Movies

Spoiler Alert: 8 Movie Twists That Literally No One Was Shocked By

Spoiler Alert: 8 Movie Twists That Literally No One Was Shocked By
Image credit: Legion-Media, globallookpress.com, Eagle Pictures

As these films show, a plot twist for the sake of a plot twist doesn't always make for compelling storytelling.

1. Now You See Me (2013)

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If there were an award for Most Predictable Plot Twist, it would undoubtedly go to the magician-heist film, Now You See Me. The film tried to leave us astounded with its grand illusion – that the film's main antagonist, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (played by Mark Ruffalo ), was, in fact, the orchestrator of all the heists the Four Horsemen pulled off. From the beginning, however, there were breadcrumbs pointing towards this reveal. For one, it was peculiar how often the Horsemen managed to escape from the FBI. But the most significant hint? The story hinged on a 'fifth horseman', and guess who was suspiciously available for that role? You got it, folks, our dear, dogged detective Dylan.

2. The Village (2004)

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If you've seen enough M. Night Shyamalan films, you'd know there's always a twist at the end. But The Village just makes you sigh with its unsurprising turn of events. The villagers live in fear of mythical creatures in the surrounding woods, but – shocker! – the creatures turn out to be the elders dressed in Halloween clearance-sale outfits. Then comes the grand reveal – the village isn't situated in the 19th century but the present day, kept isolated from the modern world. Sadly, Shyamalan's breadcrumbs were more like loaves of bread dropped along the way, making the climax anything but thrilling.

3. The Life of David Gale (2003)

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The Life of David Gale tried to build a thrilling narrative around the debate of capital punishment. Kevin Spacey plays David Gale, a man on death row for rape and murder, but the shocking reveal falls flat. The twist? Gale and the victim planned the entire event to discredit capital punishment. From the very start, the narrative indicates that Gale is innocent, making the audience anticipate some twist. When the supposed shocker finally arrives, it feels like we've been waiting for a firework that turns out to be a party popper.

4. Secret Window (2004)

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Stephen King is known for chilling horror and suspense, but the adaptation of his novella Secret Window, Secret Garden was more lukewarm than hot. Mort Rainey, a writer played by Johnny Depp, is threatened by a man named Shooter who claims Rainey stole his story. The problem? Shooter doesn't exist outside of Rainey's mind. Depp's character displaying signs of severe stress and psychological instability made the audience suspect that Shooter was a figment of his imagination. Thus, when the big reveal came, it wasn't as jaw-dropping as intended.

5. The Number 23 (2007)

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If you're watching a thriller about a man obsessed with a book that seems to mirror his own life, you're already expecting some kind of twist. Unfortunately, The Number 23, starring Jim Carrey, offered a plot twist that many viewers had pegged from the start. Carrey's character, Walter Sparrow, becomes engrossed with a book that shares an eerie number of similarities with his life, all revolving around the number 23. The big reveal? Sparrow himself wrote the book and then forgot about it due to trauma-induced amnesia. The issue is, Sparrow's actions and fears throughout the movie heavily suggest this, leading to a reveal that falls flat.

6. Remember Me (2010)

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Remember Me, a romantic drama featuring Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin, attempts a gut-punch twist at the end that unfortunately felt more like a slap in the face due to its predictability. The movie spends a lot of time building up the love story between the two leads, only to reveal in the final scenes that the timeline is September 2001, and Pattinson's character is in one of the Twin Towers. The attempts to obscure the timeline made it clear something was being hidden, and when the truth came out, it felt more manipulative than surprising.

7. Serena (2014)

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Serena, a drama set during the Depression, tried to engage audiences with a shocking twist but ended up with more of a 'meh' reaction. George Pemberton, played by Bradley Cooper, finds out that his wife Serena (Jennifer Lawrence ) has orchestrated the murder of his illegitimate son. But the supposed shocker is glaringly obvious from the moment Serena discovers her husband's secret. The twist, when revealed, doesn't come as a surprise but more of an inevitable conclusion.

8. The Uninvited (2009)

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In The Uninvited, a psychological horror film, Anna (Emily Browning) returns home from a psychiatric facility after her mother's tragic death and suspects her father's new girlfriend Rachel (Elizabeth Banks) of foul play. As the story unfolds, it turns out that Anna's recently deceased sister, Alex, has been a figment of her imagination all along, a twist that, let's just say, didn't leave viewers gasping in shock. This reveal is telegraphed early on, with many interactions between Anna and Alex hinting that Alex isn't really there.