8 Movie Plot Twists I Wish I Could Forget To Experience Them Again

Summary

  • The plot twists in these films were mind-blowing and changed the viewing experience forever.
  • Uncovering clues and unraveling the mysteries behind each twist was a thrilling journey.
  • While rewatching brings new insights, nothing compares to the excitement of experiencing the twists for the first time.

There’s nothing more exciting than a well-executed plot twist, but sadly, once it’s been revealed, it’s impossible to experience the film the same way ever again. While I agree that rewatching a movie with knowledge of its twist can also be very enjoyable, the experience has been irreparably changed because I can’t help but constantly try to spot clues to its twist the whole way through. If only there was a way to erase these films from my memory, then I would love to go back and experience them again, like it was the very first time.

The best movie twists often come as total surprises in the moment, but upon reflection, I realize that the clues were there the whole time to uncover its mystery. One of my favorite experiences when watching a film was that eureka moment when you realized the twist at the exact time the filmmaker wanted you to and then nodded your head with pride as the movie’s character laid out the fascinating truth. While it’s impossible to change the past and erase memories in this manner, if I could, these are the films I would choose.

8 The Game (1997)

Twist: It was all part of the game

Custom Image by Grant Hermanns

When I first watched The Game, I had no knowledge of its plot or twists and turns. As a fan of David Fincher’s work, I knew it was a mystery thriller but was totally unprepared for the disorienting drama that was about to unfold onscreen. Much like Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton, I, too, was taken on an intricate journey where the lines between what was real and discerning what was part of the strange game he was playing started to blur.

The big twist in The Game came after following countless elaborate lies and carefully constructed schemes, which left me on the edge of my seat. Like the best mysteries, The Game kept me guessing right to the very end, and after it was revealed that Nicholas throwing himself from a rooftop and landing in the party was also part of the game, I was truly gobsmacked. It’s impossible to recapture the feelings of confusion and anxiety of watching The Game for the first time, and I wish I could see it again with fresh eyes.

Custom image of Michael Douglas in The Game alongside the movie's poster art - created by Colin McCormick

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7 Soylent Green (1973)

Twist: Soylent Green was made of people

Detective Thorn finds out the secret ingredient of Soylent Green.

Soylent Green was a Charlton Heston cult classic that combined sci-fi with police procedurals to create a thrilling dystopian story that addressed themes of pollution, depleted resources, and overpopulation. I had vaguely heard of this film when I caught it playing on TV late one night and was soon enthralled by its unique story, which felt highly relevant even all these decades later. Set in a future where society was on the brink of collapse, the people in Soylent Green survived off a plankton-based food product made by the Soylent Corporation.

However, as the conspiracy within Soylent Green slowly revealed itself, I was shocked to learn that Soylent Green was not made from sea creatures at all but was, in fact, made out of human corpses. This shocking twist was made all the more effective by Heston bellowing the iconic quote, “You’ve got to tell them! Soylent Green is people!” This moment left a lasting impression on me, and I wish I could forget it altogether, just to go back and experience it for the first time all over again.

6 Gone Girl (2014)

Twist: Amy framed her husband for murder

Nick poses with Amy's missing poster in Gone Girl

While I’ve always thought of M. Night Shyamalan as Hollywood’s biggest plot twist provider, thinking about the movie twists I wish I could experience again, I was surprised at how many came from David Fincher’s movies. One of Fincher’s most effective twists came from Gone Girl, the astounding psychological thriller that featured a career-defining performance from Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott Dunne. The power of Gone Girl’s twist was in how well it strung viewers along, only to reveal the shocking truth in one fell swoop.

The twist that Amy had faked her death and framed her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) for murder left me stunned, as the true extent of her manipulation was far beyond anything I’d ever expected. Pike’s ‘cool guy’ monologue was a masterclass in effective screenwriting and helped justify her horrific behavior to viewers who were still picking their jaws up from the floor. Gone Girl’s twist had immense power during its first viewing, and although I still get a lot from the movie upon a rewatch, it was just never the same as that first time.

5 Get Out (2017)

Twist: Rose’s family wanted to take over Chris’s body

Get Out 2017 movie reviews

As a fan of Jordan Peele’s comedy work with his frequent co-star Keegan-Michael Key, I was incredibly excited to check out his directional debut, the satirical horror Get Out. While I knew Get Out would be a change of pace for Peele in terms of style, I was not expecting him to deliver one of the year’s best movies with a profoundly compelling twist ending. It was obvious from the get-go that something weird was up with Rose’s family, but discovering they were using young Black people’s bodies to gain immortality was a development I didn’t see coming.

Get Out walked the fine line between slowly revealing its unnerving context and providing an a-ha moment when the truth behind the Order of the Coagula was revealed. The twist in Get Out had so much to say about race relations in America, the fetishization of Black bodies, and class inequalities. Get Out was a deeply clever film that has a lot to offer upon rewatch, but I still wish I could forget it all and experience the shock of that first viewing one more time.

Get Out Daniel Kaluuya as Chris

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4 Shutter Island (2010)

Twist: Teddy was a patient at the psychiatric facility

Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels looking concerned with a lighthouse behind him in Shutter Island.

Martin Scorsese has long been one of my favorite filmmakers, but I don’t generally go into his movies expecting there to be an epic plot twist that recontextualizes the entire film. This was why the twist ending of Shutter Island came entirely out of left field for me. Instead of closely paying attention to clues of Teddy Daniel’s psychological troubles, I was fully invested in his missing persons investigation. I believed Teddy’s perspective was totally unprepared for a twist of the magnitude seen in Shutter Island.

The twist that Teddy was a patient at the hospital and doctors had played into his disillusion to get him to confront his unaddressed trauma made Shutter Island one of Scorsese’s most surprising films. I now enjoy going back and watching the movie with this twist in mind, as the subtle clues were breadcrumbed through the entire narrative. Saying this, what I wouldn’t give to relive that first viewing experience and be totally floored by the unreliability of Teddy’s unreliable narrative once again.

3 Oldboy (2003)

Twist: Dae-su discovers he had a relationship with his own daughter

Oh Dae-su on the attack with a hammer in Oldboy.

The plot twist in Park Chan-wook’s action-thriller masterpiece Oldboy was one of the most devastating cinematic experiences of my film-watching life. I had heard other film fans raving about this iconic classic, and I actually knew there would be a major plot twist the first time I saw Oldboy. But even with this much prior context, there was still nothing that could have prepared me for the revelation that Dae-su had fallen in love and had a sexual relationship with his own daughter. This was so far out of left field that I just never saw it coming.

While this was a harrowing plot twist, it also powerfully played into Oldboy’s themes of revenge as Dae-su spent 15 years imprisoned in a small hotel room. When revisiting Oldboy, I’m still blown away by its incredible action sequences and brilliant direction, but I wish I could rewatch it without knowledge of how its unpredictable plot would play out. The twist ending of Oldboy was one of my earliest memories of a film that truly left me speechless, and its after-effects made me a far more suspicious and inquisitive film viewer moving forward.

2 Fight Club (1999)

Twist: The narrator and Tyler Durden were the same person

Brad-Pitt-in-Fight-Club-
Custom image by Yeider Chacon

Watching the dark satirical thriller Fight Club for the first time, I was so focused on its powerful deconstruction of male fragility, the dismantling of consumerism, and tirades against Neo-Liberalism that I didn’t pick up on any of the clues to its massive plot twist. The ending of Fight Club revealed that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) was actually Edward Norton’s character the whole time and that he had been orchestrating Project Mayhem himself. This conclusion brought the story together perfectly, and upon returning to Fight Club for repeated viewings, it’s impossible to recapture that level of shock.

Now, when I revisit the film, I can’t help but notice all the subtle clues to Fight Club’s twist ending. From the “no incoming calls” sign on the pay phone to Edward Norton’s endless insomnia, I wish there was a way to go back to Fight Club with fresh eyes and experience the incredible effect of its iconic twist ending. While the element of surprise can’t be regained, I’m still thankful that Fight Club has maintained its sense of thematic depth and can be enjoyed on multiple levels despite prior knowledge of the twist.

1 The Sixth Sense (1999)

Twist: Malcolm Crowe had been dead the whole time

Malcolm leans down to Cole in The Sixth Sense-1

The Sixth Sense has long been a candidate for the most famous twist movie ending of all time, so it’s difficult to remember a time before I knew how it ended. This iconic twist that Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) had been dead the whole time and was a ghost speaking with Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) was a shocking revelation that has been endlessly referenced and parodied since it was first released. As such a profoundly impactful moment in cinematic history, I wish there was a way to forget this twist and experience it for the first time once again.

Not only does this knowledge impact every rewatch of The SixthSense, but it also means I can’t watch any new M. Night Shyamalan movie without constantly trying to figure out its twist before it’s revealed. This plot twist will forever define Shyamalan’s career, but back in 1999, nobody expected the film to end with such a grand revelation. To go back in time and watch The Sixth Sense for the first time again would be to reexperience one of Hollywood’s most iconic moments and to rejoice in the film industry’s power to shock and enthrall us.

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