Trigger warning: Spoiler Alert!
A script’s plot twist usually determines the fate of the movie—it can make or break it.
The best filmmakers and screenwriters are like hunters, and the audience is their prey. They often employ breadcrumbs of stunning camerawork, visuals, and intriguing storylines as bait to lure viewers. And when you are least expecting, they install their traps by incorporating shocking revelations to capture your undivided attention. In the world of cinema, such mind-boggling revelations are called plot twists. But precisely, it is nothing short of a hook. Some brilliant directors and screenwriters hooked us in their trap and deceived us with unexpected twists and turns. Keep scrolling to find some films with the most shocking plot twists of all time.
Plot Twist: When the plot unfolds, it comes to light that Teddy Daniels is a former US Marshall named Andrew Laeddis, and is currently a patient at the asylum. He was diagnosed with dissociative disorder after his manic-depressive wife drowned his three children and took their lives.
Plot Twist: As the movie proceeds, the infiltrators find out that the former housekeeper had kept her husband locked up in a secret basement that the house owners had forgotten about—to protect him from loan sharks. When the former housekeeper and the new family discover each other's secrets, they engage in a bloody massacre—and the patriarch of the new family goes Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL). As months pass by, the audience finds out that he hadn’t fled and is residing in the secret basement of the house.
Plot Twist: In the end, it is revealed that Adelaide Wilson—the matriarch—who is fighting to protect a secret for the most part of the film—is the imposter doppelgänger of the sinister murderess and she was pretending to be the real Adelaide for decades. Adelaide’s (the murderess) true identity was stolen when she was abducted as a young girl at the same beach many decades ago.
Plot Twist: The family experiences unexplained spiritual activities in their home that terrorize them. In the bone-chilling climax, Grace and her two children discover that they are the actual ghosts—and are unknowingly haunting the family that currently lives in the house.
Plot Twist: After experiencing a lot of torment, the two worn-out and distressed captives find out that the man who had kidnapped them was lying at the center of the room all along, disguised as a dead body. A harrowing realization in a spine-tingling, twisted tale that shocked everyone.
A talented screenwriter can embody unique techniques to create a gripping storyline. Every good film should be able to keep the audience glued to the screen from the first to the last scene. An excellent way to achieve that is to include unanswered questions and shocking twists to keep the viewers guessing till the end. Twist endings are an exceptional way to blow away everyone’s mind by revealing something they never expected.
