10 Best Movie Plot Twists Of 2015The opposite of what M. Night Shyamalan does, then.

Sam Hill

CONTRIBUTOR

Universal Pictures

Cinema has always thrived on its ability to surprise audiences, and nothing surprises quite like a

plot twist, turning a story on its head and exposing new and unexpected layers and angles built

into the narrative. You know, a moment so shocking and surprising that it changes the way you

feel about everything that came before it.

2015 was no stranger to cinematic plot twists of both the horribly misguided and inarguably great

varieties. Whilst a lot of last year’s movies suffered in their attempts to throw in a mindless or ill-

judged plot twist (and you can read about the worst of the bunch here), there were also a good

number of films that thrived on their twists and turns, serving not only to make the movies in

question better, but a lot more memorable, too.

Here, then, are the 10 best plot twists of 2015 – the ones that got lodged in your brain for days

afterwards, or prompted you to revisit the movies in question as soon as possible.

Please be warned: this article contains heavy spoilers. Don’t read onwards if you’re the sort of

person who goes crazy over the revealing of major plot details, okay?

10. Silas Ends Up With Rose – Slow West

Lionsgate UKSlow West, one of this year’s best western flicks, tells the story of a 16-year-old named Jay (Kodi

Smit-McPhee), who travels from Scotland to Colorado to seek his long lost love, Rose, who –

along with her father – are wanted for murder. Jay teams up with an enigmatic bounty hunter

named Silas (Michael Fassbender) to find her, as the duo compete with a gang of ruthless killers

who are also attempting to track down Rose.

All this ends with a huge shootout sequence at Rose’s house, in which the ruthless gang – led by

actor Ben Mendelsohn – are killed, one by one. It’s then that an unexpected plot development

occurs: Jay enters the house to reunite with Rose, only for her to casually gun him down,

unaware of who he is. She later realises, but it’s too late: Jay dies.

Then comes the twist: Slow West seemed to present itself as a movie in which Jay would

survive, reunite with Rose, and Silas would die, but this is all turned on its head. In the end, we’re

shown that Silas and Rose wind up together. Who’d have guessed that?

9. The Green Place Doesn’t Exist – Mad Max: Fury Road

Warner Bros.Mad Max: Fury Road clings to a story about the titular character, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy),

and his mission to reach “The Green Place” – the last hospitable terrain in a wasteland made up

of sand and dust. Teamed with the infinitely badass Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who

betrays bad guy Immortan Joe when she steals his wives, Max crosses the harsh desert whilst

being pursuit by hordes of raving maniacs.

Two thirds through the movie, though, there’s a twist: Max and Furiosa meet up with the latter’s

estranged friends, and they unveil a horrible truth. The elusive “Green Place” is dead and gone,

consumed and destroyed and now part of the endless wasteland. The characters have

essentially made their long and perilous journey for nothing.

It’s a crushing blow – not only to Max, Furiosa and the other characters, but also to the

audiences. And yet, it’s this unique twist that gives Mad Max: Fury Road its thrilling final act. The

movie switches from “chase” to “race,” as the gang decide to turn back and return the way that

they came – and try to kill the Immortal Joe and his horde en route.

8. Abe Lucas Falls Down An Elevator Shaft – Irrational Man

Sony Pictures ClassicsTalk about a quick exit.

Woody Allen’s latest film is basically a hodgepodge of some of his older, better works, but it still

goes out with something like a bang (or a thump). Irrational Man tells the story of Abe Lucas

(Joaquin Phoenix), a philosophy professor in the midst of an existential crisis, who suddenly finds

himself liberated when he decides to help out a random woman by killing a corrupt Judge who is

making her life a misery.

Caught up in the fray is the beautiful Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), one of Abe’s students – and part-

time lover – who discovers what he’s done and threatens to turn him in if he doesn’t do it himself.

In the end, Abe realises that he must kill Jill, too, if he wants to remain free.

In the film’s unexpected climax, then, Abe attempts to push Jill down an elevator shaft, only for

the attempt to go incredibly wrong: she manages to hold on, whilst Abe slips on a flashlight that

falls out of Jill’s bag – one that he won her at a carnival, no less – and plummets to his death in

her place. It’s the best part of the movie, no doubt, and a funny twist.

7. The Man In The Farmhouse – Secret In Their Eyes

STX EntertainmentIt’s difficult to judge Secret In Their Eyes, this year’s unnecessary remake of the Argentine film of

the same name, on its own merits.

Had the original not been so darn great, after all, would the critics have judged the American

remake quite as harshly as they did? It’s hard to tell, but given that Secret In Their Eyes is a

movie renowned for its shocking final twist, and given that the remake retains much of that

shocking final twist (with a few changes), it only seems fair that the film makes this list.

In a nutshell, the film concerns three characters: FBI agent named Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor),

assistant DA Claire Sloan (Nicole Kidman), and investigator Jess Cobb (Julia Roberts). One

night, something terrible happens: Ray and Jess come across a body that turns out to be that of

Jess’ daughter, raped and brutally murdered. Ray pledges to track down the killer, whatever it

takes, and much of the film concerns his attempts to do so.

13 years pass… and then the twist. Similar to the one that got so many people talking back in

2009 when the original flick came out, Ray discovers, to his horror, that Jess managed to track

down her daughter’s killer thirteen years ago and has been keeping him locked in a cage in a

secluded farmhouse the entire time. Ray, overwhelmed, offers her his gun, and she proceeds to

take the murderer outside where she assumedly shoots him dead.

How’s that for a shock ending, huh?

6. The Ghosts Are Good – Crimson Peak

Universal PicturesCrimson Peak, Guillermo del Toro’s latest – and rather underrated – exercise in horror, tells the

story of Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), a woman who marries a man named Thomas Sharpe

(Tom Hiddleston) and subsequently moves into his large and scary gothic house with both him

and his sister, a woman named Lucille (Jessica Chastain).

It later turns out, however, that Thomas and Lucille are a bit mental, and that they’re both

responsible for the deaths of Thomas’ previous wives. As in, they murdered them.

The house is also haunted, of course, and there are ghosts everywhere. Interestingly, though

(and here’s where it gets good), Del Toro pulls a switch-a-roo on this tried and tested plot device

and has it so that the ghosts aren’t out to hurt Edith; they’re on her side. That’s a seriously neat

twist when you think about it, because how many movies have there been about haunted houses

filled with ghostly apparitions who are just out to hurt the protagonist?

Not here: the ghosts serve a purpose, and that purpose is helping Edith to survive long enough

to defeat Thomas and Lucille. Which is precisely what they do. Hooray!

5. The Man In The Mask – The Gift

Bear World MagazineThis is arguably the most divisive twist to make this list, given that, whilst some people loved it,

others thought it spoiled some aspects of the movie. Whatever your opinion, The Gift’s

unforgettable plot twist is worth talking about.

The plot of Joel Edgerton’s surprising little thriller flick concerns two guys: Simon (Jason

Bateman) and Gordo (Joel Edgerton). One day, out of nowhere, Gordo – who knew Simon when

they were younger – comes back into Simon’s life and slowly begins to ruin it. “Why?” you

wonder. “What the heck happened between these guys?”

Well… as teenagers, Simon told a story about Gordo that inferred him to be a homosexual – an

event caused him much pain and ridicule in their small town, and left Gordo to face the wrath of

his father. Who, by the way, tried to set his son on fire as a result of the rumours. Gordo isn’t

actually gay, but he suffered through a lot of torment anyway.

Then comes the twist ending: Gordo gives Simon a video recording that shows his wife, played

by Rebecca Hall (who is pregnant during the events of the film), being loomed over by a man in a

mask whilst she’s passed out. A man we presume to be Gordo. This suggestion of rape is

supposed to convince Simon that his unborn child isn’t actually his.

Does it cheapen the rest of the movie to have Gordo poised as a full-on weirdo? Whatever your

opinion, it’s a chilling finale and a horrific twist… no matter how you look at it.

4. Kate Macer Isn’t The Hero – Sicario

LionsgateSicario, one of the most memorable films of the year, stars the always wonderful Emily Blunt as

Kate Macer, a headstrong FBI agent who crosses into Mexico to assist a mysterious task force in

bringing down a high-priority drug cartel leader.

Towards the end of the movie, though, it turns out that everything is not as it seems: Kate, who

was supposedly asked to join the team because of her excellent track record, is revealed to be

there purely to give the CIA the legal ability to operate within US borders. Put simply, she was

being used all along. Like, the whole time.

The marketing for Sicario played a huge part in keeping this twist under wraps, as everyone who

presumably went into the movie expected Macer to be the “hero” of the film. And yet Sicario

doesn’t let that happen – the movie is far too smart for that. Instead, she’s tricked, abused and

lied to for the entire runtime; she doesn’t even wind up being part of the climatic scene that sees

hitman Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) taking on the cartel baron.

The expectations one might have had for Sicario, coupled with the way the movie avoids giving

Macer anything “heroic” to do, presents you with the feeling that you’ve been wholly duped when

the credits start to role. What else would you want from a true twist, hm?

3. Ava Tricks Caleb & Escapes – Ex Machina

Universal PicturesEx Machina, written and directed by novelist turned director Alex Garland, proved to be one of

the best sci-fi movies of the year; an intelligent and twisty puzzle box that thrived on its ability to

throw audiences for a loop for the sum of its runtime.

The plot concerns a computer billionaire named Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), who invites a

low-level programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) to his secluded mountain house in the

middle of nowhere to test whether or not he has successfully managed to create true artificial

intelligence. Ava (Alicia Vikander), the A.I. in question, builds a relationship with Caleb, and – as

he falls in love with her – she ultimately convinces him to help her escape.

The movie’s final twist is a doozy: it turns out that Ava has been manipulating Caleb the whole

time. She doesn’t have feelings for him; she’s merely been pretending in an attempt to trick him

into letting her out. Nathan suspected this would happen all along, but didn’t account for the fact

that Caleb might rewire the locking system when he was passed out drunk. Which he did. All of a

sudden Ava is the smartest “person” in the room.

It’s at this point that Nathan is killed by Kyoko, another A.I. creation who comes to Ava’s defence

when Nathan tries to destroy her, and Ava locks Caleb in a room he’ll never be able to get out of,

leaving him to die. Then she escapes and joins humanity. Creepy.

2. Joy Is Nothing Without Sadness – Inside Out

PixarFor the sum of Pixar’s latest masterpiece, Inside Out, audiences are given a glimpse inside a

young girl named Riley’s head; the main characters of the movie are Riley’s emotions, which

consist of Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear.

For the entirety of her existence, Joy (Amy Poehler) has been in control of Riley, and so most of

Riley’s experiences have been overtly happy ones. When Riley moves to a new town and starts

a new school, though, things start to change – and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) has a sudden urge to

be in control of Riley’s emotions. She begins to taint and tarnish her “Core Memories,” which

results in Riley falling into a deep depression.

Inside Out basically paints Sadness as a pesky irritation for the entire movie, to the point at which

you’re left wondering why she exists in the first place. And then comes the genius twist that

makes Inside Out so brilliant: we eventually learn that all of Riley’s joyful moments have links to

sad moments, specifically a memory of a hockey game. When Riley was upset at that time, it

brought out empathy in other people, which led to her being happy again.

The twist that Joy and Sadness both as necessary as one other, was a masterstroke. Because,

of course, Joy cannot exist without Sadness, and vice versa. And making fully grown adults not

see it coming was deft filmmaking

1. Han Solo Is Killed By His Son, Kylo Ren – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

LucasfilmThere is arguably no other moment across the span of last year’s cinematic releases quite so

memorable – and gasp-inducing – as this one: it was, for many people, the most shocking event

to have occurred in a major motion picture for a long, long time.

That’s right: the death of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) at the hands of his son, Kylo Ren (Adam

Driver), is perhaps the best movie twist of 2015. Because how can you beat that?

The tragic incident occurs towards the end of The Force Awakens, as Han Solo – father to Darth

Vader fanboy Kylo Ren (or “Ben” Solo, as Han calls him) approaches his estranged son on a

bridge suspended over an endless abyss at Starkiller Base. Just as he seems to get through to

Ren, convincing him to return to the light, the sky darkens and Ren plunges his lightsaber

through Han’s heart. Han places his hand on his son’s face, and then he falls.

Lots of Star Wars fans predicted that things would ultimately go this way, of course; there were

countless theories doing the rounds on the internet predicting that Han would meet his end in

The Force Awakens at some point. And yet it wasn’t real until it was real.

And so now Han Solo is dead and gone, his happy ending from Return Of The Jedi wiped out. It

was probably a good move on the studio’s part, though: Solo isn’t the sort of guy who dies in his

sleep from old age. And his death ultimately means more drama. Not to mention that Luke

Skywalker is going to be angry, which should be thrilling to watch.