The following article contains spoilers for the movies discussed.Some of the best plot twists in cinema history, the ones everyone talks about when comparing the greats, happen in horror movies. In a genre known for startling jump scares, a plot twist can instantly change the course of a story, revealing an unlikely killer or uncovering an important detail of a curse that was previously overlooked. The world of horror is a perilous place, and a well-timed plot twist can give the hero of the movie a lifeline or spell their certain doom.
Most horror films have one or two great twists, but the following selection of movies features moments that are etched in the memory of horror fans and casuals alike. These plot developments either changed the perception of the narrative or they simply scared the hell out of the people watching. From iconic endings in modern horror classics to shocking twists that left audiences stunned, these are the best plot twists in horror movies.
10
Esther Isn’t Really a Child in ‘Orphan’ (2009)
A couple adopts a child in need of a loving family, only to find out that none of what they thought was true in Orphan. Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) use a personal tragedy as the catalyst to adopt a 9-year-old Russian girl, Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). The couple hopes this will be a positive step forward for their family, but Esther’s innocent exterior hides a violent, murderous streak with dark implications for her new adopted family.
Esther never quite acts like a child at a single-digit age, and that’s for a very good reason. After attempting to seduce John, it’s discovered that Esther is actually Leena, a 33-year-old woman with a rare condition that stunts her growth. As Esther furiously removes the makeup used to hide her mature features, including a moment where she takes out children’s dentures, revealing her gnarled adult teeth underneath, the audience is left dumbfounded with a twist none were prepared for.
9
The Demons Turn Out to Be Real in ‘Frailty’ (2001)
Familial relationships are tested in Frailty when a widowed father (Bill Paxton) tells his two young sons that an angel visited him, and he must now kill demons on Earth with weapons the angel provided. The story jumps between the past and the present day, showing how each boy accepts the story told to them, and the subsequent “God’s Hand” killings executed by one of the sons in adulthood. In an astounding twist, Paxton’s character is found to be telling the truth, and the family is actually gifted with the ability to see demons walking among the innocent.
Frailty is a story about faith, which is needed in great supply to accept the implausible story Paxton tells the boys. The twist that his mission is righteous and the family has, in fact, been chosen to kill demons still doesn’t seem real, even after it’s confirmed in Frailty’s final moments. It’s a horror plot twist hiding in plain sight, continually making a case for itself in the face of a skeptical son and an equally unconvinced audience, both certain that Paxton is in the throes of a mental collapse.
8
The Kids Are the Killers in ‘Sinister’ (2012)
A desperate true crime author finds himself personally involved in the research for his new book in Sinister. Ethan Hawke stars as Ellison Oswalt, a true crime writer who moves his family into a murder house while investigating the case. In the attic, Ellison finds a strange box filled with recordings of multiple families being murdered, but the killer is out of frame. In an unfortunate twist, Ellison discovers that a possessed child in each family committed the murders, right before his own daughter drugs and kills the family, continuing the cycle.
Sinister is able to smoothly combine elements of a crime procedural with a supernatural thriller, and the extremely creepy home movies turn out to be the bridge between the two. The images of the families being murdered were already a striking visual, but the added footage revealing the children’s role in the crimes takes the horror to an even more twisted level. The final shot of seeing the new home movie added to the box is a nice final touch, or it could have been, if not for the unnecessary jump scare.
7
Jigsaw Has Been in the Room All Along in ‘Saw’ (2004)
In Saw, two men wake up chained and trapped in a room, left with a disfigured corpse in the middle of the floor. They both realize they’re the next victims of the Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell), who allows his targets a chance to save their own lives by playing “games” requiring great sacrifice or pain. The men share what they know as the story jumps from the past to the present, with neither aware of the killer’s identity. Of course, neither thought to ask the corpse in the middle of the room, who stands in a shocking twist moment to reveal he was Jigsaw in disguise.
The twist is jarring for viewers, momentarily throwing the story into supernatural territory at the appearance of a rising corpse before the figure is revealed to be Jigsaw playing dead. Jigsaw’s commitment to his macabre mission is unwavering during his performance, demonstrating how he wants to see his victims play the game while secretly taunting them at the same time. Jigsaw speaks through actions, and pretending to be a dead body was one of his most memorable tricks.
6
There Are Two Killers in ‘Scream’ (1996)
The small town of Woodsboro, California, becomes the playground of a brutal masked serial killer in the slasher film Scream. After learning that a student at their school was murdered, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends wonder if the killer could be someone they know. Upon surviving multiple attacks from the masked murderer, Sidney is horrified to find out there are two killers: her boyfriend, Billy (Skeet Ulrich), and friend Stu (Matthew Lillard), who are working together to provide each other with alibis.
It’s easy to forget that, after numerous Scream movies continued the trend, the concept of two killers was an inspired twist on the slasher formula. Scream wasn’t the first movie to have two killers at the source of the murders, but Scream’s approach to the twist helped cleverly take the heat off of Billy, who was the overwhelming favorite as the culprit. In hindsight, it makes sense that a movie subverting tired horror tropes would throw a curveball for the killer’s reveal, but two knife-wielders weren’t a consideration for those watching the movie in 1996.
5
Sergeant Howie Is the Sacrifice in ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973)
One of the best folk horror movies, The Wicker Man, is notorious for its shocking twist ending. In the film, Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) launches an unofficial investigation by visiting an island where he believes a girl was abducted by the Pagan villagers. Although Howie locates the girl, he learns that she was never in danger, and that he was lured to the village as a sacrifice to their Gods. Forced inside a towering wicker man that is set ablaze, Howie watches the villagers dance and sing as he burns alive.
Sgt. Howie’s motives are pure, and he could never have guessed in a million years what terrible death awaits him, but his fate is sealed almost from the moment he steps on the island. There’s a subtle type of arrogance that allows a person to enter a community they’re unfamiliar with, practicing customs they don’t understand, and still think their moral determinations will be the overriding force. The villagers were working like a well-oiled machine to lead Howie where they wanted, signifying he was not the first person to step into their trap, and he would not be the last.
4
Angela Is Actually Peter in ‘Sleepaway Camp’ (1983)
In Sleepaway Camp, young teen Angela (Felissa Rose) has never recovered from the deaths of her father and brother Peter in a boating accident, but that doesn’t stop her Aunt and legal guardian from sending the teen to a summer camp with her cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten). Angela’s quiet nature makes her a target for bullies and sexually aggressive staff; however, the primary threat at camp is a killer who viciously dispatches campers and counselors alike. In an iconic plot twist, Angela is not only discovered as the killer, but also as the supposedly dead brother, Peter. It was Angela who died in the boating accident, and Peter was raised as his deceased sister due to his Aunt’s wishes to have a girl.
The twist ending to Sleepaway Camp remains controversial, dividing audiences into debating its merits or whether it is even logically sound. There are good points on both sides of the argument, but in terms of scare factor, the final image of Angela’s face in that twisted leer, holding the severed head, is unforgettable. Even after knowing what’s coming, that inhuman face, which is a result of anAngela mask a male actor wore in the scene, will likely still be as disturbing as watching it for the first time.
3
Grace and Her Children Are Already Dead in ‘The Others’ (2001)
Nicole Kidman is known for her dramatic roles, such as her Oscar-winning performance of Virginia Woolf in The Hours, but one of her best parts was one year earlier in the excellent Gothic horror filmThe Others. Kidman stars as Grace Stewart, a woman caring for her two young children while waiting for her husband to return from war. Odd, unexplained occurrences begin to happen in the house, leading Grace to believe ghosts are haunting the estate. Grace is correct in her suspicions, but it takes until the end of the film for her to understand that she and her children are ghosts, not the other way around.
The Others’ plot twist is considered one of the most finely executed in horror, a moment that is cleverly foreshadowed throughout the story. Aside from being an unexpected rug pull, the twist gives audiences a new perspective on what a ghost sees and understands, painting them less as malevolent terrors and more as lost souls unclear about their fate. Kidman’s sorrowful performance runs the full range of emotions in short order, processing shock, denial, and mournful acceptance as the audience sits stunned.
2
Marion Gets Killed Midway Through ‘Psycho’ (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is largely regarded as one of themost game-changing horror films ever made, boldly shattering conventional storytelling to surprise the audience. The film opens with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a woman who finds herself on the run with stolen money and little in the way of a plan on what to do next. Clearly, she’s the main character of the story, and the audience waits to see what Marion does with the money after she gets a good night’s sleep at the Bates Motel.
In a twist that completely upended expectations, Marion is brutally stabbed to death in the shower, and Psycho was suddenly missing a main character with a little over half the movie left to go. Leigh was a well-known actress when Psycho premiered, and since she was singularly driving the story, viewers were left off-balance but enthralled after her exit. More surprises were coming in Psycho regarding Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his mother, but the twist of Marion’s death was masterful sleight of hand from one of cinema’s most well-known directors.
1
Malcolm Has Been Dead the Whole Time in ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)
Any conversation around famous horror movie plot twists will be mandated by cinematic law to mention The Sixth Sense. The film follows child psychologist Malcolm (Bruce Willis) as he dedicates himself to helping nine-year-old Cole (Haley Joel Osment), a boy with the ability to see and speak to the dead. However, what Malcolm doesn’t grasp until the end of the film is that he is also one of the dead people Cole speaks to. A former patient shot Malcolm at the beginning of the film, and even though he wasn’t prepared to accept it, the psychologist didn’t survive the attack.
The Sixth Sense has a perfect plot twist, allowing viewers two completely different experiences watching the movie. Scenes that meant one thing on first viewing take on a new light with added information. It adds context to why Cole is initially apprehensive of Malcolm, or how characters who were seemingly interacting with the psychologist were, in fact, never aware of his presence. Some plot twists are amazing in the heat of the moment, losing impact after closer inspection, but with The Sixth Sense, the twist makes an already outstanding film a brilliant one.
