The Set-Up: Young Haley Joel Osment suffers from an unusual condition – that’s right, he sees dead people. Fortunately, Bruce Willis’ friendly psychologist is on hand to help him through it. Not that things are all roses for Bruce, whose relationship with his wife has got so bad that she barely seems to acknowledge his presence…
The Twist: Bruce was dead all along, which is why only Haley Joel could see him. Ta-daaaa!
How Shocking? In retrospect, you’d kick yourself for not working this one out. M Night Shyamalan sprinkles the film with clues aplenty (the marital dinner scene seems shamelessly blatant on second watch), and yet we have to admit to being totally hoodwinked first time around! Bravo, sir.
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Comments
IHATESNAKES2896
Aug 16th 2011, 9:35
Where is The Prestige on this list. Such a great twist, it's criminal it's not on here, it should replace the village on this list
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redreed
Aug 16th 2011, 10:34
IHATESNAKES2896 you took the words right out of my mouth.
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Samwise89
Aug 16th 2011, 11:04
the first thought I had after looking at that list was, WHERE THE HELL IS THE PRESTIGE!!! and then to scroll down and see both the above comments saying the same thing just made me laugh. Seriously though, why is it not on here, its an amazing twist.
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wizzard400
Aug 16th 2011, 12:00
agree with the 3 comments above. AND WHAT ABOUT INCEPTION!!!!!
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jonesr9
Aug 16th 2011, 12:21
Agree about The Prestige, fantastic reveal. What about Shutter Island too? I didn't see that one coming either!
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Juliette
Aug 16th 2011, 13:09
Some of these are great - especially Empire Strikes Back and Kane, though most of us know the twist before we see the film these days - but a lot of them don't seem especially clever or interesting to me, they're just there to make the audience miserable. The Descent and Buried seem especially pointless - I would've thought the whole point of Buried is the puzzle of how will he get out of there? If he doesn't, in fact, get out, the whole thing is utterly pointless, not to mention not a fun cinema experience.
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semtek
Aug 16th 2011, 13:13
My girlfriend watched The Sixth Sense with me for the first time the other week. half way through it she turned round to me and said "is bruce willis dead?" I couldnt believe she guessed the twist. She said it was obvious.
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jakeyboy1000
Aug 16th 2011, 13:20
I've always liked the twist in the Denzel film, 'Fallen'.
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chaosdefined
Aug 16th 2011, 13:26
Another one to add to the list of missing films would be Wild Things. That thing was just twist after twist, then as the end credits role there's more twists revealed!
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RaveyDaveyGravy
Aug 16th 2011, 15:53
Ive always thought that the Sixth Sense 'twist' was massively obvious. I'd worked it out from the poster, only to have it confirmed when Brucie was shot in the opening scene. I cant believe it shocked anybody. "I see dead people" he says while looking at Bruce Having said that, brilliantly done!
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Jedijayo
Aug 16th 2011, 16:45
Em.....Jacob's Ladder!!!????? There wouldn't be a Sixth Sense without it. And what about Jagged Edge?? That was one of the first "It turns out he WAS guilty" movies.
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Hadouken76
Aug 16th 2011, 18:06
The one in Ringu was pretty terrifying, as in "Ahhh she's been laid to rest all is well...wait, who turned the TV on?" And Dark City a big WTF moment!
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MrScary
Aug 16th 2011, 18:22
I guessed the twist for The Village when I saw the trailer for it six months before it came out. How was this shocking??? M Night doing a period piece? Hello????
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Bandit1
Aug 16th 2011, 18:24
Bateman didn't dream or fantasize the murders. He did it...it's been clearly stated more than once by both director and writer. And when reading the book it's more than clear that the murders were real. At the end of the movie It's just his idiot lawyer who, as usual, doesn't really know who he's talking to and always mistakens people for others...the kills did happen!
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MrScary
Aug 16th 2011, 18:32
And I concur, Fallen should be on this list as well. Best voiceover ever; "Did I ever tell you about the time I almost died...?" Awesome.
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Hadouken76
Aug 16th 2011, 19:26
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Brazil or 12 Monkeys. Both Gilliam at his bleak best.
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timbatman
Aug 16th 2011, 21:10
Brad Pitt because Wrath at the end of Se7en rather than Rage. I think =S How about Donnie Darko?
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timbatman
Aug 16th 2011, 21:10
And Identity.
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ChrisWootton
Aug 17th 2011, 9:17
Actually Bandit1 it's left entirely open for your own interpretation. In the book it's clearer that there no murders happened and it's all the fantasies of a delusional psychotic
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MikeyRix
Aug 17th 2011, 11:55
I'm gonna say what everyone else has said: uhm, "The Prestige"?!!? Even my boyfriend's jaw took a temporary holiday to the floor in the last 5-10 minutes of that film.
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dex2010
Aug 17th 2011, 20:31
The Sixth Sense should be number 1. Suspects twist isnt half as shocking as the Sixth Sense.I will always remember being in the cinema at the end of the Sixth Sense and the crowds reaction.its pure genius!
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Toph80
Aug 19th 2011, 0:04
hmmmmmm will agree with the Sith Sense should have been number one, but as for the 'twist' to "the Village" am I the only one who actually saw that twist coming before I even saw the movie?? Just reading the write-ups was clear enough for me to work that one out
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ArienMaia
Aug 19th 2011, 12:55
The Prestige!
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ArienMaia
Aug 19th 2011, 12:55
The Prestige!
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alexr
Aug 19th 2011, 14:19
I completely agree that The Village should not be in this list. The 'twist' arrived and I was neither surprised nor saying 'I knew it'. The reason? I JUST DIDN'T CARE. As soon as I found out there was nothing supernatural going on, the film lost its hook. Twist endings are only really effective if the premise is upheld all the way through. The Village gave up on the premise (of a village being stalked by vicious monsters) about two thirds fo the way through, and from then on it was just a country bumpkin movie. Load of b*llocks. I agree with Jakeyboy1000 and the others that said Fallen should be here. Great twist - didn't see it coming at all. Take out American Psycho and replace with Jacob's Ladder. Also, where was Don't Look Now? And how about Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace - the twist being that Star Wars is actually sh!t...
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starwars4life
Aug 20th 2011, 12:56
Fantastic! Three things though: Yes. The Prestige should have been in there. 'The Tortured' - although by no means a particularly good film, has one of the iciest twists ever. And last of all - one should be hesitant to call American Psycho a twist ending, after all mistaken identity is a major theme in the film and the ending leaves a lot of ambiguity. So he may well have killed them.
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bazman05
Aug 21st 2011, 19:24
The mere fact that you had American Psycho in this list with that moronic analysis means you really did not understand the film. It's only implied that some of the people he killed are still alive, but this film is all about mistaken identities and some of the people mentioned at the end as still alive may not be who they think they are. You really need to watch it again and take it off this list.
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emperorstephen
Aug 24th 2011, 8:59
I am going to mention a less known Greek film that made the festival circuit and was quite a hit in France, "Strella" or "A Woman's Way" the film is known with either of these two titles. This film has a killer of a twist! Highly recommended if you want to be suprised. more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1332125/
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josephchv
Aug 24th 2011, 21:09
Can't help thinking you've missed a great twist ending here: Titanic, by James Cameron. The ship going down is an absolute master stroke, and after all they'd said about it being unsinkable... you just could not see that coming. Fantastic.
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safdar19
Jun 3rd 2012, 13:08
I did not see "The Skeleton Key" in the list. One of best twist ending movies I ever saw after The Sixth Sense.The ending was a total surprise. Never saw it coming, I assume most people wont. For twist factor I will rate it 2nd after The Sixth Sense. I think Fight club is very over rated. I had difficulty seeing the movie through. It was very boring. Ending of usual suspects although surprising is not satisfying.What is the point of seeing the entire movie only to find out "it- was- all- a -dream" kind of thing. Saw was very good. Thanks to God no one even mentioned Identity. Simply hate split personality movies. High Tension Was a brilliant movie, only to spoiled by a idotic, childish, foolish twist.
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robertleather
Jul 30th 2012, 11:59
Are you kidding about "The Village" shocker. It's about as clear as it could be in the damn trailer, let alone the whole movie. All that "Our families came to the blessed place, far away from the city. In search of a peaceful life." at the start made it pretty obvious it was a parallel to the Amish sensibilities; and therefore they were living simple lives but in a modern world. Plus, their language was a total giveaway.
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dogsliemovie
Oct 23rd 2012, 8:42
Ewa Da Cruz in DOGS LIE....probably the best closing twist EVER !!!
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ubairshaikh
Oct 23rd 2012, 23:09
They missed out law abiding citizen, the departed, the illusionist, the inside man and the prestige! You know someone flipped a coin to see what were the best!
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tristanhartup
Nov 5th 2012, 11:56
I didn't know American Psycho had a twist, I guess I wasn't paying attention. I liked the twist from The Machinist, that really confused me!
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theusualsuspect
Nov 15th 2012, 14:18
So what exactly was the 'Twist' in Buried other than that the protagonist dies in the end ... because he didn't master the 1-inch punch from a Japanese kung-fu master?! I still prefer the stupid 'Least Most Surprising Movie Endings' list on How Does the Movie End.
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jasonleo
Nov 25th 2012, 17:34
I used to think usual suspect was the top twist until i saw frailty. life of david gale is also good and this years tall man was awesome
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Knacken
Dec 15th 2012, 10:28
Lucky Number Slevin should be here, as well as identity
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ennuimangiono
Dec 24th 2012, 6:47
What about David Lynch's "Mulholland Dr."? That's another good interesting ending for you!
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xandernx13
Jan 28th 2013, 22:20
My list would include (not in any particular order) Primal Fear, Color of Night, The Sixth Sense, Angel Heart, The Prestige, Fight Club, Shattered, The Usual Suspects, Identity, Psycho, Arlington Road, Memento, and Following.
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xandernx13
Jan 28th 2013, 22:23
I forgot about Frailty- that's another one I'd add to my list. Thank you jasonleo's comment for reminding me of that movie.
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YenRug
Mar 1st 2013, 14:28
The twist in "The Village" is completely out of left field? The Sixth Sense had me completely suckered, but I'd figured out what was going on in "The Village", well, at least that it was in the present day, from the trailers! If you go back and look at them, the deliberate emphasis that it's set in the past is blatant throughout and I realised we were being played.
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twistendings
Mar 3rd 2013, 1:14
Sleepaway Camp has a great twist ending.
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dougierandall
Mar 3rd 2013, 14:05
Shutter Island should be on that list for me. The big reveal might be a bit lazy with the Edward Daniels/Andrew Laeddis anagram but I think it's a well played out film. I also like the doubt placed in the final scene as to whether Laeddis has regressed.
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robertdufour
Apr 12th 2013, 3:18
No one this board thought of Matchstick Men. No Way Out is another one. The way they pulled off the heist in the contemporary Ocean's Eleven was ingeneous as well, but it didn't really occur in the final scene.
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robertdufour
Apr 12th 2013, 3:24
One movie that had a twist ending, but could have had an even bigger twist ending was The Arrival. They should have made his girlfriend an alien not Kiki. Now that would have knocked my socks off!
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robertdufour
Apr 12th 2013, 3:35
lol sorry one more, Book of Eli!
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