Horror Twists

December 3, 2009 7:10 AM

Two horror films from about 10 years ago, M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" and Alejandro Amenábar's "The Others", basically have the same twist at the end (which I won't describe here). Are there any other films you've seen with the same twist or similar - released either before (ideally) or since?
posted by Holly to media & arts (43 answers total)

It's hard to do this without spoilers (of course)

Jacob's Ladder

Mulholland Dr., at least in my interpretation.
posted by bonehead at 7:18 AM on December 3, 2009

Carnival of Souls.

The literary granddaddy of this sort of thing of course being An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
posted by Drastic at 7:20 AM on December 3, 2009

Thanks - I'm hoping that none of the answers actually reveal what the spoiler is!
posted by Holly at 7:25 AM on December 3, 2009

Not a movie, but check out the Twilight Zone episode "A Stop at Willoughby"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:28 AM on December 3, 2009

That Owl Creek Bridge wiki page has a ton of other tv/film references at the end.
posted by anastasiav at 7:29 AM on December 3, 2009

Flight Plan with Jodie Foster is like that too.
posted by 3dd at 7:31 AM on December 3, 2009

Not a film, but the goosebumps book The Ghost Next Door had the same twist--which was how I figured out the end to the Sixth Sense, five minutes in.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:31 AM on December 3, 2009

Anastasiav: Indeed it does. Very helpful! Anything we can think of that's not listed there?
posted by Holly at 7:33 AM on December 3, 2009

Thanks - I'm hoping that none of the answers actually reveal what the spoiler is!

He IS the Kwisatz Haderach!

Honestly, it's kind of hard to do this without talking about the twist. But you might want to check out Identity, with John Cusack. It isn't technically the same twist - if anything it twists the twist. But it's an interesting take on the idea.

Oh, and Tim Curry is actually the detective.
posted by Naberius at 7:38 AM on December 3, 2009

Waking Life.
posted by cj_ at 7:39 AM on December 3, 2009

Not a horror film, but The Usual Suspects has a pretty good twist.
posted by usonian at 7:42 AM on December 3, 2009

Final Approach (1991)
posted by KirkJobSluder at 7:46 AM on December 3, 2009

Nobody's talking about the twist. But if you've seen just one of these films and are planning to see any of the others, then my thread IS potentially destroying some movie fun for the small percentage of film fans who come across this thread. Time to close it, perhaps - thanks to all.
posted by Holly at 7:54 AM on December 3, 2009

Ooops, I meant Stay, not Waking Life. Although it could be interpreted that way.
posted by cj_ at 7:55 AM on December 3, 2009

The Life Before Her Eyes
posted by jbickers at 7:56 AM on December 3, 2009

Donnie Darko, too.
posted by jbickers at 7:57 AM on December 3, 2009

Lucid.
posted by Iosephus at 7:59 AM on December 3, 2009

Volver
posted by fire&wings at 8:12 AM on December 3, 2009

Not exactly an answer to your question, but The Others is loosely based on The Turn of the Screw, a short story by Henry James from 1898, so the idea dates back to at least then. You'll find some more adaptations of the story from the linked Wikipedia page.
posted by Jelly at 8:15 AM on December 3, 2009

See also the tvtropes.org wiki page for these here and here for more examples.
posted by cj_ at 8:18 AM on December 3, 2009

The 1995 film "Haunted," with Aidan Quinn and Kate Beckingsdale, would be up this alley. Also, the 1961 film "The Innocents" (a sort of adaptation of the Turn of the Screw.)
posted by desuetude at 8:21 AM on December 3, 2009

Donnie Darko, too.

Perhaps we're thinking about a different twist, but having seen The Sixth Sense, The Others, and Donnie Darko.. if it's the obvious twist (that other people are alluding to with their suggestions), Donnie Darko doesn't share it.
posted by wackybrit at 8:44 AM on December 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Perhaps more suspense than horror, but Les Diaboliques fits the bill.
posted by bookgirl18 at 8:59 AM on December 3, 2009

Great - thanks to all. Much viewing pleasure lies ahead - who cares if I know the ending?
posted by Holly at 9:05 AM on December 3, 2009

There's a good Spanish or Mexican horror movie from 2001-2004 with this plot. The extra twist is that things begin to disappear from the unsuspecting characters' lives: People vanish, rooms get smaller, doorways become blank walls - it is the process of transitioning. It was a good movie, but damn if I can't remember its name. It was popular enough to make it to an indie video store on the west coast, though.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:27 AM on December 3, 2009

Vanilla Sky/Abres Los Ojos, kinda.
posted by lunalaguna at 9:34 AM on December 3, 2009

Not quite the same, but there is a section of The Last Temptation of Christ that is similar (and the source of the primary controversy with the movie).
posted by IAmBroom at 9:40 AM on December 3, 2009

Flight Plan with Jodie Foster is like that too.

What? No.

And, The Turn of the Screw doesn't twist this way either. The twist isn't (mouse over for spoiler) this; and I don't think it's this —  it's this. Of the films mentioned that I know, only Carnival of Souls seems to fit so far.
posted by nicwolff at 9:49 AM on December 3, 2009

Santa Sangre is a doozy. Maybe not a twist per se, but haunting.
posted by Gusaroo at 10:06 AM on December 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Vanilla Sky/Abres Los Ojos, kinda.
posted by lunalaguna

I was going to say Vanilla Sky and Waking Life.
posted by workerant at 10:46 AM on December 3, 2009

It may be too different from what you're looking for, but 1408 has a big holy-crap-this-changes-everything twist about two thirds of the way through. I would categorize it as similar to the one in The Sixth Sense, personally.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:56 AM on December 3, 2009

I think the final sequence of The Game fits, but that's a minority interpretation.
posted by 6550 at 11:14 AM on December 3, 2009

Oops, nicwolff is right. Just ignore my previous comment!
posted by Jelly at 11:25 AM on December 3, 2009

The Maid (Asian horror film)
posted by aielen at 12:17 PM on December 3, 2009

I remember an episode of Are you Afraid of the Dark? that had this twist.
posted by AtomicBee at 12:57 PM on December 3, 2009

I think this was the episode. "The Tale of the Dream Girl" is described as:

A teen named Johnny (Scott Hope in Buffy The Vampire Slayer) discovers a ring and after putting it on, begins seeing a girl that he falls in love with. He soon learns though she died in a car accident. This episode was cited by M. Night Shyamalan as the inspiration for The Sixth Sense due to its twist ending.
posted by AtomicBee at 1:05 PM on December 3, 2009

The Believers.
posted by greensalsa at 1:21 PM on December 3, 2009

The Prestige. It's pretty great. Male and female eye candy. Tesla! David Bowie. That guy who played(?) Gollum. Morality and ethics to weigh and ponder. An unanswered piece of storyline for me puzzle over and solve later. A couple of cats. But best of all - a twist so diabolical my SO never saw it coming for once!!

Yep, those are a few of my favorite things :)
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 4:59 PM on December 3, 2009

I'm gonna disagree with the answer Mulholland Drive. One of my all time fave movies but if you watch it thinking this is what happens, you'll be disappointed. And wrong. :)
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 5:39 AM on December 5, 2009

I don't think anyone could speak with authority about what Mulholland Drive is "really" about.
posted by cj_ at 11:35 AM on December 5, 2009

The Prestige was certainly fun, but definitely does not (except in a very vague sense) have the same twist as The Sixth Sense or The Others.
posted by mmoncur at 3:12 AM on December 6, 2009

Pretty sure some people just misread the question as "name movies with twist endings", because The Usual Suspects absolutely doesn't have the kind of twist you're looking for.
posted by MsMolly at 8:33 PM on December 7, 2009

No problem - I learned some new things, and got my question answered too. Thanks to all.
posted by Holly at 8:37 AM on December 8, 2009