20 Thriller Movies With the Best Plot Twists

Image via New Line Cinema Updated Aug 26, 2026, 5:24 AM EDT Sign in to your Collider account The following article contains spoilers.Thriller films are known for their surplus of suspense and anticipation. But what all thrillers have in common is their love for plot twists. To find a thriller without a twist is rare, but to find one with a truly shocking twist is even rarer. By definition, a plot twist is something truly unexpected, and unfortunately, more often than not, the audience can see it coming from a mile away. Thrillers with a twist aren't going out of style, as proven by several recent flicks. Nothing beats the classics, though, which should be considered essential viewing for daring fans. A truly successful thriller movie has a plot twist that is so out-of-pocket that it has the audience's minds scrambled by the credits. From Memento to Flight Club, these best movies with a twist are a must-see. 20 'The Skin I Live In' (2011) Image via Warner Bros. Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most prolific and versatile Spanish auteurs making films today, and his psychological thriller The Skin I Live In is a must-see for anyone even slightly intrigued by his work. It follows Robert (Antonio Banderas), a brilliant plastic surgeon haunted by past tragedies who uses a mysterious, volatile woman (Elena Anaya) as a guinea pig for his synthetic skin experiments. There's a good number of solid minor twists in The Skin I Live In, but it's the central plot twist that really makes this stand out as one of the most jaw-dropping erotic thrillers of the 21st century. It's a shocking, deeply unsettling turn that completely recontextualizes the entire movie, making a rewatch pretty much obligatory. —Diego Pineda Pacheco 19 'Twelve Monkeys' (1995) Image via Universal Pictures Based on the 1962 avant-garde short film La Jetée, Twelve Monkeys is easily one of the best sci-fi thrillers of the '90s. Much like virtually any movie directed by Terry Gilliam, it's a deliciously twisty, surreal, and bizarre adventure filled to the brim with odd moments and sour humor in equal measure. It also happens to be one of Brad Pitt's best sci-fi movies to date. The film is all about the inevitability of fate and the inescapability of the past, and its time travel narrative reinforces that theme through several twists that keep the audience on the edge of their seats for a little over two hours. It's the twist ending, however, that really stands out as one of the greatest and most surprising plot twists in the history of science fiction cinema. —Diego Pineda Pacheco 18 'Primal Fear' (1996) Image via Paramount Pictures Hot-shot attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) takes up the defense of a young man named Aaron (Edward Norton), who is accused of the horrible murder of Archbishop Rushman. Before being taken in by the Archbishop, Aaron was a homeless child living on the streets with a stutter and shyness. Vail is certain that Aaron is innocent, but he starts to have second thoughts after watching a video that suggests Aaron might have had a legitimate reason for wanting the Archbishop killed. Throughout the film, Martin exposes more and more secrets that point to his client as the murderer, but with a determination to win does all that he can to prove his innocence. Primal Fear truly belongs to Norton, who is simultaneously innocent and disturbed. Edward Norton's incredible performance delivers twists like gut punches, and audiences are in for a treat. 17 'Knives Out' (2019) Image via Lionsgate When celebrated crime writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is discovered dead at his house just after turning 85, Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously hired to investigate. Blanc sorts through a labyrinth of red herrings and self-serving lies, from Harlan's dysfunctional and vulturous family to his devoted staff, to discover the truth about his sudden demise. Director Rian Johnson sparked renewed interest in the whodunit genre with the award-winning 2019 film. This comedic thriller will have viewers suspecting every member of the family as they are all thoroughly unlikeable. But nothing is as it seems, which Blanc painfully realizes. When it comes to the moment of truth, Knives Out plays the scene out in one of the most satisfying reveals ever. 16 'Arrival' (2016) Image via Paramount Pictures When enormous spacecraft touch down at 12 different locations worldwide, linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is in charge of an elite team of investigators. Banks and her crew are racing against time to figure out how to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors as the world teeters on the brink of war. She risks her life and maybe the survival of all humanity to solve the mystery. This movie has no murder mystery, no revenge plot, and no punchy action scenes. Instead, Arrival is a beautifully nuanced story about the realities of what communicating with aliens looks like. The entire cerebral sci-fi thriller film has a tense and serious tone so that when the twist comes, it isn't something you see coming. And instead of being overly shocking, it mostly makes the audience think long and hard about what they just watched. 15 'Get Out' (2017) Image via Universal Pictures One of the most twisted thriller movies of the past few years, Get Out proved that Jordan Peele (formerly known for his comedic work) was a talent to look out for in the realm of modern horror filmmaking. It's by far one of the best directorial debuts of the 2010s, telling the tale of a young African American man named Chris, who's visiting his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend. There, his uneasiness about their reception of him reaches a terrifying boiling point. With Get Out, Jordan Peele proved that psychological thriller movies with a twist are often the best kind. Get Out has plenty, none less shocking or mind-bending than the others. But it's the unexpected reveal of what the eerie family of Chris's girlfriend is really up to that recontextualizes the narrative and really ties the horror aspect of the movie together, proving that you don't need monsters to make a horror thriller terrifying. —Diego Pineda Pacheco 14 'Mulholland Drive' (2001) A naive young actress (Naomi Watts) moves to Hollywood only to become involved in a sinister plot involving a woman (Laura Harring) who was nearly murdered but now has amnesia due to a car accident. Eventually, both women are pulled into a nightmare involving a dangerous blue box, a director named Adam Kesher, and the mysterious nightclub Silencio. Many find Mulholland Drive a confusing and deeply psychological film that makes them question reality, and it is indeed one of director David Lynch's infamously perplexing works. While it is sometimes confusing, a patient mind will get the best from this film. With a beautiful love story and plenty of twists throughout, the ending is something no one can see coming. 13 'The Departed' (2006) Image via Warner Bros. It's not like he ever needed to win any awards in order to go down in history as one of the best filmmakers of all time; nevertheless, it was The Departed that finally earned Martin Scorsese his Best Director Oscar (as well as winning Best Picture). This double-crossing police procedural is about an undercover cop in an Irish gang and a mole in the police, both of whom keep trying to identify each other. The Departed is one of the best thrillers with a twist, and what a twist that is. Plenty of them, in fact. Like a good police procedural, The Departed is full of unexpected turns that keep the narrative engaging. But it's the twist in the third act of the movie, where Mark Wahlberg's Sean Dignam is left as one of only three main characters still alive, that really puts a golden seal on the whole narrative. — Diego Pineda Pacheco 12 'Memento' (2000) Image via Newmarket Films After a man breaks into his home and his wife is murdered, Leonard (Guy Pierce) is left with brain injuries. As he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, Leonard's head injury prevents him from remembering anything past several minutes. One storyline moves forward in time while the other tells the story backward, revealing more each time. Memento is told solely from the perspective of someone who can't remember anything. So how does the renowned Christopher Nolan film make sense? By being told backward, from the end to the beginning. Constantly full of surprises, Memento is one film that keeps audiences enthralled the whole time, especially as it leads to its iconic and terrifying twist that reveals the truth about the protagonist's wife. 11 'Gone Girl' (2014) Image via 20th Century Studios On his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) files a missing persons report on his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike). With the police and the media breathing down his neck, Nick's tale of a happy marriage begins to crumble. With his strange behavior and mountains of lies, people begin to wonder: did Nick Dunne kill his wife? A thriller about a broken marriage: one is missing, and the other is distraught. Or is he? With two main characters who live within lies and deceit, Gone Girl presents the audience with a cast of thoroughly unlikeable characters. Director David Fincher's trademarks work wonderfully with the thriller, which takes audiences to some unexpected places. Though some may see the twist coming, Gone Girl has done wonders at convincing people to root for the evil within the movie. Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz Which Oscar Best PictureIs Your Perfect Movie? Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one. 🪜Parasite 🌀Everything Everywhere ☢️Oppenheimer 🐦Birdman 🪙No Country for Old Men FIND YOUR FILM → 01 What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don't just entertain — they leave something behind. ASomething that pulls the rug out — that makes me think I'm watching one kind of film and then reveals I'm watching another entirely. BSomething overwhelming — funny, sad, absurd, and genuinely moving, all at once. CSomething grand and weighty — a film that makes me feel the full scale of what I'm watching. DSomething formally daring — a film that pushes what cinema can even do. ESomething lean and relentless — pure tension with no wasted frame. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What's yours? AClass, inequality, and what people are willing to do when desperation meets opportunity. BIdentity, family, and the chaos of trying to hold your life together when everything is falling apart. CGenius, moral responsibility, and the catastrophic weight of a decision you can never take back. DEgo, legacy, and the terror of becoming irrelevant while you're still alive to watch it happen. EEvil, chance, and whether moral order actually exists or if we just tell ourselves it does. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means. AGenre-twisting — I want it to start in one lane and migrate into something completely different. BMaximalist and genre-blending — comedy, action, drama, sci-fi, all in one ride. CEpic and non-linear — cutting between timelines, building a mosaic of cause and consequence. DA single unbroken flow — I want to feel like I'm living it in real time, no cuts to safety. ESpare and precise — every scene doing exactly what it needs to do and nothing more. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you? AA system — invisible, structural, and almost impossible to fight because it has no single face. BThe self — the ways we sabotage, abandon, and fail the people we love most. CHistory — the unstoppable momentum of events that no single person can stop or redirect. DThe industry — the machinery of culture that chews up talent and spits out irrelevance. EPure, implacable evil — a force so certain of itself it becomes almost philosophical. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What do you want from a film's ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like? AShock and inevitability — a conclusion that recontextualises everything that came before it. BEarned emotion — I want to cry, laugh, and feel genuinely hopeful, even if the world is a mess. CDevastation and grandeur — an ending that makes me sit in silence for a few minutes after. DAmbiguity — something that leaves enough open that I'm still thinking about it days later. EBleakness — an honest refusal to pretend the world is tidier than it actually is. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what's even possible. AA gleaming modern city with a hidden underside — beauty masking rot, wealth masking desperation. BA collapsing suburban life that opens onto something infinite — the multiverse of a single ordinary person. CThe corridors of power and science at a world-historical turning point — where decisions echo for decades. DThe grimy, alive chaos of New York and Hollywood — fame as both destination and trap. EVast, indifferent landscape — desert and highway where violence arrives without warning or reason. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable. AProduction design and mise-en-scène — every frame composed to carry meaning beneath the surface. BEditing and tonal control — the ability to move between registers without losing the audience. CScore and sound design — music that becomes inseparable from the dread and awe of what you're watching. DCinematography as performance — the camera not recording events but participating in them. ESilence and restraint — what's left unsaid and unshown doing more work than any dialogue could. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you. ASomeone smart and resourceful who makes increasingly dangerous decisions under pressure. BSomeone overwhelmed and ordinary who turns out to be capable of something extraordinary. CA brilliant, tortured figure whose gifts and flaws are inseparable from each other. DA self-destructive artist whose ego is both their superpower and their undoing. EA quiet, principled person trying to make sense of a world that has stopped making sense. NEXT QUESTION → 09 How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately. AI love a slow build when I know the payoff is going to be seismic — patience for a devastating reveal. BGive me relentless momentum — I want to feel breathless and emotionally spent by the end. CEpic runtime doesn't scare me — if the material demands three hours, give me three hours. DI want it to feel propulsive even when nothing is technically happening — restless energy throughout. EDeliberate and unhurried — I want dread to accumulate in the spaces between the action. NEXT QUESTION → 10 What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want? AUnsettled — like I've just seen something I can't fully explain but can't stop thinking about. BMoved and energised — like the film reminded me what actually matters and gave me something to hold onto. CHumbled — like I've been in the presence of something genuinely important and overwhelming. DExhilarated — like I've just seen cinema doing something it's never quite done before. EHaunted — like a cold, quiet dread that stays with me for days. REVEAL MY FILM → The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works. ParasiteYou are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it's ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image. Everything Everywhere All at OnceYou want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn't want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it's about. OppenheimerYou are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort. BirdmanYou are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it's about. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor's ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn't be possible. Michael Keaton's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all. No Country for Old MenYou are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ