From The Sixth Sense to Se7en, the most shocking endings in movie history only make those films better.
Great twist endings are hard to come by. Movies that feature huge twists aren’t uncommon, and they can come in basically any genre, horror included. But films that manage to make those twists work are exceedingly rare.
That’s why it can be so immensely satisfying to see a movie with a shocking ending that actually makes that ending feel earned. The endings on this list hit that mark, not just on their own merits, but also because they make the rest of the movie even better. These shocking endings have stood the test of time, whether they’re three years old or 30 years old.The Sixth Sense Trailer 107m Genre Mystery, Thriller, Drama Stars Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette Directed by M. Night Shyamalan watch on Hulu watch on Hulu One of the things that makes a great movie twist is that rewatching the movie only makes the twist more satisfying. In the case of The Sixth Sense, understanding that Bruce Willis is dead the whole time does not make watching the movie any less enjoyable. Instead, you see all the signs and clues you missed the first time, and come to appreciate the story that much more. The Sixth Sense has plenty worth watching other than the twist, and rewatching the movie will confirm that for you. Read less Read more The Usual Suspects Trailer 106m Genre Drama, Crime, Thriller Stars Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Spacey Directed by Bryan Singer watch on Paramount+ watch on Paramount+ It was all a lie. That’s what we learn in the final moments of The Usual Suspect when it’s revealed that the mild-mannered Verbal Kint is actually the crime lord at the center of this whole knotted affair. The revelation comes after Kint has already been released from police custody, and we already know that he’s a ghost: They’ll never catch him. On top of that, we also have to wonder whether anything about the movie we’ve been watching is actually true within its fictional world. Read less Read more Planet of the Apes Trailer 112m Genre Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Action Stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner watch on Amazon watch on Amazon One of the first real twist endings remains one of the best. For an entire movie, you watch Charlton Heston’s astronaut with the understanding that he’s landed on some distant planet ruled by apes, only to realize in the movie’s closing moments that he’s still on Earth at some point in the distant future. The image of the Statue of Liberty buried in sand is an all-timer, and one that made Planet of the Apes into a franchise that has endured for decades. Read less Read more The Empire Strikes Back Trailer 124m Genre Adventure, Action, Science Fiction Stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher Directed by Irvin Kershner watch on Disney+ watch on Disney+ The first Star Wars plays out almost exactly the way you might expect it to: Good triumphs over evil, and everyone but Chewie gets a medal. What’s shocking about the final moments of The Empire Strikes Back isn’t just that Luke finds out that his father is Darth Vader, it’s also that the movie does not leave its heroes in a happy place. Han is frozen in carbonite, Luke gets his hand lopped off by his father, and the Rebellion seems to be in complete tatters. Read less Read more Se7en Trailer 127m Genre Crime, Mystery, Thriller Stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow Directed by David Fincher watch on HBO Max watch on HBO Max The final moments of Se7en are shocking and horrific. The movie, which follows a pair of detectives working to track down a serial killer, ends when they discover that the killer’s final victims are one of the detective’s wives and himself. It’s a shocking ending to what has been a dark and twisty saga. David Fincher’s modern noir is all about the darkness in men’s souls, and in its final moments, it shows us just how dark things can get, even for the movie’s ostensible heroes. Read less Read more Saw Trailer 103m Genre Horror, Mystery, Crime Stars Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover Directed by James Wan watch on Hulu watch on Hulu The mind games that occupy most of Saw‘s running time are brutal enough, but the final moments of Saw are what turned it into the franchise it ultimately became. In its final moments, we learn that the corpse between the two men trapped together in a bathroom is the actual jigsaw killer, and he’s been faking his own death to watch the two men struggle against his puzzles. It’s a final moment of triumph for the killer, who manages to win a total victory over the central characters we’ve been following all movie long. Read less Read more Psycho Trailer 109m Genre Horror, Drama, Thriller Stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles Directed by Alfred Hitchcock watch on Amazon watch on Amazon Psycho is terrifying long before its final twist, but the movie’s final moments give entirely new meaning to the movie’s name. The film reveals at the end of its run that the old woman who has been murdering everyone in sight all movie long is actually Norman Bates. His mother died years ago, and Norman has started pretending to be her and acting out the aggression she often showed toward young women. The movie’s decision to explain Norman’s pathology isn’t universally beloved, but the twist itself still holds up more than 60 years later. Read less Read more Fight Club Trailer 139m Genre Drama, Thriller, Comedy Stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter Directed by David Fincher watch on Amazon watch on Amazon Fincher’s Fight Club delivers one of the all-time great movie twists as we discover that Tyler Durden and the narrator are one and the same. This revelation forces you to reevaluate everything you’ve already seen, but it also makes sense. The film’s narrator is so deeply alienated from the world and himself that he built up a new character who would be willing to do things that he never would. It’s both surprising and inevitable, and that’s what makes it a classic twist. Read less Read more Atonement Trailer 123m Genre Drama, Romance Stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Romola Garai Directed by Joe Wright watch on HBO Max watch on HBO Max While it’s not a movie that might immediately spring to mind when you think of shocking endings, Atonement‘s final moments may nonetheless leave you trying to pick your jaw up off the floor. As it turns out, the happy ending we get for the film’s two central characters is a pure fiction. Briony, the young woman who ruined their lives by leveling a false accusation, wrote them a happier ending in order to atone for the one they never actually got. The young lovers at the movie’s center both died in the war, and there was nothing more to it than that. A tragedy, but one so common amid the tumult of war. Read less Read more Us Trailer 116m Genre Horror, Thriller, Mystery Stars Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph Directed by Jordan Peele watch on Amazon watch on Amazon The reveal at the end of Us is just the icing on top of an already great cake. In the movie’s final moments, we learn that Red and Adelaide switched spots when they were just children. That’s why Adelaide didn’t talk when she returned: She never had before. It’s the kind of revelation that forces us to reevaluate everything we’ve already seen. Us is a story about privilege, and what we eventually realize is that the movie’s events only occur because the real Adelaide knows what a better life looks like, and had it stolen from her.
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