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What’s so great about twist endings?

Theodebernacius

Theodebernacius

I know some people who think that Brian Singer is a genius because of the clever twist in the final minutes of “The Usual Suspects”. I dislike the device because I think it encourages the production of movies that are watchable only once. Or twice if you want to look for clues with the benefit of hindsight. I was myself never curious enough to watch “The Usual Suspects” a second time.

We don’t need more disposable movies. We want durable movies that we’ll keep for the rest of our lives. What draws you towards a movie again and again in the course of your life? I sure don’t know the exhaustive list of reasons but we’re interested in people so complex characters should be near the top. If there’s any truth in them, you’ll find yourself relating to them in new ways as you pile up experiences in your own life. Esthetically pleasing images won’t hurt. Every few years I find myself longing for the desert colors of “Lawrence of Arabia” or the lush greens of “Ryan’s daughter”.

I can understand the use of twist ending for short films. In 10 mn you can’t do much character exploration.
But if you have 2h why resort to such a contrived device? Unpredictability is overrated.
 
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I agree with Dready. Lawrence of Arabia happens to be my favorite movie of all time. Having said that, I also own The Usual Suspects, Angel Heart, The Sixth Sense, Jacob's Ladder, Fallen, Inside Man, and several other movies with twist endings. While I'll never again have the thrill of discovering the twist, I nevertheless do not tire of watching those movies because they're good movies.
 
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I think what you're saying would be more true if movies were, actually, designed to be watched several times. There are some movies that really lend themselves to multiple viewings and, in many cases, they go on to become 'timeless classics'. But the vast majority (98%+ I'd say) are made to be watched at the cinema or on DVD or on TV, but just the once...
 
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Theodebernacius said:
Unpredictability is overrated.
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I believe the total opposite of this comment. Most comedy would not work, if it was predictable.



Dreadylocks said:
You can't rely, IMO, on just one big twist at the end. The movie has to be good in and of itself, then the twist just makes it fantastic.
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I think you are spot on. When I write, I work hard on twists - though they rarely happen at the end of the movie, but rather the mid-point or end of the second act. (As in TERRARIUM and EXILE.)


For the record, I have seen THE USUAL SUSPECTS and THE SIXTH SENSE multiple times. One of my favorite twists came at the end of a movie I have seen 30 - 40 times, THE EVIL DEAD 2. (Ash is the guy in the midieval text.)

"Mood" is what makes a movie enjoyable for me. The dread of ALIEN makes it my favorite movie. The adrenaline action of the TERMINATOR movies (particularly the first two). When the original 1977 STAR WARS came out, it really did take me to a wonderous place (of course I was 13 at the time).

The movies that I watch over and over have very memorable scenes, whether it be a chestburster or the Queen battle in ALIENS, Indiana shooting a guy with a sword (RAIDERS), or endless Peter Jackson gags in BAD TASTE and DEAD ALIVE. I watch the latter of those for the "Kung Fu priest/zombie fight," every time.

It doesn't have to be extravagant, just good. I can't take my eyes off of SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, which has one of the best payoffs in movies. The scene that hooks me is the tar roofing scene, when Clancy Brown almost throws Tim Robbins off the roof.

One of my favorite movies of all time, is chock full of twists - the Coen Brother's BLOOD SIMPLE. Absolutely brilliant use of a character triangle.

I agree with character and setting - so the elements I like are Mood (aka Atmosphere), Twists, Character, Setting and Memorable moments (the chase, confontation or gag). A twist alone won't cut it, but in conjunction with the other elements, it can be very effective.
 
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In my mind, the argument against 'twist endings' can be applied to every movie that has ever been made. You never know what will happen at the end, when the movie has only just begun, what would be the point? If you've seen 'The Godfather' once, you know who lives, who dies and what happens to them over the course of two hours, why ever watch it again?

To me, a twist ending doesn't detract from the desire to watch a film more than once. It's all about entertainment value. It's all about the conflicts and resolutions that drive us through a movie, not the ending note.


Oh, and for the record: Best twist ending? Planet of the Apes....
 
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I can't stand twist endings that feel like they do it just for the sake of it. A good twist has very subtle hints throughout, hints that you may not pick up on, but things that make the twist possible. Some twists feel like if they put martians saving Leo at the end of titanic... awful.

What a twist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWAzWh-w9Kw
 
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I think it all comes down to the story and wanting to relive the experience it gave us. Sure the movie may seem different after the first time but if it is still fun to watch then it is worth it. For me if the movie was a good movie the first time but the ending was bad or something real horrible happens to my favorite character at the end (unhappy endings) then I may not feel like watching it again.

As far as comedies they are normally the funniest the first time around. After that we know all the jokes so it is not as funny. In order to really enjoy a comedy film with multiple viewings the film must have other aspects to keep use interested like the story, action, love story, interesting characters, etc...

I think sometimes revisting the world the movie was in is also part of the wanting to revist it. Maybe you really loved pandora or the matrix etc.... Or how about the dream world of Inception.

I think films that you can't figure out easily in the first viewing are sometimes really intesting. Maybe you have it mostly figured out but there are small deals that you don't pickup until you view the film many times. Maybe after you know the twists and rewatch the film you pick up new things you never seen.
 
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Probably because plot twists usually wraps everything up into neat little packages, and they don't leave anything unanswered, whereas movies that are predictable still leave you wondering why a certain event happened.
 
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The Usual Suspects has a whole lot more going for it than just a twist ending. Plus, it's not really a twist ending. It's the final revelation of the mystery, and all of the pieces of the puzzle fit so perfectly together.

I think my favorite twist ending is Passion of the Christ. I did NOT see that one coming.
Totally thought he would find a way to escape his captors.
 
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Theodebernacius said:
I know some people who think that Brian Singer is a genius because of the clever twist in the final minutes of “The Usual Suspects”. I dislike the device because I think it encourages the production of movies that are watchable only once. Or twice if you want to look for clues with the benefit of hindsight. I was myself never curious enough to watch “The Usual Suspects” a second time.
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Isn't this exactly what makes movies - all movies - so amazing.

If all movies were the kinds YOU like, then I would have nothing
to watch. I love movies with a clever twist and I can watch them
over and over and over. I love the device because it encourages
the production of movies that can be enjoyed on an entirely
different level the second and third and tenth time. I was, myself,
so curious after seeing “The Usual Suspects” (in the theater) to
see it a second time, I immediately bought a ticket and watched
it again.

I find movie with a clever twist like “The Usual Suspects” and "Planet
of the Apes" (1968) and "The Sting" to be durable movies that I keep
returning to, that draws me towards them again and again.

A contrived device? Not for me. I'm glad there are different kinds
of movies available.
 
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directorik said:
I love movies with a clever twist and I can watch them
over and over and over. I love the device because it encourages
the production of movies that can be enjoyed on an entirely
different level the second and third and tenth time. I was, myself,
so curious after seeing “The Usual Suspects” (in the theater) to
see it a second time, I immediately bought a ticket and watched
it again.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen The Usual Suspects, but that is very true. It's kind of part of that thumb-rule for mysteries. The reader(or viewer) must be given the same clues as the 'detective,' so that, theoretically, if a person was smart enough they could solve it as well. So I re-watch a good mystery with a nice twist and I look for the clues I missed. It's fun. Unless you watched a movie that cheated and deliberately withheld clues or tricked you, that's the worst.
 
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I like a nice plot twist, but more often than not they feel tacked on and completely unnecessary. The problem is when one movie comes out and does it well, you get fifty (so it seems) movies after that trying to do the same thing and failing miserably.
 
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Kind of applies to any genre, doesn't it?

Nothing worse than a clever twist at the end that isn't clever. Nothing
worse than a drama that isn't dramatic, but forced. Nothing worse than
a comedy that tried to hard to be funny but isn't.

What I found interesting about Theodebernacius' post was that he dislikes
the good ones. That he never finds himself longing to relive that experience
again. Which, as I mentioned, is what makes movies so amazing. There is
something for everyone.

My only point of contention was with "We don’t need more disposable movies."
I believe we need all the movies filmmakers want to make.
 
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CF- :lol:


I don't think there's anything wrong with "twist" endings, but when you have someone like Night Shaylaman(sp) where his "gimmick" is twist endings, and everyone "watches" for the ending, then smugly "Oh I saw that coming"-it can get to be too much of a good thing.

The best "twist" films IMO are the ones you have no IDEA there's going to be a twist ending, maybe you don't read the review, maybe the DVD description leaves it out-but not expecting it really helps.

Or an example like The Game (which I was though was fantastic)
because there actually IS no twist, or rather the twist is that everything really is what it seemed at the beginning but it has you second guessing due to story writing
 
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directorik said:
Kind of applies to any genre, doesn't it?

Nothing worse than a clever twist at the end that isn't clever. Nothing worse than a drama that isn't dramatic, but forced. Nothing worse than a comedy that tried to hard to be funny but isn't.

What I found interesting about Theodebernacius' post was that he dislikes the good ones. That he never finds himself longing to relive that experience again. Which, as I mentioned, is what makes movies so amazing. There is something for everyone.

My only point of contention was with "We don’t need more disposable movies." I believe we need all the movies filmmakers want to make.
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I completely agree with this. The power of a good film, book, play, etc. is that all parts of it are captivating. Good entertainment doesn't have to force a response. But even the best entertainment becomes rather pedestrian after many viewings. As a parent, I have re-watched videos and re-read stories to the point of knowing them by heart. Then at some point, kids' interests shift to other things (thank heaven!).

Movies can serve different purposes--to inform, entertain, provoke thought, explore techniques, and push boundaries. I think all movies will inevitably be disposable to some segment of the viewing public. We all have interests that change. Today, you can by e-books (disposable), e-music (disposable), and e-videos (disposable). In one sense, we've created a consumer driven, disposable oriented culture--read once, watch once, listen until it gets old and replace it.

Occasionally in the $5 bin at the pharmacy, I'll see an old movie that I haven't seen in a while and pick it up. Not every movie needs to be indelible. As long as they tell an entertaining story, a 'one night stand' can be fun.
 
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Twist endings can be good, but sometimes a movie will end completely on a twist, while throwing away character depth and plot themes out the window, just because they think it's good to end on a twist and nothing more. I think a twist can be more effective if more depth is included, rather than just surprising the audience alone.
 
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Theodebernacius said:
I dislike the device because I think it encourages the production of movies that are watchable only once.
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I don't think I understand you properly.

Watch any movie once, twist or no twist, and you'll know how the film ends. Aside from a few rare and gimmicky exceptions, such as the theatrical Clue/Cluedo films, that actually have different endings, there is no reasonable expectation to go watch a film and to be surprised again at what happens.

The Death Star will still blow up... Indiana Jones will always defeat the Nazis... Kaiser Soze will always do what he does in the final minutes... no matter how many times you watch the films.

A good film is a good film, no matter how the ending is resolved.

Maybe you just feel a bit cheated that you'll never experience that singular "high" of a revelation again?
 
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