Who doesn’t love a good twist? Having a shocking twist can either break or make a film, as the audience is totally into the story, the sudden plot twist can spin their head around and make them question the action and the plot.
Many different variations of the twist have been used over the years, especially in thriller and horror movies. The main motive of these movies is to build up suspense and then surprise you when you least expect it, this grants the audience immense satisfaction and can also blow your mind, which can make the film so much better, the best directors use this technique all the time, they get you involved in the story in such a way that you are invested in the plot and the characters, and then comes the shocking revelation, So If you are someone who loves a good twist, then you should check out these movies.
Here are 10 Best Suspense Movies With Surprise Endings
Fight Club
Arguably one of the best films ever made, Fight Club also has one of the most notorious twist endings ever seen, the plot follows the story of a depressed insomniac who forms a “fight club” with soap salesman Tyler Durden, their bond and friendship is tested when they pursue a mysterious woman name Marla, the twist which sent shockwaves in the industry was that the unnamed narrator and Project Mayhem cult leader Tyler Durden are the same people with dissociative personalities.
Gone Girl
The 2014 David Fincher’s of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel was a breath of fresh air in the thriller genre, the story follows a writer named Nick Dunne and his wife Amy, and their move to Missouri from New York, shortly after moving, Amy disappears on their wedding anniversary mysteriously.
Nick is a prime suspect, and through the first half of the movie, you are made to believe that Nick has committed the crime, however, you later find out that Amy faked her abduction.
What makes this twist much shocking and better is the timing of the twist, most of the films save the shocking revealing twist for the climax, but not in Gone Girl, the twist happens midway through the movie, and the rest of the film builds on this twist. The film had many other twists too, which keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the film.
Fallen
Fallen, which was released in the year 1998 follows the story of Detective John Hobbes, who narrates the story of how he “almost died” after witnessing the execution of a serial killer, he then begins trailing a copycat killer, who is revealed to be the demon spirit Azazel, who can inhabit the different bodies of people through touch.
Hobbes constructs a plan to lure Azazel to a remote cabin and kill himself and the body inhabited by the other demon causing Azazel to die without a host body. When the climax comes and the demon possesses Hobbes, it’s revealed that the demon had been narrating the entire film, not Hobbes.
What makes this twist shocking is that the audience rarely suspects the narrator, we always think of the narrator as the good guy, but when the narrator ultimately turns out to be the bad guy, it blows the mind of people watching the film.
Shutter Island
Based on Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel of the same name, Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island was released in 2010, The story follows Edward “Teddy” Daniels, who is investigating a psychiatric facility on Shutter Island after one of the patients goes missing.
We later find out that the lead character Teddy Daniels is a patient, who murdered his wife Rachel after she killed their three kids. The search for the patient is a game fabricated to shake him from his insanity.
Martin Scorsese is one of the best directors in the world, and he just shows how good he is in this film, the way the twist plays out is extremely entertaining to watch, even if you see the twist coming, you’re going to enjoy the way it pans out.
The Others
Released in 2001, The Others is a 2001 supernatural psychological horror film, the film follows the story of a mother and her kids, the mother suspects that their house is haunted, weird events keep happening throughout the movie which scares the family, the children start suffering from a disease where they can have no contact with the sunlight, the twist is that the family themselves are ghosts, the mother (Grace) killed her children and then herself after having a mental breakdown and never realized it, all of this makes this movie extremely disturbing and amazing to watch.
The Prestige
Based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest. The prestige is a 2006 thrilling film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, the story follows two rival magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale respectively.
who are obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, they constantly engage in competitive competition, Hugh jackman is obsessed in figuring out the secret behind Christian Bale’s disappearing/reappearing act, and eventually tracks down Nicola Tesla to help him build a machine that can magically clone his body during every performance.
But it turns out that Christian Bale did not even use magic for his famous trick, he simply had a twin brother.
Matchstick Men
Based on Eric Garcia’s 2002 novel of the same name. Matchstick Men is a black comedy which was released in 2003, The film stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman. The Story follows a phobic con artist and his protégé, who are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative scam, things get complicated when the former’s teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.
In the end, Nicolas Cage finds out that not only has his partner has cheated him of his savings, and the young woman he thought was his long-lost daughter was a con artist which his partner had recruited to help him, In the end, Cage is left robbed, betrayed and outsmarted.
Psycho
One of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films, Psycho is a psychological horror film, which was released in 1960, the film centers around Marion Crane, who is fed up with the way life has treated her, One day Marion is trusted with 40 thousand dollars by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and escapes, she gets caught in a storm and pulls into a Motel which is managed by a young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother. Crane is murdered by Bates’ mother,
However, we later find out that Mrs Bates has been dead for ten years after being murdered by her own son after the murder Bate develops a split personality making him believe that he is his own mother, He wears his mother’s clothes and wigs, and murders other women.
The Sixth Sense
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American supernatural psychological thriller that follows the story of Cole Sear, a boy who can see and talk to the dead, Malcolm Crowe is a child psychologist who tries to help him.
The twist here is that Malcolm Crowe was dead all along, and had unfinished business with his wife and son, this twist ending at the time was regarded as one of the most shocking endings to a film, this also gave the movie cult status.
The Usual Suspects
Directed by Bryan Singer, The Usual Suspects was released in 1995, The plot follows the interrogation of Roger “Verbal” Kint, a small-time con man, who was one of only two survivors in a massacre, Kint is being interrogated by a police ice to catch a crime boss, he narrates the events through flashback, we see the majority of the story through his perspective, and is set free.
When he walks out the prison, the cop who interrogated him looks at the bulletin board behind his desk and realizes that everything Verbal said was made up on the spot using words and images he saw while sitting there. The entire story was a very well-told lie, and Verbal is actually the crime boss.
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