Top 20 Darkest Plot Twists in Movies
#20: Darth Vader Is Luke’s Father
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“Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) There are famous plot twists, and then there’s learning that Darth Vader is Luke’s father. The mother of all movie twists, this one threw everything into question and ended the second “Star Wars” film on a delightfully dark and ambiguous note. It’s really messed up when you think about it. Luke has essentially been recruited to kill this man only to learn that he is family, which means he’ll have to fight his own blood. And speaking of blood, Luke comes to the realization that, yes, his own dad just severely wounded him. Furthermore, he learns that his father wasn’t some heroic martyr who died fighting the Empire, but the ruthless leader of said Empire. Needless to say, the realization sends him reeling.
#19: It Was an Accident
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“Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) Another huge success for A24, “Bodies Bodies Bodies” is a wickedly smart horror comedy that produces, well, a lot of bodies. A man named David is presumably murdered during a party, resulting in a Christie-esque mystery. The body count begins to pile up as the party guests suspect and ultimately kill each other in a fever of paranoia. But it’s eventually revealed that David accidentally ended his own life while filming a video for TikTok. The bruised and battered survivors realize with horror that there was never a murder mystery and that the resulting bloodshed was all for nothing. It’s a brilliant subversion, and the implication that these people killed each other over an accident is a startling one, indeed.
#18: Jacob Never Left Vietnam
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“Jacob's Ladder” (1990) This cult classic opens in Vietnam, with soldier Jacob Singer getting stabbed with a bayonet. He then wakes up in New York, where he experiences all sorts of nightmarish delusions. That is, until he meets a man named Michael Newman, who essentially tells Jacob that he is dead. Michael produced a drug called The Ladder, which turned soldiers aggressive. It was tested on Jacob’s unit, and he was stabbed by one of his fellow comrades. Everything in New York was just some kind of purgatory-like fantasy as he transitioned beyond. It’s tragic knowing that Jacob is dead, but the knowledge that he was secretly experimented on and killed by a member of his own unit makes it all the more devastating.
#17: Faking the Good Side
“Primal Fear” (1996) This legal thriller introduced the incredible talent that is Edward Norton and earned him his first Oscar nomination. He plays Aaron Stampler, a young altar boy who is accused of killing an Archbishop. Aaron suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and his other personality, a man named “Roy,” claims responsibility for the killing. Aaron is found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a psychiatric hospital. But the proud man can’t help himself, and he reveals to his lawyer that he faked the identity disorder to get a lenient sentence and avoid prison. He was actually the sociopathic Roy all along and completely manipulated the justice system with the fake “Aaron” persona.
#16: The Homicidal Personality Survives
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“Identity” (2003) This James Mangold thriller takes us inside the mind of a killer. No, seriously, most of it takes place inside someone’s brain. The story begins in the vein of Agatha Christie, with ten strangers stranded in a small Nevada motel. But the characters inside the motel are actually “personalities” of a killer named Malcolm Rivers, and Rivers’s psychiatrist is attempting to find the “homicidal personality.” He is seemingly successful, as the killer is removed and the “cured” Malcolm is sent to a psychiatric hospital. Only, that’s not the case. The homicidal personality faked its death and reemerges, causing Malcolm to kill everyone involved in his transport. Not only does the treatment fail, but it allows a killer to quite literally walk free.
#15: A Creature In the Basement
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“Barbarian” (2022) This is one of those movies that goes in a completely different direction in its second half. The first act is a character-based thriller, as Tess and Keith are accidentally double-booked at the same Airbnb. Tess is hesitant around Keith, and much of the drama is centered around her initial mistrust. But her questions are rendered moot at the end of the first half, when Keith is killed by a creature in the basement. The rest of the film delves into the backstory of this creature and its attempts to kill both Tess and the house’s owner. The film turns into a creature feature involving death, kidnapping and a host of other twisted occurrences. So, yeah, it goes in a pretty dark direction…
#14: The Narrator Was Tyler
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“Fight Club” (1999) This is one of those plot twists that everyone knows, even if they haven’t seen the film. It’s famously revealed that the destructive and anti-consumerist Tyler Durden was a concocted persona of The Narrator’s. And now we’re realizing that the Edward Norton character has been involved in many “fake personality” plot twists. The Narrator created Tyler to act out his subconscious desires, like rebelling against the system and destroying entire buildings with explosives. The Narrator is quite a likable character throughout much of the movie, but the dark twist reveals that he’s actually the anarchistic leader of a terrorist organization. Like he tells Marla, this is a very strange time in his life…
#13: The Armitage Family Secret
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“Get Out” (2017) Jordan Peele’s masterpiece is a horror film based on race relations. Chris is in an interracial relationship with Rose, who takes him to visit her wealthy liberal parents for the first time. But it turns out they have ulterior motives. Rose actually befriends Black men, only to take them to her family home to be experimented upon. These men are consciously sent to “The Sunken Place” while their physical bodies are hijacked by Armitage family members. The transplant allows these ailing Armitages to live their lives inside of a healthy Black body. It’s a fascinating twist that blends B-movie thrills with thoughtful social commentary. Peele would follow this with another delightful turn in “Us,” revealing that the “real” Adelaide was actually her Tethered.
#12: Geun-sae In the Bunker
“Parasite” (2019) “Barbarian” shares many similarities with “Parasite.” Like “Barbarian,” “Parasite” begins realistically, with the poor Kim family infiltrating the wealthy Parks as their personal employees. Then, the movie shifts focus in the second half and goes in a completely different direction thanks to a person in the basement. It’s revealed that a man named Geun-sae has been inhabiting a secret bunker inside the Park home for the last four years. It’s a pretty disturbing twist, but it gets even worse. In the bloody climax of the film, Geun-sae breaks free from the bunker and causes a massacre at Da-song's birthday party. The genre switch is captivating, turning “Parasite” from a comedic social commentary to borderline horror.
#11: Keyser Söze Gets Away
“The Usual Suspects” (1995) Directed by Bryan Singer, “The Usual Suspects” is a classic thriller about the mythical crime lord Keyser Söze. Söze burned down a ship in San Pedro Bay and killed dozens of people. One of the survivors is con artist Verbal Kint, who provides information to the police about the crime boss. But in the movie’s famous twist ending, Verbal walks out of the police station, loses his trademark limp, and becomes Keyser Söze. He made up the whole story, and Agent Kujan realizes with horror that he let the elusive crime lord slip right through his fingers. Söze escapes in style and fades back into anonymity, a huge grin of victory splashed across his face.
#10: Leonard Killed His Wife
“Memento” (2000) Throughout Christopher Nolan’s “Memento,” amnesiac Leonard Shelby leaves himself an intricate series of notes that will hopefully lead him to the man who raped and murdered his wife. We also learn of a fellow amnesiac named Sammy Jankis who accidentally killed his wife by giving her too many insulin injections. However, at the end of the movie, we witness Leonard being told that he’s the real Sammy and that he’s the one who killed his wife. According to Teddy, he repressed these memories out of guilt - his mission is fake and impossible to fulfill. Leonard is essentially an amnesiac serial killer being used by Teddy. Terrifying, right?
#9: Jigsaw Was in the Room the Whole Time
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“Saw” (2004) The opening minutes of “Saw” certainly make an impression. Two men wake up chained to a dilapidated industrial bathroom with a bloody corpse lying between them. Fun stuff. We also learn that the Jigsaw Killer likes to watch his victims, and while we knew deep down that Zep wasn’t Jigsaw, we certainly weren’t expecting the corpse to be! At the end of the movie, the corpse rises from the floor and reveals himself to be Jigsaw right before locking Adam in the bathroom. It’s a massive shock that reinforces the true depravity and psychopathic methods of Jigsaw. While the “Saw” movies would decrease in quality, that final “game over” is legendary stuff.
#8: Malcolm Was Dead the Whole Time
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“The Sixth Sense” (1999) At the beginning of the movie, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe is shot by a psychotic former patient. Since it appears as if he’s recovered, our minds are shattered when it’s revealed that he has been dead the whole time. It’s certainly a dark realization to find that the protagonist is a ghost, but it’s still an ultimately happy ending when Crowe is sent to Heaven after rectifying his failures. Two years later, “The Others” would provide another brilliant ghost-centric twist by revealing that the family are the actual ghosts haunting the house. Both movies successfully flipped the conventional ghost story on its head and provided some of the greatest twists in the horror genre.
#7: Teddy / Andrew Killed His Wife
“Shutter Island” (2010) Movies love to utilize the “protagonist actually killed their wife” twist, don’t they? Throughout “Shutter Island,” we watch as U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a mental patient. But when Teddy enters the lighthouse... everything changes. We learn that Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, an institutionalized man who killed his wife after she murdered their children. As if filicide and uxoricide weren’t dark enough, we also learn that the girl Laeddis dreams about is his murdered daughter, proving that his mind has been irreparably damaged and wracked with guilt. Furthermore, Laeddis becomes aware and conscious enough to plan for his own lobotomy. “Shutter Island” is a bleak experience, start to finish.
#6: Norman Is Mother / The Killer
“Psycho” (1960) “Psycho” has perhaps one of the greatest twists in cinematic history. Throughout the movie, we believe that Norman Bates is nothing but a repressed man-child who protects his domineering, psychotic mother. However, the famous ending reveals that his mother is long dead, and that Norman is the true psychopath. After killing his mother and her boyfriend out of jealousy, he took on the persona of his mother to alleviate his loneliness and guilt, and he uses this persona to murder those he feels attracted to. The twist made Norman one of cinema’s most iconic villains, and left ‘60s audiences with the fear that danger could be lurking anywhere and behind any façade.
#5: Head in a Box
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“Se7en” (1995) “Seven”’s twist may not be as iconic as “Psycho,”’s, but it’s arguably more depraved. After John Doe turns himself in and takes the two detectives to the final murder location, a delivery man brings them a mysterious box. After a few incredibly tense minutes, we learn that the box contains the head of David’s pregnant wife, representing the killer’s envy. David then becomes wrath by shooting Doe in an act of uninhibited rage. John Doe wins, David goes insane, and Somerset can only look on in defeat. While the movie is absurdly dark, this final twist somehow ratchets the depravity to 11, reinforcing the idea that humanity is inherently flawed.
#4: Amy Framed Her Husband
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“Gone Girl” (2014) “Gone Girl” isn’t your grandmother’s murder mystery. The first half of the movie plays out like a typical crime drama, as Nick Dunne searches for his missing wife and is falsely accused of her murder. However, the movie does a complete 180 halfway through when it reveals that a jealous Amy intricately framed her husband after learning of his affair. The twist not only works incredibly well as a dramatic story development, but it also strengthens the movie’s morose themes regarding manipulation and abusive relationships. “Gone Girl” goes from a relatively conventional murder mystery to a haunting firsthand account of a cunning sociopath. And you know what? That’s even scarier.
#3: Soylent Green Is People
“Soylent Green” (1973) Like Norman Bates being Mother, the fact that Soylent Green is made from people is not a surprise to modern audiences, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful. In this dystopian society, a green wafer called Soylent Green is created, said to be a highly nutritious food source created from plankton. However, we later learn that Soylent Green is actually made from human remains, as humans are a great source of protein for a starving society. It’s a horrifying reveal, but it also fits perfectly with the movie’s themes of overpopulation, resource management, and climate control. It’s a much-needed slap in the face that remains relevant and disturbingly prophetic nearly half a century later.
#2: Apes Have Taken Over the World
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“Planet of the Apes” (1968) While “Planet of the Apes” is a long-running franchise, nothing beats the original’s twist. After landing on a planet ruled by sentient, talking apes, Taylor escapes from their grasp only to come upon a half-buried Statue of Liberty. He discovers that he was on Earth all along and that modern humanity had wiped itself out in some kind of nuclear war. It’s not only a devastating ending that caps the story in theatrical fashion, but also a dismaying comment on the Cold War and the possible future of humanity. It’s not as dramatically relevant as it once was, but it’s still a distressing ending that captures the fears of its time.
#1: Oh Dae-su &... His Daughter
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“Oldboy” (2003) Murder and nuclear war may be scary topics, but nothing feels worse than learning that the protagonist copulated with his own daughter. The movie opens with Dae-su being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years. After escaping and embarking on a campaign of revenge, he befriends a young chef named Mi-do, and the two become intimate. However, it’s later revealed that Dae-su was hypnotized into falling for Mi-do, who is revealed to be his now-adult daughter. It’s equal parts shocking and horrifying, eliciting a visceral bodily reaction of revulsion from most viewers. Incest is certainly a controversial subject, and “Oldboy” wields it in the most disturbingly effective of ways.
