More so than most other movie genres, thrillers are often judged based on their climaxes. A powerful ending can make or break a thriller. Since the genre is all about suspense and excitement, the ending is important as it offers a chance to pay off the tension of the entire movie. If a thriller’s ending misses the mark, the tension can dissipate without any kind of cathartic release.
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Many of the best thriller movies of all time are only held in such high regard because they wrap things up so perfectly. Thrillers often use twist endings, and these can be especially risky. Other thrillers try to leave their audiences with one last action sequence to provide a counterpoint to the preceding tension. Whatever technique is chosen, a good thriller can leave a lasting impression. Unfortunately, there are just as many thrillers with underwhelming endings that leave audiences disappointed.
10 Iconic: Psycho (1960)
Psycho’s Twist Changed The Entire Genre
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10/10 9.7/10 Psycho
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*Availability in US Director Alfred Hitchcock Release Date September 8, 1960 Cast Janet Leigh , Martin Balsam , Anthony Perkins , John Gavin , Vera Miles
Many of Alfred Hitchcock’s best movies feature great twist endings, and Psycho is one of the best examples of this. Hitchcock’s reputation as a master of the thriller genre is well deserved, partly because he always knew precisely how to toy with his audience’s expectations. The ending of Psycho reveals that Norman Bates is the real serial killer, rather than a sheepish man merely protecting his mother.
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Psycho
‘s twist ending works so well because Hitchcock gives the audience enough information beforehand to make them think they know what’s going on.
Psycho‘s twist ending works so well because Hitchcock gives the audience enough information beforehand to make them think they know what’s going on far better than the characters. In one moment, he reveals that this had all been a clever trick. The one divisive element of Psycho‘s ending is the didactic voice over which spells everything out right at the end. Hitchcock was against this heavy-handed piece of exposition, but the studio got their way in the end.
9 Fell Flat: The Village (2004)
M. Night Shyamalan’s Twists Can Be Hit-And-Miss
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9/10 The Village
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*Availability in US Director M. Night Shyamalan Release Date July 30, 2004 Cast Bryce Dallas Howard , Joaquin Phoenix , Adrien Brody , William Hurt , Sigourney Weaver , Brendan Gleeson
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M. Night Shyamalan is famous for his twist endings, so much so that audiences have begun to anticipate them whenever he makes a new movie. Some of these twists rank among the most shocking and satisfying in history, like in The Sixth Sense, for example. Unfortunately, Shyamalan has produced just as many twist endings that have baffled his audience, and The Village is one of them.
Some people that have found
The Village
‘s climax inadvertently funny, because it completely undermines the audience’s suspension of disbelief.
The Village looks like a period piece for most of its runtime, but the climax reveals that the events of the movie take place in the modern day, and that the village is merely an isolated off-the-grid commune. This bizarre reveal comes out of nowhere. While it has its fans, there are also people that have found The Village‘s climax inadvertently funny, because it completely undermines the audience’s suspension of disbelief.
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8 Iconic: Black Swan (2010)
Nina Gives One Perfect Performance Before Her Death
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8/10 10/10 Black Swan
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*Availability in US Director Darren Aronofsky Release Date December 3, 2010 Cast Natalie Portman , Mila Kunis , Vincent Cassel , Barbara Hershey , Winona Ryder , Benjamin Millepied
Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a modern masterpiece, perfectly capturing an era of psychological thrillers with the benefit of a career-best performance from Natalie Portman. The climax delivers a thought-provoking and exciting ending as Nina finally achieves the perfection she so desperately aspires to on stage, but she is revealed to have stabbed herself, rather than Lily.
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Black Swan‘s ending sums up the way that Aronofsky plays games with his audience. It’s often hard to tell what’s real and what’s merely being imagined in Black Swan. Even at the end, there are some lingering mysteries about Nina’s story. Since Lily seems like a reflection of Nina’s dark side – a black swan corrupting her pristine innocence – it’s unclear how many of her actions can be taken at face value.
7 Fell Flat: Shutter Island (2010)
Martin Scorsese’s Divisive Twist Ending Still Generates Discussion
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7/10 8.6/10 Shutter Island
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*Availability in US Director Martin Scorsese Release Date February 19, 2010 Cast Leonardo DiCaprio , Emily Mortimer , Mark Ruffalo , Ben Kingsley , Max Von Sydow , Michelle Williams , Patricia Clarkson , Jackie Earle Haley
Shutter Island is one of Martin Scorsese’s most divisive movies. Whether someone likes the movie or not will likely hinge on their feelings about the big twist ending. Scorsese sets up a thrilling mystery, but the execution of the third act doesn’t sit right with some people. After being brought onto the island to investigate the case of a missing patient, Teddy eventually discovers that he is also a patient, and that the entire investigation is an experimental role-play to indulge and thereby interrogate his delusions.
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The moment that Ben Kingsley’s character wheels out a chalkboard to explain the whole thing is enough to break the immersion of the movie.
Shutter Island‘s twist ending has its supporters, but it would be far more popular if it had been handled more deftly. Some people can see the twist coming from a mile away, since Teddy is clearly psychologically troubled throughout the story. Others have taken issue with the exposition dump that spells everything out. The moment that Ben Kingsley’s character wheels out a chalkboard to explain the whole thing is enough to break the immersion of the movie. It seems like Scorsese’s way of reaching through the screen and holding the audience’s hand.
6 Iconic: The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Clarice’s Showdown With Buffalo Bill Is A Breathtaking Finale
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9/10 8.3/10 The Silence of the Lambs
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*Availability in US Director jonathan demme Release Date February 14, 1991 Cast Jodie Foster , Anthony Hopkins , Scott Glenn , Ted Levine , Anthony Heald , Brooke Smith , Diane Baker , Kasi Lemmons
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The Silence of the Lambs gains a lot of its momentum from the fascinating dynamic between young FBI analyst Clarice Starling and the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter. While there’s always an element of danger to their interactions, as if Clarice is being lured deeper into some kind of nefarious trap, Hannibal is physically separated from her by prison bars. This makes the climax so thrilling, since Clarice finds herself trapped in Buffalo Bill’s house without anyone to protect her.
As Buffalo Bill flips the lights off to pursue his target, Jonathan Demme chooses some shots from his perspective.
Clarice’s investigation transforms from one of intellectual curiosity into one of potentially lethal danger in an instant. The execution of the scene helps highlight her sudden vulnerability. As Buffalo Bill flips the lights off to pursue his target, Jonathan Demme chooses some shots from his perspective. Looking down on a terrified Clarice, the audience is unable to help her, even when Bill’s arms seems to reach toward her from the camera.
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5 Fell Flat: Now You See Me (2013)
The Notorious Reveal About Agent Rhodes Makes Little Sense
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7/10 Now You See Me
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*Availability in US Director Louis Leterrier Release Date May 31, 2013 Cast Woody Harrelson , Mélanie Laurent , Jesse Eisenberg , Michael Caine , Dave Franco , Morgan Freeman , Common , Isla Fisher , Mark Ruffalo
The internal logic of Now You See Me can be a little difficult to pin down, with some fans questioning whether the magic of the Four Horsemen is real or just an illusion. The ending ultimately proves that internal logic is not the movie’s strong suit. With the reveal that FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes is actually the mastermind behind the Four Horsemen’s heists, Now You See Me loses all integrity.
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There are some ways that Now You See Me‘s twist could have worked, but it seems to come from absolutely nowhere. It also contradicts Agent Rhodes’ actions throughout the movie, as well as the emotions he displays in private. If Rhodes had really been supporting the Four Horsemen, he shouldn’t have left their escape up to pure luck. Now You See Me 3 will need to pair the franchise’s fun magic tricks with a more tightly-scripted story if it’s going to win over critics.
4 Iconic: Se7en (1995)
David Fincher’s Movie Endings Never Disappoint
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8/10 8.7/10 Se7en
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*Availability in US Director David Fincher Release Date September 22, 1995 Cast Brad Pitt , Gwyneth Paltrow , John C. McGinley , Morgan Freeman , Kevin Spacey
David Fincher’s best movies showcase his skills as a modern master of the thriller genre, and he has a particular talent for powerful movie endings. Zodiac, Fight Club and Gone Girl also have shocking endings which leave the audience with a lot to think about. Se7en came before all of these, and the climax could still be Fincher’s most intense and deftly orchestrated one almost 30 years later.
Zodiac, Fight Club
and
Gone Girl
also have shocking endings which leave the audience with a lot to think about.
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Se7en follows two detectives as they hunt down a serial killer who poses his victims to evoke the Bible’s Seven Deadly Sins. Ultimately, they find John Doe with two sins left unaccounted for, but this all plays into his final gambit. Se7en‘s climactic showdown benefits from some great performances all round. Fincher’s choice to shoot parts of the scene from a helicopter whirring above the action is an inspired one, as it mirrors the religious themes of the finale.
3 Fell Flat: Us (2019)
Jordan Peele’s Sophomore Effort Divided Audiences
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Us
Director Jordan Peele Release Date March 22, 2019 Cast Lupita Nyong’o , Winston Duke , Elisabeth Moss , Tim Heidecker
Us is more popular among critics than audiences, and this is best illustrated by the gulf between its two Rotten Tomatoes scores. The Tomatometer gives it a 91% score, but the Popcornmeter – which measures audience reactions – has it at just 61%. Get Out was always going to be a tough act to follow, and Us doesn’t help its case with a climax that feels like a let-down after some intriguing groundwork.
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The ending of
Us
raises more questions about the nature of the Tethered, and not all of these questions are the good kind.
The ending of Us provides answers to some of the movie’s strange mysteries, and it reveals that Adelaide also grew up as one of the Tethered before switching places with the human version of herself. This just raises more questions about the nature of the Tethered, and not all of these questions are the good kind. The exposition-heavy way that Us reveals all this information is also a little underwhelming.
2 Iconic: The Third Man (1949)
The Sewer Chase Is Still Just As Exciting
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10/10 The Third Man
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*Availability in US Director Carol Reed Release Date February 1, 1950 Cast Orson Welles , Joseph Cotten , Alida Valli , Trevor Howard , Paul Hörbiger
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Orson Welles shows up around halfway through The Third Man and completely steals the show. As the dangerous con artist Harry Lime, Welles exudes a potent sense of unpredictability. He may not have directed The Third Man, but his performance is one reason why it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his best movies. The Third Man cements its status as a classic thriller with a stunning chase scene through the sewers underneath Vienna.
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The framing, lighting and pacing of the sewer chase mark The Third Man as a film noir masterpiece. It’s an utterly breathless climax that feels like it could go either way. The frantic nature of the chase shows that people aren’t too far removed from animals, which is something Harry himself alludes to earlier. For all Harry’s brilliant games and diversions, he is forced to sprint through the darkness in a desperate attempt to stay alive.
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1 Fell Flat: I Am Legend (2007)
I Am Legend’s Alternate Ending Saves The Whole Movie
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6/10 5/10 I Am Legend
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*Availability in US Director Francis Lawrence Release Date December 14, 2007 Cast Willow Smith , Salli Richardson-Whitfield , Will Smith , Alice Braga , Charlie Tahan
I Am Legend‘s ending is so notoriously disappointing that the upcoming I Am Legend sequel is choosing to ignore it completely. Fortunately, there’s an alternative ending that is more accurate to Richard Matheson’s 1964 novel which will be treated as canonical. The ending isn’t the only part of I Am Legend which diverts from the source material, but it’s the most egregious change.
I Am Legend
‘s ending is so notoriously disappointing that the upcoming
I Am Legend
sequel is choosing to ignore it completely.
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The theatrical ending of I Am Legend misses out on the interesting genre subversion in the climax of the book. Instead, it turns the entire story into a rather generic zombie horror movie, with the Darkseekers acting just like zombies in any other movie. The ending also fails to deliver the kind of emotional impact that the closing monologue seems to insist upon. The alternative ending isn’t universally popular, but it’s certainly more original.
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