It's not a twist if we see it from a mile away. Welcome to MsMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most overused plot twists that are as predictable as the sun rising in the east.
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00:00I'll never give in. You killed my father.
00:02No, Buzz. I am your father.
00:07NOOOOO!!!
00:10Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:13for the most overused plot twists that are as predictable as the sun rising in the east.
00:18Why, that's me! I'm asleep!
00:2110. The Prize is a Trap
00:24You know those moments where the villain dangles some too-good-to-be-true offer to the hero?
00:28There is a cave, boy, a cave of wonders, filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams.
00:37Usually it's to save someone they love or grant some wish.
00:41The hero takes the deal and holds up their end of the bargain, only to come back and
00:44realise, surprise, that the promised prize was a total scam.
00:48Don't you get it?
00:50You're just a toy, Sebastian.
00:54A little toy I like to play with.
00:57Anyway, if you make a deal with the devil, you can hardly be surprised when you get burned.
01:01Maybe they didn't know who they were dealing with.
01:03But if we can tell it's too good to be true, why can't they?
01:07Bring me the girl, and I will bring back your wife.
01:13Nothing can bring her back.
01:16I can.
01:17They do often have us yelling, don't do it, at our screens.
01:20Now I've got her, boys.
01:21The boss is on a roll.
01:22The boss is on a roll.
01:23This poor, unfortunate soul.
01:249.
01:25Toppling the Queen B If you're a fan of teen movies, you know the
01:26drill.
01:27We gave her these candy bar things that would make her gain weight, and we turned her best
01:41friends against her.
01:43And then, oh yeah, Katie, you know my friend Katie, she made out with Regina's boyfriend
01:48and then convinced him to break up with her.
01:50The new or so-called invisible girl comes along and befriends the popular crew who take
01:55her under their wing.
01:56Soon enough, all this newfound attention goes to her head.
01:59Other times, she earns everyone's respect just by standing up to the reigning Queen
02:03B.
02:04Well, in the last few weeks, it's all come clear, and on a clear day, baby, you can see
02:11tomorrow.
02:12Excuse me?
02:13I've got the power.
02:14From there, one of two things happens.
02:16She either becomes just as bad, if not worse, than the last queen, or she restores balance
02:21to the school.
02:22Meanwhile, the dethroned queen spirals into outcast status, and who knows, she might even
02:28try to claw her way back to power.
02:38Classic high school drama, right?
02:40We've seen it a million times.
02:55It was inside you all along.
02:57Isn't it great when you're all invested in a movie where the protagonist goes on this
03:01epic adventure, chasing some life-changing answer, only to find out, dun-dun-dun, they
03:07had it all along.
03:18Cue the crickets and tumbleweed rolling by.
03:21This trope can involve some hidden object they've had the whole time, but more often,
03:26it's about them learning a profound moral lesson.
03:28Apparently, they simply can't do that without often putting themselves and others in peril.
03:34Don't get us wrong, we love a good journey of self-discovery and growth, but we've seen
03:39it so many times.
03:50As soon as they start, we're like, save yourself the drama, you've already got what you're
03:54looking for.
04:04Alright, let's set the scene.
04:07A character makes a deal or signs a contract, but then tries to change the terms.
04:12They might attempt to destroy any physical evidence of their original agreement, but
04:16if the other party is savvy, they've kept backup proofs to hold the transgressor accountable.
04:30Ever watch a movie where the villain, or hero, quickly wipes out the evidence, and
04:38it all seems too quick?
04:40Too easy?
04:41That's because it probably is, and someone is about to whip out the backups.
04:46Sometimes those extra copies even end up saving the day.
04:52Sure, it's an overused trope, but it's actually also some solid life advice.
05:03Always make copies.
05:10When M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense hit theatres in 1999, that twist genuinely
05:16blew people away.
05:28It felt fresh, shocking, and brilliantly executed.
05:31Shyamalan managed to hide the twist right in plain sight, which made the reveal so impactful.
05:43Naturally, this success inspired a ton of filmmakers to chase a similar reaction.
05:53But here's the problem.
05:54Now we know what to look for.
06:08These days we can usually spot the I See Dead People twist coming from a mile away.
06:12It became so overused that it was even parodied in Scary Movie.
06:17It's almost as if the original twist was too good for its own good.
06:33This trope shows up a lot in horror and slasher flicks.
06:36You know how it goes.
06:37You watch a bunch of characters frantically run from the villain for most of the movie.
06:41Then someone finally steps up and takes them down.
06:47The threat's gone, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
06:50We're now moments from the rolling credits, so that's it, right?
06:54Well, wait, they're not actually dead.
07:08Cue a sequel, or several.
07:11While this isn't just a horror thing, by now, when the supposedly dead villain pops back
07:15up, it's more likely to earn an eye roll than a scream.
07:18We've seen it so many times that the shock factor has largely worn off.
07:32Come on, you know this one.
07:34All together now.
07:38While Star Wars gets most of the credit for popularising this trope, we've seen tons
07:43of versions since.
07:44It could take any form.
07:46From the Darth Vader approach to someone secretly looking out for the protagonist while
07:50concealing their true identity.
07:51It works the other way, too.
07:53A character grows up believing the people who raised them are their biological parents
07:57only to find out that's not true.
08:00Sometimes the only ones shocked by the reveal are the characters themselves.
08:15What happens next?
08:16Well, that depends on how they handle the bombshell that just changed everything.
08:20We've seen it play out in so many ways.
08:27Also known as the wolf in sheep's clothing, this trope is everywhere, from Alfred Hitchcock
08:44classics to Disney movies.
08:47So if you grew up with trust issues, this might be why.
09:05You spend much of the movie rooting for this person, who seems to be our protagonist along
09:08the way.
09:09Maybe they're originally established as besties, or maybe one of them is a love interest that
09:14seems just a little too perfect.
09:24These days, it takes a really well-executed twist for this one to catch us off guard.
09:29But most of the time, we've learned that if someone is too nice, or too good to be
09:33true, they probably are.
09:49This trope tends to go one of two ways.
09:51First, we've got our heroes trying to stop a world-ending event.
09:55It's rare, but some brave storytellers let them fail.
10:08Usually though, the planet is saved and crisis averted.
10:11The other route is that we're led to believe the characters are far from home, maybe even
10:14on another planet.
10:27Then comes the big reveal.
10:28They're actually on a post-apocalyptic Earth.
10:31Arguably, no one nailed this shocker quite like Planet of the Apes.
10:44While many have tried to replicate that legendary twist, we usually go into these movies already
10:49suspecting we've been on Earth the whole time.
10:51Yeah, it's not really as Earth-shattering as it once was.
10:57Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
11:01Who, or what, am I?
11:03That moment where a character uncovers a part of their identity they had no idea about.
11:16Careful what you wish for.
11:18Not all wishes are cracked up to what you'd hope they'd be.
11:29The pauper is a prince.
11:30Or princess.
11:31Predictable?
11:32Yes.
11:34Are you expecting for a long-lost relative to show up out of the blue and tell us we're
11:37royal?
11:38Absolutely.
11:39Me?
11:40A princess?
11:41Shut.
11:42Up.
11:43I beg your pardon?
11:44Shut.
11:45Up.
11:46Epic wedding fail.
11:47Just as the couple are ready for their picture-perfect wedding, disaster strikes.
11:48One day she didn't do a perimeter check.
11:49Her wedding day.
11:50A big, dramatic, terribly timed confession.
12:10Sometimes that thing you've got to get off of your chest can wait.
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12:40Number one, it was all just a dream.
12:42Are you sure about that?
12:44Is there a more tired, eye-roll-inducing plot twist than the, it was all a dream?
12:50But it wasn't a dream.
12:52It was a place.
12:53And you, and you, and you, and you were there.
12:58But you couldn't have been, could you?
13:01We've invested our time, emotion, and energy into these characters only to discover none
13:06of it happened.
13:07Like seriously, what was the point if none of it transpired?
13:20Few tropes make us regret buying movie tickets more than this one.
13:23Naturally, we've learned to spot the signs and avoid disappointment early.
13:40It takes a very clever subversion to truly take us by surprise, and don't even get us
13:45started on when they reveal some object that tries to make us question reality.
13:50When this trope pops up, we're the ones hoping to wake up, realizing it was all just a dream.
14:02What movie plots would you like to see retired?
14:04Let us know in the comments.
14:15Do you agree with our picks?
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