Netflix brings a new psychological thriller to the forefront, with The Good Nurse revolving around a serial killer masquerading as a nurse. There have been plenty of other entries in the genre that have captivated audiences with gray moralities and tension-filled twists, with Redditors noting the movies that shocked them the most.
These include mainstream movies like Shutter Island to niche films such as Burning, although all the Redditors’ picks have moments where viewers are stunned by the turn of events. Hence, these plot twists are remembered for elevating the narrative and changing the pacing of any psychological thriller.
The Game Turns Out To Be A Giant Set Up
Michael Douglas was one of the most iconic actors of the 1980s, but he had some great flicks a decade later as well. The Game is a psychological thriller whose plot twist was one that few saw coming, with Redditor Llama-Del-Rey- writing that they “thought it was absolutely incredible.”
The story is about a selfish investment banker who receives a strange gift from his brother that makes him the target of a shady organization, effectively ruining his life. The twist reveals that every character involved staged this event so that the protagonist can finally become a good person. With so many thrills preceding the big reveal, hardly anyone could see The Game’s twist coming.
Infernal Affairs Brings A Second Twist In The End
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Infernal Affairs is, unfortunately, a forgotten original film with a popular remake, seeing as The Departed is widely known. Redditor title_of_yourtape writes that Infernal Affairs “is literally the perfect police thriller because the twists are done so well.”
The film follows inside men from both the Hong Kong police and the Triads, as each man tries to uncover the other’s true identity. Infernal Affairs is filled with mind games and paranoia over whose cover will be blown first, only for the twist to show that the Triads had a second mole within the police. Viewers are kept guessing right up until the end over how things will transpire.
The Lives of Others' Ending Changes The Story's Context
The Lives of Others is a psychological drama where East German spy Wiesler is tasked with interfering with the life of his target, Dreyman, and completely upend it. Redditor Thrillwaters appreciated the finale twist, writing that they “found it really affecting.”
They refer to the reveal that Wiesler had discreetly been aiding his target to prevent his superiors from ruining his life. The Lives of Others shows quite a few things that go bad for Dreyman, implying that Wiesler is behind it, but the ending takes a U-turn to show that he was protecting him all along. As a result, there’s a moving sentiment behind this otherwise gripping spy thriller.
The Handmaiden Is Based Around An Unknown Secret
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The Handmaiden is filled to the brim with twists and turns, centering around a conman who hires a thief to trick an heiress into marrying him. Redditor wildstyle_method claims that the film’s overall twist “was such a great surprise…knew nothing about it going in and loved it.”
The Handmaiden’s psychological aspect is constant, as each character betrays the other before it’s revealed that the trickster and the heiress had secretly been in cahoots as lovers. It’s not the easiest viewing due to the movie's explicit nature, although the plot twists certainly astonish numerous times.
The Night House Reveals An Otherworldly Villain
The Night House is a psychological horror-thriller with a minimal cast, as the main character is stalked by an unknown entity in her house after her husband’s demise. Redditor julius_33 claims they “watched it for a second time the day after [they] discovered it. It's a very clever film.”
The Night House messes with viewers by constantly making it appear as if the protagonist’s husband might be behind it all, only for the ending to reveal that it’s an otherworldly entity. It’s a film that needs to be rewatched to understand what each scene is supposed to mean in order to truly understand the plot twist.
The Skin I Live In Has A Shocking Reveal Of The Protagonist's Identity
The Skin I Live In is a psychological thriller in every sense of the genre, featuring a topsy-turvy plot where the identities of the characters are constantly in question. Redditor thisistheperfectname found it shocking and satisfying because watching “all the pieces coming together is extremely satisfying.”
The story can be extremely disturbing in nature, as the film gradually reveals that Antonio Banderas has kept a person hostage and conducted a plastic surgery procedure on them to change their identity. That’s far from the only twist, as The Skin I Live In keeps them coming until the final second.
The Vanishing Traumatizes Viewers In Its Final Moments
The Vanishing centers around a man who becomes obsessed with learning the cause of his girlfriend’s disappearance until her captor approaches him and promises to reveal what he did. Redditor urbannoangeldecay writes that the film’s “end messed [them] up for weeks afterward.”
The climax makes it seem as if the protagonist will seek the answers he needs until the villain shockingly places him in the same trap as his girlfriend. The Vanishing’s twist is certainly grim for those who want justice for the main character, with the villain coming out on top in a very brutal manner.
Triangle Turns Out To Be Based On A Time Loop
Triangle is another thriller that will mess with viewers’ minds, mainly because of the many different scenarios that take place. Redditor BaconSanwich liked that Triangle “keeps people guessing the whole time…really good ending.” The story centers around a woman who arrives with her friends on an abandoned ocean liner where they’re stalked by a killer.
The Triangle's big twist is that everything that’s happened is part of a time loop, with multiple scenarios coming together at the same time – the protagonist is simultaneously evading the killer and is the actual killer herself from another timeline. Triangle’s reveal will leave many marveling at the turn of events since the main character is the hero and the villain.
Shutter Island Lies To Viewers Right From The Beginning
Shutter Island is easily the most rewatchable movie by Martin Scorsese for audiences to figure out all the clues after the massive plot twist. Redditor Guido-Guido writes that the “production quality to the acting, the symbolism, the twist – that movie is great.”
Shutter Island starts off with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Teddy Daniels arriving at the island as a U.S. Marshal to investigate a missing patient until various hints reveal that Daniels himself is the patient. Shutter Island has dozens of clues sprinkled throughout the film for viewers to pick up on this revelation, although most are likely to be stunned by the truth.
Burning Leaves Everything Grimly Ambiguous
Redditor ok_soooo was so impressed with Burning that they “immediately had to tell all [their] friends to watch it so [they] could talk more about what happened.” Burning stands as one of the best movies starring Steven Yeun, and is a masterful thriller for the way it never outright reveals if the supposed antagonist is even responsible.
The story centers around a young man, Jong-su, who falls in love with a childhood friend, Hae-mi, who keeps acting erratically after befriending a mysterious man named Ben. The climactic shocker comes from Jong-su’s killing of Ben when he believes that he’s murdered Hae-mi, yet there’s no concrete evidence if that’s even true. The endless material for speculation makes Burning a highly intriguing psychological story.