10 Controversial Movie Twists That Divided a Fandom

A different ending can make or break a film and tends to generate a lot of conversation. While the best movie twists can change the complexion of a story in a single moment, they’re not easy to pull off. For each Fight Club and Planet of the Apesthere are dozens of films that miss the mark. A bad plot twist can seem like a cheap gimmick that breaks the suspension of disbelief and insults the audience’s intelligence.

Between the legendary and the ridiculous, there are many controversial plot twists that still inspire debate. These twists have as many fans as detractors. Because the ending of a film can often affect how people enjoy the entire story, these divisive endings are major points of contention in the discourse surrounding a given film. Those who love the twist will generally love the film, while others may feel that the twist ruins everything.

10

The army arrives

The Mist (2007)

Frank Darabont’s adaptation of The fog was generally well received by Stephen King fans. This should come as no surprise, as Darabont also directed both The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. The main point of contention in his version of The fog This is the moment in which it differs most from the source material. The book’s ending provides an ambiguous note of hope, but Darabont’s version is much darker.

The fog ends with David Mercy killing the rest of his group of survivors, including his son, before turning the gun on himself. Suddenly, the fog clears and the military appears to take down the monsters. This negative ending is a good option for a horror film, but some fans questioned the sudden change when the group decided to take their own lives. The other critical point is the irony of the army appearing at that exact moment. This seems like something that could happen in The Twilight Zone, but it’s very convenient for the tone of the rest of the film. King himself is a fan of Darabont’s ending.

9

Teddy is a patient

Shutter Island (2010)

The discourse surrounding Martin Scorsese’s work Shutter Island revolves around the controversial twist ending. Leonardo DiCaprio’s US Marshal believes he is investigating a missing persons case at an isolated asylum for the criminally insane, but in the end he discovers he is actually a patient. The entire investigation is part of an experimental psychological treatment to satisfy his paranoid delusion so that he can finally rest.

Shutter IslandScorsese’s surprise ending divided Scorsese fans. While it still shocks many people, there is a constant feeling that Teddy is not okay, which spoils the surprise for some. With his war flashbacks, his disturbing dreams, and a few other strange occurrences, it’s clear he’s suffering in some way, even if the audience can’t deduce the details. The moment where Dr. Cawley holds up a whiteboard to explain the twist is also divisivewith some fans seeing this as Scorsese’s reductive way of explaining things to his audience.

8

The village is isolated from the modern world

The Village (2004)

No director is more synonymous with twists and turns than M. Night Shyamalan. From the perfectly executed twist in The Sixth Sense, he has made a habit of ending his films with big surprises. This means that audiences generally expect some sort of twist when they watch a Shyamalan film for the first time. He’s always come up with creative ways to play with audience expectations, but not every twist is a winner.

Shyamalan’s twists range from the superb – as in Unbreakable – for the fool – as in Signs. The village falls somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. The revelation that the entire film is not a period piece can be seen as a dark commentary on the use of propaganda and isolation to create false truths. However, the way Shyamalan does this can be a little jarring. Harsher critics accused this twist of going too far, as if Pride and Prejudice would end with Mr. Darcy flying in a helicopter.

7

Dawn Bellwether is the real villain

Zootopia (2016)

Zootopia is one of Disney’s best animated films in recent years, but it uses one of the studio’s most tired tropes. Disney villains have become something of a cliché in the 21st century. This trend could be a subversive overcorrection of the era when Disney villains were evil in both action and appearance, like Scar and Maleficent. Dawn Bellwether is a cute little sheep, but as bad as some iconic Disney villains.

The entire pattern of Disney villains is divisivebut there are some films that work well. Prince Hans in Frozen is a great example, but Assistant Mayor Bellwether’s reveal isn’t all that satisfying. Zootopia doesn’t pay much attention to it before the big twist, so it seems to come out of nowhere. Proponents of the turnaround may claim that this is representative of clandestine political corruption, but it is not universally appreciated.

6

Miles Bron is the killer

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2021)

After an innovative first entry, Rian Johnson’s Knives out the franchise had to move forward with an original mystery and a new cast of characters. While Glass Onion was generally well received, sometimes it feels like a drop in quality. The definitive reveal of the killer’s identity definitely doesn’t compare to the brilliantly executed twist in Knives out. Benoit Blanc deduces that tech billionaire Miles Bron is responsible for Andi and Duke’s deaths.

Glass OnionThe big twist is a kind of anti-twistand a commentary on the conventions of the mystery genre. From the moment the “Disruptors” arrive on Miles Island, he appears arrogant, unintelligent, and self-obsessed. He’s the obvious suspect, which would automatically make some people think it can’t be him. Whether one might love or loathe this twist may depend on their affinity for the mystery genre. Wake up Dead Man will continue Knives out franchise in 2025, and Johnson now has to deal with the fact that his audience will be more attentive than ever.

5

Mrs. Collins is Sandie

Last Night in Soho (2021)

Edgar Wright built a cult following after the Cornetto trilogy, Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Baby driver, but Last night in Soho It is his most controversial film to date. The stylish horror stars Thomasin McKenzie as a student in London who begins having strange dreams and flashbacks to a different woman’s life in the 1960s. Ultimately, she discovers that the mysterious woman is none other than her elderly landlord and that she took revenge on the men who mistreated her by killing them.

Last night in SohoThe twist transforms the film’s tone from a dark psychological horror to something more urgent and dangerous. Suddenly, Ellie is fighting for her life instead of just investigating a supernatural mystery. This is an exciting change of pace, but some people criticized the twist, claiming it was easy to predict and unnecessarily melodramatic.

4

Neil is the mysterious soldier with the red trinket

Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan used twist endings to tremendous effect in Souvenir, prestige and Interstellar. PrincipleThe ending of is much more divisive, although this aligns with the fact that Principle is easily Nolan’s most controversial film. When it was released, Principle was considered confusing and self-centered by some Nolan fans. Its critical reputation is slowly being rehabilitated, but it still has many detractors.

PrincipleNeil’s intriguing ending reveals that Neil is the soldier with the red trinket who sacrifices himself to save the protagonist in battle. He is also the soldier who saves the Protagonist in the opera’s opening scene. For those who love Principle, this is a shocking punch that reveals Neil’s fate is sealed. However, it just adds more questions for fans who don’t connect with Nolan’s cerebral thriller.

3

Jack appears in the old photograph

The Shining (1980)

The Shining is one of the best Stephen King adaptations, although the author has expressed his personal dislike for Stanley Kubrick’s opinion on his material. Kubrick adds his own touches to King’s novel, and they make the meaning of some intriguing events a little more ambiguous. There are several strange occurrences in The Shininglike Jack’s escape from the food pantry and the sight of the masked man in the bear suit, but the ending is what has generated the most debate over the years.

The ShiningJack’s haunting ending shows Jack in a photograph taken at the Overlook Hotel in 1921. Some Kubrick fans have interpreted this as evidence that Jack’s soul was somehow absorbed by the Overlook Hotel after his death, although there are also fan theories involving reincarnation and non-linear time. However, the photograph is physical evidence that appears to discount theories that the events of The Shining are largely caused by psychological distress. The controversial twist continued to intrigue audiences for decades.

2

Adelaide is one of those tied

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele quickly gained a devoted following after his excellent debut film To go out. Us does not enjoy the same level of critical acclaim, although To go out it was always going to be a tough act to follow. Us once again shows Peele’s mastery of tension, but the twist ending isn’t universally popular. Adelaide remembers the night from her childhood when she met Red, and realizes that she is one of the Tethered and that she switched places with her döppelganger.

The end of Us is an ambiguous puzzle and Peele fans have interpreted it in many different ways. The Tethered have been interpreted in many different ways, with fans suggesting they could represent Native Americans, the working class, humanity’s dark inner nature, or something else. The idea that Adelaide could trade places with one of them in childhood creates holes in most fan theories. It’s also a mystery how she learned to speak normally and why she seems more “human” than other Tethered people.

1

Rey is “Nobody”

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

There was no shortage of controversies in the Disney era of Star Warswith the franchise’s most dedicated fans disagreeing with many of the creative decisions being made. The divide in the fan base exploded with the release of The Last Jedi. After The Force Awakens delivered some solid Star Wars emotions, The Last Jedi was seen as the film that should really take the story and the franchise into a new era, but the way Rey’s story was handled was extremely controversial.

Rey’s sensitivity to the Force is one of the great mysteries of The Force Awakens, and this has led many fans to speculate that she could be related to the Skywalkers or another well-known Jedi. Kylo Ren tells her The Last Jedi, that she is simply “nobody”. Proponents of this twist argued that it represented a more exciting and inclusive take on the franchise, meaning anyone could be a hero. Harsher critics felt it betrayed the franchise’s tradition. Either way, it was a more popular choice than The Rise of Skywalkerreveals that Rey is a descendant of Emperor Palpatine. This was almost universally reviled.