In any medium, plot twists are a valuable narrative tool used to keep the viewer or player on their toes and interested. The most common forms of plot twists come from betrayals or revealing long-kept secrets. These can range from the Red Wedding in Game Of Thrones to Darth Vader telling Luke Skywalker that he's his father in Star Wars.
Plot twists don't always hit as intended, even if they land the initial shock factor. Others connect with audiences, but leave them heartbroken. These twists often come from a tragic death or the movie's concept being flipped on its head. Designed to leave a mark, tragic plot twists certainly achieve their goal.
10 Malcolm Was Another Dead Person Cole Could See (The Sixth Sense)
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 thriller about a psychologist (Bruce Willis) who has a young patient claiming they can see and speak to the dead. In the first and most memorable of M. Night Shyamalan's impactful plot twists, Willis' Malcolm Crowe discovers he's one of those dead people.
Crowe eventually comes to terms with his death and accepts it, but the revelation remains tragic. Malcolm tries to talk to his wife while she's sleeping, but notices that he has a gunshot wound he forgot about. Despite the assumption Malcolm survived at the beginning of the movie, he actually didn't make it.
9 Grace & The Children Were Actually Dead (The Others)
The Others is a 2001 psychological horror movie starring Nicole Kidman. Kidman plays Grace, a mother who lives in a large country house with her two children, Anne and Nicholas. They soon notice an unknown and unnerving presence, leading Grace to suspect the house is haunted.
The film's tragic twist reveals Grace had killed the children and then herself in a fit of rage, confirming she and the children are actually ghosts. While there are hints about the house and family's past littered throughout, this twist remains incredibly impactful.
8 Severus Snape Was A Good Guy All Along (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 2)
Severus Snape is easily one of the best characters of the entire Harry Potter movie franchise, and Alan Rickman's portrayal of him was absolute perfection. Seen as the bad guy and secondary nemesis to Harry Potter after Lord Voldemort, Deathly Hallows Part 2 reveals Snape is one of the good guys.
Snape does many difficult things at Dumbledore's behest, even killing the Hogwarts Headmaster himself. From Snape's tears upon dying to a flashback showing his tragic love for Harry's mother, Lily, it's devastating seeing such a stern character break down.
7 Ernesto Betrayed & Murdered Hector Before Stealing His Life (Coco)
Coco has become a beloved Pixar movie known for its incredibly sad moments and exploration of death. The main character Miguel idolizes musician Ernesto de la Cruz and concludes that Ernesto is his great-great-grandfather. Later on, Miguel finds himself in the Land of the Dead, where he meets Ernesto and Hector.
In a devastating twist, viewers discover Hector Miguel's great-great-grandfather and that Ernesto had murdered him. Ernesto stole Hector's life and became famous for Hector's own songs. That the film uncovers this secret through flashbacks makes the betrayal hit even harder.
6 A Dead Daughter's Backstory Hints At A New Life Ending Too Soon (Arrival)
Arrival is a captivating sci-fi movie released in 2016, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. The movie follows Adams' Louise Banks and Renner's Ian Donnelly as they try to make contact with aliens. Banks can remember her daughter dying at twelve from an incurable illness, but this memory receives more significance later on.
The movie's major twist comes when audiences learn Banks' memories of her deceased daughter are actually premonitions of the future. Learning the aliens' language helps humans unlock a different perception of time and thus see future events. Knowing their future daughter will die at a young age, seeing Donnelly and Banks fall in love and plan to have a child proves a bittersweet moment.
5 The Grand Reveal Of Teddy's True Identity Hits Hard (Shutter Island)
Shutter Island is a 2010 psychological thriller directed by Martin Scorsese that's full of twists and turns. Leonardo DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, who visits a psychiatric facility on the titular Shutter Island while investigating Rachel Solondo's disappearance. In time, viewers discover Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, a patient at the facility.
Teddy had been hunting Laeddis for the murder of his wife, as well as for Rachel's disappearance. Instead, the film revealed Laeddis killed his wife Rachel after she killed their three children, and that he'd been sent to Shutter Island following the tragedy. All the pieces and betrayals came together in the end, but the conclusion left the audience shellshocked.
4 The Big Reveal Is Romantic, Tragic, & Bittersweet All In One (Last Christmas)
If a tragic event happens in a rom-com, it's normally countered by some form of closure or a happy ending. While Last Christmas gets a cheery ending, it's ultimately bittersweet due to the movie's devastating plot twist. Kate, played by Emilia Clarke, meets a guy called Tom, played by Henry Golding.
After the duo grew close and then drifted apart, viewers learned Tom was never really there. Kate had been seriously ill a year earlier, requiring a heart transplant. She received Tom's heart after he had died in a cycling accident. Kate ultimately learned to improve her life, but the big twist lingered even through the movie's happy closing moments.
3 Sergeant Howie Was The Intended Sacrifice All Along (The Wicker Man)
The Wicker Man is a 1973 horror movie that would later get a remake starring Nicolas Cage. Most remember the original for its unsettling aesthetic and the major plot twist at the end. Edward Woodward's Police Sergeant Neil Howie travels to Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan.
The island proves bizarre and its inhabitants remain uncooperative, but Howie eventually finds that Rowan is alive. He discovers the people intend to sacrifice Rowan in the name of a successful harvest. However, the shocking twist reveals that Howie was the target sacrifice all along. The movie even ends with Howie burning and being killed inside a wicker man statue.
2 John Doe's Killings Got Personal (Se7en)
"What's in the box?" has been turned into a meme over the years, but its origins are truly devastating. It comes from the movie Seven, generally stylized as Se7en, which depicts Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) teaming with Somerset (Morgan Freeman) to track down a serial killer.
Mill and Somerset follow a string of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins, each grizzly in their own way. In a devastating turn of events, the killer, John Doe, delivers a box containing the head of Mills' pregnant wife to a deserted location. The audience watches on in disbelief as Mills struggles to come to terms with the events. He eventually kills Doe, representing the final sin, wrath, exactly as Doe intended.
1 Leonard's Amnesia Couldn't Keep Him From The Truth (Memento)
Memento is a 2000 mystery thriller, well-known both for being one of Christopher Nolan's first movies, but also for structuring its scenes out of order. Guy Pearce portrays Leonard Shelby, a former insurance investigator who has anterograde amnesia. He remembers little else other than tracking down the man he believes killed his wife.
As the jumbled timeline begins to line up, the shocking twist arrives. Everybody has been lying to Leonard, and he has been lying to himself. His wife actually survived the attack but died from an insulin overdose. Leonard thought he was on a quest for vengeance against another, but he was actually running from the truth.