If you want a movie with a great twist, you’ll likely have a bit of trouble finding exactly what you’re looking for on the first try. Either the twist is lackluster, or you see if coming a mile away, right?
That’s what makes movies that get it right so great, though, don’t you think?
These people swear you won’t be disappointed with these 16 movies, because their plot twists are the absolute best of the bunch.
16. Perfect Southern Gothic style.
The Skeleton Key
(I was going to mention ‘Life’ here, but Skeleton Key popped in my head first. Loved Rebecca Ferguson’s scream at the end of Life 😅)
15. It definitely got me.
This is a very dangerous comments section.
That aside, Shutter Island.
I watched it twice. The second time it was like watching a different movie.
14. This needs a re-watch, for sure.
The Game with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn.
I need to go back and watch that because I haven’t seen it in over 20 years and at the time I remember being confused as hell.
13. You can only watch it for the first time once.
The first time watching fight club is way up there for me.
I’m amazed I didn’t get it the first time around. It seemed so obvious in hindsight, yet I was oblivious. Amazing writing and cinematography.
12. If you can see the twist through the blood.
Saw.
I’m biased towards this answer. Working at a theatre, I watched the audience reaction so many times and it was great to see how many people had their minds blown.
11. Best and worst.
Se7en.
I watched this again on my lunch breaks this week. Sloth is right around the 55 minute mark.
Not a good way to end lunch.
10. A bit of an obscure answer.
Frailty.
“Are you afraid, Fenton? Of who?”
“You.”
“Only demons should fear me…and you’re not a demon, are you?”
This movie is incredible and rarely gets talked about.
Bill Paxton’s first directorial credit, and he knocked it out of the park.
9. I literally gasped.
PARASITE
The scene where that maid tried to get into that secret basement just turned the movie upside down. That was so unexpected!
I read an interview with the director where he wanted the movie to take a sharp 90 degree turn from comedy to horror-esque right at the halfway point, when *REDACTED* rings the doorbell. After watching it, it’s true and so awesome
8. It will get you good.
Gone girl!
7. It’s so great that you can watch it again and again.
The Usual Suspects.
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
I saw the Usual Suspects in the theater when it first was released. We had been swimming at the river all day in the hot sun and drinking beers, but my friends wanted to go to the movie so I tagged along.
95% through the movie, the sun and beers caught up to me and my eyes started to droop. There was a lot of quiet talking going on in the movie and I just zonked out.
Wake up to the credits rolling and my friends are sitting there with their jaws on the ground saying “holy fuck! amazing! holy shit!” and I’m just blinking, groggy and confused asking, “wha’ happen’d?!”
They couldn’t even explain it and that’s how I missed the greatest twist in a movie ever.
6. They didn’t see it coming.
A Beautiful Mind.
We watched that movie in school as part of our schizophrenia topic in psychology class. The teacher had previously told us about a famous guy called John Nash who was schizophrenic. And yet some idiot in the class still didn’t see the twist coming.
Spoiler alert: the idiot was me.
5. This is how he did it.
Shawshank Redemption when Andy doesn’t come out for head count and you wonder if he finally offed himself because he couldn’t take it anymore only to find out he dug a freaking tunnel with a rock hammer.
The whole “how he done it” and walking into the bank sequence is one of the best feel-good cinematic experiences I have ever had.
4. It was perfection.
Not movie, but The Good Place had a really good twist at the end of season 1
That was such an amazing show. I don’t think any media has made me violently sob as much the last episode did.
3. This is one of my favorites.
Cabin in the Woods.
@ the *DING* of the elevator doors..
Troop leader: “oh s*%t”
I’m so glad I went in blind seeing it in theaters. Partner and I ended up inviting all of our friends and going back to the theater the next night.
2. We fell so hard.
Ex Machina.
I fell for the twist just as hard as the main character and the ending hit me like a gut punch.
1. It’s seamless.
from dusk till dawn
i like the transition from normal movie to vampire action.
It’s almost like two completely different movies.
My favorite part was when the band (Tito & Tarantula) start playing the human instruments. Oh, and Salma. Always Salma.
I’m definitely going to check some of these out that I haven’t seen. My favorite plot twist of all time – Skeleton Key – should definitely be here, too, though!
What’s your favorite plot twist in a movie? Tell us about it in the comments!
