A great twist can truly elevate a film — think The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, and the daddy of them all, The Empire Strikes Back — while a terrible twist will ruin a movie, as those who sat through Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes can confirm. But there’s another category — the bonkers twist — which can truly transform a movie. Insane, outrageous celluloid revelations that inexplicably affect everything that’s gone before, and often stay with you long after the credits have rolled. Whether you like it or not. The following being 12 of the most outrageous…
Beware of MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.
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Sleepaway Camp (1983)
The Plot: Released at the height of horror’s slasher craze, Sleepaway Camp kicks off in 1975 by depicting a speedboat accident. Eight years later and Angela, the child who survived that accident, is now a shy teen heading to camp for the first time. While there, however, a mass murderer strikes, with counselors and kids bumped off by the likes of bees, boiling water, a hatchet, drowning and suffocation. But who is the killer?
The Twist: Angela. Angela is the killer. Though in the film’s final few scenes, it’s revealed that she’s really her brother Peter. Because the real Angela died in that speedboat accident, and the aunt who adopted Peter raised him as the girl she always wanted. The film’s final shot being one of Angela yelling, completely naked, with everything on show.
Does It Work? Yes. If you can ignore the film’s questionable sexual politics, Sleepaway Camp is filled with creative deaths that mean it works as a slasher, while the ending – and that incredible final shot – is still a huge surprise.
Boxing Helena (1993)
The Plot: Nick Cavanaugh is a lonely surgeon who will do anything to be with the object of his affection, the beautiful Helena. Who in response wants nothing to do with the creepy weirdo. But when Helena is hurt in a car accident near his house, Nick kidnaps and operates on her, amputating Helena’s legs, and later her arms.
The Twist: It was all a dream; a twisted fantasy taking place in Nick’s head.
Does It Work? Nope. Investing in these characters and their story — then discovering none of it happened — annoyed critics and audiences alike, with Boxing Helena landing as one of cinema’s great turkeys. Indeed Kim Basinger famously pulled out of the movie because she was unhappy with the script. The courts made her pay $4m for that withdrawal, which in hindsight was a bargain for Kim.
High Tension (2003)
The Plot: Friends Marie and Alex head to the latter’s remote country house to study. But while there a big, burly serial killer takes out each member of Alex’s family, then kidnaps her. Marie gives chase, and an ultra-violent game of cat-and-mouse follows as Marie endeavors to rescue her friend.
The Twist: The murderer isn’t that big, burly man, but rather Marie. Killing because she’s in love with Alex.
Does It Work? Until the twist, High Tension (renamed Switchblade Romance in the UK) is an absolutely brilliant slasher. But the abrupt about-turn makes absolutely no sense and fills the film with plot holes. And it means that pretty much everything we’ve seen didn’t happen in the way it was presented. So a big, fat no.
Identity (2003)
The Plot: A (very) loose adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Identity concerns a group of strangers who find themselves stranded at an isolated motel… and then killed off one-by-one. But this story is juxtaposed with that of a serial killer awaiting execution. It’s all very confusing. So much so that at one point John Cusack’s character actually says “This doesn’t make any sense.”
The Twist: Turns out the serial killer has dissociative identity disorder, and the strangers holed up at the hotel are his different personalities. Meaning much of the film is taking place in his head.
Does It Work? Nearly. It’s a great twist that would pack a proper punch were it not so clearly sign-posted, and if it had been saved until the end of the film. But the truth is revealed around the midway point, meaning that disbelief has to be suspended for a good 40 minutes, and another twist — it’s a kid doing the killing — has to be swallowed. This results in Identity collapsing under the weight of its own ambitions.
The Village (2004)
The Plot: A group of 19th century Pennsylvanians live in a small village, isolated from neighboring towns, and living in fear of terrifying creatures that stalk the surrounding woods. But when one of their number is stabbed, a blind villager is sent out into the world to retrieve medical supplies.
The Twist: It’s actually 2004. In the 1970s, a group of grief-stricken Americans decided to withdraw from the world, building a village in the middle of a wildlife preserve, keeping the truth from their kids, and paying outsiders to ensure they are left alone.
Does It Work? M. Night Shyamalan is obviously the MVP of movie twists, and while this might be his most outlandish, it just about works, largely due to the tension the writer-director builds throughout, and the stellar cast — which includes William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard — who sell the concept so convincingly.
The Forgotten (2004)
The Plot: Julianne Moore plays Telly, a mother whose son died in a plane crash 14 months previous. But one day she wakes up to discover she never had a son, with her husband, best friend and therapist claiming she’s deluded. Indeed, Telly herself is unable to find any evidence of the boy’s existence, but nevertheless endeavours to track him down.
The Twist: Aliens took Telly’s kid and wiped him from the world as part of an experiment to see if the bond between mother and child could be destroyed.
Does It Work? In spite of Julianne Moore’s best efforts, The Forgotten fails in every way, shape and form. Our advice? Forget about it.
The Number 23 (2007)
The Plot: Jim Carrey plays Walter Sparrow, whose life starts to unravel when he reads a book entitled The Number 23, written by author Topsy Kretts, and described as “a heart-wrenching odyssey into paranoia.” As he works his way through the tome, Walter becomes obsessed with the “23 enigma,” which claims all events are connected to that number, and convinced that the book is imitating his life.
The Twist: Walter wrote the book. Having killed his girlfriend, he started writing a suicide note that turned into the novel. Walter survived that suicide attempt, but head trauma resulted in amnesia. Which is why he has no memory of his violent past.
Does It Work? Not. At. All. The plot is so ridiculous that it should be the premise for a screwball comedy rather than a psychological drama. And with Jim Carrey starring, that version of the film might have been watchable. As it stands, this approach is quite the opposite.
Orphan (2009)
The Plot: After their third child is stillborn, unhappily married couple John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Kate (Vera Farmiga) decide to adopt, settling on Esther, a nine-year-old Eastern European girl they meet at the local orphanage. But while their new daughter initially seems sweet and innocent, she struggles to fit in at school, quickly falls out with their eldest son, and seems to know more about sex than the average pre-teen. Then people start to die, suggesting that — as the film’s posters proclaim — “There’s something wrong with Esther.”
The Twist: Esther isn’t a nine-year-old girl. Rather she’s 33-year-old Leena Klammer, whose stunted growth has enabled her to pose as a child for most of her adult life. Also, she killed the last family who adopted her.
Does It Work? The twist is obviously ridiculous, but Isabelle Fuhrman so convinces in the lead that you believe her as both nine-year-old and thirtysomething. Her performance elevates Orphan and makes it well worth a watch.
Life of Pi (2012)
The Plot: Based on Yann Martel’s bestselling book of the same name, Life of Pi tells the story of young “Pi” Patel, who survives a shipwreck and finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a tiger called Richard Parker. The hyena kills both the zebra and the orangutan before being murdered by the tiger. But Pi survives the ordeal, his lifeboat making it to Mexico.
The Twist: The film is topped and tailed by grown-up Pi telling an author his story. When the writer doesn’t believe his tale, Pi offers another version, in which his mother is the orangutan, a sailor is the zebra, and a violent cook the hyena. Which means that Pi himself is the tiger.
Does It Work? The truth is made more explicit in the film than in the book, but either way, it’s a brilliant twist that chillingly reframes everything that has gone before. And Life of Pi reaped the rewards, grossing more than $600m worldwide, scoring an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and winning Ang Lee the Academy Award for Best Director.
Safe Haven (2013)
The Plot: Terrified Erin flees her abusive husband in Boston, and starts a new life in a sleepy town in North Carolina. Erin tries to keep a low profile, but befriends helpful neighbour Jo, and falls for the charms of local widower Alex. Just when things are looking up however, her ex appears looking to cause trouble, causes trouble, then gets himself killed. Meaning Erin and Alex can live happily ever after.
The Twist: At the end of the movie, while looking through letters and pictures that Alex’s deceased spouse left him, Erin realises that Jo is the dead wife’s ghost. Who has been watching over Alex and his new love.
Does It Work? Hell no. That said, by ending on this genuine WTF moment, Safe Haven is destined to become a cult classic.
Gone Girl (2014)
The Plot: On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne’s wife Amy goes missing. There’s evidence of a struggle at their house as well as traces of blood, while Nick’s laid-back attitude — and the fact that he has been having an affair — make him the prime suspect. When Amy’s diary — in which she reveals that she feared for her life because of Nick — is discovered, it quickly turns into a murder investigation.
The Twist: Amy is alive and well, and went to extreme lengths over a period of months to frame Nick when she found out he was cheating.
Does It Work? Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel managed to pull the wool over readers’ eyes, and David Fincher’s film is equally successful. It takes a lot of explanation and exposition, which makes the middle portion of the film somewhat clunky, and the remainder of the movie something of an anti-climax. But if you are willing to go with the far-fetched premise, Gone Girl is trash of the very highest order.
Remember Me (2010)
The Plot: The film stars Robert Pattinson — still in the midst of his Twilight era of ultimate romantic-hunkiness — and Emilie de Ravin as a pair of NYC college kids from different socio-economic backgrounds who fall in love while dealing with family strife and tragedy.
The Twist: It turns out the film isn’t set in the present but rather in 2001, and at the end of the film Pattinson’s character dies in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11.
Does It Work? Ugh, no way. Audiences, primed for a traditional romance from the film’s marketing, instead got a Twilight Zone-ish gut-punch of a twist that just made everyone angry, sad, and/or confused.
What are the most outrageous movie twists you’ve ever seen? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Source: IGN.com 12 of the Most Outrageous Twists in Movie History