What makes a successful twist ending? First of all, it has to surprise the audience. If you somehow guess the twist before it happens, then the movie failed to do its job. Furthermore, the twist has to make sense. Movies like “Serenity” and “Remember Me” featured shocking endings that did not belong. These twists ruined, not helped, the story.
This month, “The Usual Suspects” celebrates its 30th anniversary. The final twist in the Oscar-winning thriller is still one of the best in cinematic history. Where does it rank among all-time twist endings? Let’s find out.
Note: A list about twist endings must include spoilers. You’ve been warned.
7. ‘Primal Fear’
“It was clear whoever got that role was going to blow up,” Matt Damon said about auditioning for the 1996 legal thriller, “Primal Fear.” The role in question was for Aaron Stampler, a stuttering boy accused of murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Edward Norton won the coveted part and, like Damon predicted, blew up, culminating in an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
There’s no proof as to what moment secured Norton the critical acclaim; the best guess is that it happened during the film's final moments. After a not guilty verdict, Aaron reveals he faked an alternate personality to get away with murder. Richard Gere’s stunned look speaks for everyone in that moment.
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6. ‘Planet of the Apes’
If you listen closely, you might still hear Charlton Heston’s scream at the end of “Planet of the Apes.” In the distant future, astronaut George Taylor (Heston) and his crew crash-land on an unknown planet where apes are the dominant species. On this planet, apes can talk and think like people, while humans are mute and primitive.
The makeup and philosophical themes have stood the test of time and even spawned an entire franchise that still exists today. However, the ending remains the film's lasting legacy. Taylor learning that the planet he landed on is Earth in the future remains a stroke of genius and a shocking conclusion to a revolutionary film.
5. ‘Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back’
Imagine being a child in 1980 and seeing “The Empire Strikes Back.” After George Lucas opened your world to the wonder of a space opera in “Star Wars,” you then learned that Darth Vader, one of the three most famous villains in cinematic history, was the father of Luke Skywalker. In today’s Hollywood, twists are spoiled within minutes of the embargo lifting. But 45 years ago, you had to sit on that cliffhanger for three years before the trilogy wrapped in 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.”
If this list consisted of misquoted lines in movie history, “The Empire Strikes Back” might occupy the top spot. As much fun as it is to say, “Luke, I am your father,” the correct reciting of Darth Vader’s line reads, “No, I am your father.”
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4. ‘Psycho’
From a critical standpoint, “Psycho” is on the shortlist of most influential horror movies ever produced. Alfred Hitchcock’s mystery centers around Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a real estate secretary who, after stealing money from her employer, flees Phoenix for California. Due to heavy rain, Marion stops for the night at the Bates Motel, where she meets a peculiar proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).
Hitchcock solidified his “Master of Suspense” title thanks to his revolutionary camerawork and haunting score. The tale also included two twists. The first occurs during a stabbing in the shower. The final twist happens near the end, when Norman, not his mother, is revealed to be the killer. Norman’s sadistic smile will be ingrained in your memory.
3. ‘Fight Club’
The first rule of Fight Club: Do not talk about Fight Club. Apologies to Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, but we have to break the first rule for good reason. David Fincher’s crime drama follows the journeys of the unnamed Narrator (Norton) and soap salesman Tyler Durden (Pitt) as they form an underground fight club. The club attracts depressed men looking for excitement in their lives.
Eventually, the club transitions into Project Mayhem, an anarchist movement to disrupt the social order through acts of violence and vandalism. The Narrator disapproves of Tyler’s methods until he realizes — and here’s the twist — that Tyler is his alter ego. The second rule of Fight Club should be: Don’t talk about the twist unless your job requires you to make a list about twist endings.
Watch on Hulu
2. ‘The Usual Suspects’
The movie that inspired the list has to be near the top. For nearly the entire 106-minute runtime of “The Usual Suspects,” Agent Dave Kujan (and the audience) attempted to identify the criminal mastermind known as Keyser Söze. Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) led us to believe Keyser Söze was Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne).
Then, Kujan drops the coffee cup as the details from the random flyers jump off the wall. Keyser Söze was none other than Verbal Kint, and the moment his limp disappears remains one of cinema’s most iconic images of the last 30 years.
Watch on Prime Video
1. ‘The Sixth Sense’
The biggest strength of “The Sixth Sense” is its twist ending. It also happens to be the film’s greatest weakness. “The Sixth Sense” relies on its twist more than any other movie on this list. It’s hard to enjoy M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller and pretend like the reveal isn’t coming. The twist is all you can think about, which hurts the movie’s rewatchability.
Nevertheless, learning that Malcolm (Bruce Willis) had been dead the entire time was jaw-dropping. It changed the trajectory of Shyamalan’s career and became the new standard for twist endings.
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