A great twist ending can often save an otherwise average or even mediocremovie, leaving a strong impression in its final moments with a slick twist.The plot twist is a delicate art in the world of cinema, best wielded by famous masters, as demonstrated by the many famousplot twists of M. Night Shyamalan. If executed well, a good twist can make audiences forgive a lot, resulting in many films that might be appraised far more harshly if it wasn’t for the last few minutes of their runtimes.
The best plot twists come with some set up, not coming out of nowhere while still being surprising enough to catch audiences off guard. While somebad plot twists can ruin otherwise great films,a great one can elevate an otherwise undeserving pictureinto far greater esteem. A little bit of cleverness goes a long way, and pulling a fast one over audiences in a satisfying manner can often be enough to distract from the fact that the rest of a film might be only decent, or even downright bad.
10Loki Is Alive & Impersonating Odin
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
As far asmovies of the Marvel Cinematic Universego,Thor: The Dark Worldis consistently ranked as one of the lowliest. Bearing a dreadfully boring conflict with the forgettable villain Malekith and the dark elves, little is lost by skipping the action-fantasy follow up when catching up on the expansive franchise.
That being said,this definition of a filler-film is somewhat saved by the last few moments, which skirts around the death of a central character. Thor’s brother Loki was already thought to have died once before inThor, so it’s not the most surprising thing in the world that the God of Mischief would manage to escape from the brink of “death” once again.
Thor: The Dark World
Cast
Thor: The Dark World, the second installment in Marvel’s Thor series, follows the titular hero as he faces Malekith and the vengeful Dark Elves. With the universe threatened, Thor joins forces with allies, including Jane Foster, to thwart the cosmic peril and restore balance to the realms.
But it’s the exact manner in which Loki weasles his way out of consequences this time around that makes the ending so special, as he gleefully takes his place on the throne of Asgard while impersonating his father. The fallout of this act and what Loki actually wound up doing with Odin are both followed up on inThor: Ragnarok.
9The Ending Reveals It’s A Prequel
Final Destination 5 (2011)
When it comes to movies that are elevated far beyond their reasonable quality by a single clever twist, horror tends to dominate as a genre. After all, horror movies are inherently concept-based, meaning that a clever enough monkey wrench thrown into the plot can make all the difference.
Final Destination 5takes the last-minute plot twist to the next level by making it a far more meta-textual subversion of expectations.
Final Destination 5takes the last-minute plot twist to the next levelby making it a far more meta-textual subversion of expectations. For the most part,Final Destination 5plays out like a stock-standardFinal Destinationmovie, full of gruesome unlikely accidents that pick off the survivors of a disaster one-by-one.
Final Destination 5
Final Destination 5 follows a group of coworkers who narrowly escape a deadly suspension bridge collapse, thanks to one man’s premonition. Unbeknownst to them, they were never meant to survive, and they must confront their fate while attempting to outwit Death’s relentless pursuit.
In the last moments, it seems as though some characters may have actually escaped death’s curse for the first time in the series. However, in a shocking final camera movement, the film reveals thatthe plane the “survivors” are boarding is the infamous Volée Airlines Flight 180, the plane whose crashing sets off the events of the first film.
8Blofeld Being Bond’s Brother
Spectre (2015)
The 24th film inthe expansiveJames Bondfranchise,Spectrewas a disappointment for many long-time fans of the series. Attempting to pivot the series into a far more Marvel Cinematic Universe-analgous crossover franchise,Spectremade some bold leaps in connecting previous Daniel Craig Bond entries in a manner that had never really been attempted in the series before.
This put a bad taste in the mouths of many audiences, who saw the decision as a retroactive ruining of previous films, but the festivities at least came with one interesting twist.Spectreintroduced the classic Bond villain Blofeld for the first timein the Daniel Craig continuity, a long-awaited character that hadn’t been in cinemas since 1971’sDiamonds are Forever.
Spectre
Spectre, released in 2015, is the 24th installment in the James Bond series, starring Daniel Craig as the legendary MI6 agent. As Bond follows a cryptic lead from his past, he uncovers the shadowy organization SPECTRE, while M faces political challenges to protect the secret service’s existence.
His re-introduction was enhanced by the shocking revelation thatBlofeld is actually Bond’s adoptive brother, having killed his own parents after seeing Bond as a threat. This twist might not stand up well to long-term scrutiny, but in the moment, it’s a pretty effective and unsettling mechanism to enhance Blofeld’s threat and bond to James.
7John Hartley Is Partners With The Bishop
Red Notice (2021)
Red Notice, ironically enough, is easy to go unnoticed in the modern era of filmmaking.A fairly generic crime caper with a star-studded castof safe modern stars like Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Gal Gadot, the movie practically feels like it could’ve been A.I. generated, with decent action and MCU-esque quippy humor.
10 Action Movies With Massive Plot Twists You Never Saw Coming
Action movies don’t have as many twists as other genres like horror and sci-fi, but a good twist in an action movie can make everything more exciting.
For all its risk-aversion,Red Noticedoes at least make an attempt at subverting audience expectations with the final reveal of the ending. The entire time, Reynolds' Nolan Booth, a prominent art thief, is contracted by Johnson’s FBI Agent John Hartley to catch his criminal nemesis, a mysterious criminal known as “The Bishop”.
Red Notice
Red Notice, released in 2021, follows an Interpol agent as he teams up with two rival criminals in a high-stakes attempt to capture the world’s most wanted art thief. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot in a mix of action, adventure, and comedy.
Hartley and The Bishop end up double-crossing Booth together when it turns out thatthey’re not only literal partners in crime, but a married couple, as well.This results in a humorous series of flashbacks detailing their collaboration, including a daunting scene in which The Bishop tortures her poor husband to maintain her cover.
6Esther Isn’t Actually A Child
Orphan (2009)
Creepy children are a time-honored trope in horror movies, with 2009’sOrphanstretching an entire film solely out of the concept of a young girl being adopted only to not be who she seems. Throughout the movie, the young girl Esther exhibits some increasingly disturbing behavior, including knowledge of sex a 9-year-old shouldn’t have and some incredibly violent tendencies.It’s soon revealed that Esther isn’t a 9-year-old girl at all, but a 33-year-old womannamed Leena who takes advantage of her rare disorder that prevented her body from maturing past puberty.
The Orphan
The Orphan is a psychological horror film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. Released in 2009, it follows the story of a couple, Kate and John, who adopt a mysterious nine-year-old girl named Esther after losing their infant child. As Esther integrates into the family, Kate begins to suspect that there is more to Esther than meets the eye, leading to increasingly sinister and alarming events.
What’s so incredible about this twist is thatOrphanis actually based on a real casein which a grown woman with a similar condition took over an adoptive family posing as a young girl. For those that aren’t familiar with the story,Orphanis a pretty decent adaptation. The actual scares and tension do leave something to be desired, and the filmmaking falls apart without the intrigue of the twist, as proven by the obscure sequel, Orphan: First Kill.
5Morty’s Real Identity
Click (2006)
Clickis an incredibly bizarre chapter in Adam Sandler’s filmography. At first glance, the movie seems to be a typical Sandler star vehicle comedy from the early 2000s with a slight fantasy angle, telling the story of a frustrated family man who uses a mysterious remote to alter reality as he sees fit.
Hilariously enough, the remote is sold to him by the enigmatic sales assistant Morty, played by Christopher Walken, in the mysterious “Beyond” section of a Bed Bath & Beyond. After abuse of the remote ends up ruining his life, Sandler’s character confronts Morty, who hits him with a stunningly serious revelation -He is an angel of death.
Click
Click is a fantasy comedy film starring Adam Sandler as workaholic architect Michael Newman. Released in 2006, the narrative follows Michael’s discovery of a magical remote control that allows him to fast-forward through mundane aspects of his life, leading to unforeseen consequences as he navigates the demands of family and career.
Morty ended up giving Sandler’s Michael the device, knowing that it would give him a newfound appreciation for his seemingly frustrating life. For a typical Sandler comedy, Morty’s reveal of his true identity is hits like a stack of bricks, but somehow works as a surprisingly poignant development.
4The Main Villain Is Cthulhu
Underwater (2020)
For the majority of its runtime,Underwaterpresents itself as a fairly run-of-the-mill iteration on Ridley Scott’sAlienstarring Kristen Stewart. Rather than taking place in outer space,the movie follows the crew of an undersea research basewho spring into action after a disaster forces them to abandon the facility.
The surprise eldritch horror elevates a passing sci-fi horror concept into a clever and atmospheric tale of Lovecraftian terror.
Before long, they’re picked off one-by-one by mysterious unidentified life forms, seemingly coalescing into some horrifying greater whole. In one of the last shots of the film, it’s stunningly discovered that the creatures are paying fealty to a massive, hulking creature with tentacles sprouting from its face.
Underwater
After a massive earthquake damages an oceanic research company’s station, the crew must travel across the ocean floor to the safety of another base. The only catch is that the unknown waters are home to dangerous aquatic monsters. Underwater stars Kristen Stewart in the lead role alongside Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie, and TJ Miller.
This familiar silhouette can be identified asthe Old One Cthulhufrom horror author H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos, as confirmed by the film’s director. The surprise eldritch horror elevates a passing sci-fi horror concept into a clever and atmospheric tale of Lovecraftian terror.
3Gabriel Manifests Himself
Malignant (2021)
Another horror movie absolutely carried by its twist,Malignantis an absolutely heinous film that keeps its viewers guessing until the very last moment. The movie follows a woman trapped in an abusive relationship who begins to experience strange happenings after her cruel husband injures her.
She begins having visions of killings right as they happen, seeming to lose her memories and somehow be related to the mysterious and possibly superhuman killer. It turns out thatMalignant’s Madison actually had an evil parasitic twin named Gabrielwhom she absorbed in the womb, though he managed to survive as a teratoma-like face embedded in her skull.
Malignant
In this horror thriller from the creator of the Conjuring universe, a woman named Madison is tormented by visions of grisly murders. When she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities, she attempts to unlock her repressed memories to find the killer and stop him.
Periodically taking over and piloting her body backwards to enact the killings, Gabriel’s ultimate goal was to slay the adoptive sister that took over his place in Madison’s life. No matter how mediocre the scares and chills ofMalignantmay be,this positively bonkers twistmore than makes up for them.
2The Final Battle Was All One Of Alice’s Visions
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)
TheTwilightmoviesaren’t exactly known for their subversive storytelling or clever narratives, but the very final entry in the franchise does manage to pull a neat trick on unsuspecting viewers.The entire film series culminates in a stand-offbetween multiple vampire clans aided by the werewolves of Forks, Washington and the elite Italian vampires that run vampire society, the Volturi. Several of the vampires boast unique powers in addition to their standard abilities, as demonstrated by the final battle.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
The fifth and final film in the Twilight franchise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, picks up with the newly transformed Bella, now a vampire, learning to adjust to her new life. Her daughter, who has continued to grow at an accelerated rate, is seen as a sin by the Volturi, leading them to sentence the entire Cullen family to death. To protect the clan, Bella, Edward, and Jacob gather allies to prepare for a showdown.
Though both sides take heavy losses, the leader of the Volturi, Aro, gets his head torn off in the carnage, killing him. In a dramatic zoom out, it’s revealed thatall the fighting was just one of Alice’s future visionsas perceived by Aro’s telepathy, prompting him to finally back off for fear of his life. Even among the most vocal detractors of theTwilightfilms, credit has to be given where it’s due for this genius way of tying off the central conflict of the series.
1Amanda Is Jigsaw’s Protégé
Saw II (2005)
Despite such a strong start with James Wan’s original slasher flick,theSawseriesquickly degraded in quality, with even the very first sequel being a painful step down.Saw IImarked the start of less-than-clever traps that overly relied on self-mutilation, resulting in more of a tortuous viewing experience compared to the more visceral psychological thrills of the first film.
10 Biggest Movie Plot Twists You Should Never Spoil For Someone
A major twist that is revealed late in a film, warping the events that went before for the viewer should be preserved for new audiences to enjoy.
However,Saw IIat least had one neat trick up its sleeve that allowed the franchise to continue to expand like a rotten virus. Returning fromSaw,Amanda is introduced as one of the few survivorsof the Jigsaw Killer’s sick and twisted games, first targeted due to her drug addiction.
Saw II
Saw II follows Detective Eric Matthews as he investigates the chilling work of the notorious Jigsaw killer. When Matthews seemingly captures Jigsaw, he discovers it is part of a larger, more sinister plan.
It seems as though Amanda is living out her worst nightmares by being trapped in yet another series of games, but the final moments of the film reveal that Amanda was actually in on the game the entire time. It turns out that surviving Jigsaw’s game gave her a new lease on life that lefther with a zealous appreciation for the experience, hoping to do the same for others in futuremovies.
