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Do Revenge might not have gotten a lot of recognition since its release, but it has been praised as a fun and clever high school thriller that celebrates the teen genre. It has quietly become the best thriller of 2022, and it has a just as satisfying twist to boot, which can be incredibly difficult to get right.
Many thrillers fall at the final hurdle, and while they can be wildly entertaining, the final twist can ruin viewers' entire perception of them. Between a newly released Stepford Wives clone, an isolated bunker-based thriller that turns into a monster movie, and a whodunnit that was in the character's head the whole time, these could have done with another draft.
The Character Had DID In Identity (2003)
Identity is a whodunnit thriller that follows hotel guests getting murdered one by one. The movie is thrilling, suspenseful, and even scary in parts, and it had the potential to be one of the most inventive whodunnit murder mystery movies of the 21st century. But the quality of a great murder mystery absolutely hangs in the balance of its ending, and Identity, unfortunately, has the laziest ending possible.
It was all in Ed's imagination, and as he deals from dissociative identity disorder, all the killings represented Ed killing off his different personalities. Some movies can pull this off if it's done creatively, such as Fight Club or Shutter Island, but Identity couldn't have been any lazier.
It Is The Present-Day The Group Wants To Be Protected In The Village (2004)
Following Signs, which already proved that M. Night Shyamalan's twists weren't completely foolproof, The Village took it a step further. The movie is about a group of 1800 villages who warn the younger generation not to enter the surrounding woods because of the red-hooded beasts. But the 2004 horror thriller featured a twist that was unrelated to the actual narrative and came completely out of nowhere.
Things are clearly not as they seem, and the suspense keeps building only for it to be revealed that it's set during the present day, and the village was built as a facade to keep the elders, who met at grief counseling, protected from the outside world. It was bad twist to a thriller that had potential, and it was the beginning of a string of Shyamalan-directed failures.
William Is The New Jigsaw Killer In Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2021)
After the Saw franchise forgot its roots and became increasingly focused on torture porn and shock value with each consecutive release, it was a relief to hear that Spiral would be more of a thriller like the very original movie. Unfortunately, it didn't have the satisfying plot twist that the original had, as 2004's Saw saw John Kramer stand up in the middle of the room after being suspected to be dead for hours.
The twist in the 2021 movie is that William is the new Jigsaw killer after he faked his own death. It was the very character that audiences suspected the most, and it wasn't remotely surprising. What was the biggest giveaway was that audiences never saw his death or the body, and when that happens, the character is almost always still alive.
Killing The Suspect With No Evidence & Covering It In The Little Things (2021)
Detective movies like The Little Things aren't made all that often anymore. Thrillers that have audiences trying to solve murder cases alongside the officers are generally so much fun, and for the most part, The Little Things is no different, but it falls apart in the final twist. After the cops are certain that creepy suspect Albert Sparmer is the killer, it's revealed that he wasn't actually the killer, or maybe he was, but there was absolutely no evidence.
Nevertheless, the cops still pin the murder on Albert after one officer accidentally kills him, and it's a shockingly bad ending to a great movie. While Albert was very much a bad person and had the worst coming to him, a movie that depicts police officers covering each others' backs for accidental murders certainly isn't the best look for a new film in 2021.
Howard Was Right About An Alien Invasion In 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
10 Cloverfield Lane follows Michelle, who is believed to be held hostage by the psychopathic Howard. But Howard is convinced he's helping her and protecting her from a deadly invasion. In the final act, it turns out that Howard was right all along, and he was trying to keep her safe from an alien invasion. However, 10 Cloverfield Lane was originally an unrelated spec script before it became tied to the Cloverfield universe, and that could be more obvious than when it reaches the final plot twist.
It's a great twist that there actually is something outside of the bunker after all, as audiences are convinced for the whole movie that Howard is a psychopath and holding Michelle hostage. But it's made worse by the fact that the film has to tie into a larger universe, and it totally softens the impact, especially as it turned the incredible suspenseful thriller into an outright monster movie.
The World Is A Stimulation In Don't Worry Darling (2022)
Don't Worry Darling is set in a 1950s-looking suburban American town, but it's clear from the very first trailer that there's something much deeper going on. The film could have been an unnerving and unique thriller, but while the movie does keep viewers guessing, it ultimately ended with one of a handful of predictable twists that one in three viewers probably accurately predicted five minutes in.
The movie was always going to have the Village-esque twist that it's like a modern-day sanctuary, the Stepford Wives-esque ending where the women are brainwashed, or that it's a simulation of sorts. It turns out that it's the latter, and the town is a getaway for men who want better lives.
The Reasons For The Murders In Snake Eyes (1998)
Snake Eyes is one of the most underrated Nicolas Cage movies, as it's such an exciting murder mystery movie, but like Identity, the success of a murder mystery movie hinges on the final twist. Unfortunately, after setting up so many exciting pieces to the puzzle, the murderer is predictably Rick's (Cage) best friend, but the reasons why are on such a ridiculously large and unbelievable scale.
The reason for the murder was surrounding conspiracies over Iraqi missile strikes. It was simply underwhelming and felt as if screenwriter David Koepp had written himself into a corner after setting up so many different angles. Nevertheless, it still sees Cage at his most uncaged, and fans want to see a Snake Eyes 2.
The Killer's Reveal In Blow Out (1981)
Just like Snake Eyes, Blow Out was directed by the brilliant 80s director Brian De Palma, and it also suffers from the same problem as Snake Eyes, but not for the same reasons. Blow Out is a murder mystery movie in which a sound effects technician inadvertently records the sound of a murder, and he takes it upon himself to solve the crime.
The 1981 movie is a remake of the 1966 film Blowup, which has a famously ambiguous ending that not only doesn't reveal the killer, but it makes audiences question whether a murder even took place at all, as well as their own existence. It's a masterclass in suspense and ambiguity, but Blow Out wraps up the narrative with a bow on top. What's even worse is that who the killer is revealed to be is totally implausible.
Alejandro Miraculously Survives In Sicario: Day Of The Soldado (2018)
Sicario is one of the smartest thrillers of the past 10 years, but, unfortunately, Day of the Soldado is almost the opposite based on the ending. While the film is full of exciting and suspenseful action sequences just like its predecessor, the most impossible thing happens at the end that reminds audiences that they're very much watching a film.
Midway through the movie, Alejandro is shot in the head and left for dead in the middle of the desert, but at the end, he all of a sudden starts crawling and then makes a miraculous recovery. The 2018 film is almost as much of a fantasy as it is a thriller about the Mexican cartel. Sicario 2 is unfairly overlooked when it comes to sequels, but this specific moment is unforgivable.
Elise & Frank Are Lovers In The Tourist (2010)
The movie's ending wasn't the only thing wrong with The Tourist, as there was a significant lack of chemistry in the movie, and Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie seemed as bored playing the characters as the audiences were when watching them. But the entire movie hinges on a plot twist that is so farfetched, but somehow so predictable at the same time.
It's revealed that Frank (Depp) and Elise (Jolie), who meet randomly on a train, are actually lovers, only Elise didn't realize because Frank had gotten plastic surgery to alter his appearance. Amazingly, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress at the Golden Globes, but given everything that has been revealed about the Hollywood Foreign Press, it's hardly surprising in hindsight.