View Full Version : Best "Surprise Ending" Movies Ever? (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)!
Doc Safari
08-12-14, 15:27
I EMPHASIZE AGAIN: PLEASE DON'T GIVE AWAY ANY SURPRISE ENDINGS!
Part of the appeal of a movie with a twist at the end is that it hasn't been ruined for you before you saw the movie. Someone ruined "Citizen Kane" for me years ago (THANKS, Asshole).
The reason for this thread is to generate interest in movies with surprise endings, and I want all of us to be able to enjoy these movies by going into them "cold" without the ending being spoiled.
A lot of the movies on my list are older ones, but with new generations being born all the time, I'm surprised at how many people have just never gotten around to seeing these movies.
1. Planet of the Apes
I'm talking about the old-school 1970's Charlton Heston POTA here. He and his crew of astronauts are stranded on an alien planet where the apes rule and humans are mute animals. This one has one of the most famous surprise endings of all time.
2. The Sixth Sense
Another flick with a famous surprise ending. A little boy sees the spirits of dead people, and a troubled therapist spends the film trying to help him. It sounds boring, but it's not. The ending left my jaw touching the floor.
3. Twelve Monkeys
This is a mind-blowing time travel movie that is full of surprises. Bruce Willis is sent back in time to discover the origin of a plague that has ravaged the earth.
4. Brazil
Supposedly, this film also was edited to have a "happy" ending. The original I saw in the theater has a jaw-dropping final scene that will send chills up your spine.
5. The Road Warrior
A post apocalypse movie about rival gangs/tribes fighting over what little gasoline is left. "Defend the fuel." Full of action, blood, and violence, and that last scene where Mel Gibson puts his hand into....well...you'll have to see it.
I know there are plenty of others...
Usual Suspects
Primal Fear
Jacobs Ladder
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Moose-Knuckle
08-12-14, 15:56
To add to the list that is already a good one btw, off the top of my head The Game.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119174/
Plumber237
08-12-14, 16:06
Identity
Se7en
Escape from New York (not a huge surprise, but it's my all time fav so I've gotta mention it)
Not sure I would call it the best ever but... Amber Lake.
SpeedRacer
08-12-14, 16:55
Memento
NCPatrolAR
08-12-14, 17:10
Sleepaway Camp
montanadave
08-12-14, 17:24
What? Nobody's gonna mention The Crying Game?
Moose-Knuckle
08-12-14, 17:29
What? Nobody's gonna mention The Crying Game?
Well Boy George did to the title track, just saying.
wildcard600
08-12-14, 17:43
Bad Lieutenant
Whiskey_Bravo
08-12-14, 17:46
Arlington Road.
Yeah I can remember watching that one in the theater in Virginia. Mind was blown with the ending.
Singlestack Wonder
08-12-14, 19:00
"A boy and his dog" with Don Johnson.
'Oldboy'
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Moose-Knuckle
08-12-14, 19:45
'Oldboy'
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Yeah that was a mind ****.
Heavy Metal
08-12-14, 20:47
1. Planet of the Apes
I'm talking about the old-school 1970's Charlton Heston POTA here. He and his crew of astronauts are stranded on an alien planet where the apes rule and humans are mute animals. This one has one of the most famous surprise endings of all time.
1960's you filthy human!
Doc pegged the best ones. How about Now you see me?
The Mist, not the most spectacular film; but the ending is shocking!
Doc Safari
08-13-14, 14:25
The Mist, not the most spectacular film; but the ending is shocking!
I agree. I had forgotten about that one.
Frailty, almost forgot about this one.
Jacobs Ladder
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That movie was weird....love it, but weird.....never saw that ending coming.
A few recommendations.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920, directed by Robert Wiene. Silent. A carnival owner sends his somnambulist(Conrad Veidt) out at night to kidnap and otherwise cause mayhem. Started a major German style of films known as Expressionism.
Les diaboliques (The Devils), 1955s, directed by Henri Georges Clouzot. French, with subtitles. Schoolmaster abuses both his wife and mistress(Simone Signoret), who plot to murder him. They kill him. The corpse disappears and odd things start to happen around the school.
Psycho, 1960, directed by Hitchcock. Woman(Janet Leigh) with loot blows town.
Witness for the Prosecution, 1957, directed by Billy Wilder. Barrister(Charles Laughton) defends hapless Englishman(Tyrone Power) against a murder charge.
Vertigo, 1958, directed by Hitchcock. Police detective (James Stewart) is persuaded to come out of retirement to follow old school chum's crazy/possessed wife (Kim Novak). Shot on location in and around San Francisco, with gorgeous cinematography.
Sleuth, 1972. Man(Laurence Olivier) invites his wife's lover(Michael Caine) to the estate for a little chat.
The Conversation, 1974, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Detective (Gene Hackman) doing surveillance is convinced two people are about to be murdered.
The Lives of Others, German, 1994. A Stasi (East German secret police ) officer tries to prove a popular playwright is disloyal to the Communist Party.
The Lady from Shanghai, 1948, directed by Orson Welles. A sailor(Welles) is hired by a crippled rich lawyer(Everett Sloane) with a gorgeous wife (Rita Hayworth, Welles' real-life ex-wife) to work on their yacht.
'Oldboy'
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Yep that was rough.
parishioner
08-14-14, 22:40
Shutter Island
Shutter Island
I second. I enjoyed that ending a lot. It leaves it to the imagination; was he really a resident or did they mind f*ck him into believing it?
Definitely Old Boy (really good movie). I Am Legend wasn't an epic surprise ending but it was good.
Others:
Lucky Number Slevin
The Mist
Donnie Darko
Twelve Monkeys
Arlington Road.
Yup. This movie bothered me for a while.
No Country For Old Men
The Game
The Mist is one of the top of the list. Just viewed The Railway Man. It has sort of a surprise ending, although you can see it coming a few minutes ahead. An exceptional film, I gave it 5 stars.
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Railway-Man/70293617
I was flipping through channels today and came across a movie I hadn't seen in a long time and had forgotten about
No Way Out
With Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman
Not a bad movie...definitely had a surprise ending
polydeuces
08-18-14, 18:47
BRAZIL- Terry Gilliam.
Howling funny and tragic as well. Ending is nothing short of devastating.
Shutter Island
Definitely a great movie and mind ****.
The Departed, Street Kings, End of Watch, and The Butterfly Effect.
The Butterfly Effect.
I forgot about that movie.....That was a great Mind F#$%.....:D
ramairthree
08-19-14, 08:35
Mr. Frost
And the one where the guy is blind at the end.
Call me naive, but the first time I saw Fight Club I didn't see it coming.
Moose-Knuckle
08-20-14, 18:43
Nymphomaniac (Vol I & Vol II its one film). Didn't see it ending the way it did and I'm still on the fence whether or not the ending was "good" or "bad".
Yup. This movie bothered me for a while.
No Country For Old Men
The Game
The Game.
Did not see that coming at all.
Moose-Knuckle
08-20-14, 20:40
For those who have not read the whole thread, I mentioned The Game in post #3 on page 1 of this thread.
Definitely a great movie and mind ****.
The Departed, Street Kings, End of Watch, and The Butterfly Effect.
You added End of Watch before I could get to it.
To ramair, if you are referring to The Book of Eli then I second that; great movie.
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