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Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts!
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK.
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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This article features major spoilers. Be warned!
Audiences love to play along with a good mystery. There's a joy that comes from spotting the culprit or the shocking conclusion before they reach our screens. Perhaps it's one of the reasons that mystery thrillers are one of the most beloved genres still today! Maybe it's the "ah-ha!" moment of having the ability to scream out, "I knew it!" before your fellow viewers that has us coming back for more. That said, predicting every twist in a film is not as simple as it seems. Just look at this list.
Cinema has hosted an array of extraordinary mystery thrillers that left us with an impactful twist. A sign of a great twisty mystery is when the ending is simply near impossible to solve. Maybe it's a twin twist or a psychoanalysis we never saw coming. Perhaps it's ghosts or just a massive setup for revenge. When it comes to these mysteries, they had us the entire time.
15 'Memento' (2000)
Image via Newmarket FilmsPerhaps one of the greatest thrillers of all time is Memento. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, the film follows the intriguing story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man with anterograde amnesia, a condition that causes short-term memory loss and prevents him from forming new memories. Using an elaborate system of photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos, Leonard attempts to uncover the perpetrator, simply known as “John G,” who killed his wife and caused him to sustain the condition. With a nonlinear and specific storytelling mechanic, Memento leads to a mind-blowing result that you likely never saw coming.
As revealed late in the film, Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky), the man with anterograde amnesia that Leonard constantly recounts, is actually Leonard's own story, and he has been manipulating his memories and the search for his wife's killer. Leonard's wife, Catherine (Jorja Fox), survived the initial attack but eventually died from an insulin overdose because he couldn't remember not giving it to her. Leonard then created the Sammy story as a coping mechanism and a means to justify his endless revenge quest. By choosing to remain in his manufactured cycle of self-deception, the film culminates in an emotionally gripping manner that makes you question the entire story. Nolan’s masterful storytelling mechanics in this film surely indicated the brilliance to come over the next two decades.
14 'The Usual Suspects' (1995)
Image via Gramercy PicturesChances are that when you hear the title The Usual Suspects, your mind goes to the unusual names of characters in the film, Keyser Söze and Verbal Kint. And for good reason. All these years later, they are attached to the extraordinary twist of the iconic Bryan Singer film. Written by Christopher McQuarrie, the film follows five career criminals — a corrupt ex-cop, Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne); a hotshot Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin); his partner, Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro); hijacker Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak); and a con man, Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey)— brought together for a police lineup who get roped into a complex heist orchestrated by a mythical crime lord, Keyser Söze. But who exactly is Keyser Söze?
Perhaps one of the most iconic twists in cinema history is the discovery that the meek, limping narrator, Verbal Kint, was none other than the infamous Keyser Söze, the legendary crime lord himself. Everything that he had previously told Customs Agent Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) was fabricated the moment he walked out of the interrogation room as he disappeared into the night. Forcing us to reexamine not only this film but every subsequent crime thriller you watch, The Usual Suspects is loved and hated for everything it puts audiences through. Even if you’re left unsatisfied with questions still lingering, the twist still ensures a pleasurable viewing experience.
13 'Se7en' (1995)
Image via New Line CinemaDavid Fincher is a genius at film. For decades, his work has dazzled moviegoers through a twisty good time. Just look at Fight Club. But when it comes to Se7en, it certainly took audiences quite some time to recover. The film follows two homicide detectives, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a jaded veteran, and David Mills (Brad Pitt), an eager rookie, hunting a sadistic serial killer who bases his killings on the Seven Deadly Sins. A killer who hopes to leave a lasting impression through his commentary on society, it’s that shocking finale that helps the Fincher film leave a lasting impression.
Se7en is already a gripping film, as the search for a gruesome killer pits these two men against the terror. But then, we get to the infamous box. So, what’s in it? The audience was in utter disbelief (much like Pitt's Mills) to find the severed head of his pregnant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow). That’s right, John Doe (Kevin Spacey) successfully carried out his twisted plan to turn Mills into wrath, making him the final piece of Doe's masterpiece, proving humanity's inherent sinfulness. It’s a savage ending to a super twisted film, but truly, incredibly fitting.
12 'It's What's Inside' (2024)
Image via NetflixOne of the most underrated films of the past half-decade is Greg Jardin’s science fiction horror comedy It’s What’s Inside. The film follows a group of friends who reunite for a wedding. The night before the big day takes a dark, shocking turn when a surprise guest reveals a machine that lets them swap bodies. After reluctantly agreeing to play along, the device unleashes hidden secrets, old insecurities, violent vendettas, and long-buried feelings that trigger chaos, an array of identity crises, and dark revelations, culminating in a shocking wedding day. A campy and dark tale of insecurity and the consequences of wanting to be someone else, the film is anything but straightforward. Just wait until the twisted end.
The brilliant setup of the film is trying to resolve who is in the other’s body. But what if all was not as it seemed from the very beginning? Were the starting bodies not who theyclaimed to be? Well, that’s what happened with It's What’s Inside. Forbes Blomquist (David Thompson) was never actually Forbes. The person everyone thought was Forbes at the reunion party was actually his sister, Beatrice (Madison Davenport), who had switched bodies with him using his body-swapping device as revenge for a past incident where Dennis shamed her, leading to a mental breakdown and institutionalization. Beatrice, now in Nikki's (Alycia Debnam-Carey) body, orchestrates further swaps to get revenge and commit financial fraud, while the real Forbes is left trapped in Beatrice's body. A truly unpredictable and utterly mind-blowing twist, It’s What’s Inside ensures an engaging and mind-boggling narrative until the very end. Be nice to everyone because you never know what the truth is inside!
11 'Shutter Island' (2010)
Image via Paramount PicturesNot every successful film Martin Scorsese directs is about gangsters. Just take a look at his 2010 collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island. A neo-noir psychological thriller set in 1954, the film follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and his partner (Mark Ruffalo) as they investigate the disappearance of a patient from a fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane on a remote island, only to uncover terrifying secrets and confront disturbing truths about the island and themselves, especially Teddy's own traumatic past. A story about psychological manipulation and hidden conspiracies, Shutter Island is a twisted mystery that leaves you second-guessing everything.
As a fantastic thriller should do, Shutter Island keeps you on your toes. By the time the major twist is revealed, you’re forced to reexamine the entire piece. The major twist reveals that Teddy is not actually Teddy but Andrew Laeddis, a patient at the island's asylum. The investigation is nothing but an elaborate role-playing experiment by the staff to help him confront the reality that he murdered his wife after she drowned their three children. The film’s daring final scene sees Teddy briefly accept the truth, but he suddenly regresses, choosing to pretend to be Teddy to undergo a lobotomy rather than live with his guilt as Andrew. It’s easily one of Scorsese's most twisted films.
10 'Last Night in Soho' (2021)
Image via Focus FeaturesEasily one of the most fascinating Edgar Wright films is 2021’s Last Night in Soho. The psychological thriller follows Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), a naive fashion student who dreams herself back to 1960s London, experiencing the glamorous life of her idol, singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). But the fantasy turns dark as she uncovers the brutal reality and sinister secrets behind the era's glittering facade, blurring lines between past and present as haunting visions bleed into her waking life. A twisted trauma drama about exploitation and nostalgia, Last Night in Soho leaves you utterly bamboozled.
Wright plays a delicate game with the idea that perception and reality are not the same. The film’s major twist reveals that Sandie isn’t Sandie but actually Eloise’s elderly landlady, Miss Collins (Diana Rigg), who is a serial killer, having murdered all the men who exploited and abused her, hiding their bodies in the walls. The spirits Ellie sees aren't just Sandie but the trapped souls of these murdered men, and Miss Collins, in a final act of atonement, lets herself die in the fire, having chosen to die with her sins. At the same time, Eloise escapes, having understood the darkness behind the glamour. She has now broken free from her haunted past. Rigg is absolutely sensational in her final film, truly going out in a profound blaze of glory.
9 'Gone Girl' (2014)
Image via 20th Century FoxEven films that are based on best-selling novels can catch you off guard. The David Fincher adaptation of the Gillian Flynn novel, Gone Girl, tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne (Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike), a seemingly perfect couple whose marriage unravels when Amy mysteriously disappears on their fifth anniversary, making Nick the prime suspect in a media-fueled frenzy that exposes their toxic relationship, hidden secrets, and deep-seated manipulations. A film that has shockingly inspired real-life nightmares thanks to its bitterly ruthless twist, Gone Girl is one of the best thrillers of the 21st century.
Proving that revenge is sometimes the only option, Gone Girl became a film that forced us all to question whether we could trust our loved ones. As the twist reveals, Amy has faked her own death, framing Nick as revenge for his infidelity and their failing marriage. A thoroughly plotted plan, Amy has forged her diaries and staged the crime scene. But wait, there’s more! Amy returns, revealing she killed her ex-boyfriend, Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), and forces Nick to stay with her by announcing she's pregnant with his child using his own frozen sperm, trapping him in a perpetual, toxic marriage. It's a truly gripping film.
8 'What Lies Beneath' (2000)
Image via DreamWorks PicturesLet’s just say that, as a young teenager watching this film for the first time, I was petrified of my bathroom, thanks to my bathtub. Let’s discuss the stellar Robert Zemeckis supernatural horror thriller, What Lies Beneath. Telling the story of Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer), who, after her daughter leaves for college, becomes convinced her beautiful lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a female ghost, seeing ghostly images and hearing voices. Her scientist husband, Norman (Harrison Ford), dismisses her fears as delusions, but as the apparitions intensify, Claire uncovers dark, buried secrets from their past. An atypical haunted-house horror story, What Lies Beneath pushes the theme of betrayal to the forefront, exposing a hidden evil.
The beauty of supernatural thrillers is that you know there’s a twist coming, but when it’s juicy like this one, it forces future thrillers to pick up the pace. In the end, the ghost of Madison (Amber Valletta) helps Claire defeat her murderous husband by pulling him into the lake as Claire escapes. The final scene depicts Claire visiting Madison's grave, with a ghostly face appearing in the snow, suggesting that Madison has peacefully passed and that Claire has survived. A lovely little revenge story, isn't it?
7 'The Prestige' (2006)
Image via Warner Bros.Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in it so strongly that you must destroy others to keep the tricks of the trade a secret? Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige follows the twisted and dark tale of rival magicians, Robert "The Great Danton" Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred "The Professor" Borden (Christian Bale), in Victorian London, whose initial friendship devolves into a bitter, obsessive feud filled with sabotage, escalating deceptions, and tragic consequences, all centered on figuring out each other's secrets and creating the ultimate teleportation illusion as a deadly sacrifice leads to the ultimate “prestige.” A film about obsession, rivalry, secrets, and illusions, The Prestige shines through its powerhouse leads and its expert storytelling.
Magic is something extraordinary, but deceit and illusion may go hand in hand. As it soon comes to light, Alfred is not one man, but two. Identical twins, to be precise. They share a single identity, alternating lives to perform their trick. Meanwhile, Robert achieves his teleportation by using Nikola Tesla's (David Bowie) machine to create a clone of himself, only to drown the original (and each subsequent clone) in a water tank nightly for the "prestige." Though you may feel cheated by the deceit, learning of the dazzling, mind-blowing illusions serves as an extraordinary ending to a gripping thriller.
6 'Gone Baby Gone' (2007)
Image via MiramaxIn 2007, well before he starred in his own twisty thriller, Ben Affleck made his directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone. The film follows two Boston private detectives, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), hired to find a four-year-old girl, Amanda McCready (Madeline O'Brien), kidnapped from her rough neighborhood. The detectives are led into a dark world of drug dealers, neglect, and moral dilemmas where family, law, and "doing the right thing" become deeply complicated and blurred, forcing them to confront difficult ethical choices about justice and what's best for the child. Tackling themes of justice, family, poverty, neglect, and the conflict between personal morality and the law, Gone Baby Gone is a crime thriller that pushes your morality to the edge.
Living up to the thriller name, they brought the hardworking people of Boston to life. (It even earned Amy Ryan an Oscar nomination.) But the film will be remembered for its twist. The kidnapping of Amanda was more nefarious if you believe in police corruption, as it was orchestrated by Captain Doyle (Morgan Freeman) to rescue her from her neglectful, drug-addicted mother, Helene (Ryan), giving her a better life with a loving family. But it’s when Kenzie sees her safe and sound with Doyle that forces his moral hand. Kenzie chooses to call the police, upholding the law, only to realize later that his decision might have doomed Amanda, a choice that also ends his relationship with his partner, Angie. Though it may not be the most mysterious decision, it becomes shocking as you’re forced to comprehend the awful circumstances and ramifications that the entire ordeal caused.
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