Fans Name The Best And Worst Film Plot Twists
Who doesn’t love a dramatic story? Following someone’s adventure for a few hours can be captivating. And what’s better than listening to a story? Watching one! Movies have always been a favorite way of experiencing a good tale. Nowadays it seems that these visual narratives are getting more and more complex. It’s also become the norm to have at least one or two major plot twists in every flick, regardless of the genre. These unexpected moments attempt to turn the story on its head. Of course, a lot of them are done well. Others fall flat on their face and ruin an otherwise decent film. Regardless of how you feel about them, these twists are here to stay.
Fans are sharing the best and worst movie plot twists of all time!
BEST: Psycho
Psycho is the quintessential horror flick. This film has been the bedrock for entire media empires to be built on. What makes it so intriguing aren’t the scenes that pushed the boundaries for the time. It’s not the creepy dialogue between Norman and his mother. What really makes this movie unforgettable is that ridiculous twist at the end! Bates’ mother is still around, but she’s not living anywhere near Norman…physically.
She’s trapped in his head and driving him crazy! The entire idea that this guy was dressing up as his dead mom and murdering people was totally unexpected for audiences at the time. It’s still creepy to this day. The terrifying reveal, along with Norman’s fate, made Psycho an amazing movie that still holds up today.
WORST: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Show of hands: who here knows what the Jurassic Park and World movies are about? Exactly, dinosaurs, great job. These movies aren’t complicated, despite the science they throw in. Humans bring back dinosaurs. Something goes wrong. Dinosaurs get revenge. Nobody learns their lesson. Rinse and repeat. You don’t need much more to make a great dino flick. That’s what we all thought after the original trilogy wrapped.
Then the Jurassic World movies came out and tried to make things edgy and modern. Their answer to improving an already almost-perfect series? Instead of cloning dinosaurs they decided to clone people! When the cloned granddaughter was introduced in Fallen Kingdom we were all confused. What purpose did any part of that serve in the greater Jurassic World universe? None.
BEST: Planet of the Apes
What makes Planet of the Apes such a great film is the simplicity of its twist. We’re treated to a great sci-fi flick about a world of apes and ape-like creatures that have created a society somewhere. Humans are treated like animals while the animals are treated like humans. Hijinks ensue. Moral and philosophical questions are raised. Credits. Well, there’s one other thing too.
The big twist at the end is forever enshrined in Hollywood history. Watching Charlton Heston fall to the ground and scream to the heavens is cinema gold. Why was he screaming? Well, he (along with the rest of us) discovered the planet he was on was actually Earth!
WORST: Now You See Me
What’s better than a thrilling heist movie? A thrilling heist movie with MAGIC. Most movies involving the illusionary arts have some sort of trick up their sleeve. When it comes time for the big reveal or climax, an unexpected twist enchants us and takes the audience to a completely different realm! Then there’s Now You See Me. This fast-paced heist/magic combo is pretty good.
The problem is they bungle nearly everything with the “twist”. What ends up being the big reveal? The heist they’re doing is all part of a grand illusion! How can you even begin to explain that in a sensible way that doesn’t tick off the audience? Nobody knows because they didn’t accomplish that part of the trick.
BEST: The Sixth Sense
Some movies execute their twists in such a way that they leave a lasting impression on people long after they’ve left the theater. Only a handful of films are capable of such a feat. One of them is The Sixth Sense. Say what you will about M. Night and his predictable twists, this one was AMAZING. Not only do we get to watch Bruce Willis run around for the whole film, but we find out one of his secrets.
This guy’s been dead the entire time! Not only can the kid see him, but nobody else seems to act like he’s there. Upon a rewatch it all makes a ton of sense! Great movie, excellent twist, and one that other films should be looking to for guidance.
WORST: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The world of Harry Potter is rife with enchanting and mesmerizing spells. Some can reveal hidden things and others can conceal people from each other in bizarre ways. Part of the fun is seeing how magic is woven into the lives of these characters. One of the most lackluster ways it manifested was in the Fantastic Beasts series. These adventures starring Newt Scamander reveal a lot of backstory about Dumbeldore and his ex-boyfriend Grindelwald.
One surprise reveal happens when Colin Farrel’s character is replaced by Johnny Depp in the blink of an eye! Farrell’s character quickly vanishes to reveal Depp had been the real baddie disguised as someone else. Why would they change the actor so suddenly? Was it just for the reveal?
BEST: Primal Fear
Put Richard Gere and Edward Norton together and they’re a powerhouse duo. These two legendary actors came together at the beginning of Norton’s career to make Primal Fear. This gritty and dark courtroom movie tackles some heavy subjects. It also showcases a stunning acting job by Norton. As the tension in the court rises to record peaks, a kid on trial for murder is about to have his fate handed to him. However, his defense attorney has an idea.
Why not try and prove he’s suffering from a severe mental illness that caused the murders? Eventually, it’s revealed that Norton has dissociative identity disorder. Due to this, he gets a fairly light sentence. However, right before the film ends, the twist occurs: he was faking it! Norton’s secondary identity, the violent one, is actually his true self!
WORST: Halloween: Resurrection
One of the hallmarks of any good Halloween movie (the series not the holiday) is that Michael Meyers doesn’t die at the end. No matter how hard Laurie tries to get rid of him he never seems to go away. Some might say that this is the studio’s way of keeping the series alive…and they’d probably be right. As a result, they’re constantly coming up with increasingly bizarre loopholes to keep Myers alive.
We all got close to some relief when Jamie Lee Curtis finally kills the bad guy. Then, at the beginning of Resurrection, Michael appears! As it turns out, Curtis killed someone DRESSED UP as Meyers. How could she have missed that?
BEST: Cabin in the Woods
Cabin in the Woods is one of those bizarre campy films that perfect combines horror and comedy. The plot is super original and defied everything we knew about the genre. This movie is up there with the greats. The only trouble is, it’s not nearly as great as the Titans at the end of the movie. The audience is treated to a real dose of horror at the end of the film.
Plus, Sigourney Weaver is there to explain it all. Sometimes the best twists don’t change anything. Instead, they explain a film nicely with an interesting conclusion. Everything that was over-the-top? It was all planned to prevent the planet’s destruction!
WORST: Iron Man 3
Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr and Robert Downey Jr is Iron Man. It just makes sense. What also makes sense is that every Iron Man movie is pretty fantastic. The effects are amazing. The stories are entertaining. Oh, and the villains are awesome. Except for one of them. In the comics, The Mandarin is one of Iron Man’s biggest foes.
In the movie, he’s a failed actor being used as a puppet. Ben Kingsley’s great reveal from terrorist to comic relief was both jarring and disappointing. How could one of the most fearsome Marvel villains turn into a huge joke? That wasn’t where we saw the third installment of a Marvel super-series headed.
BEST: From Dusk Till Dawn
There have been a gazillion vampire movies of varying levels of quality. But one of the best is the cult-classic film From Dusk Till Dawn. This campy spectacle from the mind of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez is a must-watch. It has everything you need from a weird Tarantino-esque adventure. The first part is like a massive dialogue about the horrors of the Vietnam war.
The second? It’s a wild and ridiculous shoot-em-up featuring vampires and phallic weapons. The transition is jarring and also very effective. Anyone who felt lost during the premiere was instantly captivated by the blood-sucking and campy terror on screen in the final scenes.
WORST: Frozen
Disney could probably pay all of its employees for decades on the profits from Frozen alone. This film somehow single-handedly catapulted Disney into a different stratosphere of popularity. However, that may be the only shocking thing to do with the movie. It’s a fairly predictable fairytale with a moral about love and sisterhood. It also didn’t really have a villain until the very end.
Elsa was basically her own worst enemy. However, because we all need someone to be angry at, Hans is turned into a bad guy. There just doesn’t seem to be any reason as to why. He offered nothing to the story and also made some really dumb mistakes that ended up blowing his cover.
BEST: Parasite
Classism, prejudice, and the gnawing fear that you’ll never be able to improve your life are all examined, ripped apart, and put back together in Parasite. This film took the world by storm when it premiered and caused people to have some deep reactions to this enthralling tale. While it feels like two films in one, Parasite lets its hidden meanings appear slowly and deliberately.
When it’s revealed who’s living in the basement, things get dark. Then they get even darker when the ending reveals that sometimes even the best of people don’t make it to a happy ending. From simple con-movie to terrifying social commentary in MINUTES? It’s a true work of art.
WORST: 10 Cloverfield Lane
The problem with the Cloverfield series is that each movie stands on its own but is also somehow connected to the rest. Each of the three movies stand on their own feet. The problem occurs when J. J. Abrams decides to connect them AFTER they’re filmed. 10 Cloverfield Lane had a fantastically claustrophobic and terrifying vibe going for it. Right before we reach the ending it’s revealed that the world ended because of scary cyber-alien horrors.
The fate of the planet is left up to interpretation, but it’s implied that a war was going to start. What does that have to do with the original Cloverfield? NOTHING. Then the third movie came out and made everything so much more complicated for no reason.
BEST: Fight Club
If you haven’t seen Fight Club yet, please do yourself a favor and watch it. Read the story first, then watch the flick. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter deliver some of their best performances ever. The movie also has one of the most surprising twists to come out of Hollywood. During the peak of Project Mayhem’s chaos a shocking revelation is made.
Edward Norton’s unnamed character was working alone. Brad Pitt’s character never existed outside of Norton’s mind. The entire city-wide apocalypse and organized crime syndicate were all his doing! That also means Helena Bonham Carter’s confusion throughout the entire flick is extremely justified. She was just as in the dark as we were.
WORST: Interstellar
Interstellar is what we think a theoretical physics lesson would be like if a Hollywood studio was allowed to sponsor it. Gorgeous effects, a weirdly complicated story, and some decent acting lead us on a galactic adventure. While some of the science probably doesn’t make sense, at least the twist does right? Okay, not so much.
Everything was set up to end on a somber but somewhat accurate note. Instead, this black hole solution was offered that made our main character into a ghost from the past…but existing in the future. It was the dumbest way to reconnect our astronaut explorer with his kid. There were much better ways to end the movie!
BEST: A Beautiful Mind
Nobel Prize winner Dr. John Nash is a genius. Despite suffering some traumatizing events in his life, he managed to redefine the world of economics with his theories and problem-solving prowess. Despite his incredible achievements and family, things begin to unravel quickly for the mathematician. We learn at the climax that John suffers from schizophrenia.
A lot of the people he held dear were actually just hallucinations! What makes this twist so upsetting is that this film is based on an actual person. The heartbreaking realization that even a part of the character’s terror and trauma was experienced by a real person is hard to swallow.
WORST: The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy is one of the best additions to the franchise. They’re a gritty retelling of some classic tales that make the Dark Knight almost seem real. Even in this semi-realistic Gotham there appear to be some surprises that don’t make any sense. The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in the trilogy, was supposed to go out with a bang.
Batman has a city-destroying bomb on his hands and a dangerous masked villain holding Gotham hostage. Before he can fix everything another villain makes an appearance: his flirtatious semi-love interest! SURPRISE! Talia Al Ghul’s reveal did absolutely nothing to propel the story or change anything that was happening. It felt more like a fun fact than a serious plot point.
BEST: The Usual Suspects
When a movie has a twist so famous it becomes a verb you know you have something iconic on your hands. The Usual Suspects plays out as a typical heist movie gone wrong. Despite being told in flashbacks, things feel very organic and plausible for most of the film. Kevin Spacey (before we learned how horrible he really is) delivers a great reveal as the mysterious Keyser Söze.
Not only is he the big boss, but his retelling of the heist is extremely important. That’s mostly because none of it ever happened. The entire film was made up on the spot by Söze, and he got his ideas from a bulletin board in the police station!
WORST: The Happening
Shyamalan movies may feel unpredictable and out of left field. However, one thing they all have going for them is that a twist is guaranteed to occur. It doesn’t matter the genre or setting, M. Night will find a way to flip a story on its head at the weirdest possible moment. One of his more unsuccessful attempts was in the 2008 film The Happening. The plot involves a mysterious force causing people to kill themselves.
How can it end? Who can help us? A teacher in a small town may have the answer. Perhaps. The twist occurs when he discovers the world’s plants were emitting toxins to convince people to off themselves! Why? Nobody knows. There isn’t really a twist if there’s no resolution, right?
BEST: Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
How can you go from groundbreaking space opera to infinitely deep and licensable space odyssey? Ask George Lucas. After A New Hope came out, people wanted to see more of Luke Skywalker and his friends. The sequel had to be even bigger and more bombastic than the first. Thankfully, Lucas was prepared. In one scene the entire movie shifts from space adventure to a deep-rooted family crisis!
The reveal of Vader as Luke’s father changed the entire trajectory for the Star Wars series! Just imagine what would have happened if Vader had kept that news to himself. What if he and Luke weren’t even related at all?!
WORST: The Incredibles 2
The Incredibles is a fantastic family adventure that’s both timeless and a great watch out for the whole family. Everyone gets a hero they can relate to and a villain that we all know well. The sequel should have been box office gold just by association alone. Unfortunately, despite having a great run for most of the flick, the twist ruins the movie. Everyone thought the mischievously happy CEO would be the big bad.
Instead, it’s his sister! His polar opposite, this person resents all heroes and wants to undo their existence because her own parents were killed. While it’s an exciting premise, it’s not exactly a twist or something fans couldn’t see coming. They really dropped the ball in a super way.
BEST: Saw
Saw revitalized and set the bar stupidly high for the gory category of horror movies. These films weave escape rooms, complicated revenge schemes, and twisted morality lessons into a dimly lit series of events that would make any viewer feel faint. It’s hard to pinpoint just one great reveal or twist from the series. However, the first one at the end of the original does stick out from the bunch.
After our two main characters suffer, one of them manages to escape! Of course, that still leaves one guy stuck in the bathroom. Then, out of nowhere, a person we thought was dead just gets up. He then reveals he was behind EVERYTHING before walking away and leaving the lone survivor to die in the dark.
WORST: Prometheus
Prometheus may not be the most loved of the Alien series, but it’s still a valid entry. A lot of backstory is given in this film that didn’t sit well with the fans. We also got a stellar cast that delivered some pretty good performances…but withheld a few secrets until the end. With things going from bad to worse, Charlize Theron’s character decides to drop some heavy truths on the crew.
Right before she’s squished she reveals that she’s Weyland’s daughter! Not only that, but Weyland was hiding on the ship the whole time! What did her relation to him do for the story? Absolutely nothing. It seemed like the filmmakers just wanted to surprise people with something that wasn’t that surprising to begin with.
WORST: Wonder Woman 1984
The sequel to Wonder Woman should have been an easy award-winning film. With Gal Gadot and a classic hero involved, there was nothing in this film’s way. Unfortunately, it turns out that the story was its own worst enemy. As Wonder Woman is getting weaker and the world is falling apart, things are beginning to look pretty bad. Despite all the destruction, at least her love from decades ago was brought back to life to comfort her.
That tricky thing is that to regain her strength she has to let him go back to not-existing! Renouncing her wish that brought him back, Diana gets all her powers back and is left super strong and super heartbroken all over again. This felt like just a scene intended to make everyone feel sad in the middle of all the action.
BEST: The Mist
The Mist’s ending is just as cloudy as the supernatural creatures that caused a whole lot of misery for people in the story. While survivors are being devoured and tortured by monsters, a group of people managed to stay somewhat safe inside a grocery store. However, as the film progresses people decide that that’s no way to live. Some even suggest that human sacrifices may stop the mist from spreading and killing more people.
As the minutes tick by and the credits get closer, the characters reach a decision: it’s easier to die by their own hand than be fed to monsters. Our lead protagonist ends up killing his entire family. After miscounting the bullets he had, and resigning himself to being eaten, something even worse happens. The mist subsides and everyone who’s left is rescued, leaving our main character to deal with his actions.
WORST: Zootopia
A ton of great critters appear with a wild array of jobs and personalities are a central part of this film. It’s a pretty easy-to-follow story with a clear-cut villain…until it isn’t. At the eleventh hour, and for seemingly no reason, the “true villain” is revealed. Who is it? The sheepish assistant to the mayor.
The metaphor isn’t lost on anyone, but it is told in a weird way. Why take one of the gentlest characters and make her the evil one? There was less than no reason to destroy her character when so many people could already relate to her pre-reveal! Was the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” allegory really worth it?
BEST: Uncut Gems
Kind of like Run Lola Run, the surprising and riveting Uncut Gems is a film that had us on our toes the entire time. Adam Sandler delivers an amazing performance and reminds us all why he’s been in the business for so long. He also introduces a character who’s hard to root for or trust. Despite that, he’s also the only hero we get in this twisted film about addiction, risk-taking, and mingling with the wrong people.
All sorts of things come to a head at the climax. There’s one big bet that needs to be made and a lot on the line aside from money. Before Sandler’s lover can show up with some much-needed cash…h’s murdered. Even though we all expected something like that to happen, it also caught us by surprise somehow!
WORST: Spectre
The zany and espionage-laden world of James Bond is any spy fan’s dream come true. The books are a trip and the movies faithfully bring everything we love about 007 to the big screen. After over twenty films, whoever is leading the charge still finds ways to surprise the fans and introduce incredibly weird twists that keep us in suspense. Then Spectre premiered. Despite being the shadowy organization behind most of Bond’s problems, we never fully got to understand what they were all about prior to the film.
In this story, we finally meet the head of Spectre and get his backstory. What should have been a monumental moment in cinema history, turned out to be a cliche. Spectre’s head isn’t just some random guy. It’s Bond’s long-lost brother who grew up to be evil! A typical movie archetype arrives to bore us all out of something that should’ve been better and a bit more mysterious.
BEST: The Prestige
There have been quite a few magician films that left people feeling magical. One of the best of the best is The Prestige. This period piece introduces us to a mix of practical and (probably) real magic. With multiple twists and turns, this flick is always revealing new things with every rewatch. The biggest twist is that both of our main characters are brothers!
Oh, and there’s another twist! Everything is explained in such a way that the audiences in the movie and the theater don’t WANT to accept it! The biggest twist was the truth being told all along. Now that’s a unique plot twist.