Twist Endings (Must-See)

It is very tough to make a film with a good twist ending. Many filmmakers attempt it, but it can either break, or make their film. M. Night Shyamalan did it perfectly with The Sixth Sense, a film on this list, but he ended up ruining his films Unbreakable and The Village with their so-called “twist endings.” No matter how you feel about them, they do add certain amount of suspense to the film, because if you go into a movie aware of a twist ending, then you try to add up the pieces to the puzzle during the run-time. It is also hard to write an article on movies that involve twist endings without giving away any spoilers of the actual ending. I will do my best to keep away from any spoilers about these films. This is my “must-see” films with the best twist endings. (In my own opinion at least.)

5. Shutter Island

Shutter Island tells the story of U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, who goes to an isolated insane Asylum on Shutter Island. Things only get stranger from there as Teddy starts to investigate a disappearance of one inmate. It seems as though the nurses and orderlies from the hospital are conniving on imprisoning Teddy at the hospital. It even seems as though Teddy’s partner Chuck, played by Mark Ruffalo, has plans of his own while on Shutter Island. This film is filled with paranoia, schizophrenia, hallucinations, and most of all more twists and turns that I haven’t seen since a Hitchcock film. This movie really does its best to emulate the Hitchcockian genre. But, it’s all in the ending; it will move you, rock you, and most importantly, as you watch the film again countless times, it will be an entirely different experience the second time around.

4. Psycho (1960)

Hitchcock was the master of suspense. He created countless films thathad people of all ages on the edge of their seats, and his films still hold that same resonance today. From his movies North by Northwest to The Birds, his films have a special quality that only few have emulated, I.E. Shutter Island. Psycho is a perfect example of how talented of a filmmaker that Alfred Hitchcock was. He used music, camera angles, and acting in a way that only he pioneered. First of all, he made the first film to feature blood in a gruesome way. He also used music not as a tool for enjoyment, but to make the audience cringe, and to set an uncomfortable feeling of dread and insanity throughout the films runtime. This is a horrific film, with an amazing twist ending that is so unexpected, you will watch the movie over again to just catch the suitable hints that Hitchcock lays out for the audience throughout his masterpiece.

3. The Usual Suspects

Who is Keyser Soze? Is the seminal question that the audience will be asking themselves throughout the entire film. The Usual Suspects is a fascinating film about a group of criminals who have just heisted a truck and are looking for the man they call Keyser Soze. As each man has wronged Keyser Soze in the past, they are killed off one by one, and the police are left with the same question that all of the characters are asking throughout the film, who actually is Keyser Soze? The Usual Suspects is the best film, in my opinion, from director Bryan Singer. No other film of his holds the award for best twist ending like this movie does, because, when you find out who Keyser Soze is, you will scream at the television with fiery anger, then hold your breath for a moment to gasp in the genius of what you just witnessed.

2. The Sixth Sense

Was this film just a fluke? I mean, really. No other film by M. Night Shyamalan has been as good as The Sixth Sense, and this filmmaker continues to make bad movies. Maybe Unbreakable was good, but no other filmblew us away as much as The Sixth Sense did. First time viewers of this film have no idea what is in store for the ending. So many movies and television shows have made fun of people ruining the ending of this film for new viewers. It’s funny because, no matter how many times I see this film, it still shocks me every time. “I see dead people,” is the perfect line, because I did not see that ending coming. Also, who can’t complain that Bruce Willis was bigger than ever after this movie came out? He rocks.

1. Memento

What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about this movie? It is told in backwards chronological order, Guy Pearce, the lead actor, is phenomenal in his portrayal of Leonard, and Christopher Nolan in his sophomore effort created a masterpiece as simple as telling a story backwards about a man who cannot make new memories. Whether or not you think this is a confusing plot, it really isn’t. Chris Nolan’s intensions where to put the audience in the same dilemma with this man who cannot make new memories, by telling the story backwards to keep them as much out of the loop as possible. And that is exactly what Nolan does. The ending to this film is so mind blowing; you will want to watch this film over and over again to see the insanity for a second, third, or even fourth time. Memento is talked about, critiqued, analyzed, and dissected in most film classes across the world, and there is a good reason for that. This film is so well done, it begs the question. Why aren’t other films daring enough to tell a story backwards?