Top 7- Best Twist Endings
After looking at the best, and worst endings we've seen, it's time for the twistiest. Unlike the previous two lists, this is entirely about the twist and how it affects the film as a whole. As complete disclosure, I haven't seen all of the films on the list but the ones I haven't have such iconic twists that they've surpassed their films. MAJOR spoilers are present. But I bet you'll never guess what's going to be number one. Actually, you probably will.
7. Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is more on here for it's series of twists than for one particular twist, as are a few other films later on in the list. This film is a psychological roller coaster and after this whole thing with Donnie being told by a giant rabbit that the world will end in 28 days and almost being crushed by a jet engine, we eagerly await the ending to all this and it's a great payoff. We learn that Frank is based off a guy's halloween costume, that Donnie's mum and sister both die and that there are two different realities, one where Donnie survives, one where his mum and sister survive. It's a series of twists that's mind bending but so incredibly satisfying at the same time.
6. Primer
Another series of twists here that proves to be almost too mind bending. I saw this film years ago but it still confuses the hell out of me. There are multiple timelines popping up, versions of the same guy in the same place and then there's also AAARGH! Sorry, my brain started melting a bit. Safe to say that this film twists and turns more than a snake with the shits and is a true mind bender with it's probably fairly realistic portrayal of time travel. But if time travel is this confusing, maybe we should just leave it.
5. Soylent Green
I haven't actually seen Soylent Green but it's undeniable that it's twist is a cracker. After spending the whole film investigating this wonder product that is feeding all of America, twist aficionado Charlton Heston makes a shokcing discovery. The reason that the population is staying so low yet the food is coming so readily is that (all together now) SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! That's a fantastic twist that puts a whole new perspective on the entire story. Plus, and I really like this, look how in the poster, the bottom of the hands are the same shape as the Soylent Green. Boom, mind blown.
4. The Empire Strikes Back
This is probably the most well known and most quotable twist on a list which is just rammed with them. I challenge you to find someone who doesn't know and even love this twist. In case you're not entirely sure what I'm talking about yet (and shame on you in that case) then I of course mean the "Luke, I am your Father" twist. Back in the day, it blew everyone's minds. Well, I'm told. I wasn't around back then but it's become a huge pop culture phenomenon and it's well documented how much it changed everything, including the fact that Luke and Leia just can't happen. It was always really Han and Leia but incest is a pretty big road block in any realtionship.
3. The Sixth Sense
I made the mistake of deciding to marathon the entire Planet of the Apes franchise and it speaks volumes about how great this twist is that the whole franchise never really lived up to this moment ever again. Well, Rise and Dawn were excellent but the rest are largely naff. Anyway, this twist works again because the clues are all there and the delivery is so iconic (gotta love Charlton Heston) but it also changes the film on subsequent watches and also shapes the rest of the franchise. This twist is so unbeatable that to try and beat it, Tim Burton had to make Aperaham Lincoln to try and top it. But we all know that there is but one twist to top this and it doesn't come from dead dudes or apes.
1. Fight Club
The Narrator is Tyler Durden. That twist changed everything and did everything I've already spoken about that a truly good twist should do. You absolutely saw this coming, I'll pretty much put Fight Club before anything else because it's a pretty good film. And in this case, it really deserves it's position. The film starts as a film about the dangers of following others and breaking off from the societal norm but then becomes an examination of the mental and physical state of Generation X and the effects that society has on itself. If that isn't the definition of a great twist, I don't know what is.
And, in a twist that some of you may not have seen coming, the blog is now on Twitter! Follow me at @quitenerdyblog for links to every weekly post, the bonus ones and some short special reviews of films that I can't be bothered to write five paragraphs on.
7. Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is more on here for it's series of twists than for one particular twist, as are a few other films later on in the list. This film is a psychological roller coaster and after this whole thing with Donnie being told by a giant rabbit that the world will end in 28 days and almost being crushed by a jet engine, we eagerly await the ending to all this and it's a great payoff. We learn that Frank is based off a guy's halloween costume, that Donnie's mum and sister both die and that there are two different realities, one where Donnie survives, one where his mum and sister survive. It's a series of twists that's mind bending but so incredibly satisfying at the same time.
6. Primer
Another series of twists here that proves to be almost too mind bending. I saw this film years ago but it still confuses the hell out of me. There are multiple timelines popping up, versions of the same guy in the same place and then there's also AAARGH! Sorry, my brain started melting a bit. Safe to say that this film twists and turns more than a snake with the shits and is a true mind bender with it's probably fairly realistic portrayal of time travel. But if time travel is this confusing, maybe we should just leave it.
5. Soylent Green
I haven't actually seen Soylent Green but it's undeniable that it's twist is a cracker. After spending the whole film investigating this wonder product that is feeding all of America, twist aficionado Charlton Heston makes a shokcing discovery. The reason that the population is staying so low yet the food is coming so readily is that (all together now) SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! That's a fantastic twist that puts a whole new perspective on the entire story. Plus, and I really like this, look how in the poster, the bottom of the hands are the same shape as the Soylent Green. Boom, mind blown.
4. The Empire Strikes Back
This is probably the most well known and most quotable twist on a list which is just rammed with them. I challenge you to find someone who doesn't know and even love this twist. In case you're not entirely sure what I'm talking about yet (and shame on you in that case) then I of course mean the "Luke, I am your Father" twist. Back in the day, it blew everyone's minds. Well, I'm told. I wasn't around back then but it's become a huge pop culture phenomenon and it's well documented how much it changed everything, including the fact that Luke and Leia just can't happen. It was always really Han and Leia but incest is a pretty big road block in any realtionship.
3. The Sixth Sense
With four words, Haley Joel Osment changed cinema and then pretty much vanished off the map. Again, haven't seen this film but it's twist is even more iconic than the film. "I see dead people" is now a firm part of pop culture and genuinely, it's a genius twist. The clues are all there, everyone should have seen it coming and it's delivery is chilling and mind blowing all at once. The only bigger twist M Night would give us was that his career would spiral so dramatically. The Visit, coming this September, can't wait.
2. Planet of the Apes
I made the mistake of deciding to marathon the entire Planet of the Apes franchise and it speaks volumes about how great this twist is that the whole franchise never really lived up to this moment ever again. Well, Rise and Dawn were excellent but the rest are largely naff. Anyway, this twist works again because the clues are all there and the delivery is so iconic (gotta love Charlton Heston) but it also changes the film on subsequent watches and also shapes the rest of the franchise. This twist is so unbeatable that to try and beat it, Tim Burton had to make Aperaham Lincoln to try and top it. But we all know that there is but one twist to top this and it doesn't come from dead dudes or apes.
1. Fight Club
The Narrator is Tyler Durden. That twist changed everything and did everything I've already spoken about that a truly good twist should do. You absolutely saw this coming, I'll pretty much put Fight Club before anything else because it's a pretty good film. And in this case, it really deserves it's position. The film starts as a film about the dangers of following others and breaking off from the societal norm but then becomes an examination of the mental and physical state of Generation X and the effects that society has on itself. If that isn't the definition of a great twist, I don't know what is.
And, in a twist that some of you may not have seen coming, the blog is now on Twitter! Follow me at @quitenerdyblog for links to every weekly post, the bonus ones and some short special reviews of films that I can't be bothered to write five paragraphs on.
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