A shocking twist ending has become a familiar trope to movie fans, making it even more important for those twists to land harder than ever. To compete in Hollywood, writers and directors are forced to be more creative with twist endings. It doesn't always work out if the twist isn't built to last.
Anyone who rewatches a movie with an unforgettable twist ending is coming into the next viewing with important information that can change how the movie is interpreted. This has resulted in several twists that don't make sense upon a closer inspection.
10 The Explanation Behind The Twist In The Village Doesn't Make Any Sense
M. Night Shyamalan has more than one movie that could be discussed. Shyamalan has become known for his twist endings. 2004's The Village has the most confounding plot twist, though it quickly begins to fall apart. A village living in the past finds itself threatened by mysterious monsters that patrol the borders.
In the twist ending, The Village reveals that they exist in the 21st century. The Elders use tales of monsters to keep the villagers scared of traveling outside and discovering the real world. The twist also reveals that the government has been paid to make the area a no-fly zone to avoid the community seeing planes in the sky. But, how many paid hands would that require and where are the funds coming from?
9 The Planet Of The Apes Remake Features An Unforgettable Twist That Makes Zero Sense
In 2001, Tim Burton brought a modern take on the classic Planet Of The Apes franchise to the big screen. Planet Of The Apes used advanced prosthetic and makeup techniques to bring the world to life, much like the 1968 original. Burton's modern remake was similar but featured an incredibly different twist ending that left viewers confused.
After being transported forward in time to a world where the dominant species are apes and humans live as slaves, astronaut Leo Davidson was able to find a way back. When Leo landed, he discovered the Lincoln Memorial on Earth had been replaced with an ape-version of the President. This raised several questions, and the answers made no sense.
8 The Usual Suspects Reveal About Verbal Kint Paints A Target On The Cop Interrogating Him
Bryan Singer's 1995 hit The Usual Suspects follows a tale told by a criminal named Verbal Kint. Kint tells the story to a cop, who had been investigating someone Kint had been working with. They both had been caught up in the larger story of a powerful crime lord known as Keyser Söze.
The detective eventually realized that Verbal Kint was Keyser Söze, and the story he had been told was fabricated. However, The Usual Suspects had established that Söze killed anyone who saw his face. Since the detective could identify the crime boss, it makes no sense that Söze would give him some of the necessary pieces of the puzzle and still leave him alive.
7 The Twist In American Psycho Left Fans Wondering About Patrick Bateman's Reality
2000's American Psycho introduced Patrick Bateman, an investment banker working amongst a sea of similar bankers on Wall Street. Patrick is eventually revealed to be a mentally unstable serial killer who is slowly losing his grasp on reality. The twist in American Psycho reveals that some of what has happened may have occurred within the mind of Bateman, casting doubt on his actions.
While it was an attempt at ambiguity, the twist removes some of the menace from Bateman's murderous spree. This plot twist left fans wondering about what did occur. The real twist is that, even though he was undoubtedly responsible for some of the murders, his frantic confession still went unbelieved by his peers.
6 High Tension's Big Twist Falls Apart On Further Rewatches But Is No Less Brutal
Alexandre Aja directed 2003's Haute Tension/High Tension. High Tension is a brutal horror following two friends, Marie and Alex, on a road trip. The pair travel to see family members but find themselves hunted by a murderous trucker who violently slays anyone in his way.
The twist reveals that the trucker didn't exist. Instead, it was Marie who had snapped and had been killing everyone the entire time. While the twist was shocking and matched the intense and gory nature of High Tension, further rewatches have revealed many issues with Marie's murderous rampage.
5 The Twist Ending Of Saw Gets Harder To Believe With Each Viewing
2004's Saw mostly took place in a dank and sealed room. The room contained two strangers, who were chained to a corner, and a dead body lying on the floor. The two are put through a grueling psychological game that forces them to fight for their life and the survival of those closest to them.
The twist ending reveals that the body in the middle of the room was the mastermind known as the Jigsaw Killer. Jigsaw had slowed his body systems and used drugs to appear dead. However, Jigsaw was incredibly sick and would have had labored breathing during their time in the room, making it hard to believe he could have pulled off the ruse.
4 The Logistics Behind The Twist In Us Left Fans With A Lot Of Unanswered Questions
Writer/Director Jordan Peele followed up his hit debut Get Out with 2019's Us. Us saw a vacationing family forced to fight for their lives against evil doubles known as the Tethered. They soon realize that the doubles are attacking the rest of the country in a coordinated event.
The murderous doubles set about replacing their genetic duplicates while fans learn about the government project behind their creation. The logistics behind the creation and housing of the Tethered, and their connection to the originals, raises a lot of questions that are never answered.
3 Perfect Stranger's Twist Makes No Sense Because She Always Knew She Was The Killer
2007's Perfect Stranger saw Halle Berry starring as a reporter. She investigates a senator's sex scandal that leads to a woman's mysterious murder. Throughout Perfect Stranger, the blame for the murder and other events begins to fall on the senator and the reporter's research assistant.
Perfect Stranger ultimately reveals that the reporter was responsible for the murder and was attempting to frame the senator. However, the reporter finds herself surprised by the clues and evidence she planted when no one else was around, making the twist reveal seem forced and confusing.
2 Tyler Durden's Big Reveal In Fight Club Causes Several Hard-To-Ignore Inconsistencies
David Fincher adapted Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club in 1998. Fight Club followed the development of a cathartic fighting club. The group helped one man and his new friend, Tyler Durden, find peace of mind and allies through violence in a cause to spread chaos in a civilized world.
Fight Club's big reveal comes when the unnamed Narrator confronts Tyler Durden and attempts to stop the group's anarchist plans. The Narrator discovers that he is Tyler Durden. He had imagined an entirely new persona to help him create a fight club. The flashbacks that reveal his interactions with himself make it hard to believe he could have accomplished everything that he did.
1 Darth Vader's Reveal As Luke Skywalker's Father In Empire Strikes Back Doesn't Work
One of the greatest cinematic twist endings came in 1980's Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back. The Empire Strikes Back saw the evil Darth Vader reveal to Luke Skywalker that he was his father, the presumed dead Anakin Skywalker. It's clear writer George Lucas hadn't planned the twist in earlier installments, given the reveal of Anakin's murder and Luke's kiss with his sister.
It's hard to believe that a powerful Sith Lord like Darth Vader would be unaware of his living children and their connection to the Force, especially considering Luke was still living under his original name of Skywalker. It's an unforgettable cinematic twist, but one that doesn't always make sense when exploring the pieces that came before the reveal.