. This time he's Robert Thorn, a detective with the NYPD tasked with investigating the murder of a Soylent Green Corporation board member. Set in 2022, the film shows the future as a toxic world where almost everyone is poor and forced to eat food wafers created by the corporation. Though the corporation claims it makes the food from ocean plankton, the truth comes out in a memorable scene as Thorn dramatically shouts, "Soylent Green is people.”
Though critics had mixed thoughts about "Soylent Green," it quickly became a sci-fi classic. Fans couldn't stop talking about the shocking twist. An odd footnote to this film is that a company launched in 2013 called Soylent that makes meal replacements. The founders picked the name from the book that served as the basis for "Soylent Green."
The Detective In Shutter Island Is Actually a Mental Patient
Based on the book of the same name, "Shutter Island" stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy, a Deputy Marshall. Teddy and his partner Chuck, played by Mark Ruffalo, travel to an institution on Shutter Island for the criminally insane in the hopes of learning what happened to a missing patient. It doesn't take long for the film to introduce multiple mysteries, from Teddy having flashbacks to his wife's death and his time in the military to the patient who warns him about Chuck and seems to know Teddy.
Towards the end, the film reveals that Teddy was just the persona of Andrew. Andrew was a former marshal who killed his wife after she killed their children and was admitted to the hospital. To top it off, 'Shutter Island' added a second twist with an ending that left viewers wondering if Teddy knew the truth all along.
In 'Us' The Lead Character Is Actually A Tethered Person Who Stole The Life Of Her Doppelganger
Released in 2019, "Us" cemented Jordan Peele as one of the best horror movie writers and directors. Adelaide Thomas was a young girl who encountered her doppelganger after she wandered away from her family. Now an adult, Adelaide heads back to the same town with her husband and kids for a fun vacation. The lights go out while telling Gabe, her husband, about what happened. A family of doppelgangers then attack. Red, the woman who looks just like Adelaide but has trouble speaking, explains that they're the people tethered to them and that they want to be free.
While that was quite a shock, Peele wasn't done. After a confrontation that left Red dead, viewers learned that Adelaide was actually the tethered one. She brutally strangled the real Adelaide during their first encounter, which resulted in her unusual voice, before she took the girl's place.
In 'Saw' Jigsaw Was In The Room The Whole Time
"Saw" proved it was possible to make a shocking horror movie on a tight budget with just a few actors. Two strangers wake to find themselves trapped in a dirty bathroom with a dead body between them. Chained in place, they each have a recorder with a tape and a note to play them. While Adam is a young photographer, Lawrence is an older doctor. As they attempt to escape, the film uses flashbacks to highlight the mysterious Jigsaw killer and a man named Zep, who holds Lawrence's wife and daughter hostage.
Viewers become engrossed in trying to figure out how the men will escape. In a twist few saw coming, the body on the floor stands up and reveals that he is Jigsaw. Though Lawrence manages to cut off his foot and escape, Jigsaw walks away from the scene, leaving viewers uncertain of the men's fates.
The Tragic Moments In 'Arrival' Are Not In The Character's Past, But Her Future
"Arrival" is another modern sci-fi film with a huge twist. Amy Adams stars as Louise. When 12 spaceships descend on Earth, her linguistic skills help her become one of the people chosen to assist the military in finding out what they want. Louise manages to converse with the beings at the same time she experiences flashbacks of her daughter. In a tragic twist, the flashbacks show that her daughter passed away and that her husband left her.
Jeremy Renner co-stars as Donnelly, a physicist. Through her flashbacks, viewers see that he is both her husband and her daughter's father. Though viewers assume the awkwardness between them is due to their past relationship, that changes when the film shows that the alien's language allows humans to see through time. All of Louise's flashbacks were premonitions of what the future holds for her and Donnelly and not from her past.
In The Remake Of 'Suspiria' The Helpless Main Character Is Actually An All Powerful Witch
A loose reboot inspired by the 1978 film of the same name, "Suspiria" is a trip even before it gets to the twist. Susan is a young woman from Ohio who travels to Germany to enroll in a dance school. She arrives in time to discover another student went missing after claiming witches ran the school. As strange things happen, viewers learn the missing student was right and that witches control the school and its students.
The coven works behind the scenes, causing some students to die. Now known as Susie, the new recruit becomes one of the top dangers, though her eyes oddly change colors. Near the end, the witches meet to give Susie to their new leader, who will inhabit her body. The twist comes when Susie reveals that she's their new leader and gruesomely kills many of the witches before taking her place as the school's ruler.
In 'Kiss The Girls' The Killer Is A Cop The Entire Time
The Alex Cross novels by James Patterson were huge hits long before Morgan Freeman took on the role in 1997's "Kiss the Girls." Cross gets a call that his niece, Naomi, is missing and immediately jumps into action. The detective travels to North Carolina, where he meets with officers investigating a serial killer dubbed Cassanova for how he treats his victims. Ashley Judd's Kate was his next victim, but she managed to escape and tell the police everything she knew.
"Kiss the Girls" spends a lot of time setting up Detective Nick Ruskin and his investigation into the killer. Played by Cary Elwes, he's both charming and intelligent, which made the twist that he was Cassanova so shocking. After Cross saves his niece and other kidnap victims, he discovers the truth and shoots Ruskin as he's about to murder Kate.
In 'Identity' The Five Characters Are All Different Aspects Of A Serial Killer's Mind
"Identity" jumps between two stories. One follows Malcom Rivers, a mass murderer. His lawyer and others argue the court should overturn his conviction and death penalty sentence due to evidence that shows he's insane. The other story follows ten strangers stuck in a remote hotel when a storm washes out the road.
Much of the film focuses on Ed, a former cop who now drives a limo. Those trapped in the hotel slowly go missing or die one by one, from the famous actress Ed drove to the young couple who keep fighting. Ed finds that they all have the same birthday. Paris, the former sex worker, becomes the sole survivor and heads to Florida to start over again. Few expected to find that all the characters were personalities in Malcolm's mind and that the youngest personality was the killer until he came for Paris at the end.
In 'The Mist' Our Main Character Mercy Kills His Entire Family Moments Before The Military Saves The Day
"The Mist" stars Thomas Jane as David Drayton. He heads to a local store with his son, Billy, and his neighbor, Brent. An unsettling mist spreads across the town, forcing people to take refuge in the grocery store. While Mrs. Carmody, a highly religious woman, believes it's a warning from God, others whisper about secret military testing nearby. David watches as a woman escapes and as tentacles come through the doors.
David leaves the store with his son despite others trying to stop them. They drive until they run out of gas and then use the last bullets in their guns to end their lives. David shoots his son and then finds he's out of bullets. Gasps echoed through the crowd as the film ended with the mist receding and military trucks carrying passengers, including the woman who left the store, driving by David as he screamed in anguish.
Verbal Kent Is Keyser Söze In 'The Usual Suspects'
Before he made headlines for the wrong reasons, Kevin Spacey was Verbal Kint, a disabled man who is also a con man who worked for Keyser Söze, a huge underground figure. Dean Keaton brings in Kint to find out what he knows about a massacre on a ship where Kint was one of the only survivors. As the movie unfolds, viewers learn about Söze's mysterious past and how he became one of the most feared men in the world.
Though Keaton starts putting together the pieces, he's too late. He learns that Kint and Söze are the same man at the same time that viewers solve the puzzle. In a famous and often-imitated scene, Kint/Söze walks outside and slowly gets rid of his limp as he hops into a car and escapes.
Darth Vader Is Luke Skywalker's Father
It's hard to imagine what a shocking twist this reveal was for fans of the original "Star Wars" film. Luke Skywalker was a simple boy when they first met him, but he would later become a hero who faced off against Darth Vader. George Lucas himself didn't even plan on adding this twist. It was only while working on the script for "The Empire Strikes Back" and struggling with writer's block that the director went in a new direction. Once Vader became Luke's father, the script came together.
Making things even more shocking was the reveal that Leia was Luke's sister and Vader's daughter. While often quoted as, “Luke, I am your father,” Vader actually said, “No, I am your father.” The next time you hear the misquoted line, you can jump in with the real one.
In 'Psycho' Norman Is Pretending To Be His Dead Mother
"Psycho" is a classic and one of the best horror movies of all time. It also surprised audiences with two different twists. Janet Leigh was a huge star at the time when she appeared on screen as Marion Crane. Viewers assumed they would follow her story. That all changed when she brutally died in her shower after checking into a hotel. The film then turned to Norman Bates, the quiet man running the hotel with his mother. Viewers saw his mother watching from the windows multiple times, which made the big reveal even more shocking.
Not only was Norman the real “psycho” and the man behind Marion's death, but his mother was dead. The figure spotted in the windows was him in his mother's dress. Film lore says that some viewers even fainted when they saw Norman dressed as his mother for the first time.
The Wizard Is Just A Normal Guy In 'The Wizard Of Oz'
Even family and kid flicks can have some shocking twists, like "The Wizard of Oz" from 1939. Starring Judy Garland, it tells the story of Dorothy Gale. Blown away during a tornado, she wakes up in Oz and meets Glinda, the Good Witch. She then meets a host of other characters as they take the Yellow Brick Road to find the titular character who holds the power to send her home.
Fans watching the film back then assumed it would have a happy ending. Dorothy would find the Wizard, and he would send her home. Instead, they learned that the Wizard was a fake, just a human man who wound up in Oz and took on his unique persona. While Dorothy did get her happy ending, it took some time to get there.
