One of the most famous movie twist endings in history, and the one almost everyone refers to when talking about the topic – The Sixth Sense. Cleverly, this also mirrors Teddy’s psyche. Scorsese’s twists are justified because he commits to them and sets them up in plain sight throughout it’s his clever use of forced perspective that blinds the audience from seeing those clues. So when Scorsese and screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis shift the whole perspective to those Teddy distrusts, everything we know about the character is questioned. Much like Teddy, we are trapped in his mind with only his version of events – what he believes, we do also. When everything is challenged by another perspective, we are open to new ideas and interpretations. So we know he’s troubled, unstable and tunnel-visioned in how he looks at the world and other people. Moreover, throughout the film, our lead is subjected to troubling hallucinations of his deceased wife and children, flashbacks from the war and haunting visions the man of that murdered his family. Teddy is our only source of finding out the backstory to his character. Shutter IslandĮverything about Teddy Daniel’s (Leo DiCaprio) past has been told through his perspective – from his job to the murder of his wife and three children by the hands of a patient at the asylum, Andrew Laeddis. So making sure you are consistent and committed to the ending throughout the whole film is absolutely vital. But the audience will see a lazy ending from a mile away you just know when a poorly constructed surprise has been tacked onto the end. Lots of filmmakers try to add complexity and layers to their films by adding a twist. New filmmakers every year are finding new ways to expand on their craft.īut let’s look at some examples of how three films from three separate decades confidently and poignantly use these key elements to craft complex endings with a twist that genuinely surprises their audience.īoth in the world you’ve created, and with actual logic and reasoning, does the twist at the end truly make sense in the narrative you’ve created? Now obviously the ways of doing this are endless. However, there are a few key elements to writing a satisfying twist at the end of your movie: So genuinely surprising them and pulling off a surprise twist at the end is hard to get right. The average moviegoer loves to predict what’s going to happen. Genuinely surprising your audience is no easy task. Key Elements to Writing a Satisfying Movie Twist Ending So if you choose to use one in your screenplay, it’s vital yours is one to remember. Twist endings show no sign of abating no matter how ubiquitous their use. Whilst Bong Joon-ho’s Parasitehad some of the most surprising twists in recent cinema history, helping its success in wowing audiences in 2019. Moreover, from 2010, Martin Scorsese crafts one of the best, utterly mind-bending endings of his career, with Shutter Island. It’s what you now expect going into one of his films with, in our opinion, his best work and execution of a twist ending being The Sixth Sense (1999). Night Shyamalan have built their whole career and reputation around a deceptive final twist. Psycho, in particular, is one of the most chilling and effective uses of a movie twist ending: the haunting final shot of Norman Bates staring into the camera, completely changing the dynamic of the narrative and its characters as you know them, making you second guess everything you think you know about the film.Īs we look at films closer towards the 21st century, however, filmmakers such as M. But it was Alfred Hitchcock in 1960 with Psycho, who deployed one of the most famous twists in cinematic history. The earliest notable use of a twist ending in movies was arguably in 1941 with Orson Welles’ classic, Citizen Kane. It can be a striking way to end a screenplay and leave your audience with their jaw on the floor. In terms of employing a twist ending, as long as your twist has meaning and purpose, go for it. So it’s vital to stick the landing either fully commit to a twist, or play it safe with a more conventional story ending. It’s the very last memory they have of your movie and is what will stick with them for the days and years to come. The ending to a film is the lasting impression the audience will walk away with. When done right, a twist at the end should genuinely surprise your audience, as well as completely shifting the perception we have on all parts of a film, allowing us to see it in a totally different way. The best movie twist endings often completely change the dynamic of the film from its characters, to its themes, to the narrative as a whole. Key Elements to Writing a Satisfying Movie Twist Ending.
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