Another Top 10 Worst Movie Plot Twists

#10: Killer Ex “The Girl on the Train” (2016)

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Marketed as the next “Gone Girl”, “The Girl on the Train” was a whodunit thriller masquerading as a psychological drama, but unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype generated by the novel it was based on. It is a story about addiction, obsession, and an untrustworthy narrator mixed up with a murder mystery. While that worked great on the page, the film adaptation does woefully little with these juicy themes. What it DID do however, was fail to make the telegraphed big reveal of the killer’s identity either surprising or satisfying for viewers. The only shocking twist was a literal one involving a corkscrew.

Die Hard films are always good for a twist, usually in the villain’s plans. A solid twist is a surprise that you savor, something that adds to the plot. It should NOT however, leave you feeling duped - which is surely what both cinemagoers AND John McClane felt when it came time for this big reveal. Apparently the Russian whistleblower that he and his CIA agent son have been trying to protect is in fact the bad guy. It’s a convoluted plot, in which everyone seems to be corrupt, so it lacks any real weight to it. You can’t help but feel frustrated that McClane has been wasting his time, and by extension, so have you.

#8: It was… Aliens? “The Forgotten” (2004)

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“The Forgotten” is a bizarre little sci-fi psychological thriller about a woman who is accused of making up her memories about her deceased son. She’s told she’s delusional, but ends up finding another victim whose memories of his daughter were erased. Learning that this is part of an experiment conducted by a mysterious group known only as “them”, they rush to escape mysterious agents, lights in the sky that blow roofs off, and imagery that is clearly UFO-related. We are dying to find out who is responsible, and the big twist is that this was an experiment to see if a parent-child bond can be broken. But by WHOM exactly and WHY? “Them”. Just… “Them”. The mystery is left unanswered and audience... underwhelmed.

“Life of Pi” has another somewhat open-ended twist ending that had a better execution in novel-form than on screen. After his rescue, Pi recounts his unbelievable story of survival, which includes spending many months on a boat with a tiger and other exotic animals. He then hints that he may have invented all the fantastical elements and animals because the truth was too gruesome and depressing. We get the theme about storytelling and trusting your narrator, but after sitting through a beautiful visual spectacle, no one wants to be told it might’ve been imaginary.

Not to be confused with it’s infinitely superior prequel, “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” this 2014 film is pretty weak, even by modern horror standards - and the indifferent twist ending does not help. Trying to solve the mystery surrounding her house’s past, which involves a Ouija board, our heroine Laine attempts to free the spirit of a girl and stop the madness. Only at the end of the film however, after Laine has succeeded. do we find out that the seemingly friendly ghost, Doris, was in fact the demonic one, and that the terrifying mother was trying to warn them. Okay… but substituting one creepy spirit for another doesn’t exactly make for a memorable ending.

#5: Mary Saves the Day “Hancock” (2008)

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While it starts out as an entertaining riff on the superhero genre, showing the consequences of the destruction so often left behind by caped crusaders, this film devolves into a weird origin story after the reveal that Mary is also a superhero. A twist that nobody really asked for, the audience is expected to believe that the wife of the random person Hancock saved and invited into his home is not only another superhero, but the only other remaining immortal of Hancock’s species. Oh, and she also used to be Hancock’s wife before he lost his memory. Talk about convenient storytelling.

Although a hit at the box office, moviegoers were not too pleased with the ridiculous twist at the end of the first film in this series. Planning to top its predecessor, “Now You See Me 2” reveals at the end that Morgan Freeman, among numerous other characters, was also a part of the secret magicians’ organization, The Eye, all along. Not does this feel like a rehash of the surprise twist from the previous film, it also complicates Mark Ruffalo’s plans, as another surprise member of The Eye, to frame Freeman and put him in jail. Doesn’t this organization know who their members are? If they did, it’d probably be eaiser to avoid all that wrongful imprisonment.

Fans were eagerly awaiting the return of the great adventurer Indiana Jones for years, but sadly, some felt that his comeback fell flat. The film was a huge box office hit, but many audience members and longtime fans balked at the twist ending. Although the Indiana Jones series never shied away from supernatural elements, the reveal that the mysterious psychic skull belonged to inter-dimensional alien archeologists left audiences more bemused than thrilled. Were aliens and UFOs too much for Indy? Or was everyone just annoyed at the atomic fridge sequence?

This list wouldn’t be complete without a bit of M. Night Shyamalan. Although meant to be a purposefully over-the-top B-movie idea, the explanation behind “The Happening” was still beyond laughable. After Mark Wahlberg hams it up as a science professor, we are introduced to a world where normal people are suddenly killing themselves in violent ways. This is Shyamalan we’re talking about, so a twist was to be expected, but the bizarre and ultra-violent set pieces did not prepare us for this odd reveal: the Earth’s plants are rebelling against man and making us go crazy and suicidal. Thanks Global Warming.

#1: Double Identity “High Tension” (2005)

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The trend of split-personality twist-endings was nearing its end by 2005 and had overstayed its welcome. Great for thrillers when used properly, it’s not quite as effective in a slasher setting. Praised for its acting, design, and relentless pace, “High Tension” was beloved by many, however most audiences flipped out over the final reveal - and not in a good way. We are meant to believe that the big brutal hulking killer chasing little frail Marie is….Marie herself? Raising more questions than it answers, this confusing twist requires way too much suspension of disbelief to accept.