More so than any other movie genre, thrillers often deliver jaw-dropping endings with the power to leave audiences in deep thought for days. Thrillers use twists, huge climaxes and unexpected final images to make sure that people don’t forget about them immediately.
A great ending can change the way that people think about a whole movie, either by revealing some game-changing information or simply by offering a new perspective on what the audience thought that they already understood perfectly. In some cases, a thriller can haunt you for a long time.
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Decision to Leave (2022)
The Detective Story Morphs From A Mystery Into Something More Sinister
Decision to Leave is one of the great hidden gems of the 2020s so far, although Park Chan-wook has had an international fan base for decades now. His mystery thriller starts out as a game of cat-and-mouse between an insomniac detective and the woman he suspects of murdering her husband, but this is just the beginning.
Decision to Leave is one of the great hidden gems of the 2020s so far.
There are a few important visual metaphors running throughout Decision to Leave, particularly the contrast between the mountains and the sea, with the implication that everyone is naturally drawn to one or the other. The climactic scene on the beach brings this metaphor crashing home.
Decision to Leave‘s ending works so well because it ties up the mystery elements of the narrative while resolving the volcanic emotional tension between the two main characters. However, there are still a lot of more complex and nuanced mysteries left hanging. The ending urges audiences to reconsider the entire story, and where each character’s motivations truly lie.
7
Shutter Island (2010)
The Twist Is Famous, But It’s What Happens After The Twist That’s Truly Unforgettable
Shutter Island is something of an outlier among Martin Scorsese’s movies. Although it fits in neatly next to the other twisty psychological thrillers of the 2010s, it’s a departure from Scorsese’s crime movies, epics and biopics. There are still plenty of Scorsese’s hallmarks as a director, including a gripping performance from Leonardo DiCaprio.
Shutter Island‘s twist ending has become so famous that people who haven’t even watched the movie might know what’s coming. Whether or not someone enjoys Shutter Island largely hinges on how they react to this bold narrative stunt, but what happens just afterward is even more interesting.
After the climactic confrontation at the top of the lighthouse, Shutter Island brings things back down to Earth. The final scene is a low-key conversation between Andrew Laeddis and his psychiatrist, but the subtlety of the final line hints at a shocking moment of self-sacrifice. This underlines the tragedy at the heart of Shutter Island, and what lies beneath the entire story.
6
The Prestige (2006)
Christopher Nolan’s Period Thriller Ends With A Series Of Twists
Christopher Nolan always seems to leave his audiences with a stunning final image and a lot to think about. It’s no fluke that Oppenheimer, Inception, Memento and Interstellar all end with a bang, but The Prestige might deliver Nolan’s most jaw-dropping final flourish of all, which is appropriate for a movie about magic.
The Prestige‘s ending is packed full of twists, as each magician’s secrets are revealed. It’s Nolan’s final reveal in the game that he sets up in the very first scene, gently teasing his audience with hints of the truth throughout the story. The Prestige is based on a book, but the way that Nolan paces his twists is masterful.
The different ways that Angier and Borden perform their “Transported Man” tricks reveal a lot about who they are and how they differ. While Angier is willing to sacrifice himself for the adoration of his audience, Borden proves himself to be even more committed to his art, dedicating his entire life off-stage to perpetuating his illusion.
5
Blow Out (1981)
Brian De Palma’s Paranoid Thriller Ends With A Shock
Blow Out was a box office disappointment at the time, with some critics and pundits suggesting that the movie’s depressing ending might have turned audiences away. However, the ending is part of what makes Blow Out such a critically-acclaimed classic over 40 years later.
Blow Out supports the idea that Brian de Palma is influenced by Alfred Hitchcock. Like many Hitchcock classics, Blow Out follows a charming everyman protagonist who gets wrapped up in a dangerous criminal conspiracy, as he races against the clock to protect himself and his love interest, who even has a blonde head of hair like Hitchcock favored.
The ending is one thing that Hitchcock might have balked at, since the depressing finale represents a crushing defeat for John Travolta’s nervous sound technician. What’s worse than the final killing is the hero’s jaded expression after the fact, and the way that he tortures himself with his lover’s screams.
4
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Guillermo Del Toro’s Remake Demonstrates His Mastery Of Dark Thrills
Nightmare Alley is the second adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel, but Guillermo del Toro’s unique flair for twisted horror makes it seem fresh and unpredictable. Bradley Cooper stars as an aspiring carnival performer with a mysterious background whose insatiable appeтιтe for success leads him to increasingly desperate acts.
Nightmare Alley‘s narrative takes many twists and turns, as Stan’s road to the top brings him into contact with a revolving door of sinister, untrustworthy villains. Ultimately, Stan pays the price for his sin of greed, but the full tragedy of his downfall doesn’t hit home until a memorable final scene.
Stan’s journey comes full circle, leaving him with nothing but bad memories. The final scene provides one final ironic twist, as if fate itself is conspiring to punish him for playing with fire. Although there’s an immense finality to the ending, the poetry of it can still linger in the memory.
3
Se7en (1995)
David Fincher’s Classic Detective Story Saves Its Most Iconic Scene For Last
Three decades later, Se7en is still one of David Fincher’s best movies. The director has gone on to create some of the most gripping crime thrillers of all time, and it all started with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman playing two mismatched detectives on the hunt for a serial killer in Se7en.
The pointed differences between the two detectives create a captivating dynamic, and they also set up a stunning climax, in which John Doe’s twisted game reaches its final act. Fincher has a talent for placing the audience in the shoes of his protagonists, but there’s a feeling of hopelessness throughout the final confrontation.
Se7en‘s shocking ending hammers home its key themes, and it can easily make the audience think more about John Doe’s pessimistic philosophy. By letting the villain win, Se7en deliberately feels incomplete in a way. It’s designed to deliver a hollow feeling, but there are no third act heroics to suddenly restore peace and justice.
2
Enemy (2013)
Denis Villeneuve Leaves Audiences With A Confounding Final Image
Before he became one of the best sci-fi directors of the 21st century, Denis Villeneuve directed some stunning thrillers. Enemy stars Jake Gyllenhaal in a dual role as both a reserved college professor and a brash actor, two men whose physical resemblance leads to deceit and violence.
The image of spiders pops up several times throughout Enemy, starting with the enigmatic opening scene and continuing in the shared dreams of the two men and the web-shaped crack on the car’s windshield. The final scene returns to this mysterious metaphor, but it doesn’t exactly explain the real meaning.
Enemy‘s ambiguous ending relates back to the opening scene, suggesting that Anthony’s treatment of his wife reduces her to a subhuman outlet for his erotic gratification. Adam’s muted reaction is even more revealing, although there are many different ways to interpret his response.
1
Black Swan (2010)
Natalie Portman Caps An Outstanding Performance With A Dramatic Flourish
Natalie Portman delivers a career-best performance in Black Swan, which is important because it’s the kind of movie which lives and dies by the strength of her on-screen presence. She allows audiences a small window into Nina’s tortured psyche, but she doesn’t act so broadly that her emotion overwhelms the tense psychological intrigue.
Nina becomes so tangled up in her pursuit of perfection and her paranoia that she ultimately destroys herself.
Portman’s performance reaches a crescendo in Nina’s moment of triumph on stage, although the ballerina’s artistic achievement comes at a cost. Nina becomes so tangled up in her pursuit of perfection and her paranoia that she ultimately destroys herself. It’s the perfect artistic parallel with the ballet.
Black Swan‘s ending adds another twist to the pervasive question of how much of Nina’s experience is genuine, and how many of her wounds are self-inflicted in one way or another. There’s no satisfying moment of clarity in the end, although Black Swan does offer a finale that suggests that reality is immaterial after all.
