Nothing is more satisfying to me in a movie than an insane plot twist that I never saw coming. As much as we love to be able to guess the ending of a film, something inside of us loves to be surprised.
Major spoilers ahead - if you haven't seen any of these movies, leave this page immediately and watch them.
5. Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
I'm going to start with a cinematic classic, one that doesn't even seem like a plot twist anymore. I first watched the movie when I was 8 or 9, and I knew going into it that Vader was really Anakin Skywalker. The movie had already been out for 11 years when I was born, so I think it's safe to say that almost nobody in my generation didn't know what was coming in that iconic scene. If you wasted your time doing the math, you now know that I turned 8 in 1999 - the same year that The Phantom Menace was released. While the hype around this movie did nothing to help shelter me from potential spoilers, can you imagine growing up post episode 3? Kids these days have even less of a chance than I did to have their minds blown when Vader reveals his true identity to his son.
4. Memento (2000)
In the immortal words of Michael Scott: "Looks like I'm the killer. You never expect that you're the killer. It's a great twist. Great twist." Seriously though, my mind was already hemorrhaging blood from the insanely complicated plot structure, and when Jonathan Nolan dropped this bomb on me, my brain literally exploded out of both sides of my skull (in the figurative sense). If you haven't seen this movie yet, I would recommend watching it alone. Having your idiot roommate talking through the whole movie will absolutely ruin the movie (looking at you, Sauder).
3. Fight Club (1999)
This is another classic, and while it's hardly the first time that we've seen this plot twist in film (or last), it may be my personal favorite. I actually predicted this twist (only because I had literally just finished reading a book with almost the exact same ending - even down to the multiple personalities holding each other at gunpoint), but I was still very impressed with the way they pulled it off. Even if you already know the twist, this movie is worth a watch. Who hasn't considered starting their own fight club?
2. The Sixth Sense (1999)
This may be one of the most famous plot twists on this list (aside from the first). Everybody knows the twist to this one, even if they haven't seen it. Regardless of how well known the ending is, you can't deny how great it is. Shyamalan's film quality has suffered since then, but we have this movie to serve as a reminder of how great he once was. Seriously, watch this movie twice. You'll be impressed at how different it is the second time.
1. The Prestige (2006)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and for good reason. On paper, it's about as perfect as it can get - written by Jonathan Nolan, directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, Andy Serkis, etc. Seriously, this movie was destined to be fantastic, and it had no problem following through on that promise. If you only watch one movie twice in your lifetime, it needs to be this one. I won't even reveal the twist to this one, in case somebody is ignorantly reading through these before watching them. Watch this movie, and it will blow your mind - guaranteed. "Are you watching closely?"
Honorable Mention
Citizen Kane (1941), Psycho (1960), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Sting (1973), Unbreakable (2000), Secret Window (2004), Shutter Island (2010)
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