As both a writer and an audience member, I live for plot twists, a perfect moment in the story that resets everything—the audience’s prejudices, biases, and predictions, and the story’s tone and denouement.
Whether it is a drama or a thriller, a plot twist makes everything better, as long as it is meticulously planned and fits the story.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of plot twists that nobody saw coming. These moments flipped the narrative.
9 Movie Twists That Turned the Movie Upside Down
Major spoilers ahead!
1. Amy Isn’t Missing or Dead, ‘Gone Girl’ (2014)
‘Gone Girl’
Credit: 20th Century Fox
David Fincher’s Gone Girl begins on a somber and pensive note—Amy Dunne has mysteriously disappeared from her home, where there are signs of a brutal invasion. The main suspect in her disappearance and probable death is Nick Dunne, her loving husband. All this on the loving couple’s fifth marriage anniversary.
It isn’t until we’re through two-thirds of the narrative that we realize Amy has been executing her dangerous revenge against Nick for cheating on her.
Gone Girl is a masterclass in misdirection, and Amy Dunne is an iconic anti-hero!
2. Kint Is Soze, ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)
‘The Usual Suspects’
Credit: Gramercy Pictures
After a truck hijacking in NYC, the detectives round up five usual suspects and take them into custody for questioning. Among them is an injured, feeble-looking man, Verbal Kint.
Over the rigorous interrogation, a mysterious name pops up—Keyser Soze. Their statements paint the picture of an embodiment of evil, a man who fears no man, loves no one, and thrives on violence. With nothing against the five men, the detectives are forced to let them go, convinced that it was Soze who was behind the shootout, explosion, and 27 deaths.
By the time the detectives realize that Soze is Kint, the man who masterminded this elaborate escape from the shadows is gone.
The Usual Suspects not only demonstrates the power of storytelling through both its narrative and treatment, but also gives cinema one of the greatest antagonists who never got his hands dirty.
3. Dr. Malcolm Is Dead, ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)
‘The SIxth Sense’
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense is a horror film with a beating heart. Its plot twist isn’t only a reset button for the narrative but also a prominent emotional anchor.
Everyone, including his mother, believes that 9-year-old Cole has behavioral issues; however, that’s not entirely true. Young Cole can see dead people, and it is a secret that he hasn’t told anybody.
That’s when he meets Dr. Malcolm Crowe, who offers to help. By the end of the movie, Dr. Crowe has helped young Cole gain a fresh perspective on his “gift,” enabling him to use it to help those in need.
It is indeed a heartbreaking moment in the film when Dr. Malcolm realizes that he is actually dead, another spirit that Cole’s gift allows him to see and interact with. This revelation at the end of the movie reshapes the story’s central themes. It’s no longer only a story of a little boy who can see dead people; rather, it’s the journey of a spirit’s redemption.
Honestly, I love how Shyamalan foreshadows this plot twist, with the use of red in The Sixth Sense and also with the narrative’s opening.
4. “Teddy” Daniels Is a Patient at the Asylum, ‘Shutter Island’ (2010)
‘Shutter Island’
Credit: Paramount Pictures
It is not until the very end that we realize that Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island isn’t a traditional thriller centered on the disappearance of a mentally ill patient from an asylum. Instead, it explores the effects of overwhelming guilt on your psyche.
The moment of revelation that Teddy is no U.S. Marshal but a mental patient, committed at the institution himself, shifts the entire tone from thrill to mourning and a sense of loss.
5. Another Family Was Living in the Parks’ Basement, ‘Parasite’ (2019)
‘Parasite’
Credit: Neon
The Kim family was the center of compassion throughout the movie, even though they tried to crawl their way into a better life through their parasitic interactions with the Parks.
However, the film’s plot twist reveals that another, much less fortunate man is living in hiding in the Parks’ basement.
Realizing the consequences of their compromise, the Kims become hostile toward the maid and her husband, demonstrating the evil effects of capitalism that force humanity to live in survival mode. Their violent acts force the audience to lose their compassion for the family, at least in the moment.
In the end, the Kims do not even hesitate to pick up arms, and Mr. Kim kills Mr. Park in rage and jealousy. The fact that they go to such lengths to save their cause leaves us shaken and questioning how we feel for the Kims now.
6. Taylor Did Not Land on an Alien Planet, ‘Planet of the Apes’ (1968)
‘Planet of the Apes’
Credit: 20th Century Studios
Franklin J. Schaffner’s Planet of the Apes follows an astronaut, George Taylor, who crash-lands on an unknown planet inhabited by intelligent apes who use humans as livestock.
The film throws us off with the revelation toward the end that Taylor did not land on an alien planet. Instead, he time-travelled far into the future of Earth. The realization that all this while we were exploring Earth through Taylor’s eyes, years into the future, after humans have completely destroyed it in the name of “progress,” leaves us uneasy.
This plot twist takes us beyond the themes of survival, forcing us to think about a global issue.
7. Tyler Durden Isn’t Real, ‘Fight Club’ (1999)
‘Fight Club’
Credit: 20th Century Studios
David Fincher not only explored a new take on masculinity in Fight Club but also presented it in a way that haunts you for days.
Throughout the story, you’re skeptical of the narrator while rooting for Tyler Durden, who’s nothing less than a hero—charismatic, brave, a go-getter. Once things start going south, we’re worried about Tyler and his partner-in-crime, the narrator. However, even at this point, Tyler is the invincible hero for us, and although his methods are wrong, we can’t help but support his causes.
The revelation that Tyler is the narrator is easily one of the most iconic plot twists in movie history. Tyler is a figment of his imagination that methodically manipulates him into orchestrating a city-wide project of vandalism that ends with a huge explosion.
This shifts the narrative’s tone from an action/thriller to a psychological horror story, culminating in a spectacular ending.
8. “No, I Am Your Father,” ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’
Credit: Twentieth Century-Fox
The feared antagonist in Star Wars reveals an unseen side when, in The Empire Strikes Back, he confesses to his son, Luke Skywalker, that he is his biological father, Anakin Skywalker.
The moment comes during a climactic duel on Cloud City. Luke travels there to rescue his friends, only to find out that Darth Vader is waiting to fight him.
The fight is surely an unfair one, with an inexperienced Jedi fighting the powerful Dark Lord of the Sith. Vader easily corners Luke and cuts off his hand. As Luke is hanging over an abyss, Vader says, “No, I am your father” (a quote often misquoted as “Luke, I’m your father”)
The plot twist turns a magnificent lightsaber duel into psychological warfare—something that also makes the revelation all the more devastating for both Luke and the audience. It also becomes a major driving force in Luke’s arc and the Star Wars saga from there on.
9. It’s Not a Heist Story, ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ (1996)
‘From Dusk Till Dawn’
Credit: Miramax
Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn begins as a traditional thriller. Two criminals kidnap a father and his two kids, and on their way, stop at a seedy bar to hide. What begins as a crime movie soon turns into a survival saga as the five humans realize that the bar is filled with vampires, and they have no way out.
From Dusk Till Dawn is undoubtedly not the only movie to have done this, but it is definitely one of the finest demonstrations of how to shift genres mid-narrative.
Let us know which movies in the list you have watched already!