The Five Greatest Movie Twist Endings of All Time
Here are five of the greatest movie twist endings. Spoilers are ahead, obviously. We’ll be disclosing several unexpected conclusions.
Number 5: Primal Fear
Paramount
The Premise: Ambitious defense lawyer Martin Vail (Richard Gere) takes on the case of Aaron Stampler (Ed Norton), a seemingly gentle altar boy accused of murdering an archbishop. Vail suspects that his client suffers from a dissociative personality disorder due to years of abuse, including at the hands of the archbishop, which led to the emergence of the violent persona, Roy.
The Twist Ending: Aaron confesses to having fabricated his dissociative identity — he is actually Roy at his core.
Why It’s Effective: Ed Norton delivers a remarkable performance, and it’s always satisfying to see a pompous character like Vail have the rug pulled out from under him.
By the Way
20th Century Fox – Credit: C/O
If you are curious why another Ed Norton film — Fight Club — is absent from this list, it’s because the significant twist occurs about halfway through the film.
While it is an incredible twist, we don't consider it a movie twist ending due to the substantial runtime remaining after the revelation.
Number 4: The Wizard of Oz
MGM – Credit: C/O
The Premise: Dorothy (Judy Garland) is swept away to Oz by a tornado along with her little dog, Toto. She teams up with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion on an adventurous, musical quest along the Yellow Brick Road to meet the Wizard, who they all hope will fulfill their wishes.
The Twist Ending: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” The Wizard (Frank Morgan) is a fraud — just an ordinary man utilizing stage tricks to appear powerful. Dorothy and her companions learn that they must create their own destinies through their own strength and character developed along the way.
The Wizard gives symbolic gifts to the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion to demonstrate this. When he tries to return Dorothy to Kansas via a balloon, Toto jumps off, followed by Dorothy, who then realizes she can find her own way home.
Why It’s Effective: While the story has become well-known thanks to the success of Wicked, picture being a child in a 1939 theater, seeing the film's vibrant Technicolor, and realizing that Dorothy's entire journey was based on a deception—only to find comfort in the fact that she, like you, can pave her own way home. It’s a deeply resonant twist.
Number 3: The Usual Suspects
Gramercy Pictures
The Premise: Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) interrogates Verbal Kent (Kevin Spacey), who appears to be the weakest link in a criminal operation led by the ruthless Keyser Söze. Kent seems pitiable — he walks slowly, he's cowardly, and appears as innocent as Ed Norton’s Aaron from Primal Fear.
The Twist Ending: Verbal is revealed to be Keyser Söze, crafting a fictional story for Kujan by drawing inspiration from items in his office.
Why It Works: This twist is completely unexpected, yet it fits perfectly. The Usual Suspects (named from a line in Casablanca) explores the impact of storytelling and the creation of legends, which screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie clearly contemplated. He won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for this film, which propelled him to a remarkable career with many collaborations with Tom Cruise, including the twist-laden Mission: Impossible franchise.
Number 2: The Sixth Sense
Buena Vista Pictures – Credit: C/O
The Premise: The third film from M. Night Shyamalan that marked his rise as the "twist guy," The Sixth Sense is a supernatural thriller where child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) works with troubled boy Cole (Haley Joel Osment), who insists he can see dead people.
The Twist Ending: In a reversal reminiscent of The Third Man, Malcolm is dead. Although we saw him shot at the beginning, we merely assumed he survived. He did not.
Why It Works: We enjoy films where the surprise is subtly hidden in plain sight throughout. Shyamalan expertly allows us to arrive at our own conclusions, including the belief that Malcolm survived the shooting, leading us to mislead ourselves.
Number 1: The Planet of the Apes
20th Century Fox
The Premise: Three astronauts, including George Taylor (Charlton Heston), crash-land on a planet dominated by apes. Humans, including the captive Nova (Linda Harrison, who is pictured with Heston), are treated as animals.
The Twist Ending: After the humans escape, aided by the kind Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans), they make a shocking discovery on the beach: The Statue of Liberty. They quickly understand the reality
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The Five Greatest Movie Twist Endings of All Time
Here are the top five movie twist endings. Spoilers ahead, of course. We will be disclosing several unexpected conclusions.