10 Most Jarring Movie Twists
Image Source: CultureSlate
One of the best things about watching a movie is the unexpected twist that can hit you any minute! While a good twist used to be saved until the climax or final moments of the film, in more modern films, the twist can hit you within the first few minutes. Also, while a good twist can keep you interested in a movie, some twists are so jarring that you need to pause the film and collect your thoughts. Those are my personal favorite kind of twists!
I have compiled a list of 10 of the most jarring twists I have personally seen in films. This list includes movies from multiple different genres and will obviously include lots of spoilers! I won't be including any twists from the Star Wars galaxy because those will be getting their own list!
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10. Coco (2017)
Image Source: New York Times
This is one of Pixar's best films, in my opinion. When the film starts, it seems like your typical Pixar film about family and a desire to become your own person. Then you get to the twist, and you're left with your jaw on the floor. After Miguel inadvertently ends up in the land of the dead, he meets Hector: a down-his-luck spirit who is in danger of disappearing forever because his family is forgetting him. After helping Miguel reach Ernesto de la Cruz, a famous musician in both the land of the living and the land of the dead, it is revealed that Ernesto is not Miguel's great-great-grandfather. Instead, Ernesto murdered his real great-great-grandfather, Hector, and then led his family to believe that he had abandoned them so that he would be forgotten and the secret would disappear with him. This revelation leads to one of the most heartwrenching scenes that still makes me cry to this day.
Coco is available to watch on Disney +.
9. US (2019)
Image Source: IMDB
Jordan Peele has cemented himself as one of the best horror directors in modern history, and this film was a masterpiece. The first half of the film is simply a fantastic horror film with jump scares, dark humor, and endless questions about who the tethered are and why they are now attacking people. However, the last thirty minutes of the film is where we get the twist that literally changes the entire movie during your second watch. The tethered are being led not by one of their own but by the real Adelaide, who was attacked by her tethered half, Red, when she was a child and locked down with the other tethered. This revelation changes everything we thought we knew about the film and explains the tethered's motives. The final scene is a glorious addition to the twist as Adelaide's son stares at her with fear because he now knows the truth.
US is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
8. Primal Fear (1996)
Image Source: IMDB
There are so many twists and turns in this film that it was difficult to pick just one for this list! The film follows the trial of an altar boy, Aaron Stampler, who has been charged with the murder of the archbishop. However, the first twist sends the film in a completely different direction when Aaron explains to his attorney and the psychologist he is forced to see that he has multiple personality disorder (MPD) and the murder was committed by his alter ego, Roy. This would have been a great twist, but after the trial has ended and the film's conclusion is within reach, the audience is dealt the biggest twist. Aaron does not suffer from MPD; he is, in fact, the sociopath Roy and uses the ruse of MPD and the shy Aaron when he needs to get out of trouble. Like with US, this twist completely changes the film as a whole and makes it a blast to go back and watch!
Primal Fear is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
7. Gone Girl (2014)
Image Source: Culture Carve
This film was fantastic to see when it first came out! The film's marketing made fans believe this was a fictional take on a true crime story about a wealthy man who murders his wife so he can be with his mistress. The film plays out as a romance and then a man's heartwrenching search for his wife, who has gone missing and is being wrongly accused by the police. Searching the couple's home, the police find that copious amounts of blood have been cleaned up in the kitchen and that Amy kept a diary dictating all of the physical abuse she experienced at the hands of Nick. The twist? It was all a lie! It is revealed that Amy discovered that Nick was cheating on her, so she set into motion the perfect plan. After Nick left for work, she would draw her own blood, spread it across the kitchen floor, and then clean it up to leave a "crime scene." She then started a diary where she created the "perfect love story" and slowly tore it apart as though her husband was abusing her. She had planned to commit suicide so that Nick would go to jail and she would have her revenge; however she changes her mind at the last minute. Instead, she goes to her ex-boyfriend's home, and while he is gone, she abuses herself, creates frantic "scenes" in front of his surveillance cameras, and then murders him before returning home and pointing the finger at the ex as being her kidnapper. Her ultimate revenge comes when she announces that she is pregnant with Nick's child and forces him to stay with her faithfully, or she will harm their child.
Gone Girl is available to watch on Peacock.
6. Psycho (1960)
Image Source: The Conversation
Most people know the iconic twist from Psycho, where Norman Bates dresses as his mother and keeps her body in the home they once shared. However, many people may not know that while this twist is iconic, it is not the only twist in the film. In my opinion, the second twist of the film is better than the first. After Norman is arrested and held at the police station, it is revealed that his mother did not simply die. She was murdered. It had been Norman and his mother alone in the home for years until she entered into a relationship with a new man. Feeling abandoned by his mother, Norman murders her and her lover in the act of jealousy and rage. After realizing what he had done, he took on the persona of his mother to help with the grief and guilt he was feeling. This twist left me with my jaw on the floor.
Psycho is available to watch on Peacock.
5. Orphan: First Kill (2022)
Image Source: Dread Central
This film is one of the few instances where a horror prequel's twist is better than the original film's twist. Orphan First Kill begins with a look at where the protagonist was before fans met her as Esther in Orphan. This will spoil the twist of Orphan! After escaping the asylum she was being housed, Leena finds a missing child from America, Esther, whom she believes she could pass herself off as, changes her clothes, and then finds a police officer to begin her ruse. Soon after arriving in America with her "family," Leena discovers that the detective on Esther's case does not believe her story, so she follows him to his home to kill him. While questioning the dying detective, he is shot in the head by someone standing behind Leena off-camera. Tricia, Esther's mother, then points the gun at Leena and demands to know who she is. Leena is soon told that Esther is dead, accidentally murdered by her brother, and her mother covers it up by disposing of the body and lying to say that she was kidnapped. Tricia explains that now that Esther is "back," she can never leave again, and she begins helping Leena to become Esther and trick everyone involved. There are so many more twists that follow this one, but they pale in comparison to this jaw-dropping moment.
Orphan First Kill is available to watch on Paramount +.
4. The Prestige (2006)
Image Source: IMDB
This film had one of the most confusing but fascinating twists I have ever seen in a film. The film focuses on two rival magicians competing to create the perfect 19th-century illusion, and some of the tricks they pull off are mind-boggling. At the end of the film, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) is actually two people, twins, which is how they pulled off so many incredible tricks. Meanwhile, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) has been cloning himself, with the help of Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), and killing the clones at the end of each trick. This twist was so impressive that it was even used as inspiration for "The Vat of Acid" episode in season four of Rick and Morty.
The Prestige is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
3. Unbreakable (2000)
Image Source: IMDB
This was one of the most unexpected twists in film history, in my opinion. The film is a dark take on the classic comic book superhero story. Elijah Price is a man who has been born with bones of "glass" and lives a life of pure agony. However, David Dunn secretly has superhuman strength and has never been sick a day in his life. The two meet after Dunn survives a horrific train crash that kills everyone but him, and Price asks him to meet him at his art gallery, where he explains that he believes Dunn is a superhero. The film's biggest twist comes in its finale, where Price reveals that he caused not only the train crash Dunn survived but also the bombings and fires on the news in his search for his nemesis. He was desperate to find a meaning for his miserable life and believed that if he could find someone unable to be hurt, it would explain why he was born with "glass" bones. The flashbacks of Price setting off the chain of events that led to this moment are chilling and give the film one of the best endings I have ever seen.
Unbreakable is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
2. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007)
Image Source: IMDB
This film is the perfect combination of horror and musical. Sweeney Todd is based on the Broadway musical of the same name and follows the story of Benjamin Barker, who takes on the alias Sweeney Todd upon returning to London after being falsely imprisoned because a well-known and respected judge wanted his wife, Lucy. The film is full of small twists, but the ultimate twist comes at the film's climax as Todd is waiting to finally enact his revenge on the Judge that took everything from him. While waiting for the Judge to arrive, a local street woman rushes in and begins scolding Todd for his evil actions. When she says that she believes she knows him, Todd quickly kills her to keep her quiet. It isn't until later that he learns the woman he killed was actually his wife Lucy, who Mrs. Lovett had made him believe had killed herself soon after his arrest. The moment is heartwrenching and makes the woman's appearances throughout the film more impactful.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is available on HBO Max.
1. Shutter Island (2010)
Image Source: IMDB
No list of jarring movie twists would be complete without this film! The film follows US Marshal Teddy Daniels as he travels to Ashecliffe Hospital, where a patient who murdered her three children has escaped and is hiding somewhere on the island. While there, he also begins to search for a man named Andrew Laeddis, who set a fire that took the life of Daniels' wife years earlier. After being pushed to the brink of insanity, Daniels travels to the forbidden lighthouse to confront the doctors he believes are toying with him. It is revealed that Teddy Daniels is actually Andrew Laeddis, a patient at Ashecliffe. After his wife murdered their three children during a depressive episode, Laeddis, a US Marshal, returns home to find their bodies and, in the act of grief, murders his wife. Unable to deal with his actions, Laeddis creates Teddy Daniels, and if they cannot get through to him, he will be lobotomized. After hearing this and seeing the evidence, Laeddis has a flashback to the day in question and is finally forced to reconcile with his actions. Unfortunately, that is not the final twist in the film. During his final test, he comments about needing his partner's help to get off the island. This secures his fate, and doctors arrive to take him for the procedure. In the final scene, he makes a comment to his doctor, which leaves his fans wondering if he actually isn't insane and would rather be lobotomized than have to live with his memories.
Shutter Island is available to watch on Paramount +.
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