7 Unpredictable Horror Movie Twists That Changed Things Forever

Horror movie twists go back to the very beginning of the genre, when Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera had his mask removed and his horrific visage was revealed to the world. Though more shocking imagery than narrative deconstruction, that twist made sure that horror movies always had something to lean on in the future. No matter what quality your film was in the first two acts, you could pull the rug out from under the audience in the end and give them a fright that has them talking as they leave the theaters. Sometimes those horror movie twists are so big that they end up changing everything about the genre.

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Not every horror movie has a big twist ending, but there have been some landmark twists across the genre that completely changed films that would follow. Though the genre has gone through ebbs and flows in popularity, one consistent aspect has always been endings that either blow our minds or leave us feeling like we’ve been punched in the stomach. Some movies, though, like the original Friday the 13th‘s surprise Jason reveal or even The Sixth Sense‘s “he was dead the whole time,” have roots that go back years. These are the horror movie twists that landed like a bomb and changed the future forever. Naturally, spoilers follow.

7) Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece is a two-fer when it comes to influential twists, but it’s the one found in the middle of the film that is perhaps its most influential. As Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane attempts to leave town after stealing from her boss, she makes her way to the Bates Motel, where, as fans know well, her grisly end inside the shower marks a major shift in the film’s story.

Even though this specific moment still causes a shock for anyone watching the movie now, for audiences at the time, it was a stunning one. The film was sold as starring Leigh, one of the biggest actresses of the time, so for her character to die midway through and no longer be the focus marked a huge shift for films that were hiding surprises from audiences. This particular twist was the seed that would give way to countless other movie surprises, like Scream in 1996 with Drew Barrymore’s death in the opening scene.

Psycho, of course, has another big twist, the reveal that Norma Bates is very dead and Norman Bates himself is dressing as his mother and carrying out the murders. This of course, was the origin for surprise killer twists in movies, but the most influential part of it was how it was marketed. Ahead of its release, Psycho was sold under the guise of not letting anyone enter the theater after the movie had begun, and that anyone who had seen the film should not ruin the ending. It’s one of the first instances of “No spoilers” in popular film culture.

6) Carnival of Souls

Herk Harvey’s 1962 ethereal horror movie may have a very predictable twist in the end, but it’s one that has proven to be one of the most influential. Throughout most of the film, Mary (Candace Hilligoss) wanders through a dreamlike state, haunted by specters and visions of ghastly people that appear all around her. To make matters worse, sometimes it’s almost like the world itself can’t even see her anymore. In the end, the film confirms what it has been teasing the entire time: Mary has been dead all along.

Carnival of Souls‘ big reveal is one that shocked audiences at the time, but its influence is one that can still be felt decades later. The twist in the film would set the stage for not only M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense but also other notable horror movie twists like The Others.

5) Carrie

Based on Stephen King’s novel, one of the biggest changes that filmmaker Brian De Palma made to the movie is the actual ending of the tale. After the carnage of the prom, where Carrie kills most of her high school class, she returns home to confront her mother, eventually using her powers to bring their home down on itself. Later still, Sue Snell, one of the only survivors, filled with remorse for what happened, goes ot the site of Carrie’s home and lays flowers down on the ground. As she sits there, a ghostly hand reaches up through the dirt and grabs her.

Though it’s revealed to be a nightmare, this specific conclusion sent shockwaves through horror films. This particular type of ending would get reused just six years later in the original Friday the 13th, when Jason Voorhees made his first on-screen appearance, and would go on to be a trick of the franchise for years. Others would also follow suit, like A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. Ironically, this type of twist would be used by films as a way to set up future sequels and installments, but Carrie stayed put.

4) Black Christmas

Though inspired by the larger urban legend of a man in the house tormenting a babysitter on the phone, Black Christmas‘ big twist that the call was coming from inside the house is like a giant stone being tossed in a pond. Not only did this become something that future horror films would lean on, popping up in the likes of Scream, Urban Legend, and, of course, When a Stranger Calls, but it would cause the actual urban legend to become a cultural mainstay for decades.

3) Halloween

You can’t kill the boogeyman, and Halloween‘s final surprise that The Shape was able to take six bullets to the chest, tumble down a second-story balcony, and land on his back only to get up and walk away is one that changed horror forever. Unlike Carrie‘s final surprise, Halloween‘s confirmation that the killer isn’t really dead takes on a different kind of tone, one with more sinister implications. As Dr. Loomis looks back over the balcony and sees nothing in the spot where his patient once lay, the film’s iconic score kicks in and then begins showing us all the nooks and crannies of Haddonfield where he could be hiding.

Naturally, this ending was used as the set-up for 1981’s Halloween II, but that was never John Carpenter’s intention. Not only could the filmmaker not have predicted that he’d be sticking around in the franchises for years, but that countless other horror movies would quickly steal his “the killer isn’t really dead” idea and use it to prop themselves up for sequel after sequel. Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street would use this consistently, with the Scream franchise putting a fun spin on it more than once.

2) The Blair Witch Project

1999’s The Blair Witch Project proved to be a major influence on feature films in a couple of ways. In the film, Mike and Heather continue to search for Josh and stumble upon what they believe to be Rustin Parr’s house deep in the woods, a place said to have burned down decades before. In the final moments, Heather finds Mike standing in the corner of the basement of the house, only to be attacked off-screen and sending the camera tumbling to the ground, ending the movie.

Not only did The Blair Witch Project pave the way for the found footage genre to become a staple of the genre, but it also gave way to offbeat conclusions that have left audiences baffled and sometimes furious. Paranormal Activity, [REC], The Last Exorcism, The Devil Inside, Grave Encounters, the list of movies that pure and simple do not exist without The Blair Witch Project could, in fact, be its own article.

1) Saw

Saw‘s big surprise, the dead body in the center of the room wasn’t really dead, and, in fact, was the killer the whole time, set the stage for the entire franchise in a big way. Not only did the success of the film give way to a sequel less than a year later, but a tradition that meant new movies every Halloween for seven years (and sequels that continue to be made).

Perhaps more important than the influence of Saw’s ending on the larger franchise is the fact that it became the calling card for filmmaker James Wan and kick-started his entire career. Wan would use the success of Saw to continue moving across the horror genre, utilizing the surprise twist ending in follow-up movies Dead Silence and Insidious, which further paved the way for Wan as a director, leading to him directing billion-dollar blockbusters like Furious 7 and Aquaman; and it all started in a dingy bathroom with a bloody Tobin Bell.