# Early twists in films (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080 "2012-06-04T20:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/21 "2012-06-07T00:02:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yeah, that’s one that it would be cool to see without knowing. I was only 12 or 13 when it came out, but everywhere you went, you heard about “Arnold being the hero Terminator” in that one. It will be fun in fifteen-twenty years watching these more recent movies with a generation that hasn’t grown up with them. I watched the original Planet of the Apes with my 15 year old brother in law. IT BLEW HIS MIND! He had no idea about the reveal at the end. ---
**Author:** ![staili](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@staili](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staili)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/22 "2012-06-07T01:53:39Z")
The Psycho homage, “Dressed to Kill,” also veers in a completely different direction after the first 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/23 "2012-06-07T02:13:05Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > And for bonus Michael Caine points, [Sleuth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069281/) likewise has a major plot twist well before the halfway point: hired by a rich guy who’d get a big insurance check if heisted, our hero shrugs and dresses up like a cat burglar and goes climbing and makes it look like a break-in until his employer patiently explains that _yeah, this was never about stealing anything; I only ever just wanted to shoot you dead, while looking like a panicked homeowner who fired in self-defense. Bang._ And, of course, if you want that sort of twist, there is **[Deathtrap](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083806/)**. Originally a play, there was a big twist at the end of the first act, and further twists as things went along. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/24 "2012-06-07T10:48:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m pretty sure that **Psycho** was the first film where the major star (and main character of the film up to that point) was killed early. It was one reason why Hitchcock originally did not allow people to enter the theater after the first half hour. In **DOA: Dead Or Alive** , not only is the protagonist murdered early in the film, but he then tries to solve it himself! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/25 "2012-06-07T11:13:03Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > My understanding was that the opening to _Sunset Boulevard_ was considered a plot twist when it came out in that it told you how the movie was going to end. I don’t know if that fits with out current idea of a plot twist. **Memento** , somewhat similarly, starts with a Polaroid of a corpse - then you get to see, during the course of the film, how the guy got to being dead. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/26 "2012-06-07T12:28:54Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > It will be fun in fifteen-twenty years watching these more recent movies with a generation that hasn’t grown up with them. [Like this dude did when his kids watched Empire Strikes Back.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbV5hn_ET0U) > [@staili](#): > > The Psycho homage, “Dressed to Kill,” also veers in a completely different direction after the first 30 minutes. I know it is hard to believe, but I actually watched Psycho not knowing that Norman Bates was the killer and had murdered his mother years before. When she turned around and Bates was there with a knife wearing a dress, it blew me away. I actually yelled a bit…and this was around 1996 or so. I knew about Janet Leigh’s death, of course, but the whole cross-dressing psychotic killer storyline somehow avoided me my entire life up to that point. I honestly thought the mother was the killer. I feel foolish now, but it was cool experiencing it in the same way(almost) as the 1959 crowd would have. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/27 "2012-06-07T12:46:38Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I know it is hard to believe, but I actually watched Psycho not knowing that Norman Bates was the killer and had murdered his mother years before. When she turned around and Bates was there with a knife wearing a dress, it blew me away. I actually yelled a bit…and this was around 1996 or so. > > I knew about Janet Leigh’s death, of course, but the whole cross-dressing psychotic killer storyline somehow avoided me my entire life up to that point. > > I honestly thought the mother was the killer. I feel foolish now, but it was cool experiencing it in the same way(almost) as the 1959 crowd would have. I had heard of Psycho but knew virtually nothing about the storyline when I first rented it on VHS back in the 1980s. Thing is, I had rented “Dressed to Kill” sometime before Psycho and had no idea of the similarity until after watching both films. So, Dressed to Kill was even more astonishing for me because I watched it first! Angie Dickinson, the star, killed in the first half hour? Wow! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/28 "2012-06-07T13:40:02Z")
I think the “poster child” for this is 1996’s **Executive Decision** , which kills off a major screen star near the very beginning of the film (muuch earlier than **Deep Blue Sea** does). ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/29 "2012-06-07T18:20:12Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > Not so much a STORY twist, but an expectation twist, when one the best known (at the time) actors in the first Mission Impossible film (Emilio Estevez) gets offed within the first few minutes of the film. > [@bouv](#): > > Similar to **Psycho** (and I’m guessing as sort of an homage to it,) Drew Barrymore was advertised as one of the stars of **Scream** , and she gets killed in the first five minutes. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I think the “poster child” for this is 1996’s **Executive Decision** , which kills off a major screen star near the very beginning of the film (muuch earlier than **Deep Blue Sea** does). Aren’t these just all ripping off _Police Squad_, the series that each week had the guest star killed before/during the opening credits? (Yes, I know Police Squad was a comedy, and these are purportedly dramatic movies) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/30 "2012-06-07T18:34:16Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Aren’t these just all ripping off _Police Squad_, the series that each week had the guest star killed before/during the opening credits? > > (Yes, I know Police Squad was a comedy, and these are purportedly dramatic movies) Not in the case of **Executive Decision** , I think. It seems clear to me that they wanted this to be a shock, not a riff on a comedy series gag. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/31 "2012-06-07T19:13:23Z")
How about the first minute or so of _Team America: World Police_, where they make it look like it’s going to be cheap puppets on a poorly-drawn background? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/32 "2012-06-07T21:40:41Z")
How Soon is the twist in Repo Man (1984)? Brian ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/33 "2012-06-07T22:01:41Z")
From the 2005 movie “Feast”. I think this comes about 5-10 mins in (I can’t remember exactly) > [@](#): > > **Hero:** Listen to me. A storm o’hell’s coming down on this place any second. I don’t know what they are, I don’t know where they came from. All I do know is that these fuckers are fast, nasty, and hungry… and there’s four of ‘em. They got claws like Ginsu knives and more teeth than a chainsaw. They’re comin’… right now. So we gotta lock this bar down. That means doors, windows, drains, and zippers, and we gotta do it now. You! Get a phone, call the cops, National Guard, townies, anybody who kicks ass, and get 'em out here. Any questions? > **Bartender:** Yeah. Who the hell are you? > **Hero:** I’m the guy that’s gonna save your ass. > [a monster immediately reaches through the window and kills him] The guy who plays the “hero” is Eric Dane, too bad they couldn’t get anyone more famous for the twist value. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/34 "2012-06-07T22:41:32Z")
I forget whether the big reveal in the Crying Game happened early enough to be considered early by your definition. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/35 "2012-06-15T16:55:53Z")
Bruce Campbell dies so early in _ **Congo** _ that he doesn’t come within miles of a chainsaw, shotgun, magic book, _or_ steam-powered Oldsmobile with a giant propeller on the front. Too bad… it might have made that movie more watchable. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/36 "2012-06-15T17:20:39Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Aren’t these just all ripping off _Police Squad_, the series that each week had the guest star killed before/during the opening credits? > > (Yes, I know Police Squad was a comedy, and these are purportedly dramatic movies) I very much doubt that _Psycho_ was ripping off a TV show that aired 20 years after it was made. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/37 "2012-06-15T19:00:36Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I very much doubt that _Psycho_ was ripping off a TV show that aired 20 years after it was made. 🙂 Zuckers invented Time Travel, you know. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/38 "2012-06-15T19:09:15Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > **Memento** , somewhat similarly, starts with a Polaroid of a corpse - then you get to see, during the course of the film, how the guy got to being dead. Starring Guy Pearce, who also starred in the first five minutes of **The Hurt Locker**. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/39 "2012-06-15T19:18:54Z")
What about the boot camp sequence of **Full Metal Jacket**? That definitely ends with what could be considered a twist… and it’s about a half hour into the film. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080/40 "2012-06-15T19:31:54Z")
Lot’s of good examples here. I’d also consider\*\* Psycho \*\*to be the prototypical early twist movie. Not just an opening shock which is quite common, but a complete and unexpected turn around in the plot of the movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-twists-in-films-open-spoilers/624080.md?page=3)