# Movies which surprised you.



## Hannibal King (Nov 18, 2005)

Does anyone recall the last movie that you watched and didn't see the ending/big reveal/plot twist etc, coming?
Me, the only one I can think of, and it's a single scene not the ending, is Deep Blue Sea when the shark jumps out of the water and eats Mace Windu . Didn't see that coming.

HK


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Nov 18, 2005)

Serenity.

I don't think I need to say anything but that, really.


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## Dark Jezter (Nov 18, 2005)

Probably Terminator 3.  Just when you think they're about to stop Skynet and prevent Judgement Day, it turns out that they're actually in bomb shelter, and then when the radios start coming to life reporting the nuclear attacks... it felt like an episode of the Outer Limits.


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## wingsandsword (Nov 18, 2005)

Donnie Darko.

Of course, since the non-directors-cut version omits a lot of scenes the movie needs to make sense, it's hard to see the end coming (or know what it was when it happens).  

But how the movie is essentially a time travel story about a teen who has to save the world by following the guidance of somebody in a bunny suit he will kill in a month's time to allow himself to die to save the world by preventing everything almost the entire events of the movie from happening in the first place.  I didn't see that one coming early on when it just seemed like a slightly surreal story of a somewhat disturbed teenager.


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## stevelabny (Nov 18, 2005)

Those three are all good choices. (Deep Blue Sea, Serenity, Terminator 3)

So many recent movies have been novel / comic book adaptations or remakes, so its even harder to be surprised.


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## Frostmarrow (Nov 18, 2005)

Mindhunters: Christian Slater is the hero!


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## Joker (Nov 18, 2005)

Frostmarrow said:
			
		

> Mindhunters: Christian Slater is the hero!




Because he was the first to die  .


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## Skrit (Nov 18, 2005)

Saw - This was sort of a surprize of how it ended. I mean you thought you knew who Saw was about three different times in the movie. Sort of similar to "Ohh He's saw... Wait no it's that guy... OMG IT"S HIM!!"

12 Monkeys - You knew the ending a bit before it happened but it was still a Different ending.


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## Klaus (Nov 18, 2005)

Event Horizon. I wen tin expecting an Alien-type movie, not a Lovecraftian haunted spaceship movie.


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## Hand of Evil (Nov 18, 2005)

Really going to have to look up the name of the movie: it started Bob Hoskins and Robin Williams and some others, it was a period peace (WW1) about mad bombers...Robin Williams walking throught the crowd at the end gave me chills!

Josph Conrad: The Secret Agent - http://www.amctv.com/show/detail?CID=56442-1-EST




> Bob Hoskins leads an outstanding ensemble cast in this story of espionage gone awry, a dramatic adaptation of the classic novel by Joseph Conrad. Verloc (Hoskins) is a nondescript Soho shopkeeper who moonlights as a double agent for both the Russian government and the London police. He lives above the shop with his loyal wife (Patricia Arquette) and her retarded brother (Christian Bale), while conducting meetings with fellow anarchists in his basement, among them the wily Ossipon (Gerard Depardieu). When the Russian embassy secretary (Eddie Izzard) suggests that Verloc bomb the Royal Observatory, Verloc contracts the services of an explosives expert (Robin Williams) and sends his life spiraling downward.


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## WayneLigon (Nov 18, 2005)

I almost _never _ figure out the ending or 'see it coming' unless it's a purposely formulaic horror film and even then there are films that surprise me. Probably the last time I kinda-sorta figured it out was 'The Usual Suspects', mainly because of Verbal saying 'I doubt you'll ever see him again' - that meant that Soze was probably one of them. 

I really have a very hard time beleiving some claims I see people make about 'Yeah, I had it all figured out five minutes into the film'.


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## Flexor the Mighty! (Nov 18, 2005)

Well I never saw the twist in Empire Strikes Back coming.  My poor 7 year old head nearly exploded when it was revealed.


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## JimAde (Nov 18, 2005)

The Sixth Sense.  Absolutely did not see it coming.


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## Wombat (Nov 18, 2005)

Hannibal King said:
			
		

> Me, the only one I can think of, and it's a single scene not the ending, is Deep Blue Sea when the shark jumps out of the water and eats Mace Windu ...Didn't see that coming.




Sadly, I cheered that scene ... the only movie I ever wanted Samuel Jackson to shut up in...    Obviously not a fave-rave movie of mine...

When I was a kid _The Sting_ surprised me, but that was back in the original release.  And _Sixth Sense_ I figured out in the opening sequence ... and then talked myself out of the explanation again!  So I both figured it out and then didn't, so when it came around again, I was shocked.  Crazy, no?    

And then there is the ending of the tv series _The Prisoner_ ... still not sure if I will ever really understand it.


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## reveal (Nov 18, 2005)

Saw
The Others
The Usual Suspects
Serenity


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## Capellan (Nov 18, 2005)

I fully expected Samuel L Jackson to get eaten when he did in _Deep Blue Sea_, actually.

Saffron Burrowes's death, on the other hand, caught me off guard.

_Assault on Precinct 13_ also surprised me when, after she miraculously survives a car crash, the love interest of the main character gets shot in the face out of hand by the bad guys.


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## Tonguez (Nov 18, 2005)

Closer - Natalie Portman


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## JimAde (Nov 18, 2005)

Jerry Maguire.  I was surprised to see that Tom Cruise can actually act on occasion.


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## Henry (Nov 18, 2005)

The Sixth Sense - I didn't catch it until the end, and amazingly everyone around me intentionally kept the secret, insisting I see it. I thought it was pretty good.

Serenity - I did not see "The Big One" coming. The last actual shock-scene I have seen in a movie to date.


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## Nebulous (Nov 18, 2005)

I must be the only person who didn't really like Serenity that much.

How about when Charlie Sheen gets killed in Young Guns? Didn't see that coming.


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## Hand of Evil (Nov 18, 2005)

Tonguez said:
			
		

> Closer - Natalie Portman



 got to agree


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## Larcen (Nov 18, 2005)

Hannibal King said:
			
		

> Does anyone recall the last movie that you watched and didn't see the ending/big reveal/plot twist etc, coming?
> Me, the only one I can think of, and it's a single scene not the ending, is Deep Blue Sea when the shark jumps out of the water and eats Mace Windu . Didn't see that coming.
> 
> HK




I saw that scene coming.  In fact, the whole movie was silly and predictable, IMHO.



			
				JimAde said:
			
		

> Jerry Maguire.  I was surprised to see that Tom Cruise can actually act on occasion.




Eh??  The Cruiser is a God among actors.  There is no question that the dude is 200% committed to all his films, and it shows.

Movie that surprised me:  "Maze".  I watched it to see more of Laura Linney, and boy did I ever.   Damn skippy.   

Oh wait.  You meant a plot twist type of surprise....


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## Angel Tarragon (Nov 18, 2005)

Return of the King. Never read the book before so when Frodo wanted to keep the ring I flipped. Glad to see that it did get destroyed though.


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## sniffles (Nov 18, 2005)

The Sixth Sense, definitely. I didn't have a clue. And the shock scene in Serenity definitely surprised me, not so much what happened as who it happened to.


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## Chain Lightning (Nov 18, 2005)

sniffles said:
			
		

> The Sixth Sense, definitely. I didn't have a clue. And the shock scene in Serenity definitely surprised me, not so much what happened as who it happened to.





Okay, what scene is everyone referring to? To me, I'm thinking there's probably like two things that would surprise the watcher of the original series. Trying to think of which one you guys are talking about.


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## Henry (Nov 18, 2005)

Clue: "Leaf on the wind."


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## reveal (Nov 18, 2005)

Chain Lightning said:
			
		

> Okay, what scene is everyone referring to? To me, I'm thinking there's probably like two things that would surprise the watcher of the original series. Trying to think of which one you guys are talking about.




"I am a leaf on the wind"


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## WayneLigon (Nov 18, 2005)

Wombat said:
			
		

> And then there is the ending of the tv series _The Prisoner_ ... still not sure if I will ever really understand it.




I don't think anyone is supposed to   Interesting enough, I have seen two seperate endings to that; I have no idea how that could happen since I'd assume they'd work off the same prints. it totally changes the series, though. The one I saw had a longer sequence on the vehicle leaving the Village and then on the highway to London (I presume). The ending was where he walks into his own townhouse, which has a '1' above the door. The door, when it opens, makes the same weird sound all the doors in the Village made. The assumption I've heard is that not only is he now 'Number One' but _always has been_.


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## Angel Tarragon (Nov 18, 2005)

Elton John's Candle In The Wind?


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## buzzard (Nov 18, 2005)

Bummer, somebody already got my standout from Assault on Precint 13. Also the twist in T3 is why I actually thought that movie was in some ways the best of the series. 

Also, the twist in Total Recall is pretty unexpected one has to admit. 

buzzard


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## lissilambe (Nov 18, 2005)

It's funny, because the Sixth Sense caught me by surprise, and I figured it out just the same. Never had a movie experience like that before, I tell you.

There I was, with my friend watching the film. And it got to the point where Willis is talking to the kid after the play, and the kid says his line and my eyes bugged out as it all clicked. And I kept trying to tell myself that can't be the case, and I ran through the whole movie and I just shook my head. My friend stared at me, and I just said, "Shh..watch. YOu'll see."

Then the ending and I just couldn't believe I was right. I loved it. One of my favorite movie experiences, actually. 

SInce then, I can't think of a movie I've seen that's given me a surprise ending. If something comes up, I'll post again. Fun thread 

Take care,
Don


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## Crothian (Nov 18, 2005)

I'll go old school with Kansas City Confidential, DOA, and Inner Sanctum.


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## Joker (Nov 18, 2005)

Crothian said:
			
		

> I'll go old school with Kansas City Confidential, DOA, and Inner Sanctum.




I'll go older school :  Citizen Kane.


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## Joker (Nov 18, 2005)

Chain Lightning said:
			
		

> Okay, what scene is everyone referring to? To me, I'm thinking there's probably like two things that would surprise the watcher of the original series. Trying to think of which one you guys are talking about.




What would the other one be?


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## Plane Sailing (Nov 18, 2005)

The one that caught me with *every*single*twist* was Fathom (1967) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061653/

I was caught by surprise in Serenity as others had mentioned.

The twist at the end of unbreakable caught me by surprise, plus the true identity of Keyse Sose in Usual Suspects, and the death of the android and surprise appearance of the queen in Aliens. I'm sure that there are lots of others, but those are the ones that instantly stand out.

Cheers


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## Plane Sailing (Nov 18, 2005)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> Return of the King. Never read the book before so when Frodo wanted to keep the ring I flipped. Glad to see that it did get destroyed though.




So cool to hear you say that! I seem to recall it was a bit of a shocker for me when I originally read the book some 30 years ago(!) but it must have been great to see it like that at the movies!


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## Klaus (Nov 18, 2005)

JimAde said:
			
		

> The Sixth Sense.  Absolutely did not see it coming.



 Ditto.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Nov 18, 2005)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> Return of the King. Never read the book before so when Frodo wanted to keep the ring I flipped. Glad to see that it did get destroyed though.




*envy* *envy* *envy*


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## AIM-54 (Nov 19, 2005)

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> I don't think anyone is supposed to   Interesting enough, I have seen two seperate endings to that; I have no idea how that could happen since I'd assume they'd work off the same prints. it totally changes the series, though. The one I saw had a longer sequence on the vehicle leaving the Village and then on the highway to London (I presume). The ending was where he walks into his own townhouse, which has a '1' above the door. The door, when it opens, makes the same weird sound all the doors in the Village made. The assumption I've heard is that not only is he now 'Number One' but _always has been_.




Huh.  I've only seen the other one, but that's definitely a cool ending.  I love The Prisoner.  It's one of my favorite TV shows of all time.

Hard for me to add much more, as all the big ones I've seen have been mentioned...those being:

Serenity
Citizen Kane (good call Joker!)
Twelve Monkeys

Also, just thought of Equilibrium, just because of the final battle with Taye Diggs' character...it went way faster than I expected...otherwise, fairly predictable.


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## Darthjaye (Nov 19, 2005)

Shattered- Tom Berenger-great surprise ending.  

Fight Club- just when you think it's a typical fight movie it throws a left hook at you.

The Game- Michael Douglas gets severely mind screwed in this one.

it's rare that you find movies that can truely surprise you these days, but when you do, and the script is good, it's the best.


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## Hannibal King (Nov 19, 2005)

Shattered. Funny, a friend saw it before me and was surprised and bet I wouldn't see the ending coming but I figured it halfway through the movie because of the verbal and visual clues before the 'surprise' scene occured.

Yeah didn't see Sixth Sense coming, nor Unbreakable. The appearance of the Alien at the end in Signs made me go "Holy %$@#!"


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## Knightfall (Nov 21, 2005)

Another vote for...

The Sixth Sense
The Others (just creepy)

More recently...

Crash
Four Brothers
Serenity


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## TheAuldGrump (Nov 21, 2005)

Sixth Sense.

And in a completely different way Pirates of the Caribean - twice! First by not sucking, then by turning out to be really good! 

The Auld Grump


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## trancejeremy (Nov 21, 2005)

The ending of "Infernal Affairs". While I suspect something like that was going to happen, it was so incredibly sudden, it caught me off guard. 

The ending of the House on Haunted Hill (or whatever it's called, the one with the guy from Pirates of the Carribean dressed up to look like James Woods). I was amazed (and pleased) that Taye Diggs survived the movie. Because while it's a cliche, it's one of those cliches that seems to be true. Except in that movie. Which was nice.


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## Testament (Nov 21, 2005)

The Sixth Sense.  One of the greatest twists ever.
Event Horizon.  Not just another sci-fi film, and it succeeded in scaring me senseless.
The Others.
The Usual Suspects


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## iwatt (Nov 21, 2005)

_From Dusk till Dawn_.

I was at the mall with a friend and decided o see a movie. We looked at what was playing and asw that there was a Tarantino (with Salma Hayek as well    ) flick, so we just wlaked in. hadn't seen any trailers and  didn't even look to closely at the movie poster.

I just flipped out when the movie changed from what I though would be a cool road movie into a vampire slaying extravaganza.    Made me glad I'd avoided any mention of that movie before.


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## Dragonmarked DM (Nov 21, 2005)

The ending of Star Wars Episode III, I never saw Anikan turning to the dark side  ,...........er...um.... okay, my real vote is for the movie Fallen with Denzal Washington when we we find out who the narrator has really been throughtout the movie.


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## Maggan (Nov 21, 2005)

Sixth Sense is one of my favourite movies ever. I figured out the twist before I saw the movie, because everyone was saying "it's such a twist, you won't believe it!" so I said "what, is this the twist?" and hey presto, rob stronginthearm is your uncle!

But, the same twist in Jacobs' Ladder totally knocked me off my feet! A really surprising end to a truly creepy movie.

Also, imagine my surprise when I saw The Matrix! I didn't know anything about the movie, and had missed the hype, and was totally bowled over.

A friend of mine once said "The Usual Suspects is a great movie! I couldn't believe that the .... was the BBEG!". And I hadn't seen the movie yet.    

Also No way out with Kevin Costner. Holy crabapple! That's one mean twist of the tale!

/M


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## Klaus (Nov 21, 2005)

I had totally forgot No Way Out and The Others!

Those two blew me away!


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## Gantros (Nov 21, 2005)

Seven.  Every time you thought it couldn't get more disturbing, it found a new way to shock you, and the ending was the worst shock of all.


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## Arnwyn (Nov 21, 2005)

Off the top of my head:

- Citizen Kane
- The Matrix (went first day, and expected a "hacker" movie... totally blew my mind)
- Serenity
- Twelve Monkeys
- Sixth Sense
- Empire Strikes Back
- The Usual Suspects


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## Testament (Nov 22, 2005)

Dragonmarked DM said:
			
		

> The ending of Star Wars Episode III, I never saw Anikan turning to the dark side  ,...........er...um.... okay, my real vote is for the movie Fallen with Denzal Washington when we we find out who the narrator has really been throughtout the movie.




Damn, how could I forget Fallen?

"Let me tell you about the time I almost died..."


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## DreadPirateMurphy (Nov 22, 2005)

I walked into _Silence of the Lambs_ completely ignorant.  I had no idea what it was about, other than it was supposed to be good.  I also am generally not a fan of horror films...  Not only was the content a shock, but the fact that it was a great film also threw me for a loop.

Also, more votes for Serenity and the Sixth Sense.


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## Conaill (Nov 22, 2005)

Another "ditto" for Sixth Sense.

My second prize goes to a movie I fel is quite underrated: Angel Heart. Mickey Rourke plays a private eye in Louisiana, hired by a very creepy Robert De Niro to track down a singer called Johnny Favorite. Turns out dear Johnny made a contract with the devil and tried to weasel his way out of it. I'm usually really good at seeing plot twists coming an hour or more ahead of time, but the twist at the end of this one did catch my by surprise. 

Ooh, another one. Almost forgot, even though it's my favorite movie. Guess I've seen it so often that I forgot about the surprise I felt the first time I saw this one:

*Brazil*

Probably *the* best Terry Gilliam movie. Has a great bittersweet twist all the way at the end (well, definitely way more bitter than sweet). Unfortunately, the idiots at Universal studios decided to cut off the twist for the US television release, ending in the "Love Conquers All" happy ending. Aargh!! 

If you think Brazil has a happy ending and/or didn't make sense in the end, please do yourself a favor and go rent the original version!


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Nov 22, 2005)

Gantros said:
			
		

> Seven.  Every time you thought it couldn't get more disturbing, it found a new way to shock you, and the ending was the worst shock of all.



Seven is a good example of a suprising movie for me - it's not that I at least partially predicted the end (though that was close to the end already), but from the beginning of the movie, I didn't expect anything else than a standard "serial killer search" plot (I just expected a good execution of the concept...)


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## Plane Sailing (Nov 22, 2005)

I've just remembered another movie which had a neat surprise the first time I saw it. 

Terminator.

No, really! When it got blown up in the tanker, and you saw stuff burning and falling apart etc, it really seemed like the classic end of the movie. Then it. got. up. again. Tres creepy.


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## Harmon (Nov 23, 2005)

Serenity was the last one that took my breath away.

I have a hard time not figuring out that big surprise at the end (Sixth Sense, everyone always say that one got them, but I thought it was obvious).

Usual Suspects was kinda cool, though a few minutes before I was thinking- "He can't be the villian, what did he plan this years ago?  Nah."  Course, I was wrong.


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## Joker (Nov 23, 2005)

American History X.  That last scene was perfectly edited.


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## Harmon (Nov 24, 2005)

Joker said:
			
		

> American History X.  That last scene was perfectly edited.




Great movie!  I have only seen it once, but I loved the element of change in the characters.  The ending kinda sucked, but in the long run it makes more difference to the growth of those that survived.


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## Aust Diamondew (Nov 25, 2005)

Joker said:
			
		

> American History X.  That last scene was perfectly edited.



 End always makes me wondering what the protagonist ends up doing afterward.  Something to think about.


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## Joker (Nov 25, 2005)

The problem I'm facing when deciding which movies surprised me is that I can't exactly remember if the first time I saw them I was surpised.

I'm looking at my DVD collection right now and I'm wondering:  Did the end of Screamers surprise me or did I already have an idea of what was going to happen?  I'm pretty sure Old Boy blew the Holy Mother of Buddha out of me but maybe if I think back I picked up some clues.

Anyway, something I know I was surprised by was the speech Charlie Chaplin gave at the end of the Great Dictator.  It was a speech about peace and "can't we all just get along?" and such things but he did it with such sincerity, for lack of a better word, that I didn't feel at all uncomfortable listening to it.  I usually wince at such speeches by certain "people" but this was just done well.


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## Viking Bastard (Nov 26, 2005)

I just finished watching _The Emperor's Club_, starring Kevin Kline, on TV.

I have not been so surprised by a movie for a very long time. For the first third of the
movie it was pretty much like any other Brilliant Teacher Discovers Brilliant Student 
movie. Then it gets kinda sidetracked, but I was sure it would get back to it's cliche
roots and it seemed that it was going to. I wasn't displeased. I enjoyed it for what I
thought it was.

Then _BLAM_!

No siree. Good flick.


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## The Serge (Nov 27, 2005)

_Se7en_.  Didn't see the end coming, but it was one of the best in cinema.

_The Pledge_.  Another one that I didn't see coming.  Although it was a good ending, I really hated it.  A lot.


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## Aaron L (Nov 27, 2005)

Unbreakable.


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## Barendd Nobeard (Nov 28, 2005)

*Rebecca*.  What a twist--two of them, in fact.

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...."


And believe it or not, an episode of "Happy Days" runined *Psycho* for me.


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## Kesh (Nov 28, 2005)

I had _Sixth Sense_ figured out before I ever saw the movie. Ticked off my friends when I guessed the ending. 

_Unbreakable_, though, blindsided me. I saw where it was going in the beginning, then thought to myself "Nah, he's not going to do that." So, I convinced myself it wasn't going there... and it did! 

I was surprised by _Se7en_ because it actually ended in a satisfying way for me. The big reveal at the end wouldn't have been as good if the character in question had reacted any other way than he did.

One most folks probably haven't seen is _Perfect Blue_, an anime thriller. The whole movie just kept twisting and twisting, right up to the end. A very, very good movie for those who like to be kept guessing. I like to call it, "the movie Hitchcock would have made, if he had done animation."


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## Taelorn76 (Nov 28, 2005)

Dragonmarked DM said:
			
		

> The ending of Star Wars Episode III, I never saw Anikan turning to the dark side  ,...........er...um.... okay, my real vote is for the movie Fallen with Denzal Washington when we we find out who the narrator has really been throughtout the movie.




Wow I hadn't thought of that movie in a while. Heck I think Fallen may beat out Sixth Sense as the best twist. I didn't it coming at all in Fallen, where as in Sixth Sense I think it hit me a few minutes before the actual reveal.


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## SWAT (Nov 28, 2005)

I'll add votes for Sixth Sense, Fight Club, and The Game.

I remember being really surprised by one or more somethings in Memento, but I forget what. And finally there's Magnolia. Biggest "What the hell?!" moment ever.


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## Eridanis (Nov 30, 2005)

Two more votes for SEVEN and FALLEN. I'm not a fan of that genre, but boy those were good movies.

To add a new title: STAR TREK 2. To see 



Spoiler



Spock die


 at the end of that movie knocked the socks off a heck of a lot of people in 1982!


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## Elf Witch (Nov 30, 2005)

Capellan said:
			
		

> I fully expected Samuel L Jackson to get eaten when he did in _Deep Blue Sea_, actually.
> 
> Saffron Burrowes's death, on the other hand, caught me off guard.
> 
> _Assault on Precinct 13_ also surprised me when, after she miraculously survives a car crash, the love interest of the main character gets shot in the face out of hand by the bad guys.




Her death did not surprise me at all. It followed typical movie formula that the mad scientist gets killed by their creation.

I cracked up when Samuel Jackson bought it. There he is giving that great inspirational speech  and all I could think was you are to close to the moon pool. And I was right.


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## Viking Bastard (Nov 30, 2005)

SWAT said:
			
		

> And finally there's Magnolia. Biggest "What the hell?!" moment ever.



Really? What moment was that?


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