Movies With Twist Endings

Posted on 25 Apr 00:00

 

A good movie plot just impresses the audience but a twist in a tale can make a movie completely unforgettable. Plot twists or mid-story twists specially fit in horror or thriller genres because these genres are designed to surprise the audience. Movies with twist endings deprive someone of anticipating. Here is a list of some top movies with twist endings.

1)  The Sixth Sense (1999)

A child psychologist Malcolm Crowe comes across an eight years old boy Cole Sear who is having the same kind of problems as his former patient Vincent Gray. Malcolm decides to treat the young boy and spends a lot of time with him to determine the source of his behavior.

Malcolm discovers the boy’s incredible ability. The movie is full of surprises and its climax is awesomely twisted, and the young boy’s sixth sense keeps the story interesting.

This movie starred Bruce Willis (as Malcolm Crowe), Haley Joel Osment (as Cole Sear), and Toni Collette (as Lynn Sear) and was directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan. The movie was the second highest-grossing movie of 1999 and managed to earn about $672 million on Box Office from budget of just $40 million.

The Sixth Sense also managed to earn six nominations for Academy Awards, including the best picture, best-supporting actor, best supporting actress, best director, best writing screenplay, and the best film editing awards.

2)  Memento (2000)

Memento is a psychological thriller directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie features Guy Pearce (as Leonard Shelby), Carrie Anne Moss (as Natalie), and Joe Pantoliano (as John Edward).

Leonard is determined to avenge his wife’s murder but the movie keeps the  audience enthralled because of his reoccurring short-term memory loss. Leonard attempts to write everything he wants to remember, but with every passing night his memory refreshes. To find the man who killed his wife the movie goes back in time to collect the puzzles and keeps the audience as confused as Leonard.

Eventually, Leonard meets Sammy Jankis who he thinks is suffering from the same condition. But movie climax changes unexpectedly when Leonard and Sammy have a lot more of a connection than expected.  

The movie is considered to be voted 25th among the hundred best 21st-century movies. Memento managed to earn two nominations for the Oscar, one for the best writing screenplay and the other for the best film editing. The movie was also selected for preservation in National film registry of US in 2017, it is considered culturally historical.

3)  The Others (2001)

This movie is about a widow, Grace Stewart, and her two children Anne and Nicholas. Grace has lost her husband in World War II. Both of her children are photosensitive and are hurt when exposed to sunlight. Grace and her children are living a peaceful life on a dark and lonely island.

The terrifying secrets are revealed when she hires three mysterious servants Mrs. Bertha Mills, Lydia, and Mr. Edmund. The plot takes several twists and turns which as confusing and disturbing to Grace Stewart.

“The Others” is a psychological horror movie that is written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. The movie managed to win seven Goya awards comprising the best film director and the best film also. “The Others” is the first English movie which was awarded at the Spanish National film awards (Goyas). The movie succeeded in earning approximately $209 million at the Box Office.

The cast includes Nicole Kidman (as Grace Stewart), Christopher Eccleston (as Charles), and James Bentley (as Nicholas). Nicole Kidman was also nominated for Golden Globe awards for her brilliant performance.

4)  The Usual Suspects (1995)

'The Usual Suspects' was directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. The film features Kevin Spacey (as Verbal), Stephen Baldwin (as McManus), and Gabriel Byrne (as Keaton). This movie is about a number of men who are caught by New York Police after a waterfront explosion. They are criminal suspects and are under police investigation.

The story makes a lot of twists while the police try to connect the statements given by the suspects. It is revealed to police that the statements by the suspects are leaning towards the suspects being puppets and soneone is pulling the strings. This movie keeps the audience in total suspense right up to the very end. 

The budget of this movie was $6 million and it earned $34 million at the Box Office. Kevin Spacey won the best supporting actor’s Oscar and Christopher McQuarrie also won an academy award for the best screenplay.

5)  Psycho (1960)

This movie is about a young girl, Marion Crane, who is under a great deal of stress because she has stolen a large amount of money from her employer’s client. She steals the money to marry her lover.  Marion runs away, and decides to settle in a lonely motel where she would can hide out, The Bates Motel. The manager, Norman Bates and his reclusive mother live there at the motel.

'Psycho' featured Anthony Perkins (as Norman Bates), Janet Leigh (as Marion Crane), and Vera Miles (as Lila Crane). The movie was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was written by Joseph Stefano. The movie had a low budget but earned $50 million on Box Office, a lot of money at that time.

Janet Leigh was nominated for the Oscar for the best-supporting actress. Alfred Hitchcock was also nominated for an Oscar for his best director. The movie also managed to earn Oscar nominations for its best cinematography and best art direction.

6)  Planet of the Apes (1968)

This movie is a science fiction film that was written by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, and was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. The cast included Charlton Heston (as George Taylor), Roddy McDowall (as Cornelius), and Kim Hunter (as Zira).

In this movie, Taylor and two other astronauts unexpectedly landed on a planet with no human population. The planet is populated by human like apes, who believe that mankind is a pre-lingual and uncivilized species. The apes have advanced in speech and technology and the presence of humans on their planet raises complicated and ethical issues. 

The movie was highly successful  and won the Oscar for outstanding make-up achievement in movies. It was also nominated for Oscar awards in the best costume design and the best music category. The movie was also selected in 2001 for preservation in USA National film registry as culturally historical.

7)  Jacob’s ladder (1990)

This is a psychological horror film in which Jacob Worker is chased by hallucinations of the past and is greatly disturbed by the flashbacks after his son’s death. He is a former military man who managed to survive during the war. The story takes unexpected twists to find a military conspiracy against Jacob.

The movie was directed by Adrian Lyne and the cast involved Tim Robbins (as Jacob), Elizabeth Pena (as Jezzie), and Danny Aiello (as Louis). A remake of the movie with the same name was also released in 2019.

Although, the movie was popular with audiences, it only earned $26 million at the Box Office with budget of $25 million.

Conclusion

Hollywood is a great contributor at providing effective entertainment to people around the world. Thrillers and twisted movies are one of the most sought after genres that moviegoers enjoy.  A plot twist or a mid-story twist is among the greatest joys one can have at the cinema. Thrillers with great plot twists keep audiences guessing and on the edge of their seats, and that's what we call 'entertainment'!


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