The best films feature great storytelling, which is why many stellar movies have twists that the audience could never see coming. The twist is a storytelling device that captures the audience and makes them wonder how they never saw it coming. From The Sting (1973) to The Handmaiden (2016), these popular movies have a twist that will leave your mouth hanging wide open.
1 – Sorry To Bother You (2017)
Sorry to Bother You is a dark dystopian comedy about a man struggling to get by who manages to snag a job as a telemarketer. The man must sacrifice his true self to rise up the ranks at his new company. But as he clings to success, he soon realizes he’s made a grave mistake.
2 – The Handmaiden (2016)
This South Korean psychological thriller follows a con artist and a pickpocketer who devise a scheme to rob a woman of her inheritance. The pickpocketer’s job is to convince the woman to marry the conman so he can claim she’s insane and toss her into a psychiatric hospital. But the two could never anticipate where their attempted heist would take them.
3 – Psycho (1960)
A woman on the run from the law stops at a motel for the night in this classic horror film. She doesn’t realize that the hotel manager has a sinister plan for her. But the manager’s true personality only reveals itself at the film’s end.
4 – Chinatown (1974)
Chinatown is a mystery film about a woman who hires a detective to investigate her husband’s infidelity. But problems arise when the detective discovers that the man’s wife did not hire him and the woman who did was an imposter.
5 – Coherence (2013)
When a group of friends reunites after many years apart at a dinner party, they begin to chat about their lives. But as the dinner goes on, a comet passes overhead and seems to interfere with the guests’ minds.
6 – The Others (2001)
The Others is a jarring thriller that takes place during World War II when a young Christian mother moves her children to a quiet seaside town in England. Her kids have a rare condition that prevents them from going in the sun, so the woman spends much of her time inside her new home. But strange visions lead her to believe her new house is haunted.
7 – Ex Machina (2014)
A programmer at a large technology company wins an exciting prize in this Sci-Fi thriller. The programmer visits the CEO’s mansion and becomes the first human tester of an intelligent AI robot woman. As the programmer conducts the tests, he bonds with the machine, who turns out to be more advanced than advertised.
8 – The Village (2004)
M. Night Shyamalan’s dark thriller The Village is about a community that lives cut off from society by sinister woods. The people in the village believe the woods are filled with treacherous monsters, and no one dares to enter. But when a young boy watches as the girl he loves falls ill, he decides to trek through the woods in search of a cure.
9 – Arlington Road (1999)
Arlington Road is a crime thriller about an FBI agent whose wife recently died in an attack by an extremist group. As the man grieves the loss of his wife, he becomes obsessed with the strange behavior of his new neighbors. Is the agent descending into madness, or are his neighbors brewing terrible plans next door?
10 – Now You See Me (2013)
As a team of highly skilled magicians pull off miraculous bank heists and high-stakes robberies, they donate the money to fans in the audience at their popular shows. But when the FBI catches wind of their criminal stint, they enter a cat-and-mouse chase that leads them somewhere no one could predict.
11 – The Invisible Guest (2016)
The Invisible Guest is a twisted mystery film about a man who wakes up with no memory of the night before. He’s locked in a hotel room next to his deceased lover. As police name him a prime suspect in her murder, he and his lawyer buckle down to uncover the truth.
12 – The Body (2012)
This Spanish mystery follows a man who murdered his wife to start a life with his much-younger girlfriend. When the dead woman’s body goes missing from the morgue, strange events occur around her killer, who starts to wonder if he’s being haunted.
13 – Angel Heart (1987)
A private investigator hunts down an elusive performer in this dark, mysterious horror film. As the investigator speaks to witnesses, he learns that each dies shortly after their conversation. But when the investigator finally tracks down some useful evidence, he realizes the person who hired him for the job may not have told him the whole truth.
14 – A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
A Tale of Two Sisters is a South Korean horror film about a woman who reunites with her sisters after living in a mental hospital. When she returns to her family home, she meets her father’s new wife, and the two sisters soon feel uneasy around her.
15 – The Sting (1973)
This hilarious crime thriller follows an amateur con man who teams up with a pro when their friend is murdered. Seeking revenge against a sinister crime boss, the two hatch a plan to unleash a massive con that will leave the crime boss with empty pockets. But their plan gets derailed, forcing them to improvise at the last second.
16 – Sleuth (1972)
Sleuth is a dramatic mystery film with twists at each turn. It’s about a man who invites his wife’s lover to his home on the pretense of helping them run away to live their lives together. But when the truth comes out, the two men play a series of tricks on one another to get the upper hand.
17 – Gone Baby Gone (2007)
When a woman’s daughter goes missing, she hires a private detective to track down her baby. As the investigator talks to potential suspects, he realizes the criminal may be someone who thought no one would suspect them. Can he track down the kidnapper before it’s too late?
18 – Predestination (2014)
Predestination is a time-travel Sci-Fi film about a time-traveling detective on a mission to prevent a criminal from using time travel for evil. As he travels through time, attempting to capture the criminal, he learns something about his enemy that shocks him to his core.
19 – Soylent Green (1973)
This horrifying dystopian Sci-Fi movie takes place in a futuristic version of New York City, where people fight for scraps, and food is scarce. When a murder occurs at a rations factory, detectives investigate the death. But as they get deeper into the case, they’re horrified by what they discover.
20 – House of Games (1987)
House of Games is a twisted thriller about a psychiatrist whose patient wants to die because of a terrifying gambler. When the psychiatrist contacts the gambler to learn more about him, she becomes entranced with his skills and continues to follow his games.
21 – The Gift (2015)
This mysterious thriller follows a couple who runs into the husband’s old friend. At first, the chance encounter doesn’t phase them, but when the man keeps popping up in their lives, the husband must confront his past with the strange friend.
22 – Triangle (2009)
Triangle is a mysterious horror film about a group of friends who vacation on a yacht when a storm causes their boat to capsize. They manage to climb on board a nearby ocean liner, but circumstances only grow stranger as the seemingly abandoned ship feels eerily familiar.
23 – Forgotten (2017)
This disturbing South Korean psychological thriller is about a man whose brother was recently kidnapped. But when the man’s brother returns home after 19 days away, he has no memory of his abduction. The man does whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the mystery.
24 – The Illusionist (2006)
A talented magician in Vienna in the early 20th century has a talent for tricks that look like he could raise the dead. But a jealous prince, envious that the magician is pursuing the woman he loves, decides to take matters into his own hands and have the magician jailed for necromancy.
25 – Trance (2013)
Trance is a thrilling mystery film about a corrupt art auctioneer who helps a gang steal a valuable painting. But the heist goes wrong when he smacks his head and gets amnesia. As people attempt to locate the artwork, the auctioneer’s severe amnesia prevents them from uncovering its location.
Source: Reddit.
Maya (she/they) is a queer entertainment and culture journalist. They cover interviews, reviews, roundups, news, and more. She loves horror, history, and creativity. They hope their writing both entertains readers and inspires them to think critically. Her favorite pastimes include needle felting, gaming, and drawing.
