I think the real twist in The Matrix franchise is the one from The Matrix Reloaded:
The simulation is not the first one–there have been five previous simulations and “Ones”, and the whole human-machine rebellion was orchestrated by The Machines
The real twist in the Matrix series was that the filmmakers were hacks and had no frikken idea what they were doing.
Fortunately, I was able to spot that one in the second film.
More like 30 minutes, but yeah, I think so. I would crucify anyone that used that as a description of the movie to someone who was about to see it for the first time, but maybe it is so well known that few would be surprised (similar to “He’s was a ghost all along!”). A plot twist is simply an unexpected development in the plot; the fact that it comes in relatively early in the movie is immaterial. I’ve screened this for a number of people over the years (increasingly younger people are the ones that haven’t seen it), and while there is some confusion of what’s going on (How is she running on walls? Is this a superhero movie?, etc.), the reveal is definitely a “Whoa” moment.
We could have another thread for “twists we all almost forgot were twists”.
Dark City would fit that. You are not supposed to know that:
1. They are in space and the city is all there is. 2. Aliens are trying to figure out the human soul.
It plays, if you go in totally blind, like something very intriguing. The plot is kind of well known enough to not be surprising anymore.
There’s a Jame P Hogan short story whose title I *also *don’t recall. It is about a pair of lovers who have met while using remotely controlled bodies, and eventually decide to murder their respective spouses and run away together. So they plot to poison their spouses the same evening and tell each other what they’ve done, explaining how they took advantage of the predictable habits of their spouse.
One of them comments on how they do the same thing, starts to have a moment of dawning realization…and then their remotely controlled body freezes and their partner in crime has just enough time to realize what happened before the poison takes effect. Because the lovers and the spouses *were the same people all along *and were plotting to kill each other so they could run away with each other.
Were Pina Coladas involvwd?
Roger Ebert says it works better if you skip the explanation and start with the protagonist waking up in a strange bathtub with a bare lightbulb swinging.
Ebert did the commentary on the Dark City DVD (first one I owned, and I watched it at 2 am on an empty red-eye flight from Seattle).
I looked up from his comparisons to classic film noirs and whispered “It’s like Film School on a disk…”
Lots of great ones already mentioned so we’re in second tier country now.
Saw Coherence (2013) on Netlifx last night, my wife and I were impressed with the tension that a story without explosions or knife fights can bring with simple writing.
Incidentally, fans of the Usual Suspects should check out The Interview (1998).