Who doesn’t love a surprise? That’s why we’re taking time to talk about the biggest surprise endings in movie history (spoilers abound).
What did you think of the list? Do you disagree with any of our picks? Feel like we left out or mis-represented any of the films? What do you think are the best surprise endings in film history? Do you like endings with twists?
What other topics would you like to see us cover in future editions of CineFix Movie Lists?
Let us know in the comments!
THE LIST
Location / Time Trick - Planet of the Apes
It perfectly rides the line between completely unexpected and yet inevitable that tends to be the recipe for great spoilers.
All a Part of the Plan - The Sting
Just when we think we're ahead of the plot - fully informed and up on every aspect of the machinations - we realize that we, too, are being duped.
Unexpectedly Bad / Guilty - Murder on the Orient Express
Initially it seems that there is nothing connecting any of the suspects, it emerges that the one thing they have in common is that they ALL have a reasonable motive.
Unexpectedly Good - Charade
After being accused of being the murderer, then shooting and killing the REAL murderer - Cary Grant goes with Audrey Hepburn to the CIA to turn over the stolen wealth.
It Was All a Dream - Wizard of Oz
Not only is Dorothy subconsciously working out her conflicts in a symbolic way - exactly as dreams tend to do - she ends up learning an important lesson about home by the end that makes her waking up meaningful to the part of the story that happened before her dream began.
All In Their Head - Fight Club
It manages to slip an entire character by us without us noticing, and the reveal? A wonderful hallucinogenic moment of reality crashing down around the Narrator in a moment of pure cinema.
Not Dead - The Third Man
The entire plot flips on its head, and the victim becomes the perpetrator.
Other - F for Fake
One hour in, Orson's story turns from documentary to fiction, engaging in a sort of meta-commentary on the act of forgery.
Mistaken Identity - Empire Strikes Back
As far as twists go, Vader being Luke’s father is about as big as they come.
X Is Actually Y! - Psycho
When it's revealed that mildmannered Sam actually dresses up as his dead mother so that he can kill protagonists weirdly early in the movie just to fuck with our heads? Well that just about takes the cake.
Want to send us stuff?
CineFix
c/o Mike Cruz
PO BOX 351213
Los Angeles, CA 90035
What did you think of the list? Do you disagree with any of our picks? Feel like we left out or mis-represented any of the films? What do you think are the best surprise endings in film history? Do you like endings with twists?
What other topics would you like to see us cover in future editions of CineFix Movie Lists?
Let us know in the comments!
THE LIST
Location / Time Trick - Planet of the Apes
It perfectly rides the line between completely unexpected and yet inevitable that tends to be the recipe for great spoilers.
All a Part of the Plan - The Sting
Just when we think we're ahead of the plot - fully informed and up on every aspect of the machinations - we realize that we, too, are being duped.
Unexpectedly Bad / Guilty - Murder on the Orient Express
Initially it seems that there is nothing connecting any of the suspects, it emerges that the one thing they have in common is that they ALL have a reasonable motive.
Unexpectedly Good - Charade
After being accused of being the murderer, then shooting and killing the REAL murderer - Cary Grant goes with Audrey Hepburn to the CIA to turn over the stolen wealth.
It Was All a Dream - Wizard of Oz
Not only is Dorothy subconsciously working out her conflicts in a symbolic way - exactly as dreams tend to do - she ends up learning an important lesson about home by the end that makes her waking up meaningful to the part of the story that happened before her dream began.
All In Their Head - Fight Club
It manages to slip an entire character by us without us noticing, and the reveal? A wonderful hallucinogenic moment of reality crashing down around the Narrator in a moment of pure cinema.
Not Dead - The Third Man
The entire plot flips on its head, and the victim becomes the perpetrator.
Other - F for Fake
One hour in, Orson's story turns from documentary to fiction, engaging in a sort of meta-commentary on the act of forgery.
Mistaken Identity - Empire Strikes Back
As far as twists go, Vader being Luke’s father is about as big as they come.
X Is Actually Y! - Psycho
When it's revealed that mildmannered Sam actually dresses up as his dead mother so that he can kill protagonists weirdly early in the movie just to fuck with our heads? Well that just about takes the cake.
Want to send us stuff?
CineFix
c/o Mike Cruz
PO BOX 351213
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Category
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Short film