Like movies with an unexpected twist at the end? Well, here’s 10 that have an ending you won’t see coming.
CAUTION: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS THE ULTIMATE SPOILERS
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
In my opinion, some of the best movies are the ones with a good twist at the end. No, I am not talking about the main character eating a bowl of pretzels; I’m talking about endings that are so opposite of what I thought, I never saw them coming. However, if you have never seen some of these movies, you may not want to read THE TWIST, as it is the ultimate spoiler.
Freedomland (2006) – When Brenda Martin’s (Julienne Moore, Blindness) 4-year old son, Cody, gets kidnapped, her case is investigated by police detective Lorenzo (Samuel L. Jackson, Snakes on a Plane). Although the entire police force is searching for her son, Lorenzo suspects there is something more to the case that Brenda is not telling him.
THE TWIST – When Cody was found dead, overdosed on cough syrup, Brenda and her ex-boyfriend dig a grave and burry his body before calling the police about this phony case.
Gone Baby Gone (2007) – When private investigator Patrick Benzie (Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) and his partner/girlfriend Angie (Michelle Monaghan, Eagle Eye) are hired to investigate the case of a missing girl named Amanda, they begin to suspect that she was kidnapped because her parents had stolen money from a local drug lord.
THE TWIST – When they drive up to police Captain Jack Doyle’s (Morgan Freeman, Invictus) home, the two discover Amanda, happily living with Doyle and his wife.
The Mist (2007) – When a misty lightning storm occurs, Dave Drayton (Thomas Jane, The Punisher) goes to the supermarket with his son. As they are shopping, three army men go inside the store to collect supplies and after them, an old man who declares, “Something is in the mist!” Forced to stay inside the store (at least they have enough food), Dave, the employees, and other shoppers cannot escape because there are creatures in the mist…and they are hungry.
THE TWIST – When they run out of gas, David and the remaining survivors (who includes his son) hear what sounds like one of the creatures. David, assuming the creature is going to kill them, decides to use a gun loaded with four bullets. Problem is, there are five of them in the car. After shooting four times (even his own son), David becomes hysterical, especially after he realizes it was one of the military’s artillery vehicles.
The Others (2001) – While awaiting her husband’s return from war, Grace (Nicole Kidman, Australia) and her two young children live an isolated life inside their secluded island mansion. The children seem to have a disease in which they cannot be touched by direct sunlight. When she hires three mysterious servants for them, Grace begins to notices strange paranormal events, which make her wonder if this house, contains hidden secrets.
THE TWIST – It appears that Grace and her children are actually ghosts (she went insane, killing her children and then herself) who inhabit their house.
Passengers (2008) – When psychotherapist Claire Simmons (Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada) is called upon to treat a group of survivors of a plane crash, she begins to grow close to one of them, Eric (Patrick Wilson, Watchmen). When her patients begin to disappear, Claire suspects the airline is targeting them.
THE TWIST – Not only does she discover that all the passengers died on the flight, but Claire herself was one of them.
The Prestige (2006) – Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) delivers another amazing film, this time, about magic. Two magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale, The Dark Knight), both ex-assistants for the same magician, are now two competing magicians, each trying to out-do one another with phenomenal tricks. When Angier is found drowned in a tank, Borden is convicted of murder.
THE TWIST – When Borden realizes that a certain lord, “Lord Callow,” is actually an alive Cutter, he reveals an equally amazing trick of his own: he did not get hung, as he had an identical twin who switched lives with him whenever it was needed.
Righteous Kill (2008) – “Everybody respects the badge; few respect the gun,” is how Righteous Kill opens, with footage of Robert De Niro’s character admitting he is a bad cop. Soon, ready to hang up their badges and retire, NYPD detectives Turk (Robert De Niro, Heat) and Rooster (Al Pacino, Heat) are called in to investigate their last case: the murder of a notorious pimp. However, as the investigation carries on, the two discover this murder has ties to a case they solved years ago, and one of them is hiding something.
THE TWIST – Rooster is the bad cop. Pointing the gun on Turk, Rooster forces him to read from his notebook while being videotaped on the security camera.
Secret Window (2004) – Successful writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean series) lives isolated in his lakeside cabin, suffering from writer’s block. One day, the mysterious John Shooter (John Turturro, Transformers) shows up at Mort’s door, accusing him of plagiarism. However, Shooter does not leave and continues to harass Mort, killing his dog and burning down his ex-wife’s house.
THE TWIST – After he puts on “Shooter’s” fedora hat, it is clear to Mort’s ex-wife (Maria Bello, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) that this man is actually one of Mort’s personality shifts.
The Uninvited (2009) – Years after her mother is killed in a house fire, forcing her to be committed to a mental hospital, Anna Ivers (Arielle Kebbel, The Grudge 2) is finally ready to come home, cured. However it comes as a shock to Anna, discovering her father re-married a woman, Rachel Summers (Elizabeth Banks, Meet Dave). Rachel, as nice as she may seem, may actually be Mildred Kemp, a nanny who killed the children of a father whose wife also died.
THE TWIST – After her sister killed Rachel in order to protect them, Anna finds out that she is still psychotic. Her “sister” is a fragment of Anna’s imagination and it is Anna who killed not only Rachel, but her boyfriend as well. Upon returning to the ward, Anna’s neighbor, who has the nametag “Mildred Kemp” on her door, says, “Welcome home.”
The Village (2005) – In a small village within the woods, a group of Quaker-like people live isolated form the outside, in fear of nameless creatures that live in the forest. When Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line) is stabbed with a knife. When the chief Elder’s (William Hurt, The Incredible Hulk) blind daughter, Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard, Lady in the Water), agrees to go beyond the woods and seek out medication for Lucius, she discovers her village’s hidden secret.
THE TWIST – The village was founded in the 1970s when the Elders decided to continually roll the clock back to the 19th century (to them, it was a more peaceful time). The so-called “creatures” that are living in the surrounding woods, are a myth made up by the Elders to prevent citizens from leaving. The only “creature” turned out to be the mentally disabled Noah (Adrien Brody, The Pianist) in a costume.
