Plot twists in movies are a narrative technique employed to catch viewers off guard and introduce new conflicts, contexts or revelations. Movies likeMementoandFight Clubpresent these twists during their endings, but twists can occur at any point in a movie’s story. Some filmmakers, likeM. Night ShyamalanandChristopher Nolan, utilize twists more than others, as they require a certain level of literary finesse.
That being said, plot twists are a risky venture, especially concerning movies that end with them. A poorly conceived or executed twist can sour an entire viewing experience and leave a negative impression, no matter how good it was until that point. While some movies pull twists off with mind-blowing intelligence and grace, others fail spectacularly.These are the worst plot twists that pretty much ruin their movies, cementing their place in cinematic infamy.
10’Planet of the Apes' (2001)
Directed by Tim Burton
In the year 2029, air-force astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) embarks on a rescue mission to save a chimpanzee astronaut lost in space. After slipping into a wormhole, Davidson crash-lands on a strange planet inhabited by highly intelligent, speaking apes. Imprisoned alongside other humans, Davidson must find allies on the hostile planet and return home.
More than 25 years following theprevious film of thePlanet of the Apesfranchise, 2001’sPlanet of the Apeswas directorTim Burton’s attempt at reigniting interest in the series. Whilesomewhat of a commercial success, this remake is best remembered for itsterrible twist ending that found Davidson returning to an Earth dominated by apes. Goofy visuals of an ape version of the Lincoln Memorial aside, the ending is shoddily written, unsatisfying, and confusing, a poor attempt at recapturing the genuine surprise of the original’s groundbreaking ending.
Planet of the Apes
9’Hancock' (2008)
Directed by Peter Berg
John Hancock (Will Smith) is the most hated man in Los Angeles who also just happens to be a superhero. His name has become synonymous with alcoholism and irreverent behavior that regularly leads to a spectacular amount of damage. After being saved by Hancock, publicist and PR aficionado Ray Embrey (Jason Batman) believes he can clean up his image and mold Hancock into the hero he’s meant to be.
Hancockbegins as a rather entertaining dissection and satirization of superhero media. The titular character is perhaps the most unworthy person to be gifted with such powers, and his struggles are somewhat relatable. Smith is as charismatic as one would expect, but issues arise when an incredibly unnecessary mid-movie twist rears its ugly head. It turns out that Hancock’s wife,played byCharlize Theron, is also a near-immortal superhero who has been his partner for over 3000 years, none of which he remembers due to a head injury years earlier. It’s dumb and unneeded,ruining what would otherwise have been a fun riff on superhero media.
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8’Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Nearly two decades after his last escapade, professor and adventurer Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is roped into yet another search for a priceless artifact. This time, it’s a legendary skull made of quartz believed to have special powers. Toe to toe with the KGB, Dr. Jones must find help from allies, old and new, to ensure the skull doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.
DirectorSteven Spielberg’s return to hisIndiana Jonesfranchise was a reasonable cause for excitement. While certainly aged, Ford proved more than capable of cracking the whip once again. Unfortunately,Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulljust didn’t hit the same notes that the earlier trilogy did. It’s considerably less fun,brought down further by a nonsensical ending that introduces aliensand a UFO. The Indiana Jones franchise has regularly incorporated fantasy elements, but the twist ending here just took it one step too far and sealed the deal on this dud of a movie.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
7’The Village' (2004)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
The Villagetakes place in an isolated, 19th-century village in the Pennsylvanian countryside. The inhabitants obey a simple but strict rule: they are not allowed to venture into the woods surrounding their community. Strange happenings lead to discoveries that will challenge everything the townsfolk had previously known.
Director M. Night Shyamalan incorporates a twist into nearly every one of his screenplays, andThe Villageis no exception. Unfortunately,his twist ending forThe Villageis particularly lackluster. It’s revealed at the end thatthe colonial village actually exists in the modern-day, created on a preserve, and most of the people living there were completely unaware.The Villageis an unexceptional movie overall, butits underwhelming twist reveal certainly didn’t do it any favorsbecause it renders the characters' journeys meaningless.
The Village
6’Identity' (2003)
Directed by James Mangold
Ten strangers find themselves converging at a motel in the Nevada desert as a storm breaks out. Stranded due to the weather, the group gets acquainted with one another. Unfortunately for them, a murderer is on the loose, targeting people and picking them off one by one. These events coincide with a murder trial that determines the fate of one troubled man.
Identityhas two big twists; one fits the movie’s themes and is cleverly established, and the other is painfully obvious and deflates any tension or stakes.Identitystarts as a whodunit, but it soon reveals that all ten strangers are just the personalities of a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Following this outright silly reveal,it’s really hard to care about what happens to any of them, rendering the whole experience a waste of everybody’s time.
5’Knowing' (2009)
Directed by Alex Proyas
A cipher-like string of numbers is found in a time capsule left by a student of a class in 1959. Fifty years later, when the capsule is retrieved, M.I.T professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) discovers that the numbers are actually dates corresponding to tragic disasters throughout the past 50 years. The dates listed in the near future promise a disaster that will leave no survivors.
While the concept ofKnowingisn’t particularly novel, there’s a grittiness and realism to most of the events. The disaster scenes are a spectacle and visually impressive, with a compelling mystery at the core. Sadly,the ending ofKnowingis a massive fumble. Nearing the movie’s apocalyptic climax, aliens are introduced as a means to save the children of the world while leaving every other character to die. This puzzling development isjarring, stupid and deeply unsatisfying, ruining everything that came before.
4’Glass' (2019)
The finale of Shyamalan’s surprise trilogy,Glass, continues the story of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a man with supernatural strength and the ability to psychically track individuals. He uses this power to find Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy), a serial killer with multiple personalities, some of which are more dangerous than others. Along with the mysterious Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), the trio find themselves in a psychiatric institution that puts their apparent powers to the test.
Shyamalan already outdid himself in the twist of his previous movie,Split, which was revealed to be a sequel toUnbreakable. Thus, the Shyamalan superhero cinematic universe was born, and the possibilities were endless when it came toGlass. Unfortunately,Glassfeatures multiple twists that negatively impact the overall narrative. The most offensive of which isthe deaths of its main trioin the least gratifying ways.Glassis a very disappointing end to a trilogy that had so much potential.
3’Now You See Me' (2013)
Directed by Louis Leterrier
A group of four illusionists known as “The Four Horsemen” (Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody HarrelsonandDave Franco) is a worldwide phenomenon that put on shows around the world and wow audiences with their spectacular magic. An FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) investigates the group as the culprit behind multiple high-profile thefts and is determined to expose them.
Now You See Meis a fun and inoffensive caper that takes pleasure in showcasing elaborate and increasingly preposterous magic tricks. Much like an illusionist’s set, the movie is full of twists and turns, butNow You See Me’s final twistpretty much sours the whole experience. It’s revealed that Ruffalo’s FBI agent is the mastermind behind The Four Horsemen’s schemes and is a gifted illusionist with motives of revenge. The convoluted twist is more exasperating than satisfying, and ittakes away from the movie by reducing its protagonists to unwilling puppetsin someone else’s game.
Now You See Me
2’Remember Me' (2010)
Directed by Allen Coulter
Remember Meis a romantic drama set in New York during the summer of 2001. Tyler (Robert Pattinson) has a brother who has recently committed suicide, and Ally (Emilie de Ravin) witnessed the death of her mother at a very young age. They meet under unlikely circumstances and hope that a relationship will help the healing process.
For the most part,Remember Meplays out like a standard romance. There’s a toughness to the story because of the characters' tragedies, executed with a respectable degree of caution. The same cannot be said for the movie’s now-infamous twist ending. The setting and period ofRemember Meplay a big role in the story; in the movie’s final moments,Tyler is revealed to be in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th. Using a real-life calamity as a narrative twist with as little finesse as presented here issure to leave a negative impression on just about anyone.
Remember Me
1’High Tension' (2003)
Directed by Alexandre Aja
College students and best friends Marie and Alexia (Cécile de FranceandMaïwenn Le Besco) head to Alexia’s family farmhouse for a quiet weekend of studying. The seclusion is shattered when a man breaks into the house, brutally murders Alexia’s parents, and abducts her. Marie pursues the killer through the night, doing whatever she can to save her friend.
High Tensionis a taut, brutal and effective horror/thrillerthat is relentlessly violent and intense. That being said, its legacyis utterly thrashed bya twist ending that is notoriously bad and nonsensical. After Marie finally tracks down her friend Alexia, it’s revealed thatMarie has been the killer the entire time. A series of flashbacks attempt to present it in a way that makes sense, but frankly, it does a poor job. Not only does the twist not make any sense whatsoever, but it also spoils what was mostly an enjoyably grisly thrill ride.
