Spoilers can get people very irate indeed, so if that’s you, I’d suggested leaving this page pronto. What follows is a celebration of films that end with a brilliant twist, from classics to more recent gems. Even when you know what’s coming, there is still plenty of fun to be had through a rewatch…
Planet of the Apes
Not only is Planet of the Apes still a fantastic sci-fi film from the pre-CGI age, but is also features perhaps the most dramatic and memorable twist in film history. Having survived his ordeal on a strange planet run by a load of highly-evolved simians, Charlton Heston’s George Taylor discovers the shocking fact that he is not quite as far away from home as he thought was. He falls to his knees on the shoreline and shouts ‘God damn you all to hell!’ into the sea and sand, before the film cuts to that unforgettable final shot.
Psycho
Hitchcock’s black and white masterpiece still makes for terrifying viewing, even if you know that Norman Bates’ mother isn’t exactly the woman she appears to be…
Citizen Kane
Orson Welles’ beloved opus about the rise and fall of fictional media tycoon Charles Foster Kane starts with an ending.
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