# Movies With a Good Twist \*Please, no spoilers\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927 "2015-09-04T19:13:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/81 "2015-09-09T11:17:55Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > What was the give away in the first scene? There are, like any good movie with a twist, clues along the way, but I’m not remembering the opening scene. Regarding _No Way Out_ – As I recall, the first scene shows the Costner character speaking fluent Russian to a couple of Russian interrogators/handlers/debriefers, who appear to be his bosses or colleagues. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/82 "2015-09-09T13:03:40Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’ve gone back and checked–he thinks the dead status of the protagonist is telegraphed intentionally and explicitly in the hospital scene where the kid says “I see dead people.” > > FTR his position is, as I said, “soundly refuted,” by the fact that in that near-final scene where the protagonist realized he is dead, we (the audience) are shown a series of clips which set out to explain to _us_ (the audience) what has really been happening in the film. **There is no need to re-show these scenes to us, the audience, unless we, the audience, are supposed to see something new in them**. (bolded for _excellent point_) Well, I’ll concede that is an interesting take on it, but unless Mr. Shyamalan has stated that that is his intent I think it’s a bit arrogant for anyone to insist that it’s so. In fact, once you’ve seen it or already know the “secret”, that is exactly how you view it. You cannot unknow the Willis character’s status so you watch the story unfold with different eyes and in a way it does make it a different film. But that doesn’t mean that we were meant to know it all along. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/83 "2015-09-09T13:23:03Z")
In the horror genre, I recommend [Sleepaway Camp](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086320/) ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/84 "2015-09-09T13:57:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Regarding _No Way Out_ – As I recall, the first scene shows the Costner character speaking fluent Russian to a couple of Russian interrogators/handlers/debriefers, who appear to be his bosses or colleagues. I don’t believe the scene you describe happens until the very end of the movie. Or perhaps, as you suggested, the movie somehow made me completely forget that. But I don’t think so. Some people’s biggest complaint about the movie is that there are no clues leading to the twist, that it is just way too out of left field. But I don’t think that’s entirely true. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/85 "2015-09-09T13:59:33Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > In the horror genre, I recommend [Sleepaway Camp](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086320/) For that matter, although it’s often forgotten these days, the original **Friday the 13th** had a bit of a twist ending. Two, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/86 "2015-09-09T14:32:31Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Gah! That’s one film I really would have liked to have seen knowing absolutely nothing about. All I _did_ know that there was a twist, and from there it’s not hard to figure out from the beginning of the film. I still really liked it, the mood, cinematography, acting etc - but goddammit the character interactions should only have made complete sense at the end of the film, or on a second watch. :mad: I did have the good fortune to see _The Sixth Sense_ early enough in its release that (1) I did not know that there was a twist and (2) almost no one in a packed theater knew either (or they hid it very well). I still vividly remember the enormous collective gasp at the reveal… I think a proper movie twist requires that there be enough clues scattered throughout the movie that make complete sense in the un-twisted plot line, but that snap into completely different focus when the twist is revealed. Kind of like the classical mystery novel, which convention _required_ there be enough clues given to be able to solve the case - no _deus ex machina_ type revelations. In this sense _The Sting_ is an excellent twist movie, but _The Crying Game_ just contains a startling development. A more recent twist move that I really enjoyed was _The Illusionist_… ---
**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:** [September 9, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/87 "2015-09-09T14:46:41Z")
Jules Verne loved twists, and worked them into his stories. Several of his books have been turned into movies. **Around the World in 80 Days** contains a wonderful twist. It might seem a bit obvious today (although the headlong pace of the novel works to divert your attention from it), but when the story was first written, it was still a new idea (although Verne cribbed the idea from an Edgar Allen Poe story, and Poe, in his turn, had taken it from elsewhere). The story has been filmed at least five times (although there are countless works “inspired” by it) **Michael Strogoff: Courier to the Czar** is one of Verne’s less well-known novels. It has a pretty interesting twist in it. It’s been filmed about a dozen times, with at least five recent and widely-available versions. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/88 "2015-09-10T14:19:15Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I don’t believe the scene you describe happens until the very end of the movie. Or perhaps, as you suggested, the movie somehow made me completely forget that. But I don’t think so. Some people’s biggest complaint about the movie is that there are no clues leading to the twist, that it is just way too out of left field. But I don’t think that’s entirely true. It’s there. You can see the first second of it at the end of the [title sequence,](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aRa07k7Kb_A) and a Time Magazine reviewer alludes to it in the film’s Wikipedia page (scroll down to “critical reception”.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/89 "2015-09-10T14:27:52Z")
**Wild Things** A “twist” halfway through, then a set of absolute corkscrews during the credits that undo everything you thought about everything. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/90 "2015-09-10T19:12:37Z")
Many of my favorites were taken but I will add in Malice - for multiple twists and Old Boy ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/91 "2015-09-10T19:21:54Z")
I think an underrated twist came from **Minority Report**. Both in the whodunnit aspect and what happens at the end to one of the characters ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/92 "2015-09-10T19:36:26Z")
So many great films being mentioned here. With every new post I’m reminded of a great movie I need to revisit. I don’t think I saw _Shudder Island_ mentioned. It is one of those that many people say they figured out the twist immediately. I have no reason to doubt such people I suppose, but what a bummer. It had me totally hooked and not only was the ending a shock but thought provoking and rather sad. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/93 "2015-09-10T20:05:47Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > So many great films being mentioned here. With every new post I’m reminded of a great movie I need to revisit. I don’t think I saw _Shudder Island_ mentioned. It is one of those that many people say they figured out the twist immediately. I have no reason to doubt such people I suppose, but what a bummer. It had me totally hooked and not only was the ending a shock but thought provoking and rather sad. Personally I think the twist in _Shutter Island_ isn’t what people think it is. The real one is at the very very end of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/94 "2015-09-10T20:11:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > It’s there. You can see the first second of it at the end of the [title sequence,](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aRa07k7Kb_A) and a Time Magazine reviewer alludes to it in the film’s Wikipedia page (scroll down to “critical reception”.) Wish they’d show another minute after that title sequence. I know he was in the interrogation room but… not speaking Russian. Thought they spoke English until the end of the movie when his handler appears. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/95 "2015-09-10T20:16:19Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > Personally I think the twist in _Shutter Island_ isn’t what people think it is. The real one is at the very very end of the movie. Excuse my typo:smack: I knew it was wrong and I big fat typed it anyway. Do you mean the part about him realizing what he’s done but letting them lobotomize him anyway by pretending he’s still delusional? That’s the part I found so thought provoking and sad because it’s ambiguous rather than twisty. Or do you have a different take on it? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/96 "2015-09-10T22:08:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Wish they’d show another minute after that title sequence. I know he was in the interrogation room but… > > not speaking Russian. Thought they spoke English until the end of the movie when his handler appears. You’re probably right…several the IMDB message board discussions imply this. I partly misremembered, then. Still, it’s rather audacious (IMHO), especially if you’re astute enough to notice that later on, his Russian landlord is one of the same handlers. I never noticed this, mind you… ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/97 "2015-09-10T22:58:16Z")
An oldie but a goodie: A Big Hand For The Little Lady (1966). ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/98 "2015-09-10T23:16:44Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Excuse my typo:smack: I knew it was wrong and I big fat typed it anyway. > > Do you mean the part about him realizing what he’s done but letting them lobotomize him anyway by pretending he’s still delusional? That’s the part I found so thought provoking and sad because it’s ambiguous rather than twisty. Or do you have a different take on it? That’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/99 "2015-09-11T19:23:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Jules Verne loved twists, and worked them into his stories. Several of his books have been turned into movies. > > **Around the World in 80 Days** contains a wonderful twist. It might seem a bit obvious today (although the headlong pace of the novel works to divert your attention from it), but when the story was first written, it was still a new idea (although Verne cribbed the idea from an Edgar Allen Poe story, and Poe, in his turn, had taken it from elsewhere). The story has been filmed at least five times (although there are countless works “inspired” by it) Didn’t Woolrich use this same twist, but ended up thinking it was the other direction thus ruining the whole idea? I’m probably remembering incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927/100 "2015-09-11T20:48:35Z")
William Castle’s _Homicidal_ has a great twist. _Stay_ with Ryan Gosling has a good one too. I love the way the director of the latter scattered strange clues throughout the movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-a-good-twist-please-no-spoilers/729927.md?page=6)