Spoiler alert!
Video Vulture spills the beans
This week, I’ll examine movies with surprising plot twists that completely change the way you look at the movie. I’ll also be spoiling the endings, so please proceed with extreme caution if you haven’t already seen the films.
The Usual Suspects (1995): Despite seeing the sneak preview, the ending of this overpraised hit was spoiled for me. No, nobody spilled the beans about Keyser Soze’s true identity – I figured it out myself in the first 10 minutes of the film. Consider:
· The film must reveal the identity of the guy who killed Gabriel Byrne at the start of the film. Otherwise there’s no sense of closure, and the audience demands their money back. The fact that the mysterious gunman is later identified as supervillain "Keyser Soze" adds spice to the stew, but changes nothing – the killer must still be revealed. After all, Byrne recognized him.
· One of the guys from the suspect lineup has to be him. You don’t make a movie like this and then reveal the big boogeyman to be a bit-part character, or worse, someone who wasn’t in the movie at all. ("And the real killer is... Pierre Trudeau! Surprise!")
· Only one suspect survives the movie. We are shown this at the very start of the film! So... who is Keyser Soze? Gee, that’s a toughie.
The Crying Game (1992): Boy, we all tried really hard not to know the big secret in this one, didn’t we? Good word of mouth and critical acclaim made this film a success – people felt a deep need to talk about this picture to others. The Big Surprise leaked out quite early, which meant that when the penis appeared, half of the audience was only pretending to gasp in surprise. Fortunately, The Crying Game has much more to offer it’s viewers than a simple shock. (Unlike The Usual Suspects, knowing the secret does not make the entire movie a pointless waste of time.)
The Sixth Sense (1999): Another blockbuster with a badly kept secret. Fortunately, knowing the secret ahead of time just makes the story that much more interesting. Quite an accomplishment.
Fight Club (1999): Even I don’t want to give this one away. I don’t care if you all know it already, I’m keeping my trap shut. If you don’t know, you’ll never guess it. I doubt that knowledge of the big plot twist would ruin Fight Club anyway – it’s an even better flick after repeated viewings. Just see the damn thing.
The Pit (1981): Just thought I’d throw in one movie that nobody’s seen – and spoil its ending. A disturbed little boy wanders out into the woods and finds a family of man-eating troglodytes trapped in a pit. He keeps it a secret, luring his enemies to the edge of the hole and pushing them in. After wiping out all the bullies at school, the boy’s family moves away. They find a little place in the country, far away from monsters and bullies. The little girl next door introduces herself, and they scamper away to play. Finding an ominous-looking pit, the boy peers in, and sure enough there are troglodytes in it. "They eat people," he warns his new playmate. "Yes, I know," she replies, and pushes him in.
There: spoiled the ending for you. Still wanna see it? Thought so. I might check it out again myself. |
