Sign in to your Collider account
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the films discussed.
The plot twist is a device used in many a film, and is primarily utilized to make the story more complicated, interesting, or exciting. When it is pulled off well, these twists can be a marvelous addition to any film. Some of the most iconic movies in history have legendary plot twists that come out of nowhere, redefining everything that came before in a way that still makes sense and is rewarding for the audience.
But as with anything, movie twists aren't always executed perfectly. Sometimes, it's kind of hard not to see the most obvious plot twists coming, especially with all the clear hints the film drops along the way, even if it isn't doing it consciously. It's not that the twists themselves are bad per se; it's just that they would have been a whole lot better if they hadn't been so painfully predictable. These are the most expected movie twists, depriving these narratives of some much-needed payoff.
18 Arthur and Sophie never dated
'Joker' (2019)
Image via Warner Bros.
Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), who would later become the iconic Batman villain known as the Joker, lives on his own in an apartment complex after suffering some pretty horrific traumatic events throughout his life. In this complex, he meets a young woman named Sophie (Zazie Beetz), and the two begin a romantic relationship. Arthur is shown to be mentally ill throughout Joker, and eventually it is revealed that Sophie has never dated Arthur.
Gee, you don't think? What made it obvious? Was it that Sophie would randomly appear and disappear indicating she was some sort of hallucination? Or was it the fact that she immediately "falls in love" with Arthur after he stalks her and follows her into her apartment while dressed as a clown? Seriously, who in their right mind would just start making out with someone after that? So yeah, it's not exactly shocking because, well, Arthur is the Joker after all, and audiences ought to know better to trust him when it comes to narrating his own story.
Your changes have been saved
Joker
Release Date October 2, 2019
Runtime 122 minutes
17 Tom is dead
'Last Christmas' (2019)
Last Christmas is based on the Wham! holiday hit of the same name, which most people know the lyrics to by now: "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart / But the very next day, you gave it away." This is sort of meant to be taken as a metaphor, but the movie took it literally. In the movie, a woman named Kate (Emilia Clarke) meets Tom (Henry Golding), and the two fall in love and embark on loads of romantic adventures.
But about midway through the movie, Tom begins acting weirder and weirder, before the movie finally lets the truth out: Tom is dead, and he posthumously donated his heart to Kate when she needed one during an emergency operation. He literally gave her his heart last Christmas. This wouldn't have been easy to spot if it weren't for the trailer emphasizing Kate's hospital trip, or if the movie wasn't based on the song, or if Tom didn't start acting so odd. Either way, there was very little shock value to this mediocre truth bomb.
Your changes have been saved
Last Christmas
Release Date November 8, 2019
Director Paul Feig
Runtime 103minutes
16 William is the killer
'Spiral' (2021)
Image via Lionsgate Spiral is another movie in the long-running slasher franchiseSaw, only this time it's not about Jigsaw, but about a copycat killer who is committing a string of murders intended to mimic the original. In the movie, a police detective spends much of his time investigating these mysterious deaths along with his partner, William (Max Minghella). All of the death scenes, in typical Saw fashion, are put on full display, with the guts and gore that is expected of the franchise.
At one point, the detective is informed that William has also fallen victim to these crimes and has died in a horrific manner, only to find out that nope, William is actually alive and is the killer that the police have been looking for. This one was pretty easy to see coming for the fact that Saw has never been a series to shy away from showing gruesome means of death, so why in the world would it not give a death scene to William? This raises some immediate red flags that allow the twist to become apparent long before it needs to.
Your changes have been saved
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Release Date May 12, 2021
Director darren lynn bousman
Runtime 88
Main Genre Horror
15 Jack's back
'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' (2007)
Image via Walt Disney Pictures Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is the central character in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. His goofy demeanor and eccentric sense of humor made him an instant fan favorite from the moment fans first saw him in the first movie. In a way, Jack is the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and without him, the franchise just wouldn't be the same, and might not even exist. So what motivation could the filmmakers possibly have to kill him off at the end of the second movie?
Even when Dead Man's Chest was released, fans knew that after Jack's apparent death between the jaws of the Kraken, there was a good chance he would come back in future sequels, because, well, it's just not like Disney to axe one of their most popular protagonists like that. Sure enough, he is shown to be alive and well in At World's End, which is no surprise to anyone. But it is good to see him again.
Release Date May 19, 2007
Runtime 169 minutes
14 Billy is Ghostface
'Scream' (1996)
Image via Dimension Films To give credit where credit is due, Scream is sort of a tongue-in-cheek satire film about all the cheesy slasher movies that were abundant in the 80s and 90s, so this lackluster twist was probably intended to play off of that. Actually, there are two plot twists in Scream--the first one is actually quite brilliant with the reveal that there are actually not one, but two killers. That one works pretty well. But the fact that one of the killers is Billy (Skeet Ulrich)? Not so much.
Billy is somehow always unaccounted for when people begin to die, and he has a lot of weird behaviors and is obsessed with horror films. From the first second he's introduced, the audience has him pegged for the culprit. And they would be right. Let's be honest, it's not like he made any real effort to hide it. But again, maybe this is on purpose considering Scream's biting parody of kitschy slasher movies. It might be obvious, but there's a chance that it is intentionally so.
Your changes have been saved
Scream
Release Date December 20, 1996
Runtime 111 minutes
13 The staff are prisoners, and the doctor is an impostor
'Stonehearst Asylum' (2014)
Stonehearst Asylum is a movie that is average at best, largely thanks to its twist... if it can even be called that after how the movie practically spoils itself. The reveal at the end is that the staff working at the eponymous asylum have all been taken hostage by the escaped patients and are maintaining the façade that everything is fine and dandy.
Anyone who happened to see the trailers or simply paid attention to the movie could easily spot the twist. The trailer hints at it, and the movie drops several not-so-subtle clues, but that's just part of it. The bigger reveal is that the doctor who appears to be running the place is an escaped patient himself and the real one appeared at the beginning of the film. The whole "the staff are prisoners" thing is revealed fairly early on, and with that in mind, it's not hard to deduce that Dr. Newgate (Ben Kingsley) may not be who he says he is.
Your changes have been saved
Stonehearst Asylum
Release Date October 23, 2014
Runtime 101
12 Shooter isn't real
'Secret Window' (2004)
Secret Window stars Johnny Depp as Mort, an author with a serious case of writer's block as he flees to a cabin in the woods after the collapse of his marriage. There, he is visited by a man named Shooter (John Turturro), who accuses Mort of plagiarism. Towards the end of the film, it is revealed that Shooter isn't actually a real person but a figment of Mort's imagination, a sort of alter-ego that he uses to deflect the blame for killing his family.
This twist is one of those that will make audiences roll their eyes and say, "No kidding!" First off, how would Mort be able to plagiarize the story of some guy he never met unless he wrote it himself? Also, Shooter's name is pretty on-the-nose and seems more of a descriptor rather than a name. On top of that, Mort's life is clearly falling apart, and he's obviously good at creating stories, so is it surprising that he fabricated Shooter's existence?
Your changes have been saved
Secret Window
Release Date March 12, 2004
Director David Koepp
Runtime 96 minutes
11 Rafe is alive
'Pearl Harbor' (2001)
Pearl Harbor is primarily a disaster-romance movie, trying to cash in on the success of Titanic a few years prior; of course, it doesn't even come close to it. Ben Affleck plays Rafe, a United States pilot present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. About halfway through the film, Rafe is in a dogfight over the English Channel when he is shot down and presumed dead. There's a funeral held for him and everything.
At the funeral, Rafe's girlfriend, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), is understandably distraught, as is his best friend, Danny (Josh Hartnett). There is undeniable romantic tension between the two, and before long they have started a relationship... until Rafe shows up alive and well in front of Evelyn. Oops! How could the audience have seen this coming? Well, maybe it's because the titular battle hadn't happened yet, for one. But it may also be because Rafe had been pictured in trailers fighting at Pearl Harbor, so of course, he would have to survive until then. Beyond that, his plane crash-lands in water, making his chances of survival a whole lot better.
Your changes have been saved
Pearl Harbor
Release Date May 21, 2001
Runtime 3h 3m
10 Hans isn't Prince Charming
'Frozen' (2013)
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Frozen is a Disney princess movie — it's enjoyable and great fun, but let's be honest, it's not exactly high art. So. of course, it's going to lend itself to some simpler plots, which is to be expected. Even then, the twist could be seen from a mile away. Normally, Disney princess films have a prince pursuing the princess because he really loves her, but some obstacle or villain is interfering before being defeated; the prince and princess get married and live happily ever after yadda yadda yadda.
In Frozen, Hans (Santino Fontana) gets engaged to Anna (Kristen Bell) literally within the first 10 minutes of the film. If that isn't a dead giveaway that it won't last, later on, a man named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) is thrown into the mix and clearly has more chemistry with Anna than Hans does. Before long, Anna leaves Hans for Kristoff, which is the furthest thing from a shocker as seen in any film, especially because Hans turns out to be the story's villain. Even children will be able to predict this one long before it happens.
Your changes have been saved
Frozen
Release Date November 20, 2013
Director Chris Buck , Jennifer Lee
Runtime 108 minutes
9 Teddy is a patient
'Shutter Island' (2010)
Image via Paramount Pictures Shutter Island is a great psychological thriller, but what really brought it down in quality is its mediocre twist, which could be seen just from the trailers. The plot concerns a detective named Teddy (Leonardo Di Caprio) as he travels to the eponymous island to investigate an escaped asylum patient who murdered his family. So, what is it that makes the twist so obvious?
Well, perhaps it's the fact that Teddy is supposed to be a detective but doesn't really get anywhere in his investigations. Maybe it's because little is known about Teddy's family, or perhaps it's that the escaped patient keeps being brought up. Either way, when it's revealed that Teddy is the escaped patient, it's far from a surprise. It was a pretty disappointing twist and is part of why an otherwise thrilling movie wasn't received as well as it could have been by critics. Leonardo DiCaprio gives it his all, but even he can't elevate it.
Your changes have been saved
Shutter Island
Release Date February 19, 2010
Runtime 138 minutes
8 The pizza guy isn't the sniper
'Phone Booth' (2002)
Image via 20th Century Studios Phone Booth follows a man named Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) who is locked in a phone booth after an unseen sniper aims their crosshairs on him. The sniper calls Stu and explains the situation, bearing a very distinct voice clearly belonging to Kiefer Sutherland. At one point, Stu meets a pizza guy, and towards the end, the police believe that they have caught the sniper and that it is this very same pizza guy. Or is it?
See, the pizza guy has a few speaking lines, and it becomes apparent right off the bat that he is most certainly not Kiefer Sutherland. So when the police say they've got him, it's hard to believe them. Not a lot of people bought into that idea, and it's a good thing, too, because the real caller makes an appearance shortly afterward, explaining he may do the whole thing again if Stu doesn't clean up his act. One doesn't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out.
Release Date April 4, 2003
Runtime 81 minutes
7 Aragorn is still alive
'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' (2002)
Image via New Line Cinema Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is one of the central characters of The Lord of the Rings, which was (and still is) a super popular book and movie franchise. During a skirmish between the Rohirrim and the orcs at the Westfold, Aragorn falls off of an enormous cliff and is presumed dead. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) go to check the spot where he fell, but he is nowhere to be found. The movie makes it seem like he's really gone.
Unless, of course, you either read the books or watched the trailer for The Two Towers, which showed several different scenes involving Aragorn, many of which hadn't happened yet at that point in the film. Of course, he was alive! Book readers knew this wouldn't be the end either because Aragorn appears in the second book and thus would likely appear in the next movie. So when Aragorn floated from the river to the shore and was revealed to be breathing, it could barely be called a plot twist.
Your changes have been saved
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Release Date December 18, 2002
Runtime 179 minutes
6 Evelyn is the villain
'Incredibles 2' (2018)
Image via Pixar Animation Studios Incredibles 2 follows the family of superheroes as they try to take down the villainous Screenslaver, a mysterious and anonymous figure that hijacks TV screens to hypnotize people. The movie introduces a few new characters, including Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener), the CEO of a large tech company who blames superheroes for the death of her parents. She also establishes herself as a powerful, stand-up kind of individual.
When the Screenslaver turns out to be Evelyn, most fans are far from amazed. Evelyn would be the only one with the means, motive, and opportunity to pull off such an elaborate scheme. If that wasn't enough, her name is literally a pun that is pretty on the nose: it's meant to sound like "Evil Endeavor," for crying out loud! Sure, it's a kids' movie, but even younger audiences probably had no trouble coming to the conclusion way before the big reveal.
Release Date June 14, 2018
Director Brad Bird
5 The random person at the beginning is important
'John Q.' (2002)
Image via New Line Cinema John Q. really isn't very good, due in part to its lackluster twist ending. The film stars Denzel Washington as a beleaguered father named John who can't afford the high price of saving his son's life in the hospital. Out of options, he holds the entire building hostage until arrangements can be met that will keep his son alive. The very first scene of the movie shows a random unnamed woman who gets in a pretty nasty car wreck before the film moves on; the woman is never mentioned again.
This scene feels weird and disjointed at first, until the end of the movie when hospital staff let John know that his son will need a heart transplant to survive. But where are they going to get the heart from? Why, from the dead woman at the beginning, of course. The scene felt extremely out of place throughout the movie, making it ever-present in audiences' minds, wondering when it is going to become relevant. The twist comes across as lazy and way too serendipitous, giving the film an absurd quality that it doesn't deserve.
Your changes have been saved
John Q.
Release Date February 15, 2002
Director Nick Cassavetes
Actors Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise, Daniel E. Smith, Robert Duvall, James Woods, Anne Heche, Eddie Griffin, Ray Liotta
Run Time 116 minutes
4 Gordon is alive
'The Dark Knight' (2008)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) is sort of an important character throughout the Batman franchise, especially in The Dark Knight. In much the same vein as Aragorn, Jim is given an apparent death scene, which makes it look like the movie intends to keep him out of the action. But that just doesn't make any sense because he's sort of a central character in the franchise; there's no reason to actually kill him off.
If that wasn't enough, the trailer also happens to show scenes where Jim is alive and well, which had not yet been seen before his death. When Jim comes crawling back into the spotlight, he's a welcome sight but not a shocking one. Even those who leave the movie on as background noise without really paying attention to it will almost definitely pick up on it early. The Dark Knight is still brilliant, but this underwhelming twist stands out as one of its most noticeable flaws.
Release Date July 18, 2008
Runtime 152 Minutes
3 The Hårgas are in a cult
'Midsommar' (2018)
Image via A24 Midsommar takes place in the Swedish wilderness, where the reclusive Hårga people are celebrating their midsummer festival. The movie takes an unconventional approach to horror in that much of it takes place during broad daylight; in hindsight, there should have been some obvious red flags right from the get-go. It's eventually revealed that the villagers are not some quirky rural society but a cult, and this couldn't have been more apparent.
Their very first introduction is a group of people wearing identical white robes and performing some sort of bizarre game or ritual. There's also a lot of religious artwork depicting sacrificial ceremonies and a hallucinogenic drink. It's a miracle the main characters aren't immediately suspicious when they're served a strange tea, and the fact that the cult is so isolated certainly doesn't make them seem normal. Lastly, this is a horror movie, for goodness' sake: why wouldn't they be some sort of cult? It's hard not to come to this conclusion right away, even before weird and creepy things start happening.
Your changes have been saved
Midsommar
Release Date July 3, 2019
Runtime 147 minutes
2 The grandparents are impostors
'The Visit' (2015)
Image Via Universal Pictures Movies by M. Night Shyamalan are known for having plot twists. Unfortunately, he is also infamous for being a bit inconsistent with his work; some of the twists really work, and others are pretty laughable. The twist in The Visit isn't awful in the sense that it isn't ridiculous or lazy, but it's very easy to see it coming. The plot concerns a mother who sends her kids to visit their grandparents, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to in decades.
First off, who does that? Secondly, the kids are too young to have ever seen what their grandparents look like, so they'd never be able to know any better if someone had taken their place. Lo and behold, that is exactly what happens: the "grandparents" are actually a random elderly couple who murdered the real grandparents and are taking their place to experience raising children after theirs died. It could have been a really cool twist had it been handled a little better. Still, The Visit is among Shyamalan's best modern efforts, even if it's far from perfect.
Release Date September 11, 2015
Runtime 94 Minutes
1 The killer is a victim of bullying
'Most Likely to Die' (2015)
Image via Marvista Entertainment Those who haven't seen Most Likely to Die should consider themselves lucky. It's basically the result of taking every bad slasher cliché and putting it through the blender, then turning the resulting stewy mess into a movie. The plot follows a group of friends who graduated high school and get invited to stay at a cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway. They then find themselves stalked by a vicious killer, who kills them in ways that are fitting to the title they received at graduation, like "most likely to be successful."
In the beginning, the characters go through an old yearbook and briefly mention a student that they used to bully, calling him a freak and other demeaning names. The protagonists definitely give off the vibe that they were part of a clique, so is it really a shocker that the killer is this same kid that they used to bully? Considering the movie never mentions who organized to gathering, this twist was about as conspicuous as a glowing highway billboard at night. It is no surprise whatsoever and is part of the reason the movie isn't very good.
Your changes have been saved
Most Likely to Die
Release Date August 30, 2015
Director Anthony DiBlasi
Runtime 81 minutes
English (US) ·