# Movies with great "twists" at the end?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 15, 1999, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249 "1999-10-15T01:49:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Yankee\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@Yankee\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankee_Blue)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/21 "1999-10-16T05:41:00Z")

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Try ‘12 Monkies’

For a less downer twist ‘The Sting’ -yeah, it’s old now but it surprised the hell out of me when I first saw it as a kid, so if you’ve never seen it, rent it.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/22 "1999-10-16T05:58:00Z")

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**divemaster** , you’re my heroin! That’s the one.

The Quiet Earth by Geoff Murphy

**Yankee Blue** , I totally agree with you on _The Sting_. Great plot twist at the end. The first time I saw it I laughed out loud.

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Jacques Kilchoer  
Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.

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**Author:** ![VileOrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9e8a1a/32.png) [@VileOrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VileOrb)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/23 "1999-10-15T18:05:00Z")

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Brazil. One of the best movies of all time. If you think about it, you might come to the conclusion that it’s a happy ending, at least for the hero, or you might not. The movie is worth watching just for the incredible volume and diversity of ductwork. Robert Deniro’s cameo as an airconditioning repairman is cool too.

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If men had wings,  
and bore black feathers,  
few of them would be clever enough to be crows.

- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher

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**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/24 "1999-10-15T18:22:00Z")

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The ‘two bodies/one coffin’ was aired as part of a series ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ in the uk…Shattered had a good twist…pity it was a crap movie overall. I really liked the ending to ‘Seven’…all i could think about was \* how the hell are those hollywood idiots gonna conjure a happy ending for this\*???  
Platoon (my fave) surprised me with Barnes shooting Elias

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**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/25 "1999-10-15T18:26:00Z")

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Hey, how about the ending to “Blazing Saddles?” I bet no one saw that coming.

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“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - _Humphrey Bogart_

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**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/26 "1999-10-15T18:58:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> divemaster, you’re my heroin!

I don’t wanna be anyone’s heroin ☹

Just say NO!  
🙂

Returning to topic… The ending to the original (foreign) version of _The Vanishing_ had me saying “Oh, my God!” Quite unnerving. Not like the U.S. version I’m told.

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**Author:** ![Mark\_Mal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Mark\_Mal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Mal)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/27 "1999-10-15T19:09:00Z")

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How about _House of Games_? I never saw it coming, even though I should have, damn it!

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**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/28 "1999-10-15T19:45:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> How about House of Games? I never saw it coming, even though I should have, damn it!

## Ach! I was going to suggest “House of Games”! You’re right on, there are enough twists in that movie to give you whiplash.

Tim  
“My hovercraft is full of eels.”

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**Author:** ![Dirty\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Dirty\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dirty_Devil)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/29 "1999-10-15T19:52:00Z")

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Nobody’s mentioned the original “Planet Of The Apes.” OK, not the best movie ever made, but the end is kinda’ neat.

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**Author:** ![mikehardware](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mikehardware](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikehardware)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/30 "1999-10-15T19:56:00Z")

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“Witness for the Prosecution”, “Vertigo”, and “Carrie”

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**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/31 "1999-10-15T20:02:00Z")

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How about _Jacob’s Ladder_?

Or _Soylent Green_?

It’s PEEEEPLE! SOYLENT GREEN IS PEEEEEPLE!

Sorry about the spoiler.

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Plunging like stones from a slingshot on Mars.

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/32 "1999-10-15T20:28:00Z")

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I can’t remember the name of the movie, and I’ve seen it 3 times. I don’t know if you could call the ending a “twist” ending, but I think most people are certainly not expecting it.

It stars Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. It’s in LA, late at night, and he picks up a ringing payphone and someone thinks they are talking to their dad, screaming about how the nukes have been fired. Anthony then tries to convince people that what he heard is true. Anyone remember the title?

Another movie with an ending you don’t expect is “The Rapture”, with Mimi Rogers and David Duchovny.

But I think the BEST twist ending I’ve ever seen is The Sixth Sense. I knew it’s recent so it is fresh in my mind, but that was so original and completely unexpected I think it qualifies as an all-time great.

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This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.

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**Author:** ![Sake\_Samurai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sake\_Samurai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sake_Samurai)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/33 "1999-10-15T20:41:00Z")

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Planet of the Apes – Right on the money!

Two of the all time best:

Tarkovsky’s **Solaris**  
Bergman’s **Persona**

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/34 "1999-10-15T21:00:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> It stars Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. It’s in LA, late at night, and he picks up a ringing payphone and someone thinks they are talking to their dad, screaming about how the nukes have been fired. Anthony then tries to convince people that what he heard is true. Anyone remember the title?

Miracle Mile by Steve de Jarnatt, 1989

The Rapture is definitely a surprising movie also.

I thought the premise was very exciting, but then the middle of the movie, where the protagonist spends all his time looking for a girl that he’s met only once or twice, was a little weak.

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Jacques Kilchoer  
Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.

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**Author:** ![smw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@smw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smw)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/35 "1999-10-15T21:02:00Z")

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You’re describing almost every episode of The Twilight Zone.

But for movies, how about “Primal Fear”?

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/36 "1999-10-15T21:06:00Z")

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Arrgh! I screwed up my last post.

> [@](#):
>
> I thought the premise was very exciting, but then the middle of the movie, where the protagonist spends all his time looking for a girl that he’s met only once or twice, was a little weak.

That applied to Miracle Mile, not The Rapture.

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Jacques Kilchoer  
Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.

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**Author:** ![White\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@White\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/37 "1999-10-15T21:36:00Z")

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SMW, I LOVED “Primal Fear”. The first time I saw it, I was sitting down and I just automatically stood up when Aaron (Ed Norton)said that AWESOME line (I won’t spoil it).

I don’t think it can be called a twist, but I also like the ending of “Interview with the Vampire.”

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**White Wolf**

“Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.”

“Half the world is composed of idiots, the other half of people clever enough to take indecent advantage of them.”

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**Author:** ![Sancho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sancho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sancho)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/38 "1999-10-16T04:59:00Z")

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Hey, does anyone remember a movie called “Shattered”? I think it has to do with a guy who is in a car accident possibly has amnesia? I saw it in Junior high and remember thinking that the ending was somehow the coolest, but I don’t remember any details. If someone could help me out I’d be much obliged.

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King.

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**Author:** ![JBENZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@JBENZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBENZ)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/39 "1999-10-16T05:23:00Z")

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I liked the twist at the end of “Angel Heart”. And the bit with DiNiro peeling the egg is a classic.

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JB  
Lex Non Favet Delictorum Votis

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**Author:** ![meredith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@meredith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meredith)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-great-twists-at-the-end/10249/40 "1999-10-16T05:56:00Z")

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MikeHardware: Totally agree with you about “Witness for the Prosecution”!

Oh! And how about “Dead Again” with Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson?

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