There is nothing quite like a good twist ending to leave audiences stunned by a movie. When done well, these endings can not only be incredibly impactful on first viewing, but they can make audiences want to immediately rewatch the movie and see if they can spot the clues along the way.
Movies like The Sixth Sense are the kinds of movies with twist endings so famous that they are now just an open secret in pop culture. Then there are those movies where the twist ending might be the only thing audiences know about the movie. They have transcended their own story to become their own iconic piece of cinema trivia.
Updated Dec. 15, 2021 by Colin McCormick: Audiences will eat up a good twist ending, and if such a twist really surprises and shocks, moviegoers will be thrilled enough to forgive the film's other flaws. These days, it can be hard to remain unspoiled about movies with twist endings. But the best twist ending movies, when they do their job well, remain in the public consciousness for decades. The twists are so wild and memorable that they take on a popularity that can even outshine the movies themselves.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
It is strange to think that there are some people out there that haven't seen the Star Wars movies. This is especially true of the original trilogy, which many younger viewers have missed out on. But even without seeing it, one iconic moment is inescapable.
The revelation that Darth Vader is the father of Luke Skywalker is a game-changer for the franchise and perhaps its defining moment. It has been referenced and parodied in pop culture so often that it is no longer a twist but a well-known fact. Of the countless things about the Star Wars saga that are iconic, perhaps first on the list is that The Empire Strikes Back is one of the all-time greatest movies with a twist ending.
Fight Club (1999)
Despite its cult-classic status, Fight Club was a box-office bomb when it was released in 1999. It may have a passionate following now, but there are still many viewers who have only a vague understanding on what the movie is about. But they still know the secret of Tyler Durden.
Brad Pitt created an unforgettable character cloaked in mystery until it was revealed that Tyler didn't actually exist but was a creation of the unnamed narrator played by Edward Norton. Since Fight Club's release, the movie's twist about Tyler Durden's true nature has become widely known.
Serenity (2019)
Despite being a box-office bomb and receiving an overwhelmingly negative reception from critics, Serenity has become something of a fascination for movie fans, earning it a reputation of being so bad that it's good. And a lot of that is due to the movie's outrageous twist.
The film, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, seems to be a fairly straightforward thriller until it is revealed that the characters and their story are all actually part of a video game. Even though few people have actually seen Serenity, it is now known as "that video game movie."
Don't Look Now (1973)
The psychological thriller Don't Look Now is a brilliant entry into the genre and even influenced Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. It also features one of the strangest and most unsettling twists that has come to overshadow the rest of the movie.
The story focuses on a couple who recently lost their child only for the father to have flashes of their daughter around the city. And the end of the movie, he is able to confront this vision, but it turns out to be a serial killer dwarf who murders him. As wild as this movie's twist is, it is a shame that its much subtler elements are ignored in comparison.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Keyzer Soze is another character whose popularity transcends one movie and has become something of an iconic figure. Soze's presence hangs over the crime thriller The Usual Suspects as the titular group of criminals find themselves targeted by the powerful and mysterious gangster.
But while the mystery of who Soze really is was the whole point of the movie, it is not such a closely guarded secret anymore. In fact, the true identity of the character is now openly discussed as if it wasn't a mystery at all, as The Unusual Suspects has become one of the most iconic movies with a twist ending ever made.
Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece thriller is so effective that it actually has a few big twists that have taken on lives of their own. The fact that the apparent star of the movie is murdered halfway through has become so iconic that there is no way it could surprise anyone nowadays.
The movie still has a pretty good ending twist up its sleeve but that too has become part of the pop culture knowledge. While it is implied that Norman Bates's unseen mother is the murderer, it turns out she is long-dead and Norman has been dressing as her to carry out the killings. But Norman Bates now has a reputation as one of cinema's most memorable villains and the image of him with his mother's wig is unforgettable.
The Village (2004)
For better or worse, M. Night Shyamalan developed a reputation for delivering huge twists at the end of his movies. However, the ending to The Village is so famous because of how silly most people found it to be.
The whole movie takes place in a small, isolated community of early settlers who are threatened by mysterious monsters lurking in the woods. It turns out that the movie actually takes place in modern times and the community is a cult closed off from the world which uses the "monsters" as a method of keeping its people protected.
Remember Me (2010)
Remember Me is a smaller romantic drama starring Robert Pattinson in the midst of his Twilight superstardom. It really doesn't seem like the kind of movie that would be hiding a massive twist and, indeed, the ending does come out of nowhere.
As the movie is winding down, Pattinson's character is seen in an office only for the camera to pull back and reveal he is in one of the World Trade Center buildings and that it is indeed September 11, 2001. The movie has become a bit of a joke for such an odd and misguided twist that seems rather pointless.
Primal Fear (1996)
In an incredible Oscar-nominated feature film debut, Edward Norton stars in Primal Fear as a young man accused of a brutal murder. Richard Gere plays his defense lawyer who tries to help this young man who lives with what the movie refers to as multiple personality disorder.
Despite the acclaim of Norton's performance and its solid courtroom thriller story, Primal Fear never caught on with audiences. But plenty of people still know that in the end, Norton's character reveals he faked the disorder and is truly a coldblooded killer.
The Planet Of The Apes (1968)
Planet of the Apes is a perfect representation of the sort of nihilistic sci-fi movies of its era. It follows a group of astronauts who crash land on a mysterious planet ruled by talking apes who imprison humans. However, in the final scene, Charlton Heston's hero discovers the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, revealing the planet is actually Earth in the future.
The image of Heston screaming on the beach at the end is so famous, it has been used as a throwaway joke in The Simpsons. In fact, the twist is so famous, the mere premise of the prequel trilogy openly spoils the reveal.
Arlington Road (1999)
Arlington Road is another solid thriller that just never caught on with audiences. Even word of mouth from its shocking ending didn't increase its popularity even if the ending itself became common knowledge.
The movie stars Jeff Bridges as a man who suspects his neighbors might be domestic terrorists. In the climax, he becomes convinced they have planted a bomb in the FBI headquarters where he works. After rushing there to stop the attack, he realizes he has unknowingly been used to bring the bomb there himself, which then detonates.
Saw (2004)
For the entirety of the first Saw movie, two men have been shackled in a basement with a dead man on the ground between them. After killing Zepp, the man they think is Jigsaw, one of the men finds a familiar tape player on Zepp's body with a message from Jigsaw. Just then, the real supposed dead man on the floor gets up, revealing himself to be Jigsaw.
It is a fun twist, although it's still not entirely clear why Jigsaw would go through this trouble. But given how much the franchise has expanded and made Jigsaw a horror movie icon, the fact that Jigsaw lives and gets away is a surprise to no one now.
The Mist (2007)
Though based on a Stephen King story, the famous horror author himself was shocked by the new ending to The Mist. It is a fairly solid monster movie about a group of people trapped in a grocery store as monsters lurk in the mysterious mist outside.
In the end, the heroes escape the store and attempt to drive out of the mist. When their car runs out of gas, the main hero uses the remaining bullets to kill the others, including his son, and spare them from the monsters. After he does, the mist clears and the military shows up, making their deaths unnecessary.
Citizen Kane (1941)
The twist in Citizen Kane is so well-known that there are probably a lot of people that don't realize the classic movie is a mystery story. It explores the likes of Charles Foster Kane as a reporter attempts to discover the meaning behind his dying word, "Rosebud."
In the end, it is revealed that Rosebud was the name of Kane's childhood sleigh which implies that this man who seemingly had all the money in the world held onto this innocent memory of when he had nothing.
Soylent Green (1973)
Charlton Heston starred in another bleak sci-fi story with an ending that has gone down in infamy. Soylent Green is set in the future where overpopulation has led to a scarcity of food. Heston plays a detective investigating a murder which leads to him discovering the new widely distributed food source called Soylent Green is made from dead people.
People have likely heard the phrase "Soylent Green is people" before without even knowing what it is in reference to. It is interesting that anybody who has heard of this movie by now likely knows that ending.