No, Im not going to play any pranks on any of you today. Instead, Im going to share my most recent newspaper column with you. Its a column in honor of that one day every year in which getting the better of other people isn’t only encouraged, it’s practically required. April Fool’s Day is all about unexpected outcomes, and so are some of my favorite movies. Here are (without spoilers) 20 films with some of the most twisty (and twisted) endings in cinema history…. Psycho (1960) Any list of movies with a twist has to include this Hitchcock classic. In the character’s first appearance on screen, Anthony Perkins plays the infamous motel owner with major mommy issues. Several of the scenes were scandalously shocking in 1960, but today they still pack quite a wallop. Planet of the Apes (1968) Charlton Heston’s astronaut lands on a planet ruled by “damn dirty apes” and also inhabited by humans who can’t talk. If the sight of conversing chimpanzees doesn’t disturb you, the last scene of the movie is definitely up to the task! Friday the 13th (1980) This film marked the beginning of a long line of 80s and 90s slasher flicks, but if you can pretend for an hour and a half that you haven’t seen dozens of them, you just might realize (or remember) how creative and unsettling was the end of this first Friday. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) This may not be the best, most fun or most exciting of the “Star Wars” films, but the totally-out-of-left field surprise near the end immediately became the stuff of legend. The Good Son (1993) Soon after charming the nation in the second “Home Alone” movie, Macaulay Culkin plays completely against type as a sadistically evil young boy. His cousin (a young Elijah Wood) is the only one who sees the kid for what he really is, but no one believes the stories he’s telling. When someone finally does believe him, it sets up a scenario that will make any parent’s jaw drop. The Color of Night (1994) Bruce Willis is a psychiatrist who takes over a colleague’s support group when said colleague is murdered. Willis’ character thinks he’ll find the murderer within the group. He does – along with one seriously twisted back story. The Usual Suspects (1995) There’s something very UN-usual about this group of criminals. They’re quite the motley crew and one of them MAY be a vicious and mysterious gangster. Who IS Keyser Soze? Se7en (1995) Brad Pitt’s newly transferred NYC detective joins forces with Morgan Freeman’s jaded veteran in trying to solve a series of bizarre murders apparently meant to demonstrate the evils of the biblical Seven Deadly Sins. The ending of this one will definitely have you thinking inside the box! Primal Fear (1996) in his feature film debut, Edward Norton earned an Oscar nomination as an altar boy accused of murdering a prominent bishop. There are several interesting twists in this one, but finding out whether or not the altar boy is guilty isn’t as shocking as what comes next. The Devil’s Advocate (1997) It’s basically a two-hour lawyer joke, but this film has Keanu Reeves’ young attorney dealing with some very serious issues. One of them is working for the devil himself (Al Pacino), until the film’s wild ending – IF it is the end. Arlington Road (1999) Released two years before the 9/11 attacks, this thriller features Jeff Bridges as a college professor and terrorism expert who’s convinced that his new neighbor (Tim Robbins) is a domestic terrorist. He is. But that is not even close to the most shocking thing about this movie. The Sixth Sense (1999) Bruce Willis, apparently still working in the mental health field, is now trying to help a boy who “can see dead people.” If you’ve never seen this one, don’t let anyone spoil the ending for you. If you have seen it, go back and watch it again to try and catch all the clues you missed before. Fight Club (1999) An underground gathering of men who prove their masculinity and entertain each other by engaging in bloody brawls includes the tough leader (Brad Pitt) and his more timid friend (Edward Norton). Suffice to say that neither man is what he seems. One of the rules of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club, but if you’ve never seen this movie, you’ll be talking about the ending! The Others (2001) Nicole Kidman plays a war widow who spends the 1940s holed up in her isolated house with her two extremely sheltered children and three creepy servants. The twist at the end of this horror flick turns the traditional ghost story completely upside down! Secret Window (2004) Johnny Depp is a writer who is annoyed by the break-up of his marriage – and being harassed by a very annoying (and increasingly dangerous) man who insists that Depp’s character stole his story and says he wants “justice.” The weirdo gets his justice, but not in the way you’d expect! Saw (2004) The movie that launched a franchise isn’t the only one in this series with a twist, but being the first one we saw made it the most shocking. Two seemingly ordinary men find themselves chained in an industrial bathroom and receive instructions that one has to kill the other to survive. The unfolding of this scenario is horrifying, but the last scene will have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief. The Descent (2005) – Seeing a horror movie with all female characters is unusual. Add the fact that they all become trapped in an underground cave, along with the realization that they’re not alone down there and you have one scary movie. When you get to the ending, it becomes downright terrifying. Seven Pounds (2008) – Will Smith plays a man haunted by a tragic mistake from his past. His guilt has turned him into a real jerk – or so it seems, but he has a very deliberate (and surprising) reason for the way he treats the strangers he meets. Buried (2010) – Ryan Reynolds plays an American contractor buried alive in Iraq. He’s able to use his blackberry to call for help, but finding him in time to save his life is a seemingly insurmountable challenge. The ending is more powerful than you would expect. Oldboy (2003 Korean version or 2013 Spike Lee remake) –The Spike Lee version has Josh Brolin as a man kidnapped and inexplicably held in what looks like a hotel room for 20 years. After his equally unexpected release, he sets out to find out why he was imprisoned. The answer he finds is shocking, but the twists (plural) that come at the end will blow your mind! Well, there you have it – just a few of my favorite movies with surprising endings. The ones that you’ve seen may be worth another look, just to relive some of the impact that they had on you. Those that you haven’t seen (or may never even have heard of) are officially endorsed by Sergeant Cinema. Of course, there are many more movies that I could have talked about here, so I may revisit this topic for next year’s April Fool’s Day. In the mean time, check out some of the titles listed above, and don’t worry about being fooled. That’s part of the fun! #sergeantcinema #moviereviews #aprilfoolsday #twistendings #psycho #planetoftheapes #fridaythe13th #thegoodson #theempirestrikesback #se7en #thecolorofnight #primalfear #theusualsuspects #thedevilsadvocate #arlingtonroad #saw #thesixthsense #theothers #fightclub #secretwindow #thedescent #sevenpounds #buried #oldboy
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:18:07 +0000
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