This list is naturally ripe with spoilers, so this is your official warning! For this list, we’ll be looking at the most depraved movie plot twists that made the story even darker through their implications.
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00:00-"Soap."
00:01-"Sorry?"
00:02-"I make and I sell soap."
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 darkest plot
00:10twists in movies.
00:11-"They are not racist."
00:12-"Guy."
00:13-"I would have told you."
00:17For this list, we'll be looking at the most depraved movie plot twists that made the story
00:22even darker through their implications.
00:25This list is naturally ripe with spoilers.
00:27So this is your official warning.
00:30What did you make of these twists?
00:32Let us know in the comments.
00:35Number 20.
00:36Darth Vader is Luke's father.
00:38Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back.
00:42There are famous plot twists, and then there's learning that Darth Vader is Luke's father.
00:47-"He told me enough.
00:48He told me you killed him."
00:49-"No.
00:50I am your father."
00:56The mother of all movie twists, this one threw everything into question, and ended
01:01the second Star Wars film on a delightfully dark and ambiguous note.
01:06It's really messed up when you think about it.
01:08Luke has essentially been recruited to kill this man, only to learn that he's family,
01:13which means he'll have to fight his own blood.
01:15-"It's not true.
01:17That's impossible."
01:19-"Search your feelings.
01:21You know it to be true."
01:26And speaking of blood, Luke comes to the realization that, yes, his own dad just severely wounded
01:33him.
01:34Furthermore, he learns that his father wasn't some heroic martyr who died fighting the Empire,
01:39but the ruthless leader of said empire.
01:42Needless to say, the realization sends him reeling.
01:46Number 19.
01:47It was an accident.
01:48Bodies, Bodies, Bodies.
01:51Another huge success for A24, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies is a wickedly smart horror comedy
01:57that produces, well, a lot of bodies.
02:00A man named David is presumably murdered during a party, resulting in a Christy-esque mystery.
02:05-"If you do come across a body, you have to yell, bodies, bodies, bodies, and then
02:09once that happens, we'll turn all the lights back on and then we'll try to figure out
02:13who did it."
02:14The body count begins to pile up as the party guests suspect and ultimately kill each other
02:19in a fever of paranoia.
02:21But it's eventually revealed that David accidentally ended his own life while filming
02:25a video for TikTok.
02:26The bruised and battered survivors realize with horror that there was never a murder
02:31mystery and that the resulting bloodshed was all for nothing.
02:35It's a brilliant subversion, and the implication that these people killed each other over an
02:39accident is a startling one indeed.
02:43Number 18.
02:44Jacob never left Vietnam, Jacob's Ladder.
02:47This cult classic opens in Vietnam, with soldier Jacob Singer getting stabbed with
02:52a bayonet.
02:53He then wakes up in New York, where he experiences all sorts of nightmarish delusions.
02:59That is, until he meets a man named Michael Newman, who essentially tells Jacob that he's
03:04dead.
03:05-"Where do you want to go?"
03:06-"Home."
03:07-"This is your home.
03:08You're dead."
03:09-"Dead?
03:10No.
03:11I just hurt my back.
03:12I'm not dead."
03:13-"What are you then?"
03:14-"I'm alive."
03:15Michael produced a drug called The Ladder, which turned soldiers aggressive.
03:24It was tested on Jacob's unit, and he was stabbed by one of his fellow comrades.
03:29Everything in New York was just some kind of purgatory-like fantasy as he transitioned
03:33beyond.
03:34It's tragic knowing that Jacob's dead, but the knowledge that he was secretly experimented
03:52on and killed by a member of his own unit makes it all the more devastating.
03:58Number 17.
03:59Faking the good side, Primal Fear.
04:02This legal thriller introduced the incredible talent that is Edward Norton, and earned him
04:07his first Oscar nomination.
04:09He plays Aaron Stampler, a young altar boy who is accused of killing an archbishop.
04:15Aaron suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and his other personality, a man named Roy,
04:21claims responsibility for the killing.
04:23-"So your name is Roy?"
04:25-"Oh, Jesus, I'm sorry.
04:27Yeah.
04:28What is it, Marty?
04:29Listen, uh, Marty, I'm dying for a smoke."
04:31Aaron is found not guilty by reason of insanity, and sent to a psychiatric hospital.
04:36But the proud man can't help himself, and he reveals to his lawyer that he faked the
04:41identity disorder to get a lenient sentence and avoid prison.
04:45-"There never was an Aaron, counselor."
04:54He was actually the sociopathic Roy all along, and completely manipulated the justice system
05:00with the fake Aaron persona.
05:02Number 16.
05:04The Homicidal Personality Survives.
05:06Identity.
05:07This James Mangold thriller takes us inside the mind of a killer.
05:11No, seriously, most of it takes place inside someone's brain.
05:15The story begins in the vein of Agatha Christie, with ten strangers stranded in a small Nevada
05:20motel.
05:21-"As long as we stay calm, everything's gonna be alright.
05:24Officer Rhodes is outside right now.
05:26He was transporting a convict."
05:27-"Who escaped."
05:29-"What are you talking about?"
05:30But the characters inside the motel are actually personalities of a killer named Malcolm Rivers,
05:36and Rivers' psychiatrist is attempting to find the homicidal personality.
05:41He's seemingly successful as the killer is removed, and the cured Malcolm is sent
05:46to a psychiatric hospital.
05:47-"In the matter of Rivers vs. Nevada, it is the recommendation of this court that Mr.
05:53Rivers' execution be stayed.
05:56I'm transferring Mr. Rivers to State Psychiatric Services under the care of Dr. Malcolm."
06:01Only that's not the case.
06:03The homicidal personality faked its death and re-emerges, causing Malcolm to kill everyone
06:09involved in his transport.
06:11Not only does the treatment fail, but it allows a killer to quite literally walk free.
06:16Number 15.
06:17A Creature in the Basement.
06:19Barbarian.
06:20This is one of those movies that goes in a completely different direction in its second
06:25half.
06:26The first act is a character-based thriller, as Tess and Keith are accidentally double-booked
06:31at the same Airbnb.
06:32-"This is unbelievable."
06:33-"What are we supposed to do?"
06:34-"I don't know.
06:35I don't know.
06:36Why don't you come inside?"
06:45Tess is hesitant around Keith, and much of the drama is centered around her initial mistrust.
06:51But her questions are rendered moot at the end of the first half, when Keith is killed
06:55by a creature in the basement.
06:57The rest of the film delves into the backstory of this creature, and its attempts to kill
07:02both Tess and the house's owner.
07:04The film turns into a creature feature, involving death, kidnapping, and a host of other twisted
07:10occurrences.
07:11-"You're safe.
07:12You got out.
07:13You should count yourself as lucky, you hear?
07:16You should have never went in that house to begin with.
07:19That's a bad place."
07:20So yeah, it goes in a pretty dark direction.
07:23Number 14.
07:25The narrator was Tyler.
07:26Fight Club.
07:27This is one of those plot twists that everyone knows, even if they haven't seen the film.
07:32It's famously revealed that the destructive and anti-consumerist Tyler Durden was a concocted
07:38persona of the narrator's.
07:39-"Say it."
07:40-"Because we're the same person."
07:43-"That's right."
07:46And now we're realizing that the Edward Norton character has been involved in many fake personality
07:51plot twists.
07:53The narrator created Tyler to act out his subconscious desires, like rebelling against
07:57the system and destroying entire buildings with explosives.
08:01-"This is, this is bullshit.
08:04This is bullshit.
08:05I'm not listening to this.
08:06You are insane."
08:07-"No, you're insane.
08:08And we simply do not have time for this crap."
08:11The narrator is quite a likable character throughout much of the movie, but the dark
08:15twist reveals that he's actually the anarchistic leader of a terrorist organization.
08:20Like he tells Marla, this is a very strange time in his life.
08:24Number 13.
08:26The Armitage Family Secret – Get Out
08:28Jordan Peele's masterpiece is a horror film based on race relations.
08:33Chris is in an interracial relationship with Rose, who takes him to visit her wealthy liberal
08:37parents for the first time.
08:39-"So how long has this been going on, this, this thing?"
08:44-"How long?"
08:46-"Four months."
08:48-"Four months?"
08:50-"Five months."
08:52But it turns out they have ulterior motives.
08:55Rose actually befriends black men, only to take them to her family home to be experimented
09:00upon.
09:01These men are consciously sent to the sunken place, while their physical bodies are hijacked
09:06by Armitage family members.
09:08The transplant allows these ailing Armitages to live their lives inside of a healthy black
09:13body.
09:14-"So you won't be gone.
09:16Not completely.
09:17A sliver of you will still be in there somewhere, limited consciousness."
09:21It's a fascinating twist that blends B-movie thrills with thoughtful social commentary.
09:27Peele would follow this with another delightful turn in Us, revealing that the real Adelaide
09:31was actually her tethered.
09:34Number 12.
09:35Gunse in the Bunker – Parasite
09:38Barbarian shares many similarities with Parasite.
09:41Like Barbarian, Parasite begins realistically, with the poor Kim family infiltrating the
09:46wealthy parks as their personal employees.
09:49-"You're a great cornering."
09:52-"It may seem easy, but it's very basic."
09:58Then the movie shifts focus in the second half, and goes in a completely different direction
10:02thanks to a person in the basement.
10:05It's revealed that a man named Gunse has been inhabiting a secret bunker inside the
10:09park home for the last four years.
10:12It's a pretty disturbing twist, but it gets even worse.
10:15In the bloody climax of the film, Gunse breaks free from the bunker and causes a massacre
10:21at Dasung's birthday party.
10:27The genre switch-up is captivating, turning Parasite from a comedic social commentary
10:32to borderline horror.
10:34Number 11.
10:35Kaiser Soze Gets Away – The Usual Suspects
10:39Directed by Bryan Singer, The Usual Suspects is a classic thriller about the mythical crime
10:44lord Kaiser Soze.
10:46Soze burned down a ship in San Pedro Bay and killed dozens of people.
10:51One of the survivors is con artist Verbal Kint, who provides information to the police
10:56about the crime boss.
10:57-"I'm smarter than you.
10:59And I'm gonna find out what I wanna know.
11:02And I'm gonna get it from you whether you like it or not."
11:05-"I'm not a rat."
11:06But in the movie's famous twist ending, Verbal walks out of the police station, loses
11:11his trademark limp, and becomes Kaiser Soze.
11:15He made up the whole story.
11:17And Agent Kuyon realizes with horror that he let the elusive crime lord slip right through
11:22his fingers.
11:23Soze escapes in style and fades back into anonymity, a huge grin of victory splashed
11:30across his face.
11:31-"After that, my guess is you'll never hear from him again."
11:4010.
11:41Leonard Killed His Wife – Memento
11:43Throughout Christopher Nolan's Memento, amnesiac Leonard Shelby leaves himself an
11:49intricate series of notes that will hopefully lead him to the man who sexually assaulted
11:54and murdered his wife.
11:55-"Don't believe his lies.
11:57He is the one.
11:58Kill him.
11:59Kill him.
12:00I finally found him."
12:01We also learn of a fellow amnesiac named Sammy Jenkins who accidentally killed his wife by
12:06giving her too many insulin injections.
12:08However, at the end of the movie, we witness Leonard being told that he's the real Sammy
12:13and that he's the one who killed his wife.
12:14-"I took that picture.
12:18Just when you did it."
12:19According to Teddy, he repressed these memories out of guilt.
12:22His mission is fake and impossible to fulfill.
12:25Leonard is essentially an amnesiac serial killer being used by Teddy.
12:29Terrifying, right?
12:30-"I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there."
12:359.
12:36Jigsaw Was In The Room The Whole Time – Saw
12:38The opening minutes of Saw certainly make an impression.
12:44Two men wake up chained to a dilapidated industrial bathroom with a bloody corpse lying between
12:49them.
12:50Fun stuff.
12:51We also learn that the Jigsaw killer likes to watch his victims, and while we know deep
12:54down that Zep wasn't Jigsaw, we certainly weren't expecting the corpse to be.
12:58At the end of the movie, the corpse rises from the floor and reveals himself to be Jigsaw
13:02right before locking Adam in the bathroom.
13:05It's a massive shock that reinforces the true depravity and psychopathic methods of Jigsaw.
13:10While the Saw movies would decrease in quality, that final game-over is legendary stuff.
13:228.
13:33Malcolm Was Dead The Whole Time – The Sixth Sense
13:36At the beginning of the movie, child psychologist Malcolm Crow is shot by a psychotic former
13:40patient.
13:42Since it appears as if he's recovered, our minds are shattered when it's revealed that
13:45he has been dead the whole time.
13:49It's certainly a dark realization to find that the protagonist is a ghost, but it's
13:53still an ultimately happy ending when Crow is sent to heaven after rectifying his failures.
13:58Two years later, the Others would provide another brilliant ghost-centric twist by revealing
14:02that the family are the actual ghosts haunting the house.
14:05Both movies successfully flipped the conventional ghost story on its head and provided some
14:09of the greatest twists in the horror genre.
14:157.
14:17Teddy Slash Andrew Killed His Wife – Shutter Island
14:20Movies love to utilize the protagonist-actually-killed-their-wife twist, don't they?
14:25Throughout Shutter Island, we watch as U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance
14:31of a patient with mental health issues.
14:35But when Teddy enters the lighthouse, everything changes.
14:38We learn that Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, an institutionalized man who killed his wife
14:43after she murdered their children.
14:59As if Philocide and Uxoricide weren't dark enough, we also learn that the girl Laeddis
15:03dreams about is his murdered daughter, proving that his mind has been irreparably damaged
15:08and wracked with guilt.
15:09Furthermore, Laeddis becomes aware and conscious enough to plan for his own lobotomy.
15:14Shutter Island is a bleak experience start to finish.
15:226.
15:25Norman Is Mother Slash The Killer – Psycho
15:32Psycho has perhaps one of the greatest twists in cinematic history.
15:35Throughout the movie, we believe that Norman Bates is nothing but a repressed man-child
15:39who protects his domineering, psychotic mother.
15:42However, the famous ending reveals that his mother is long dead and that Norman is the
15:48true psychopath.
15:50After killing his mother and her boyfriend out of jealousy, he took on the persona of
15:53his mother to alleviate his loneliness and guilt, and he uses this persona to murder
15:57those he feels attracted to.
15:59The twist made Norman one of cinema's most iconic villains and left 60s audiences with
16:04the fear that danger could be lurking anywhere and behind any facade.
16:105.
16:18Head in a Box – Seven Seven's twist may not be as iconic as Psycho's,
16:22but it's arguably more depraved.
16:24After John Doe turns himself in and takes the two detectives to the final murder location,
16:29a delivery man brings them a mysterious box.
16:40After a few incredibly tense minutes, we learn that the box contains the head of David's
16:44pregnant wife, representing the killer's envy.
16:54David then becomes wrath by shooting Doe in an act of uninhibited rage.
16:59John Doe wins, David goes insane, and Somerset can only look on in defeat.
17:04While the movie is absurdly dark, this final twist somehow ratchets the depravity to Eleven,
17:10reinforcing the idea that humanity is inherently flawed.
17:174.
17:25Amy Framed Her Husband – Gone Girl Gone Girl isn't your grandmother's murder
17:31mystery.
17:32The first half of the movie plays out like a typical crime drama as Nick Dunn searches
17:36for his missing wife and is falsely accused of her murder.
17:39However, the movie does a complete 180 halfway through when it reveals that a jealous Amy
17:44intricately framed her husband after learning of his affair.
17:50The twist not only works incredibly well as dramatic story development, but it also strengthens
17:55the movie's morose themes regarding manipulation and abusive relationships.
17:59Gone Girl goes from a relatively conventional murder mystery to a haunting first-hand account
18:04of a cunning sociopath.
18:06And you know what?
18:07That's even scarier.
18:083.
18:09Soylent Green is People – Soylent Green Like Norman Bates being mother, the fact that
18:20Soylent Green is made from people is not a surprise to modern audiences.
18:24But that doesn't make it any less impactful.
18:30In this dystopian society, a green wafer called Soylent Green is created, said to be a highly
18:35nutritious food source created from plankton.
18:38However, we later learn that Soylent Green is actually made from human remains, as humans
18:42are a great source of protein for a starving society.
18:45It's a horrifying reveal, but it also fits perfectly with the movie's themes of overpopulation,
18:51resource management, and climate control.
18:53It's a much-needed slap in the face that remains relevant and disturbingly prophetic
18:57nearly half a century later.
19:062.
19:07Apes Have Taken Over the World – Planet of the Apes
19:17While Planet of the Apes is a long-running franchise, nothing beats the original's
19:22twist.
19:23After landing on a planet ruled by sentient talking apes, Taylor escapes from their grasp,
19:27only to come upon a half-buried Statue of Liberty.
19:30He discovers that he was on Earth all along, and that modern humanity had wiped itself
19:34out in some kind of nuclear war.
19:45It's not only a devastating ending that caps the story in theatrical fashion, but
19:49also a dismaying comment on the Cold War, and the possible future of humanity.
19:54It's not as dramatically relevant as it once was, but it's still a distressing ending
19:58that captures the fears of its time.
20:291.
20:30Oh Dae-su and His Daughter – Oldboy
20:33Murder and nuclear war may be scary topics, but nothing feels worse than learning that
20:39the protagonist unknowingly had relations with his own daughter.
20:48The movie opens with Dae-su being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years.
20:53After escaping and embarking on a campaign of revenge, he befriends a young chef named
20:57Mido, and the two become intimate.
20:59However, it's later revealed that Dae-su was hypnotized into falling for Mido, who
21:03was revealed to be his now-adult daughter.
21:06It's equal parts shocking and horrifying, eliciting a visceral bodily reaction of revulsion
21:11from most viewers.
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