The following article contains spoilers.Thriller films are known for their surplus of suspense and anticipation. However, what all thrillers have in common is their love for plot twists. Finding a thriller without a twist is rare, but discovering one with a truly shocking twist is even rarer. By definition, a plot twist is something truly unexpected, and unfortunately, more often than not, the audience can see it coming from a mile away.
Thrillers with a twist aren’t going out of style, as proven by several recent flicks. Nothing beats the classics, though, which should be considered essential viewing for daring fans. A truly successful thriller movie has a plot twist that is so out-of-pocket that it has the audience’s minds scrambled by the credits. From Memento to Flight Club, these best movies with a twist are a must-see.
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‘The Skin I Live In’ (2011)
Image via Warner Bros.
Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most prolific and versatile Spanish auteurs making films today, and his psychological thriller <em>The Skin I Live In </em>is a must-see for anyone even slightly intrigued by his work. It follows Robert (Antonio Banderas), a brilliant plastic surgeon haunted by past tragedies who uses a mysterious, volatile woman (Elena Anaya) as a guinea pig for his synthetic skin experiments.
There’s a good number of solid minor twists in The Skin I Live In, but it’s the central plot twist that really makes this stand out as one of the most jaw-dropping erotic thrillers of the 21st century. It’s a shocking, deeply unsettling turn that completely recontextualizes the entire movie, making a rewatch pretty much obligatory. —Diego Pineda Pacheco
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‘Twelve Monkeys’ (1995)
Image via Universal Pictures
Based on the 1962 avant-garde short film La Jetée, Twelve Monkeys is easily one of the best sci-fi thrillers of the ’90s. Much like virtually any movie directed by Terry Gilliam, it’s a deliciously twisty, surreal, and bizarre adventure filled to the brim with odd moments and sour humor in equal measure. It also happens to be one of Brad Pitt’s best sci-fi movies to date.
The film is all about the inevitability of fate and the inescapability of the past, and its time travel narrative reinforces that theme through several twists that keep the audience on the edge of their seats for a little over two hours. It’s the twist ending, however, that really stands out as one of the greatest and most surprising plot twists in the history of science fiction cinema. —Diego Pineda Pacheco
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‘Primal Fear’ (1996)
