Top 10 Most Unsettling Plot Twists In Non-Horror Movies
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#10: “The Usual Suspects” (1995)
Top 20 Most Unsettling Plot Twists In Non Horror Movies
For that one person who has yet to watch this award winner; after a drug heist gone wrong, Roger “Verbal” Kint is taken into custody to assist a detective in identifying the mob boss, Keyser Söze. In a truly shocking zinger, Kint is revealed to be Keyser Söze mere seconds after leaving the police station. Even after close examination, “The Usual Suspects”' twist holds up to scrutiny and is so awesome that you’ll want to go back and rewatch the film almost immediately. Simultaneously chilling and badass, the filmmakers inserted just enough hints to make the revelation plausible.
#9: “Chinatown” (1974)
What happens in Chinatown, stays in Chinatown. This twisted classic starts as a case of a woman scorned; but quickly spirals into murder, incest, and nihilism. Puzzled by Evelyn Cross Mulwray’s strange relationship with her younger sister Katherine and her slimy father, Jack Nicholson's private investigator unwittingly unveils a disgusting family secret: as a result of being raped by her parent, Dunaway is Katherine's mother and sibling. To make matters worse, the film ends with Evelyn’s death and Katherine falling into the hands of daddy dearest while Nicholson’s Jake Gittes hopelessly watches from a distance.
#8: “Arlington Road” (1999)
Hey, it’s only paranoia if you’re wrong! Directed by Mark Pellington, “Arlington Road” stars Jeff Bridges as a widower in a post-Oklahoma City Bombing world who suspects his neighbors to be terrorists. Even though Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack deliver reasonably creepy performances, Bridges' unfounded fears seem like the ramblings of a madman and are completely dismissed. The twist arrives in two parts: first, it confirms the protagonist's suspicions, but the true "holy crap!" moment happens later when Bridges is framed by the terrorists for the attack!
#7: “Shutter Island” (2010)
At first, Martin Scorsese's second highest grossing film plays out like a typical neo-noir detective story; U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels is sent to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a woman imprisoned for drowning her children. Except, that is pretty much all a lie, as Daniels is actually a Shutter Island patient and the whole investigation is merely an act to try and resolve his delusions. Sadly, the plan fails and the patient is slated to be lobotomized, although a final plot twist suggests Teddy might be faking his relapse to avoid dealing with the truth. This is the sort of twist that really stays with you after the credits roll.
#6: “Malice” (1993)
With this insane neo-noir flick, director Harold Becker and writers Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank asked whether there is such a thing as too many plot twists. Following an unnecessary surgery that resulted in Nicole Kidman’s character, Tracy, being unable to have children, the central couple wins a malpractice suit against Alec Baldwin’s arrogant Dr. Jed Hill, but Tracy later divorces her husband. Jam-packed alongside a slew of red herrings and head-scratching revelations, the biggest twist reveals that Kidman and Baldwin were actually working together and planned to split the $20 million cash windfall from the lawsuit.
#5: “Se7en” (1995)
Everyone knows what is in the box. David Fincher's “Se7en” centers on two detectives - portrayed by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt - who are hot on the trail of a serial killer murdering people according to the seven deadly sins. By the time John Doe turns himself in, five murders have been committed, but the killer promises to reveal the last corpses if the cops take him to the desert. Once there, Pitt finds a box containing the head of his wife Tracy and retaliates by killing John Doe. Representing envy and wrath, these two deaths complete Doe's plan… and the twist spawned countless "what’s in the box?" parodies.
#4: “Planet of the Apes” (1968)
Planet Of The Apes: Original Vs New Franchise!
As a franchise, “Planet of the Apes” has made a habit of ending on a shocking revelation or explosive climax, but there is no topping the original. After sleeping for a good two millennia, Charlton Heston's Taylor crash lands on a strange planet that is overrun with apes and is taken captive. A couple of iconic lines later, Heston manages to escape with the aid of some apes but soon learns that this crappy planet is actually Earth! Apparently, humanity engaged in a global war and wrecked the entire thing, leaving apes to take over as the new dominant species.
#3: “Oldboy” (2003)
Revenge is a dish best served cold… with a side of incest? The second entry in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy, “Oldboy” sees a drunken father kidnapped and locked in a room for 15 years before being suddenly let free. Desperate to get revenge on the person responsible, Oh Dae-su learns this was done as punishment for something he did in high school: he revealed that two fellow students were having an incestuous relationship, which led to the sister committing suicide. However, in addition to being imprisoned, Oh Dae-su was also tricked into sleeping with his own daughter! Unable to live with this knowledge, Oh Dae-su gets his memory wiped and continues to date his child. Yikes.
#2: “Gone Girl” (2014)
Top 10 Plot Twists in Horror Movies
David Fincher is at it again! Based on Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name, “Gone Girl” sees Ben Affleck's Nick become the prime suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Amy. The first half slowly builds a case against Nick, before “Gone Girl” flips everything on its head with a single monologue! Amy is not dead or missing... and planned this entire thing to frame Nick for murder as punishment for his infidelity. In the span of five minutes, the film's “Cool Girl” turns into a deranged psychopath while Nick shifts from perpetrator to victim.
#1: “Soylent Green” (1973)
Killing two birds with one stone. “Soylent Green” takes place in the distant future of 2022, where New York City is suffering from overpopulation and a severe shortage of rations. As a means to feed the masses, the Soylent Corporation distributes massive amounts of rations, with the "green" iteration being the most popular. Unless someone belongs to the upper class, everyone willingly eats this substance and is borderline addicted to the stuff. So, what is soylent green? Well, let's just say that Hannibal Lecter would love it.
