10 Movie Plot Twists That Will TRAUMATIZE You
Oldboy's final twist is a work of twisted, demented genius.
There are many different ways a good plot twist can make its audience feel. Some are ridiculously entertaining and cool (The Usual Suspects, Fight Club), some hammer home the film's themes in clever ways (Memento, The Prestige), some are hilarious (Assassination Nation, Hot Fuzz)… and some plot twists will genuinely traumatize the audience.
These following ten movies differ heavily in terms of genre and content; what they all have in common is that they feature harrowing, devastating plot turns, exploring a wide variety of the most unsettling topics in life in the most disturbing of ways.
Some revolve around hellish villainous schemes that are the stuff of nightmares, others take the form of intense downer endings that are almost unbearable to watch. Additionally, several of these twists revolve around taboo subjects - most notably, incest features in quite a few of them.
These following films are, with one key exception, absolutely worth seeing - just make sure to watch them sitting down. As Christopher Lee says in one of these movies, "Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent"...
SPOILERS AHEAD.
10. Promising Young Woman - Ryan's True Colours
This one is quite arguably the best plot twist of the 2020s so far.
Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell's masterful debut, is a psychological thriller in which Cassie (Carey Mulligan) exacts a crusade of revenge on those she blames for the suicide of her best friend Nina, who took her own life after being sexually assaulted.
Around halfway through the film, Nina's mother encourages her to move on and heal, and so she tries to. She also falls in love with Ryan (Bo Burnham), a former medical school colleague, and Fennell does a stellar job at involving viewers in what seems like an adorable love story. It's so nice to see Cassie finally healing and getting past her trauma... but it doesn't last.
Cassie is given some footage that reveals Ryan witnessed the assault of her best friend and did nothing to help her. When she confronts him, he reveals what kind of person he actually is. He doesn't apologize, he avoids taking any kind-of responsibility and he just focuses on trying to gaslight Cassie into forgiving him.
The way in which this love story sucked viewers in and then destroyed them was nasty... but also brilliant. This was a chilling reminder that toxic, controlling behaviour can come from anywhere - even from someone like Ryan, who appeared to be a 'nice guy'.