I love movies where the plot takes a totally unexpected twist. Here are some examples:
What are some other good ones to see?
If you’re giving away the twist, please put it in a spoiler box!
Mulholland Drive and Psycho are two that immediately come to mind.
Howabout computer games? I haven’t seen twists attempted much, and they’re usually pretty hackneyed – programmers usually can’t write good stories to go with their pretty graphics.
However, Knights of the Old Republic had a great twist I really didn’t see coming at all:
About halfway through the game it’s revealed that you are the main villian who had been captured and brainwashed by the Jedi to defeat your old apprentice.
The first to come to mind is The Vanishing. I know only the Dutch original, not the American remake, so YMMV.
Silentgoldfish is right on. KoTOR is well written and has a pretty good vocal cast, it’s worth playing if you’re a fan of RPGs, or computer games in general.
Oh, I should add a movie to the list? err…
Pitch Black doesn’t have a “twist” per se, but they do contradict your expectations a number of times, conciously defying the conventions of the genre.
The Crying Game
Matchstick Men is certainly way up there in terms of twist endings. Like the best twist ending movies, it makes you want to see the movie again in the new context.
Here are a few others:
Frailty
No Way Out
The Score
House of Sand and Fog
I recommend Sleuth.
I’d definitely recommend the movie Seven. Possibly the best movie with a twist that I’ve ever seen.
I think there is a problem with knowing in advance that a movie has a twist. I had been told that Matchstick Men had a “fantastic twist”, and watched it with an eye out for the twist from the beginning. I saw it coming a mile away.
I suppose I owe a recommendation here. Jean de Florette/Manon de Source may or may not have a “fantastic twist”.
I must be slow this morning, I saw that movie a few of months ago, and now I can’t remember the ending. Could you put, in spoilers, the twist for me?
Blast you, Baraqiyal! I didn’t think anyone would remember No Way Out. One of the best thrillers of the eighties. Maybe because it’s source material was so good.
It’s been a while, but Touch of Evil had a pretty decent twist, dinnit?
Mexican kid actually did it
I should add that if you plan on viewing recommendations from my thread, skip over Magnolia. While its ending was a bit… unexpected, it wasn’t a surprise of the “clever twist/shocking revelation” variety, just a disappointing and rather stupid ending.
I also didn’t find The Wicker Man’s ending very surprising.
Angel Heart, with Mickey Rourke and Robert DeNiro.
When the lead character is moaning at the end, “I know who I am”, he is wrong.
Regards,
Shodan
I wouldn’t consider Se7en to have a twist. There is no underlying assumption that is turned on its ear at the end of the movie.
These are older movies, but great nonetheless:
Dead Again
Shattered
It is not a huge twist and is so old you have more than likely seen it, but how about LA Confidential?
How about “Along Came a Spider”? Now, there is a certain plot element that may or may not be considered a twist (nod to snorlax), but at any rate, it’s a great film, and Morgan Freeman puts in an excellent performance.