Here’s 12 Movies With The Most Unexpected Plot Twists
There’s no better feeling than that jaw dropping moment when a film’s plot twist has you utterly shocked. It doesn’t happen often, especially given how quickly details and spoilers are shared online as soon as a film premieres. If you manage to watch any of these films, it is guaranteed that you will experience that plot twist moment. Pop Culture Planet contributors Jordan Bohan and Danielle Forte break down the best films with major plot twists. Don’t worry no spoilers here!
American Psycho
If you’ve visited New York City or live there, that means you’ve bumped into a man like Patrick Bateman. Set in 1987 New York City a young professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) lives a second life. By day, he’s a wealthy, attractive investment banking executive. But, what does he do when he’s not at work and around the people that “know” him? His psychopathic ego and tendencies run rampant. This satirical psychological horror will have your head spinning while trying to decipher what is fantasy from what is reality.
Stream American Psycho on Peacock.
- Danielle Forte
Carrie
Will the real Stephen King fans please stand up? In this adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel Carrie, the introverted and sensitive Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) has to wake up and face ridiculing classmates everyday. She not only faces constant taunting but abuse at school. It’s no wonder Carrie is the way she is. She has a pious mother (Piper Laurie) who she lives with and, when strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Things start to look up when she gets invited to prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross (William Katt). Carrie lets her guard down as she starts to believe that her classmates are finally turning around. Prom night arrives and it’s anything but glitz and glam for Carrie. The night every high schooler looks forward to all year takes a dark and violent turn.
Stream Carrie on Max.
- Danielle Forte
Donnie Darko
During the presidential election of 1988, teen Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) sleepwalks out of his house one night and finds a demonic-looking rabbit named Frank who tells him the world will end in 28 days. A groggy Donnie walks back home… maybe he was dreaming? But the oddity doesn’t end. He walks into his bedroom to find a jet engine has crashed right in his room. With the star studded cast (and we are talking truly star-studded!) of this 2001 indie drama film, you’ll have to navigate your way to find out: Is Donnie living in a parallel universe, suffering from mental illness, or is the world really ending in 28 days?
Stream Donnie Darko on Prime Video.
- Danielle Forte
Hereditary
When Annie’s (Toni Collette) mentally ill mother passes away, her family shares in her mourning and loss. As the days go by, her husband (Gabriel Byrne), son (Alex Wolff), and daughter (Milly Shapiro) all turn to different ways of handling the grieving process. Annie and her daughter lean on the supernatural to grieve, but, instead of a peaceful grief process as they had hoped, they start to reveal the family has a sinister fate they have inherited through unraveling terrifying secrets about their ancestry.
Stream Hereditary on Max.
- Danielle Forte
Sleepy Hollow
Set in 1799, Sleepy Hollow is based on Washington Irving's classic short tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In this film adaptation directed by the eccentric Tim Burton, Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent from New York City to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people in the village. The culprit? The legendary apparition of the mysterious Headless Horseman. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I can’t say much about the plot, but give this film a watch if you’ve always wondered why the horseman is headless.
Stream Sleepy Hollow on Max.
- Danielle Forte
Glass Onion
From the creators and world of Knives Out, Glass Onion follows the investigations of Detective Benoit Blanc on tech billionaire Miles Bron’s private island getaway. When someone turns up dead after a fake murder mystery game, Blanc must solve the crime and expose one of Blanc’s most cherished friends. The spin-off film isn’t quite as good as the original, but it does serve as a classic whodunnit crime mystery that will have you guessing until the very end.
Stream Glass Onion on Netflix.
- Jordan Bohan
Gone Girl
The psychological thriller book adaptation Gone Girl came out in 2014. When Amy (Rosamund Pike) disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, the police suspect her husband Nick (Ben Affleck). The media begins to dissect the previously perceived perfect couple’s life to figure out the truth of Amy’s disappearance.
Gone Girl is streaming on Max.
- Jordan Bohan
Knives Out
When famous crime novelist Harlan Thrombey dies unexpectedly, his gold digging family begins to scramble in order to collect their riches and solve the mysterious passing. Detective Benoit Blanc must sift through the lies and secrets to reveal which dysfunctional family member is responsible.
Watch Knives Out on Apple TV+ or Prime Video.
- Jordan Bohan
Psycho
Psycho had not only one, but two plot twists earning its status as a cult classic. Straying from the stereotypical and stand format of the “final girl” trope, this film doesn’t give you someone to root for. Instead, Psycho explores the backstory and motivations behind a cold blood killer.
Psycho is streaming on Peacock.
- Jordan Bohan
Shutter Island
Shutter Island stars Leonardo DiCaprio and comes from director Martin Scorsese. In 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule travel to an insane asylum on Shutter Island, based in Boston Harbor, to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient of the hospital who had previously drowned her three children. This dark psychological thriller has extremely intense scenes and will shock you with its bombshell ending.
- Jordan Bohan
The Sixth Sense
Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by the dark secret that he is visited by ghosts. Cole is scared by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. He is too afraid to tell anyone other than child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis). As Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the truth about Cole's abilities, the consequences for client and therapist are a jolt that awakens them both to something unexplainable.
Watch The Sixth Sense on Peacock, Prime Video, and Apple TV+.
- Jordan Bohan
Split
When Kevin (James McAvoy) abducts three teenage girls, it is revealed that he is influenced by 23 separate personalities from his dissociative identity disorder. The girls must manipulate Kevin and his personalities in order to survive and escape, but who will make it out alive? After you think the main story has been resolved, an unexpected plot twist is revealed.
Stream Split on Peacock.
- Jordan Bohan
