Thrillers have been a prominent genre in the film industry since the turn of the 20th century, but their presence in modern Hollywood stands stronger than ever. These movies are entertaining for many reasons, but they stand alone in their ability to create a suspenseful atmosphere. It’s never quite clear what’s going to happen next. Consequently, thrillers are often guaranteed to feature mind-bending plot twists.

The best thrillers of all time utilize their unpredictability and tense nature concurrently, resulting in an impression that remains long after the curtains close. It’s not a matter of simply pulling the rug out from under the audience, but rather doing so in a way that plays off the established narrative. For example, there are plenty of excellent movie twists in otherwise mediocre films. While some plot twists are relatively formulaic, other directors incorporate them flawlessly.

10

Parasite (2019)

The Hidden Basement Family

A movie that brings home four Oscars out at the Academy Awards is guaranteed to be something special. Director Bong Joon-Ho delivered a thrilling masterpiece that nobody had expected with his deeply human and frequently intense thriller, Parasite. It’s a film with seemingly unlimited twists and turns, but the most jaw-dropping revelation surrounds the family living underneath Park’s family home. Park Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun) claims he saw a ghost, but the reality proved far more unsettling.

The presence of an additional family is shocking in itself, but Bong Joon-Ho’s decision to include this storyline reinforces the established themes. Parasite is all about the stark differences between classes, and adding another layer of deception only serves to make them more apparent. While it appears that the Kim family is the spectacle of mooching off other resources, the inclusion of hidden life within the household establishes another. There is another parasite living beneath them, both literally and figuratively.

9

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Verbal Kint Is Keyser Söze

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Bryan Singer’s beloved 1995 crime thriller The Usual Suspects stands alone in the realm of cinematic plot twists. Some directors use unexpected turns to add to an otherwise quality story, but Singer created a narrative that was entirely dependent on its final reveal. The whole movie is based on a conversation between Verbal Klint (Kevin Spacey) and the police in hopes of catching the infamous “Keyser Söze.”

As the plot unfolds, Klint recounts how Söze was responsible for a local heist that led to multiple fatalities. In the final moments of the film, it’s revealed that Klint was Söze the whole time, and he was simply using scattered details from the interrogation room to fabricate a story. The Usual Suspects twist is truly a marvel of cinematic storytelling. Had the detectives been wiser, the curtains would’ve come to a close in just a few minutes.

8

Fight Club (1999)

Tyler Durden Is Just An Alter Ego

David Fincher’s Fight Club feels like an anomaly of a film for a plethora of reasons. The marketing movement alone speaks to its peculiarity. Brad Pitt originally described the movie as “a story of two guys that start an amateur boxing league for the underprivileged youth, and the woman who comes between them.” At first glance, this would be a completely acceptable description, which is indicative of the genius behind the ultimate reveal.

Fight Club includes one of the few movie twists that are even better the second time around. By the climax of the film, it becomes clear that The Narrator’s (Edward Norton) supposed partner-in-crime, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), was nothing more than an alter ego. It wasn’t that Tyler didn’t exist, he was merely a psychological mechanism that allowed the narrator to carry out his most dangerous desires. It’s a testament to the creativity behind storytelling perspectives, and easily one of the most memorable twists of all time.

7

The Game (1997)

The Game Was A Fabrication

When it comes to cinematic plot twists, few directors hold a candle to David Fincher. From Fight Club to Gone Girl, he’s more than demonstrated his proficiency at tampering with audience expectations. His 1995 mystery thriller The Game has flown relatively under the radar in comparison to the rest of his catalog, which is unfortunate given how masterful the twist is. It’s the story of an unexcited billionaire, Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), whose interest is piqued when his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) approaches him with a game.

The mysterious challenge ultimately takes Nicholas on a roller coaster through ᴅᴇᴀᴅly situations, but by the conclusion, the entire thing is revealed to be a farce orchestrated by Conrad. The Game’s twist ending was ᴀssuredly unanticipated, but audiences seem to be divided on the effect of its inclusion. On one hand, Nicholas is effectively given a new perspective that proves life is worth living. On the other hand, many argue that the game being a fabrication makes the entire premise erroneous.

6

The Prestige (2006)

Alfred And Freddy Are Identical Twins

In typical Christopher Nolan fashion, The Prestige shatters the pre-conceived circumstances of the established storyline. The director is always hailed for his masterful plot twists, but this film is home to one of his best. Magicians Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) are at odds with one another for the entire story, but Borden always seems to be one step ahead. As it turns out, his advantage was a product of being two places at once, thanks to “Alfred” actually being twin brothers sharing a single public idenтιтy.

In the final moments of the film, the supposedly murdered Borden emerges from the darkness and puts a bullet in Angier. Borden’s ᴀssumed engineer, Freddy, is ultimately revealed to be his identical twin in disguise. The two had been seamlessly switching between idenтιтies from the start. This twist effectively answers all the previously posed questions; it’s the reason that Borden was able to perform the disappearing man trick without the use of Teslas’ (David Bowie) technology. The Prestige​​​​​’s ending might be difficult to initially understand, but it only adds to the film’s quality.

5

Se7en (1995)

Tracy’s Head Is In The Box

There’s a reason behind the desperation in Brad Pitt’s voice as he repeatedly asks “What’s in the box?“ Fincher is the king of plot twists, and Se7en is arguably the director’s magnum opus. Few releases have come close to the sinister atmosphere that this film creates. John Doe’s (Kevin Spacey) ultimate plan for Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) comes to fruition in the final moments of the runtime, and it’s easily one of the most shocking cinematic endings of all time.

Having chased the serial killer through his elaborate string of heinous crimes, the plot culminates as Doe reveals he has already murdered Mill’s pregnant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), and put her head in a box. It’s a terrifying revelation by itself, but it additionally speaks to the despicable nature of Spacey’s character. The decapitation wasn’t a last-ditched effort, but rather the final piece of a sickening puzzle that Doe had been planning from the start. It’s considered one of the best David Fincher movies for a reason.

4

Prisoners (2013)

Keller Is Going To Survive

When it comes to the best thrillers in modern cinema, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners stands above almost all the compeтιтion. The film didn’t make big waves upon its 2013 release but has progressively received the adoration it deserves. It’s nearly an impossible task to find a movie with an atmosphere as tense as this one, with plenty of dark twists and turns throughout. Gripping from start to finish, Prisoners never has a dull moment, and the unexpectedly ambiguous ending is the cherry on top.

After going through hell and back to find his missing child, Keller (Hugh Jackman) finally discovers that Holly (Melissa Leo) was responsible for the abductions, including Alex Jones (Paul Dano). His efforts ultimately lead Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) to save his daughter, but Keller winds up trapped underground. In the closing sequence, a faint whistle can be heard coming from the backyard. Prisoners’ ending suggests Keller is going to survive, but considering he tortured an innocent victim, his troubles are far from over.

3

Shutter Island (2010)

Teddy Daniels Is A Patient

Shutter Island marked Leonardo DiCaprio’s fourth collaboration with Martin Scorsese, and the results didn’t disappoint. It’s as sound of a psychological thriller as they come. Scorsese is constantly leaving clues that hint at the film’s final twist, but they aren’t glaringly obvious during an initial screening. For the entire plot, it’s ᴀssumed that the story is being told from the perspective of Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), who joins Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) to investigate the disappearance of a patient from an insane asylum.

It turns out that Teddy Daniels is a patient of the asylum whose reality is entirely out of touch. He’s actually Andrew Laeddis, a man who was sent to the island for killing his wife after she drowned their children. Giving him independent access to the island was a radical last-ditch effort to cure his affliction. Shutter Island’s ending forces the audience to question everything they just witnessed. This effectively prompts Laeddis to choose what reality to exist in via lobotomy: “Which would be worse – to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?“

2

Get Out (2017)

The Armitage Family Want Chris’ Body

Considering his significant background in comedy, expectations weren’t through the roof when comedian Jordan Peele announced his entrance into the horror genre. Nevertheless, the director knocked it out of the park on his debut project Get Out. What seems like a run-of-the-mill meeting of parents quickly turns into a nightmarish hellscape when Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) realizes his girlfriend’s family are members of an oddly vicious cult.

In the case of Get Out, the twist essentially drives the entire plot. It’s a seemingly idyllic weekend until it becomes clear that Rose (Allison Williams) is only dating Chris to use his body as a host for her family’s psyches. Although integral to the story, it’s a turn of events that’s nearly impossible to predict. The Armitage family’s practices make for a gripping atmosphere, but they also elucidate higher societal issues surrounding race. Peele managed to create a twist that bolsters the entertainment value while conveying his intended message.

1

Oldboy (2003)

It Was All An Elaborate Act Of Revenge

Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy is a psychological thriller guaranteed to mess with your head. At its core, Oldboy is a revenge tale told through the eyes of Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-Sik) after he’s forced to spend years in isolation due to some unseen figure. Dae-su is finally released from prison and will stop at nothing to take revenge on the man who put him there. However, the full limits of the captor’s cruelty aren’t revealed until the shattering events of the ending.

It’s eventually revealed that Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Yeon-Seok) had been orchestrating the protagonist’s fate from the beginning. Dae-su had previously started a rumor about Woo-jin being romantically involved with his sister, which led to her death. Woo-jin then used hypnosis to make Dae-su sleep with his daughter to return the shame he caused. The ending is nearly perfect from a storytelling perspective, a karmic reversal of a minor mistake that snowballs into pure chaos. Dae-su is free of his burdens but is equally imprisoned by the knowledge of his atrocities, making it a perfect thriller twist.

Source: Moviefone