Top 10 Movie Twists

Here at LOVEFiLM we love a good twist, and so in light of the new horror flick, Orphan, hitting cinemas on 7th August, we’ve compiled our top 10 collection of the all-time greatest plot twists. There’s some you’ll expect to see and others you won’t, and if you haven’t watched them yet there’s no need to worry, we haven’t given away any spoilers!

Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock’s infamous thriller was nominated for four Academy Awards back in 1961, including best director and best supporting actress for Janet Leigh’s startling performance. The film has long been hailed as possessing one of the greatest twists in cinema history and Hitchcock was determined to keep the ending secret. After buying the rights to the story anonymously from the author Robert Bloch, Hitchcock apparently went on to buy as many copies of the novel as he could to retain the shock value.

The Shining (1980)

The film that brought us the legendary quote "Here's Johnny!" also provided us with a worthy twist. Stanley Kubrick was responsible for bringing Stephen King's novel of the same name to the big screen, and although it wasn’t an instant success it’s now regarded as one of the best horror films in history. Jack Nicholson played the psychotic lead role of tormented writer Jack Torrance, whose wife Wendy gets a very unpleasant surprise…

Blade Runner (1982)

In Ridley Scott’s sci-fi thriller Harrison Ford plays Deckard, a blade runner - the future’s answer to a policeman - who has to track down and destroy human clones known as ‘replicants’ that have escaped. It was rumored that throughout filming Scott was unpopular with crew for his ‘cold and distant’ attitude, which resulted in ‘the T-shirt war’. Apparently the crew turn up to work with t-shirts printed with ‘Yes gov'nor my ass!’ on the front of them - a reference to an interview Scott had done saying British crews were better than American ones because they’d just say "Yes gov'nor" and get on with it.

The Crying Game (1992)

It was very nearly a movie that never got made. Firstly, the American film industry was completely uninterested in Neil Jordan’s script, agreeing that the film’s mix of sex and terrorism would disgust audiences, and were concerned that the press would reveal the shocking twist, spoiling the surprise for viewers. Continuous financial troubles and the ‘uncastable’ role of Dil didn’t help matters either. Fortunately, unknown actor Jaye Davidson was given the controversial role and once filming was completed Miramax picked it up for U.S distribution. Starring Forest Whitaker, Miranda Richardson and Stephen Rea, the psychological thriller went on to win an Oscar for best writing, and received four other Academy Award nominations.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Although it was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption wasn’t a big hit in cinemas. It took years after the film was initially released in 1994 for it to be considered by audiences as one of the most popular movies of all time. Coupled with that, Shawshank is now one of the highest grossing video rentals of all time. The role of Andy Dufresne was originally offered to Tom Hanks, but prior filming commitments for Forrest Gump, meant that the part went to Tim Robbins who played the banged up banker exquisitely.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Featuring one of the most talked about twists of all time, The Sixth Sense’s ending had the ultimate dun dun dun moment. Starring Bruce Willis and a young Haley Joel Osment as a boy who can communicate with dead people. The Sixth Sense launched the career of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, although it has now become the benchmark that all his subsequent projects have been compared to. The film was a huge commercial success and six Oscar nominations. All together now: "I see dead people!"

Fight Club (1999)

"The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club.” David Fincher’s psychological thriller starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, was a fine representation of Chuck Palahniuk’s cult classic. To prepare for their roles the heavyweight actors took lessons in boxing, taekwondo, grappling and even soapmaking to get authenticity for their characters. The film didn’t fare so well at the box office – possibly because of the extreme violence and controversial themes – but enjoyed incredible DVD sales, which includes some great special features, which of course we’re a fan of!

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

It was sexual chemistry galore when Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo teamed up for this remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Brosnan plays a bored multi-millionaire who sets himself the challenge to steal a Monet painting from a museum, and Russo is soon on his case as an insurance investigator to help solve the crime. For those who have seen it the movie is now synonymous with Nina Simone’s ‘Sinnerman’, which suited the intelligent fast pace perfectly. This sexy thriller with a clever twist at the end makes it more than worthy for a spot on our top 10.

Shrek (2001)

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz head up this animated comedy that took over four years to complete. The story follows ogre Shrek as he goes on a mission to rescue Princess Fiona from a fire-breathing dragon, in return, he’ll be able to stay in his swamp... What’s at first a big inconvenience for Shrek soon blossoms into something more, but who would love an ugly beast like him? It’s happily ever after but with a difference.

The Others (2001)

Having read the script Nicole Kidman wasn’t sure she could act in such a dark film about a haunted house after just finishing the all-singing, all-dancing Moulin Rouge!. However, she did agree to take on the role of Grace Stewart with former husband Tom Cruise producing. The film marked the couple’s last collaboration together as their divorce was finalised the week the film was released.

Tegan Kniveton