# List all of the movies with "things are not what they seem" plot device **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923 "2003-05-17T18:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/1 "2003-05-17T18:23:47Z")
I love this kind of plot device - I’m trying to compile a list of these types of movies. I’ll list a few I think would fit, but I haven’t seen every movie and there may be a lot more. "The Matrix " “The Thirteenth Floor” (excellent movie - my favorite of this genre) “Dark City” “Existenz” (Interesting idea but I didn’t particularly like the movie) I didn’t see any of these, do they fall into this category: “Jacob’s Ladder”? “Vanilla Sky”? “The Game”? “The Sixth Sense”? Can you think of any others? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/2 "2003-05-17T18:29:37Z")
The Usual Suspects The Rocky Horror Picture Show Clue All About Eve The Wizard of Oz ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/3 "2003-05-17T18:32:48Z")
Naked Lunch. Nothing is as it seems… but you never find out what. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_the_CC)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/4 "2003-05-17T18:36:04Z")
This one was totally ruined by the previews, but **Terminator 2** was one. There was no indication anywhere in the movie that Ah-nold was a good guy until he protected John Conner from the other Terminator. Until then it seemed like there were 2 terminators coming to kill him. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/5 "2003-05-17T18:43:12Z")
I should have said “the world is not what it seems” Clue, the Wizard of Oz and the Rocky Horror Picture Show don’t fit at all. I’m talking about where the characters _don’t know_ the nature of reality. I’m not talking about a plot where you don’t know a character’s motives - like in Terminator 2. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/6 "2003-05-17T18:47:51Z")
_The Truman Show_ ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/7 "2003-05-17T18:51:19Z")
_Magnolia_ _Memento_ ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/8 "2003-05-17T19:03:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rusalka \* > \*\*I should have said “the world is not what it seems” > Clue, the Wizard of Oz and the Rocky Horror Picture Show don’t fit at all. > > I’m talking about where the characters _don’t know_ the nature of reality. > > I’m not talking about a plot where you don’t know a character’s motives - like in Terminator 2. \*\* Well, with your modification to the premise I would agree that Clue and RHPS (and the others I mentioned) don’t meet the criterion but The Wizard of Oz most certainly does. As do any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies or any other film that’s largely dream sequence or hallucination-based. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/9 "2003-05-17T19:20:07Z")
Hmm. Good point, but the revelation that the world “was a dream” in the Wizard of Oz is not central to the movie. Besides, in the original stories, it \*wasn’t \* a dream. Oz was a real place. The movie makers threw that in as an afterthought and it kind of shows. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/10 "2003-05-17T19:24:42Z")
This thread probably should have “spoiler” in the title, since in many of these movies the fact that the revelation that the world is not as it seems comes rather late in the film. “The Sixth Sense” doesn’t fit, “Jacob’s Ladder” is debatable. In TSS, the protagonist doesn’t realize an important fact about himself, but the action does take place in the “real” world. Most of JL takes place in the protagonist’s imagination, so if you rule out WofO, you have to exclude this one too. Also, the world he imagines is much like the one he lived in, sprinkled with bizarre, nightmarish elements. It is a much less-different reality than, say, Oz compared to a Kansas farm. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/11 "2003-05-17T19:25:25Z")
Total Recall The Others Jacob’s Ladder - Yes Vanilla Sky - Yes The Game - Possibly The Sixth Sense - Yes If you include The Game, you may also have to include other movies where the main character is the victim of an elaborate conspiracy or hoax: The Recruit The Usual Suspects etc ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/12 "2003-05-17T20:04:24Z")
OK, I guess anybody reading this thread should realize the spoiler potential. I still don’t think “The Sixth Sense” fits; once you learn the ghosts are real, which is fairly early in the movie, there’s nothing else surprising about the film’s world. It’s the protagonist’s perception of himself that’s off. Rusalka, maybe you should define precisely what you’re looking for. The list of movies where something is not as it seems to someone is probably nearly endless. If you count hallucination- or dream-based movies (and in a sense that’s what “The Matrix” is), then you should count “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, “Fight Club” and some versions of “Alice In Wonderland”. If you mean movies where discovering the real nature of the hero’s world is a major part of the plot instead of just a twist at the end, how about “Zardoz”? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/13 "2003-05-17T22:06:46Z")
_They Live_ ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/14 "2003-05-18T14:49:56Z")
Planet of the Apes? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bibliophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophile)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/15 "2003-05-18T16:03:04Z")
What about Frailty? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/16 "2003-05-18T20:43:57Z")
This movie came out in April and is still in theaters. Knowing that “the world is not what it seems” would spoil it. Identity ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/17 "2003-05-18T22:45:07Z")
Twelve Monkeys? Dead Man? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/18 "2003-05-19T01:47:02Z")
I say that _The Sixth Sense_ counts. Because: Harrison Ford’s world is definitely _not_ what it seems. He’s dead! Noone else (except the boy) is aware of his existance, and it’s not until the very end of the film that he realizes this. _Total Recall_ is an interesting case. It might be real, or it might be a fantasy that Arnold purchased from the Memory Implant guys. We never find out which. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/19 "2003-05-19T03:23:04Z")
The OP asked for movies where “THINGS are not as they seem,” not the whole world. Clearly, “The Sixth Sense” qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923/20 "2003-05-19T04:20:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*The OP asked for movies where “THINGS are not as they seem,” not the whole world. Clearly, “The Sixth Sense” qualifies. \*\* Four posts later: > [@](#): > > I should have said “the world is not what it seems” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-all-of-the-movies-with-things-are-not-what-they-seem-plot-device/175923.md?page=2)