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A "twist ending" or "surprise ending" is an unexpected conclusion or climax to a work of fiction, which may contain an irony, or cause the audience to reevaluate the rest of the story. A twist ending is the conclusive form of plot twists.

File:Sutherland screams.jpg
The famous final scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers: the hero succumbs to the aliens and points out the last human in San Francisco.

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Mechanics of the twist ending

Literary devices

  • A red herring is a false clue that leads investigators, readers, or solvers toward an incorrect solution. This device usually appears in detective novels and mystery fiction. A misdirection is similar in meaning to the red herring: the writer uses both to distract the protagonist, and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer.[1]
  • A cliffhanger is an abrupt ending that leaves the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation, creating a strong feeling of suspense that provokes the reader to ask, "What will happen next?" Cliffhangers often frustrate the reader, since they offer no resolution at all; however, the device does have the advantage of creating the Zeigarnik effect.
  • Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "god out of the machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot. In Roman and Greek theater, the "deus ex machina" ('ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός') was literally a "god" lowered onto the stage from a machine to save the characters. In its modern, figurative sense, the "deus ex machina" creates a twist ending to a narrative because it unexpectedly resolves what appears to be an unsolvable situation. This device is often used to end a bleak story on more positive note. An example is in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies: Just as the protagonist Ralph is about to be killed by the band of "hunters" at the end of the story, a ship appears from nowhere. One of the ship's officers rescues Ralph, and he and the rest of the boys are then taken away from the island and back to civilization.[2]
  • Flashback is a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event. It is used to surprise the reader with previously unknown information that provides the answer to a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for a previously inexplicable action. See also Racconto. In John Ford's film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a flashback reveals the true nature of the relationship between the characters played by James Stewart and John Wayne.
  • Anagnorisis (or discovery) is the main character's discovery of his or her own (or another character's) identity or true nature. Thus, a main character gains information about himself or about another character that the reader does not foresee. The most famous example of this is when Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother in ignorance, but later learns the truth of what he has done. [3]
  • Peripeteia is the sudden reversal or unexpected change of the hero's fortunes, as when the conquering hero Agamemnon was brought down by his wife, or as when the central character is miraculously saved from a dangerous situation (see Deus ex machina). See also plot point.
  • Nonlinear storylines work by revealing, in a random, nonchronological fashion, events that are occurring at other points in the story's timeline. This requires the reader to situate events correctly in order to piece together a correct timeline and thereby fully understand the story (Such as the movie Pulp Fiction and the bookInvisible Monsters .) Often, information within the narrative is withheld until the story's climax, which usually reveals new information that may place the previous events in a different perspective and give the ending an unexpected twist.[4][5]
  • Reverse chronology places the traditional order of events from last to first instead of first to last, thereby ensuring that the reader does not know what has caused the chain of events until the end of the story. The colour sequences from the films Memento and Irreversible are an example.
  • Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished in such a way that the reward or punishment has a logical connection to the deed. In modern literature, this device is often used to create an ironic twist of fate in which the villain gets caught up in his own trap.
  • In medias res is a literary technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story rather than at its beginning. Information such as who these characters are, where they are, and what they are trying to do is revealed through a series of flashbacks. This technique creates a twist when the reasons for the events that transpired in the beginning are not shown to the reader until the climax. See also Narrative hook and Foreshadowing. This technique is used in the film The Prestige.
  • Chekhov's gun is premised on the notion that the physical details of a story should relate to the plot, or should not be included. The term comes from a letter Anton Chekhov wrote to a colleague: "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." In literature, Chekhov's gun refers to a situation in which a character or plot element is introduced early but not referenced again until much later within the narrative. This device is used in much of modern literature and film: A seemingly trivial event turns out at the end to be pivotal to the story's outcome. Similar to this literary device is a "plant." A "plant" is a preparatory device that repeats throughout the story. Upon arriving at the resolution, circumstances change enough to cause the "plant" to take on a new meaning. The technique is often used in the Harry Potter series. See also Foreshadowing.
  • The unreliable narrator twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has manipulated or fabricated the story the reader has just been following; the reader is thus forced to question the entire story. This motif is often used in noir fiction and films, most famously in the film The Usual Suspects which produced multiple imitators (such as The Rich Man's Wife).[6]
  • Irony creates a gap or incongruity between what a writer says and what is understood. This often works in narratives to create a twist of fate where an eventual event reverts back on a previous one.

Narrative elements

  • Simulated reality describes a situation in which a hypothetical environment is experienced as real but is actually a highly detailed simulation of reality. Narratives that utilize this device usually present to the reader the idea that what they are experiencing is real, but at the story's conclusion reveal that it is, in fact, a simulated reality. This motif is often found within science fiction literature (most notably in Philip K. Dick's works) and in science-fiction films (such as the recent Matrix films).
  • Conspiracies use rumors, lies, propaganda, and counter-propaganda to frustrate the characters and make it hard for them to determine what is true or even real. Conspiracies in fiction can be similar to simulated reality in that hidden organizations manipulate what the characters perceive to be true and factual. Conspiracies are often used in political fiction thrillers.an example of this is the novel Nineteen Eighty Rour. See also Paranoia.
  • In a narrative with multiple antagonists, the reader is led to believe there is one villain when in fact there are two or more. This is usually not revealed until the story's climax. Agatha Christie utilized this ploy several times in her mysteries by revealing the murderer (through her detective/narrator), and then by continuing to reveal the murderer's accomplice(s).
  • A con artist (abbreviated for confidence artist; also known as a con man or confidence man) intentionally misleads another character (known as the "mark"), usually for the purpose of financial gain. The twist is that the con artist tricks the mark into believing that they will be working together to con a third party. The reality (not revealed until the climax, of course) is that the mark himself has been conned. The writer most often associated with this tactic is David Mamet, whose films such as House of Games con both the characters and the audience with a clever scam. A modern example is Lost's James "Sawyer" Ford with his long cons. An example of a play on the traditional plot is Matchstick Men. In the novel and film, the main story, originally about a scam, turns out to be part of a plot to deceive the lead character, so that the original con artist becomes the mark.
  • Spiritual possession is used to create twist endings in horror and fantasy fiction by revealing late in the narrative that a character is being controlled and manipulated by spiritual forces, rather than acting out of free will. Less often, the fact that a character was not under paranormal coercion (such as in the film Vertigo) provides the twist.
  • Species reversal works by leading the reader to believe that a character is human until the end, when the character is revealed to be either an animal or alien being, or the reverse. An example of this occurs in Edmond Hamilton's story The Dead Planet. It was a common motif of Gothic literature, such as Ann Radcliffe's A Sicilian Romance, where apparently supernatural events have rational explanations.
  • Betrayal, also called the double cross, can become more complex when the writer chooses to have the character who was double crossed betray the other character as well. This instance is referred to as a triple cross. In rare instances, there have been more counter-betrayals, but this is often considered overly complex.
  • Cloning is an element often utilized in science fiction when the protagonist discovers at the narrative's conclusion that he is, in fact, either a clone of another character, or that he has been genetically altered in some manner. This twist has become more common in modern literature in the context of ethical issues surrounding the advances in technology that make human cloning at least theoretically possible. (Example: The 6th Day.)
  • Cults are similar to conspiracies when used for a twist ending. In fiction, this element often refers to a secret, sinister organization or group that is not revealed until the story's climax. The significance of this is that it can reveal links between characters initially thought to have no relevance to each other. Ira Levin's novel Rosemary's Baby is one of the most famous and influential examples of the use of cults in fiction; another, more recent example is Opus Dei in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.
  • Undead is usually used to describe a character whom the fictional characters, as well as the reader, believe to be alive. At the end, it is revealed that the character is in fact among the "living dead." This device has seen a resurgence in modern narrative fiction due to the success of M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense (1999) and the film Dead and Buried. An earlier, European example is Giuseppe Tornatore's A Pure Formality (1995).
  • The opposite of this is when throughout a work of fiction or a film the audience was led to believe that a certain character was dead when in fact they were alive. A recent example of this is the infamous ending to the first Saw film.
  • The death of the protagonist (or main character) almost always comes as a shock to the reader because it disregards the character shield plot convention: It is usually understood that the main character, or a major recurring character in a series, is not supposed to die. A modern example of this would be the startling demise of Daniel Craig's character in Layer Cake and both Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon's characters in The Departed.
  • A quibble occurs when a character discovers a crucial flaw, or technicality, that changes an expected outcome. For example, in A Merchant of Venice, Shylock's triumph appeared certain until Portia observed that his bargain called only for flesh, and so he could not shed a drop of Antonio's blood, and in Ruddigore, the baronets of a certain line are doomed to die if they do not commit a horrible crime every day—but by not committing a crime, they are effectively committing suicide, which is a horrible crime.

Caveats

  • Plot holes may emerge when a twist ending is utilized at the story's conclusion. Narratives may have a twist ending purely for shock value and may, as a result, become inconsistent with events that occurred earlier in the story. This also causes disruptions in continuity.
  • A suspension of disbelief must exist for a twist ending to be accepted by the reader. Sometimes twist endings seem unrealistic or unlikely to occur and, without the audience's cooperation, may fall flat.
  • The use of a cliffhanger may lead to no resolution at all, creating an anticlimax to the story that the reader has already invested much time in. An example is the horror film genre, in which cliffhangers are used a lot -- often by revealing at the film's conclusion that the villain is not dead (usually to ensure a sequel if the movie is a success).
  • Readers may also feel cheated when the author utilizes a red herring. This is a deliberate attempt by the author to trick the reader into believing something that is not true, and thus may give the impression of being used merely for cheap shock value.
  • Unexpected and surprising actions taken by characters within the narrative may in fact cause them to be out of character; that is, their actions are inconsistent with the character's personality that has been established in the past. This is usually seen as negative since it destroys the credibility of the overall story, shows a lack of focus, and damages the foundation that the story previously had established.

Twist ending in fiction

Stories are usually grouped into categories depending on what elements are within the story. These elements create conventions throughout the genre; recurring events, themes, and motifs that gives the genre an identity and thus making it recognizable. However, the constant recurring use of these elements within a genre has often made stories predictable and has made these elements into clichés. As a result, certain genres follow a pattern (or formula) in producing a twist ending (see List of cliché lists).

Genre

Horror genre

Many horror stories end with a twist showing the possibility of future installments. This frequently involves revelations such as:

  • The killer or monster has survived the climax
  • Some monster eggs or offspring have survived (Godzilla)
  • One of the survivors has secretly been infected or possessed by the evil force (Fallen)
  • The government plans to silence all witnesses
  • The last surviving character dies off-screen (Final Destination series)

Mystery genre

Many mystery stories seem to follow at least one of the following conventions in creating a surprise revelation (the unveiling of the killer):

  • The most obvious suspect is never the real killer; in fact, it can be the most opposite, they turn out to be a great ally, either revealing themselves to be either an undercover officer, a close friend/relative of the victim (whom they only trusted), a fellow PI, or an enemy of the villain. This ending is commonly employed by Agatha Christie. A corollary of this is that the audience automatically assumes that the most obvious suspect did not commit the crime; thus, it can be surprising when the obvious suspect does, indeed, turn out to be the culprit. The film Scream is an example of this.
  • The character you least suspect (either because he has an airtight alibi or is the least likely to have committed the act) will be revealed to be the real killer
    • Or, sometimes the obvious suspect is the killer, but then he turns out to have an accomplice who nobody knew about (who is usually the last character you expect), or there is an entirely different scheme afoot that neither the detective nor the killer knew about (a scheme perpetrated by the last person you'd expect). This twist is used frequently by James Patterson.
  • In film, the killer is never an unknown actor but always a recognizable face or named actor. [citation needed]
  • In film, if the camera lingers on an object for an unnecessary length of time, then that object is a vital clue and will play an important part in the story's revelation (see flashing arrow). This method is also present in literature, only that an object is described for a longer duration, but it is usually harder to notice. [citation needed]

There have been several authors who have proposed a series of "rules" or "guidelines" for the writer to follow in crafting a detective story. These rules often limit who the actual killer may be and what kind of motivation they can have, thus often creating general trends amongst the twist endings of the mystery genre. Such authors who composed lists of this nature include S. S. Van Dine,[12] Father Knox,[13] Grobius Shortling, and G. K. Chesterton. See also detective fiction.

Influential books

  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of Agatha Christie's most well-known and most controversial novels. The novel's innovative twist ending has had a significant impact on the genre by creating the unreliable narrator literary device which was at that time seldom used. Unfortunately there was a strong negative reaction to this usage at the time since many readers viewed this method as deceptive and unfair. Today, however, the ending is considered a milestone in detective fiction in introducing a new literary technique.[14]
  • Murder on the Orient Express is another novel by Agatha Christie and is unique since Christie utilizes a twist ending that goes against conventional detective stories. Christie takes the general convention of finding one killer amongst several suspects and reversed it by finding one innocent person among all the killers; they were all part in an elaborate plot to "execute" the murder victim, whom they felt deserved to be punished.[15]
  • And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians), yet another novel by Agatha Christie, featured a unique method of unfolding the mystery that was utilized in countless other literary works and films (including most recently Mindhunters and Identity). Out of a group of possible suspects, the characters are killed off one at a time until there was only one surviving member (presumably the murderer himself). Here again Christie takes the general convention of finding one killer amongst several suspects and reverses it, but by doing the polar opposite of what she did in Murder on the Orient Express... no killer is found by the novel's climatic ending. The only surviving member is innocent of the crimes and unable to determine who in fact committed the murders; it is only revealed later in the story's denouement about what really occurred.[16]

Authors often associated with twist endings

  • O. Henry was famed for his short stories, which often featured clever twist endings. A famous example was his story "The Gift of the Magi," which featured a cleverly ironic ending. Particularly strong and unexpected twist endings are to this day sometimes called "O. Henry Endings" after their most famous and consistent practitioner.[17]
  • Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), like O. Henry, was a short story writer known for his unexpected endings, usually ironic in nature. One of his most notable tales is "The Open Window," which was essentially a tale-within-a-tale employing the technique of the unreliable narrator.
  • Dashiell Hammett is one of the notorious writers of hard-boiled fiction (also called noir fiction). His works often include a puzzle plot with a twist ending that can be deduced from clues that were scattered throughout the story.
  • Jeffrey Deaver is a best-selling mystery writer who has written several short stories (in addition to novels) featuring an unexpected revelation. He has written an entire compilation entitled Twisted that specifically focuses on the twist ending.
  • Jeffrey Archer is a British author who also specializes in the short story and has released several compilation books focusing purely on the utilization of the twist ending device. Such compilations include A Twist in the Tale and Twelve Red Herrings.
  • John Biguenet has written several short stories that employed the twist ending device. In his short story compilation The Torturer's Apprentice : Stories, he includes the use of many ironic and unexpected endings.
  • W.W. Jacobs has written several novels, but his short stories are what really make Jacobs stand out. His classic story "The Monkey's Paw" features a very ambiguous ending, which is surprising since it lets the reader decide for themselves what really did happen. "The Toll House" is another important example.
  • Agatha Christie is one of the great mystery writers who is known for incorporating the twist ending device so effortlessly into her narratives. Her novels often invented the types of twist endings we often see today in film and literature, even ones that go against total conventionalism we often see in detective fiction. See also: Plot devices in Agatha Christie's novels.
  • Patricia Highsmith has written many short stories, which are often macabre, satirical, and tinged with black humor. Her stories often take places in peaceful, American towns but with evil and corruption lying secretly underneath its surface.
  • James Patterson has often used a particular variant of the twist ending. In many of his Alex Cross stories, the prime suspect does turn out to be the primary villain, but after the villain is caught (or killed), it is discovered that either s/he had a secret accomplice, or that the villain was in fact being hoodwinked himself by a larger scheme. Usually this accomplice or mastermind was pretending to be helping Alex Cross solve the case.
  • Dan Brown, famed author of Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons uses twist endings in his novels, whereby characters who assist the protagonists almost always turn out to be the villains themselves.
  • Famed British author J.K. Rowling of the Harry Potter series, employs variations on a formula in which it is discovered at the climax that the character that Harry, his friends, and the reader suspect they have identified as the villain is actually innocent. A seemingly innocuous or disguised character is dramatically unmasked as the true villain. In the later novels of the series, Rowling has departed somewhat from this device. However, she has retained the overall plot structure centering around an important mystery, throughout the book planting subtle (often completely innocuous) clues, which she reveals (always in a twist ending) at or after the climax.
  • Roald Dahl, though better known for such children's novels as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches, was a prolific author of short stories that were not intended for young audiences. Prominent themes of his work include spousal infidelity, grifting, and murder, and twist endings often result in the guilty (or merely unsympathetic) character receiving his or her comeuppance. The twist ending was so characteristic of Dahl's work that a TV series inspired by his fiction was entitled Tales of the Unexpected.

Twist ending in film

Influential films

Template:Spoiler Often cited by critics as one of the pioneers in twist endings, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a German Expressionist film that features the classic motif of the unreliable narrator that would be utilized countless other times within film, including notably The Usual Suspects which itself revived this literary technique and influenced other modern films.

  • Psycho is one of the first films to employ the twist-ending motif of multiple personalities. The film started a series of films during the 1960s that featured this motif, such as several films directed by William Castle or produced by Hammer Film Productions. The film also became quite influential within the Italian Giallo genre, which features multiple personalities as one of its key motifs.
  • In Fight Club, Brad Pitt's character Tyler Durden turns out to be a figment of Edward Norton's character's imagination, reversing the whole perspective of the film.
  • In Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston lands on a planet occupied by talking apes and mute humans. In the end it is revealed that the "alien" planet is actually Earth in the far distant future.
  • Shyamalan's next film, Unbreakable, also features a twist ending. At the close of the film, would-be superhero David Dunn (Bruce Willis) shakes the hands of his mentor, Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), thus discovering through his paranormal abilities that Price is responsible for initiating several disasters, including the train crash at the beginning of the movie where Dunn was the sole survivor because of his "unbreakable" body. Price does these things because he has a genetic disorder that makes his bones especially fragile, thus making him the butt of ridicule during his childhood, and commits his crimes to find an enemy in the world, which turns out to be Dunn.
  • In the 1978 adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) finds that Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) has succumbed to the pods. With no one left, Bennell makes his way back to the pod-growing factory and manages to destroy it by cutting the overhead lights. In the final minutes, it is shown that Bennell's efforts were in vain and the invasion silently continues. Meanwhile, as Bennell is walking towards the City Hall, he is found by Nancy (Veronica Cartwright), who then walks toward him. Bennell responds to her presence by pointing to her and emitting the piercing scream that the aliens used to point out humans. Nancy is now alone and helpless.
  • Richard Fleischer's 1973 film Soylent Green, based on the novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. In an overpopulated New York City of the year 2022, a detective investigating the murder of a corporate food magnate stumbles across the secret of a new foodstuff that feeds the masses: cannibalism; the bodies of the dead and of criminals are reprocessed into the food (ostensibly made from plankton), "Soylent Green." The final scene of the film featuring the badly injured and nearly dead detective yelling out "Soylent Green is people!" to a stunned crowd.
  • At the end of The Sting Johnny Hooker has apparently betrayed his ally, Henry Gondorff to the FBI. An enraged Gondorff shoots Hooker in the back, and FBI Agent Polk in turn shoots Gondorff. An enraged Polk tells Hooker's arch-enemy (and Polk's latest ally) police detective Snyder, to take from the area, crime boss Doyle Lonnigan, who has been conned throughout the story by Gondorff and Hooker. However, after Snyder and Lonnigan have left, it is all revealed to have been a huge setup to end the con. Polk and the "FBI" are more con men in on the scheme. A joyful Gondorff and Hooker walk away victorious.
  • In Ring, it is insinuated throughout the film that the way to end the curse is to free Samara's tormented spirit from the well. In the end, it is revealed that freeing her from the well, in fact, freed her ghost to spread the curse further.
  • In Saw, the person who we thought was a dead body was actually the killer the whole time.
  • In Saw II, the killer’s words to Detective Matthews turn out to be prophetically—and ironically—true: “Jigsaw” informs Matthews that Matthews’s son will be returned to him if he sits and talks with the killer for a short while. In the end, it is revealed that the detective’s son had been locked in a safe in the room the entire time—which opened after a predetermined amount of time passed. Unfortunately for Detective Matthews, however, he had already left the building with the killer, intending to force him to release his son to him. Matthews then finds himself trapped, helpless, much like Adam was at the end of the first film.
  • The Prestige concludes with the revelation that one supposedly dead character is actually two people.

Influential styles

Film noir, a genre of film from the forties and fifties often derived from hard boiled novels, usually features a detective trying to solve a mystery that often leads to a surprising revelation. These films are very psychological in nature, drawing heavily on Freudianism as its underlying psychology. Noirs also featured the themes of existentialism, alienation and paranoia. Also, the genre usually incorporated very complex narrative structure that would serve as a precursor to the non-linear psychological thrillers of today. Such popular examples include Murder, My Sweet and Black Angel.[20]

The German film genre Krimi was a style of film very influential on the Italian giallo. This genre were films based on the works of British mystery writer Edgar Wallace and features the motif of a masked killer who, after investigations by either the police or a private investigator, is unmasked at the film's climax. This style is very similar to Italian giallos as they too usually featured the same story format.[21]

The Italian film genre Giallo incorporates crime, mystery, suspense, and horror genres. The narratives often feature the literary device called a red herring that is meant to lead the viewer astray from the real truth by making what is not the answer appear to be so, which makes the final revelation all the more effective. The genre also usually features the motif of multiple personality, where protagonists search for the killer without knowing that they themselves are the killers for whom they are searching.[22]

J-Horror, along with K-Horror and the entire Asian horror film genre, often incorporates classical horror elements along with complex and psychological plots. The films often feature a ghostly figure who is unable to rest because of a trauma in his or her past life. The main characters, who themselves are being tormented by these ghosts, often investigate the reason for these hauntings with the revelation not coming until the film's final reels. This revelation will place meaning to many of the images and sounds the viewer witnesses throughout the film. However, often these films feature a more complex and clever twist ending, whether it be that the characters themselves are dead, the characters are seeing fabrications of their own minds rather than ghosts, or the film is left open for interpretation.[23]

Surrealist films attempt to manifest elements of the unconscious mind onto the screen through visual imagery. Often, film directors incorporate surrealism into a traditional narrative, making it difficult for the viewer to determine what is actually happening within the story and what are purely psychological manifestations. These films often feature inexplicable events that occur within the framework of the linear story, making the audience attempt to understand the meaning of these occurrences. Often, these films feature ambiguous endings that make the viewer question the reality of the situation on the film; whether if the entire story that they have just witnessed is in fact purely psychological and factious. Unconventional director David Lynch is often associated with these type of films, while other more "mainstream" examples would include Fight Club, The Machinist and A Beautiful Mind.

Directors often associated with twist endings

  • Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is famous for his recurring use of the "twist" device within his films. The most notable of these, The Sixth Sense, has influenced various works of film and literature with its startling revelation. It has now become expected of Shyamalan always to incorporate a twist ending into his narratives, thus creating a bias within the viewer. Before the release of his most recent movie, Lady in the Water, Shyamalan made a point of telling the media that the movie would not have a twist ending.
  • Writer-director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is similar to Lynch in that he too delves in surrealism and features ambiguous and unexpected denouements, with Cure being his best known example. The director deliberately leaves out information from his films to leave it open to audience for interpretations.
  • Writer-director Shinya Tsukamoto is again a very cerebral and surreal filmmaker. His films, such as Tetsuo, feature unexpected revelations and imagery that makes the viewer question the reality of the entire film. His films may at first appear to be nonsensical and confusing, but the visuals are in fact manifestations of the character's inner psyche and all have a specific meaning. It is up to the audience to place the pieces together to reveal the startling answer.
  • Director Takashi Miike, a cult favorite director, is notorious for concluding his films with what seems to be deliberately ambiguous or unsatisfying endings. However, the subsequent discussions about the meaning of these endings has added to his cult status. Often, his endings are totally different in tone to the rest of the film and seem to be random and out of place. Most famously is Miike's Dead or Alive which for the entire duration is a gritty Yakuza crime drama, but suddenly ends on a cartoonish, apocalyptic, and fantastical ending. Other examples include Gozu and Audition.
  • Director Alfred Hitchcock is often associated with 'twist endings' even though very few of his films are known to feature twists and in some films, like Vertigo, are revealed much earlier than the end, though some would consider the legendary ironic end to be a twist. Other films in his canon which feature unexpected revelations are most often his psychological mysteries, such as Rebecca, Spellbound, and Marnie. However, he is most famous for the twist ending in his film Psycho.
  • Director Brian DePalma's psychological thrillers are often cited as being heavily influenced by Hitchcock, with DePalma's narratives often being similar in structure and theme as Hitchcock's. However, DePalma also has made several mainstream efforts such as the complex paranoia thriller Mission: Impossible. His films often conclude upon a surprise denouncement where the protagonist often misperceives an event and draws the wrong conclusions. Films with such a twist ending include Body Double, Dressed to Kill, and Obsession, which all pay an obvious homage to Hitchcock.
  • Terry Gilliam is often known for his films having twist endings. In Brazil, Sam Lowry has seemingly escaped the twisted, repressive bureaucracy in the totalitarian future he inhabits. However, as he rides off into a lush, stylized countryside, it is revealed that this "reality" is merely a fantasy he has created the moment his mind cracked under torture. Gilliam, however, has noted that the twist ending can sometimes leave a film on a more optimistic ending [citation needed].
  • Director Dario Argento is known to be a prolific worker within the giallo genre, and often is accredited to have done the best work within that genre. His films has caused a great impact within the horror genre and many other giallo films has used Argento's films as models with which to build their films upon. His films feature many of the motfis common to the genre, including red herrings, a psychologically complex plot, and such story elements as schizophrenia and gender confusion, all which work together to create often surprising twist endings to his films. Such films to contain startling revelations include Deep Red and Tenebrae.
  • Writers James Wan and Leigh Whannell are best known for their work on the Saw film series as well as Dead Silence. The films are noted for each having twist endings that shock audiences with their unpredictability.

Twist ending in television

Alfred Hitchcock Presents screen image

In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, there were many anthology series of suspense that were shown each week featuring a half hour story. Many of the episodes on these shows included a twist ending. The most notable of these series are The Twilight Zone (e.g. "To Serve Man") and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (e.g. "Lamb to the Slaughter").

There also has been a strong presence of murder-mystery shows that features a detective attempting to solve a baffling crime. Usually, the episode features a single mystery that leads to a twist ending where the culprit is revealed at the show's climax. The most notable examples of this are Murder, She Wrote and Ellery Queen.

One of the most famous instances of a twist ending occurred in the final episode of Newhart. At the end of the episode, the protagonist is struck by a golf ball and knocked unconscious. He then wakes up in bed - that is, the bed from his previous show, The Bob Newhart Show, next to his wife from that series. The entire show had apparently been a dream of his previous character.

In recent years, more and more ongoing television dramas are employing the "twist" device, sometimes using them nearly every episode. 24 would use the twist device to end each episode on a cliffhanger, causing audience members to return next week to find out what will happen next (In a different type of twist, Season One caused a twist ending by cutting from Teri Bauer in a heightened intensity situation, only to reveal at the end that she had been shot and killed). Later, in Season Five when it was revealed that President Charles Logan (24 character) was behind the terrorist attacks in a twist ending, the character became a fan favorite. Nina Myers, Jack's season one partner experienced heightened fan attention after her similar twist ending at the 23rd hour of Day One. Her character had to be killed off as this attention was causing restlessness with other storylines amongst the audience.

Lost would have a twist revealing something about the featured character in each episode, like Hurley's imaginary friend at the asylum (Dave), Locke having actually been in a wheelchair until he landed on the island or major characters being shockingly killed off in the final moments of the show (e.g. Ana-Lucia, Libby, and Eko).

Prison Break frequently uses twist endings to episodes, and goes so far as to end nearly every episode on some kind of twist and/or cliffhanger (similar to 24). In the first season, these twists were usually a newly developed problem with the escape plan. In the second season, they have had more to do with a revelation of a character's secrets or intentions (several such twists have revolved around Alexander Mahone, a newer character). In addition, the series will leave audiences of a major twist cliffhanger before going on a hiatus (at the end of the first season the protagonists were seemingly surrounded by police, and before going on a winter hiatus the series' primary villain switched sides and began helping the protagonists).

Twist ending in video games

Main article: Twist ending in video games

With video games becoming more cinematic, they occasionally employ twist endings. Examples of these are:

  • Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge: LeChuck, the main antagonist, is revealed to be Guybrush Threepwood's brother in a scene reminiscent of the twist ending of The Empire Strikes Back.
  • Phantasy Star II: The villains are shown to be Terrans.
  • Metroid: Upon beating the game , the hero would take off "his" space suit/armor, and reveal that Samus Aran was, in fact, a woman.
  • Second Sight: In this game that played upon the notion of dreams but in a parapsychological context, the player is led to believe that for the most part they are controlling the character John Vattic in the present and are periodically experiencing flashbacks which somehow have a contradictory effect on events in the present; it is ultimately revealed that the "present" was in fact the future as seen by Vattic and the "flashbacks" were the present.
  • Mortal Kombat: Deception: After Shujinko spends half of his life collecting Kamidogu for "Damashi" who has claimed to be an ally of the Elder Gods reveals himself to be Onaga the Dragon King in disguise.
  • Knights of the Old Republic: During the game, it is told to the player that two powerful Sith called Revan and Malak had left the Jedi order in search of the legendary star forge. As the player progresses he learns more about the relationship between Revan, Malak and the characters, up to the point where he realises he is Revan, but had lost his memory.
  • Silent Hill 2: The protagonist is revealed to have killed his wife, rather than her dying as a result of her disease.
  • Iron Storm: After the protagonist kills the last boss, the game ends with a televised Russian news report, telling the Russian public that Ugenberg has been killed by Allied soldiers, and that the war will continue in memory of his name.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game): When the player defeats Solaris, a flashback is shown of Princess Elise and her father admiring the flames of disaster. The scene then cuts to Sonic and Elise standing by the flames. Elise blows out the flames, causing a massive time paradox. As a result, the game then reverts back to the beginning.
  • Diablo II: In Act I Marius is visited by the archangel Tyrael, but at the end of the game "Tyrael" is revealed to actually be Baal.
  • The Black Mirror: The main character Samuel Gordon is searching for the murderer of his grandfather, only to find out he did it himself while being possessed by an evil spirit (presumably the devil).
  • Shadow of the Colossus: The main character goes on a quest to defeat 16 evil beings known as the Colossi so that he can release a benevolent life-giving spirit who was imprisoned by them. At the climax of the game it turns out the Colossi are good and they imprisoned the spirit because it was evil.[citation needed]
  • In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess it is discovered over the course of the game that the seemingly-main villain, Zant, is in fact a puppet of Ganon, a villain of past games in the series.
  • In Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time all the game you play is a story told by the Prince. In the end of the game, the time turns back to the beginning of the game, so the Prince can save the world.

See also

Literary devices and techniques

Genres


References

Notes

  1. ^ WordReference.com - Red Herring
  2. ^ Janra, Common plot errors: deus ex machina, Write On!
  3. ^ John MacFarlane, "Aristotle's Definition of Anagnorisis." American Journal of Philology - Volume 121, Number 3 (Whole Number 483), Fall 2000, pp. 367-383.
  4. ^ Adrienne Redd, Nonlinear films and the anticausality of Mulholland Dr., Prose Toad Literary Blog
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