These shocking last-minute plot twists made our heads spin! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the films that blow viewers’ minds right before the end.
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00:00It was Kaiser-Sosa, Agent Kouyan, I mean the devil himself.
00:05How do you shoot the devil in the back?
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the films that blow viewers' minds
00:11right before the end. We're diving deep into each story,
00:14so definitely a spoiler alert is in effect.
00:17You won't tell anyone my secret, right?
00:20No, I promise.
00:2210. Non-Linear Time – Arrival
00:28In this sci-fi drama, linguist Louise Banks communicates with the Heptapods.
00:32These mysterious aliens arrive with a message crucial to humanity's future.
00:41Now that's a proper introduction.
00:44Just when it seems that General Shang will order an attack against them,
00:48Louise convinces him to change his mind. How does she do that?
00:51Because the Heptapods have imparted their ability to perceive time non-linearly.
01:12Pretty cool, right? That's not even the real twist.
01:14We learn that the child Louise lost at the beginning of the movie isn't hers.
01:18At least not yet.
01:19As it turns out, we the audience have been following Louise in non-linear time as well.
01:24Louise accepts her fate, choosing to experience the fleeting happiness
01:28she will have with her daughter despite the inevitable heartbreak in store.
01:33If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?
01:419. Jigsaw Was There All Along – Saw
01:45Delivering twists in The Eleventh Hour is a trademark of the Saw series,
01:49but the first entry remains the best at its execution.
02:07Trapped in a dilapidated bathroom by the serial killer Jigsaw,
02:10Adam and Lawrence try any way they can to survive.
02:13After the latter escapes by cutting off his own foot, Adam gets the shock of his life.
02:26Not only was the villain watching the whole time, but he was there all along.
02:30As the film earlier hinted, he likes to have a front row seat to his sick games.
02:34The faint ray of hope we have for Adam extinguishes quickly as Jigsaw signals curtains for him.
02:40Or as he says,
02:43and he doesn't even leave the lights on. How rude.
02:468. What's in the Box – Seven
02:49You must have heard this long parodied quote even if you haven't seen this film,
02:54but David Mills has good reason to lose his cool.
02:57In Seven, Mills and his partner Somerset hunt a serial killer obsessed with the seven deadly sins.
03:02Although it carries a bleak tone, the film builds toward a finale where justice will prevail.
03:07Or that's what it wants us to believe.
03:09After catching the killer, the sudden arrival of a package marks the shift in power.
03:19The protagonist learns it contains the remains of his wife,
03:22as the villain reveals he had a final trick up his sleeve.
03:25His death at Mills' hands completes his mission.
03:28Although the bad guy is gone, the heroes well and truly lose during the film's last moments.
03:387. Army Arrives Too Late – The Mist
03:50Before films like Bird Box and A Quiet Place normalized stories about unseen monsters,
03:55The Mist took a shot at this premise.
03:57Here, members of a small town are threatened by creatures in the titular mist.
04:01By the climax, the remaining survivors' luck runs out.
04:09They decide to end their existence rather than fall prey to a grisly demise.
04:14Considering the odds were always against them, this ending makes sense.
04:31However, the film has one last kick in the gut remaining.
04:35Instead of monsters, the army shows up through the mist.
04:38The protagonists would have been saved if they'd held on for a few more moments.
04:42Instead, we're left with the shot of final survivor David breaking down.
04:53Humanity may have won, but at this moment, David loses everything worth living for.
04:596. Aaron's Truth – Primal Fear
05:03Attorney Martin Vail attempts to exonerate troubled youngster Aaron Stampler.
05:18Vail believes Aaron's split personality, Roy, is responsible for a murder that puts Aaron on trial.
05:23The film details the differences between the two personalities, convincing us of Aaron's innocence.
05:28Ultimately, Aaron is deemed innocent.
05:30But just when we're in for a wholesome ending, the truth comes to light.
05:46Learning that Aaron remembers events only Roy would,
05:50Vail realizes that it was all an act.
05:52There was no split personality to begin with.
05:55There was never an Aaron either.
05:57Roy had everyone duped, fabricating a complex lie to escape justice.
06:16This bombshell recontextualizes all the film's events,
06:20turning it from a legal thriller into a full-blown psychological horror.
06:245. Borden's Trick – The Prestige
06:27Christopher Nolan first displayed his knack for mind-blowing twists with Memento.
06:31But The Prestige arguably trumps it with a deceptively simple trick.
06:35Magician Robert Angier crosses every ethical boundary to defeat his rival Alfred Borden.
06:41This includes creating and killing clones of himself to replicate Borden's transported man act.
06:57He believes he's won after framing Borden for the death of his clone.
07:01However, Borden is avenged by another Borden.
07:11A dying Angier learns the truth.
07:25Borden was an identity shared by twins.
07:28So, while one twin died, the other walked away a free man.
07:32The Prestige proves why a magician never reveals his secret.
07:35Because the real magic is the audience's reaction.
07:41And this ending certainly leaves our jaws on the floor.
07:474. Kaiser Soze Revealed – The Usual Suspects
07:51Agent Dave Kuyon listens to con artist Verbal Kint
07:54recount the events that led to a boat massacre.
08:02Heists, gambits, and betrayals ensue, all leading to criminal mastermind Kaiser Soze.
08:08The antagonist's identity is shrouded in mystery,
08:11and Verbal paints him as something of a boogeyman figure.
08:14By the end, Kuyon lets Verbal go, convinced he's a pawn in Soze's game.
08:31But, as we find out, there was indeed a game.
08:34And it was Kuyon who got played.
08:36Because Kaiser Soze is none other than Verbal himself,
08:40having just pulled off his greatest trick.
08:42Some films have so many twists that it's hard to keep track of what's going on.
08:46In the case of The Usual Suspects, this is deliberately by design.
08:50Poof.
08:583. Malcolm Realization – The Sixth Sense
09:01The prevailing theme of this psychological thriller is acceptance.
09:05Psychologist Malcolm Crow helps troubled child Cole, who can see the dead.
09:09I see dead people.
09:15In your dreams?
09:19While you're awake?
09:22Under his guidance, Cole comes to accept his gift.
09:25For most of the film, Malcolm's role is to act as the youngster's support.
09:29But when his job is done, his world comes crashing down.
09:32We learn why his connection to Cole is so strong.
09:35It's because the latter was the only one who could see him.
09:39I see people.
09:43They don't know they're dead.
09:49How often do you see them?
09:53All the time.
09:54Recalling an encounter from the beginning of the film,
09:56Malcolm realizes he's been dead the whole time.
09:59The true purpose of his relationship with Cole
10:01was to come to terms with his own demise.
10:04Along with shattering the illusion Malcolm cultivated,
10:07this revelation makes audiences perceive the film in an entirely different light.
10:11I think I can go now.
10:17I just needed to do a couple things.
10:25I needed to help someone.
10:272. Norman is Mother – Psycho
10:30Even more than six decades after its release,
10:32Psycho remains one of the best examples of masterfully swerving audience expectations.
10:37She just goes a little mad sometimes.
10:43We all go a little mad sometimes.
10:47The first shocker is the famous bathroom scene.
10:49Viewers were stunned when heroine Janet Leigh's character
10:52was killed off halfway through the movie.
10:54But it's the reveal of her slayer that elevates Psycho to classic status.
10:58After teasing Norman Bates' mother as the antagonist,
11:01the closing minutes steer into uncharted territory.
11:04Norman Bates no longer exists.
11:08He only half existed to begin with.
11:10And now, the other half has taken over.
11:15Probably for all time.
11:17Mrs. Bates is alive, but only within the confines of Norman's mind.
11:22Turns out the weak-willed and helpless Norman is mother.
11:25Unable to deal with the guilt of taking her life,
11:28Norman concocted her personality within himself.
11:31He was always bad.
11:33And in the end, he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man.
11:38As if I could do anything except just sit and stare like one of his stuffed birds.
11:45For many film aficionados,
11:47this ending represents the first big twist that changed the cinematic landscape forever.
11:52Before we unveil our top pick,
11:54here are some honorable mentions.
11:56The reunion that never was.
11:58Atonement.
11:59Robbie and Cecilia's happy ending is fictional.
12:01So in the book, I wanted to give Robbie and Cecilia what they lost out on in life.
12:08Nothing probably happened.
12:10American Psycho.
12:11Was it all in Patrick Bateman's head?
12:13Why not, you stupid bastard?
12:17Because I had dinner with Paul Allen twice in London.
12:21Just 10 days ago.
12:22No, you-
12:26Didn't.
12:27Now if you'll excuse me.
12:31The doppelganger.
12:32Us.
12:32The Adelaide we know isn't the real Adelaide.
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13:08It's not every day that a grim finale can be just as satisfying as a happy one.
13:12In this sci-fi classic,
13:13astronauts land on a planet dominated by apes.
13:16Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape.
13:21Protagonist George Taylor fights his way through the simian overlords in his bid for freedom.
13:25Taylor and his companion Nova believe the Forbidden Zone is the passageway for their escape back home.
13:30Where will you go?
13:32To start with, I'll follow the shoreline in my nose.
13:35But suppose you find nothing but- but a wasteland.
13:39How will you survive?
13:41But waiting for him at the end of his path is the last thing Taylor expected to see.
13:45The ruins of the Statue of Liberty confirm that all hope is lost.
13:49The supposed ape planet has been Earth the whole time.
13:53Trapped in a dystopian future,
13:55Taylor can do nothing but rue his fate.
13:57Finally, really did it.
14:01You maniacs!
14:04You blew it up!
14:06Oh, damn you!
14:09God damn you all to hell!
14:14And all we can do is watch in collective silence.
14:17Which plot twist had you at a loss for words?
14:20Let us know in the comments.
14:21That's what he wants.
14:23He wants you to shoot him.
14:24No!
14:25No!
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14:43Thanks for watching!