The 25 Best Movie Plot Twists Since 2000
Everybody loves a good plot twist, right? Whether they’re ambiguous and thought-provoking (looking at you, David Lynch) or downright shocking (hello, The Mist), twists have been a staple of movies since pretty much the dawn of cinema.
Here are the 25 Best Movie Plot Twists Since 2000
(1) MOMENTO
Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a picture that was designed for twists. The primary character, Leonard Shelby (played superbly by Guy Pearce), is a classic unreliable narrator. Leonard has a syndrome in which his long-term memory is intact, but he is unable to recall anything that occurred within the last fifteen minutes. Leonard makes notes, snaps Polaroids, and follows the tattooed clues all over his chest in order to maintain his concentration. His aim is to locate “John G,” the one who supposedly murdered his wife. However, his condition also makes him susceptible to manipulation by others.
(2) GET OUT
The first surprise in Jordan Peele’s genre-defining horror comedy is somewhat simpler to anticipate than the others. Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), the girlfriend of Chris, is not who she claims she is. Chris is the most recent Black man she has invited to her house under the guise of introducing them to her family. Why are they really brought there? To have their bodies utilized as receptacles for the minds of old white people, which are transferred through the “coagula” procedure.
Oh, and what about the two Black housekeepers with whom Chris had peculiar interactions? They are presently being used by Rose’s grandparents as boats. Yep. — S.H.
Get Out is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video in the United Kingdom (opens in a new tab) and the United States (opens in a new tab).
(3) HEREDITRY
Ellen was really a member of a coven devoted to summoning Paimon, a demon that needs a male host to dwell. Joan, the alleged member of the support group, has always been a member of this coven, and now that Ellen is deceased, she is doing all she can to carry out her desires.
(4) SHUTTER ISLAND
Teddy Daniels is a patient at the institution. Andrew Laeddis, whose true name is an anagram for Edward Daniels, murdered his own wife after she drowned their children. The whole “investigation” was an elaborate ruse devised by head psychiatrist John Cawley (Ben Kingsley) to bring Andrew back to reality. The whole facility’s other employees have been aware of the situation the entire time
(5) ATONEMENT
Robbie never returned from World War II. The events that occur later in the film, after Robbie has been evacuated, are part of an autobiographical book that a much older Briony (now an author) is writing. Robbie perished during World War II, and Cecilia died shortly after. The couple never had a happy ending.
(6) US
This one is rather bizarre. It comes out that the Tethered are really clones made by the government in a failed attempt to control mankind. When the experiment went awry, the clones were imprisoned in a series of subterranean corridors, where they spent their miserable days imitating the activities of their counterparts on the surface. Now, though, they have finally burst free and are determined to take that lovely sunshine for themselves.
The ultimate twist? After the family’s mother, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), murders her doppelganger, Red, it is revealed that she was the doppelganger all along; the real Adelaide was kidnapped and locked up by Red on a family vacation when she was a child, and Red has been acting as Adelaide ever since. There is plenty to unpack, which we have done in further depth here.
(7) GONE GIRL
Not only is Nick not the murderer, but Amy is also still alive! She has been hiding in the Ozarks the whole time, intending to blame her husband after discovering his infidelity. Amy is shown to be an extremely sophisticated psychopath who has been falsifying her journal and giving little hints to make Nick seem as guilty as possible. Stepping back, Amy’s position as the true antagonist in the work is likewise difficult.
This film is based on a Stephen King book that really finishes on a note of optimism. However, Frank Darabont’s film adaption is much, much darker. After finding a vehicle and traveling into the fog in search of assistance, the remaining characters ultimately run out of petrol. To escape being ripped apart by monsters, they decide to take what they perceive to be the easiest way out: the father uses his remaining four rounds to kill everyone, including his own child.
Moments later, as the father sits in his vehicle awaiting his eventual demise, the mist starts to dissipate, and the U.S. military arrives to destroy the creatures.
(9) AMERICAN PSYCHO
Bateman may not be a murderer after all, according to a strong suggestion near the conclusion of American Psycho. This surprise is not as obvious as others, but it is nevertheless plausible. In all likelihood, he hallucinated the whole event. This realization occurs after he embarks on a violent spree, flees the police, kills four cops, and then confesses to his attorney.
(10) INGLORIOUS BASTARDS
Those with even a rudimentary understanding of World War II are aware that the Basterds cannot succeed for a simple reason: Hitler did not die in a French theater. As the squad’s preparations begin to go astray, their ultimate failure hovers like a gloomy cloud over the picture. Then, in a moment that is both joyous and horrific, the unimaginable occurs: Hitler and the majority of his top staff are shredded by machine gun fire. Particularly, one stunning close-up demonstrates that the “mass-murdering monster” is really dead. By depending on and distorting historical context, Tarantino demonstrates the ability of film to bring catharsis. In fact, Tarantino would revisit this technique in following films such as Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Senior Illustrator Bob Al-Greene
(11) EX MACHINA
As Caleb grows suspicious of Nathan and smitten with Ava, he and Ava devise a plot to disconnect the electricity and flee Nathan’s land. In the subsequent battle, she kills Nathan, but not before he can tell Caleb that he is being controlled by a robot. Ava finally abandons Caleb and leaves the property posing as a human.
(12) THE PRESTIGE
There are two if you so choose. Robert duplicates “the transported man” by locking himself in a water tank and then performing a primitive cloning procedure. The procedure results in dozens of deceased Roberts, with each new version assuming a life he never lived.
The main surprise, however, is that Alfred is not one but two persons; identical twins who sell “the transported man” by appearing to the audience at various times from different locations on stage or in the theater. Robert never had a chance of duplicating it, and he perished repeatedly in an attempt to get near.
(13) THE CABIN IN TH WOODS
Actually, Cabin in the Woods offers a metatextual foundation for all adolescent horror films. The students realize that they were enticed to the cabin in order to participate in a ceremony conducted by a group of researchers who need Cabin in the Woods–like settings in order to placate a pantheon of powerful unknown gods. Without appeasing the gods, the world will be destroyed. Two of the students escape the cabin and proceed to the researchers’ lab, where they unleash every horror film monster and stereotype against the scientists who murdered their companions. The heroes survive, but the ritual is left unfinished, and the older gods destroy the planet. Senior Entertainment Reporter Alexis Nedd
(14) NOW YOU SEE ME
Dylan Rhodes explains in the last minutes of the film that he hired the Horsemen as puppets in his scheme to punish his father, the disgraced illusionist Lionel Shrike. Shrike perished attempting to escape from a malfunctioning Elkhorn safe after Thaddeus Bradley provoked him to execute a perilous stunt; the insurance tycoon’s firm neglected to pay up following his father’s death, leaving Rhodes’ family destitute. Rhodes invites the Horsemen to join the true “Eye” as master magicians, despite the Horsemen’s amazement at having collaborated with their FBI adversary.
(15) HANDMAIDEN
There are numerous, so buckle up. It seems that none of the characters in The Handmaiden are who they claim to be. A rich lady gets duped by her boyfriend and a professional con artist, but it is not until later that the con artist realizes he has been duped by both ladies. — Anna Iovine, Relationships and Sexuality Reporter.
(16) THE OTHERS
Doesn’t it irritate you when you discover a home full of ghosts, begin analyzing their mannerisms and everyday activities, and then realize that you are the ghost? Bollocks! The 2001 horror film was so esteemed that it earned Nicole Kidman acting nods at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, as well as a BAFTA writing nomination.
(17) SAW
The guy you first think to be the murderer is really a piece in Jigsaw’s game. This is a little, prelude twist, but the primary twist is yet to come. The corpse that has been lying in the middle of the room for the whole of the movie conceals more than meets the eye. Jigsaw emerges from the pool of blood at the conclusion of the game, having concealed himself in plain sight and orchestrated the whole event.
This superb twist established a standard that the rest of the Saw series would strive to match or surpass with each successive installment. The outcomes were progressively inconsistent as the series became increasingly intricate, never surpassing the original film’s plot twist.
(18) OTHERS
The Others is a departure from the standard pattern for ghost movies. What first seems to be a conventional ghost thriller with strong acting, captivating lighting, and effective shocks turns out to be an inversion of the precise sort of film you expected to witness. In the film’s surprising final narrative surprise, the major protagonists are revealed to be ghosts themselves.
(19) PARASITE
Now we approach the first entry that has a storyline twist in the middle as opposed to the conclusion. Midway through the film, Parasite undergoes a full genre change as the housekeeper’s secret, a mysterious staircase, and a spouse in hiding are all revealed, propelling the story in an entirely unexpected route. This is a wonderful instance of peripeteia.
Be sure to watch our video essay and read our blog article in order to comprehend how Bong Joon-ho conceived and implemented this midpoint twist.
(20) HAND MAID
The Handmaiden offers around three fantastic story twists, when one is plenty for the majority of films. Every time you believe you have a firm grasp on The Handmaiden’s storyline, the earth shakes under you and the whole narrative transforms as a new ripple is revealed. Park Chan-wook navigates all of these turns with a sure and steady hand, as allegiances shift, contexts and motives shift, and double-crosses become triple-crosses.
(21) TALE OF TWO SISTERS
A Tale of Two Sisters, helmed by Kim Jee-woon and originating from South Korea, has a predictable yet well performed story surprise. The “two sisters” of the film’s title are really just one, since the other passed away before to its events. An added complication is that the one sister is not only posing as both sisters, but also as their heartless stepmother.
(22) ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
While the great majority of story twists take a gloomy turn, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood follows the opposite pattern. You spend the whole of the film dreading the events you anticipate will occur based on your outsider knowledge of the Manson murders, and then Tarantino pulls the rug out from under you.
In lieu of a gruesome reconstruction of a real-life catastrophe, Tarantino portrays his revisionist version of the events, a joyfully gruesome takedown of the Manson followers before they can carry out the heinous atrocities they had planned.
(23) OLDBOY
Park Chan-Oldboy wook’s is a fantastic picture overall, and the final reveal is surprising in a way that is well suited to this film. The film deceives you into believing that you already know the main twist, which is that the antagonist slept with his sister, who committed suicide after being revealed by the protagonist many years before. The actual surprise, however, is that our protagonist has been fooled and persuaded into sleeping with his own daughter, replicating a previous event.
(24) ARRIVAL
The story surprise in Arrival is distinctive in that it is less of a narrative revelation and more of a structural one. Arrival’s twist is the revelation of its nonlinearity. What seemed to be random flashbacks throughout the film were really glimpses of the future. This twist transforms our comprehension of the key characters and our whole view of time; it’s interesting!
(25) AVENGARS INFINITY WARS 2018
When you watch a superhero movie, you always expect the heroes to win. I remember watching the movie thinking, ‘There’s NO WAY the Avengers are going to let Thanos get all the stones…’ Then he snapped his fingers, and everyone starting dusting away. I was shaken for a long time after that.
