The Plot Twist Gamble

Nothing like a sudden turn of the wheel that leaves the audience in disbelief. But what happens when the audience actually disbelieves? Screenwriters are aware of the double edged sword quality of plot twists: they can make a story successful almost by themselves, but can also turn against it if they come off as predictable or implausible.

In some genres (horror, thriller) they have become an expected, almost mandatory device. Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) set the foundations for the use of narrative unreliability in films. And it’s already a great example of a twist that didn’t only aim for shock- it also tried to provide a solid justification for the visual and narrative styles of the film.

Night Shyamalan’s irregular career illustrates both the rewards and the risks of subjecting the story to a plot twist. The recent success of Split may have brought him to a second youth, but for many years, the ‘Shyamalan twists” served more as a burden than a perk, becoming the smoking gun that proves and defines the film’s failure.

So what makes a good plot twist? If Aristotle stated that good art should be both unexpected and inevitable, contemporary screenwriters like William Goldman have pinpointed a reality that Hollywood has exploited well: that a controversial ending may still work effectively if it’s at least satisfying.

Some examples of films with memorable plot twists are:

(1941) The Maltese Falcon

(1958) Vertigo

(1960) Psycho

(1968) Planet of the Apes

(1973) The Sting

(1973) Soylent Green

(1973) The Wicker Man

(1980) The Empire Strikes Back

(1987) Angel Heart

(1992) The Crying Game

(1995) The Usual Suspects

(1995) 12 Monkeys

(1996) Primal Fear

(1999) The Sixth Sense

(1999) Fight Club

(2000) Memento

(2004) Saw

(2006) The Prestige

(2016) Arrival

The Lady Vanishes Script

The Lady Vanishes poster thumbnail
Year:1938
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Ethel Lina White (Novel), Sidney Gilliat (Screenplay), Frank Launder (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.
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Suspicion Script

Suspicion poster thumbnail
Year:1941
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Anthony Berkeley (Novel), Samson Raphaelson (Screenplay), Joan Harrison (Screenplay), Alma Reville (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:Wealthy, sheltered Lina McLaidlaw is swept off her feet by charming ne'er-do-well Johnnie Aysgarth. Though warned that Johnnie is little more than a fortune hunter, Lina marries him anyway and remains loyal to her irresponsible husband as he plows his way from one disreputable business scheme to another. Gradually Lina comes to the conclusion that Johnnie intends to kill her in order to collect her inheritance. The suspicion seems confirmed when Johnnie's business partner dies under mysterious circumstances.
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Shadow Of A Doubt Script

Shadow Of A Doubt poster thumbnail
Year:1943
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Thornton Wilder (Screenplay), Sally Benson (Screenplay), Alma Reville (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:A bored teen living in Santa Rosa, California, Charlotte "Charlie" Newton, is frustrated because nothing seems to be happening in her life and that of her family. Then, she receives wonderful news: her uncle (for whom she was named), Charlie Oakley, is arriving for a visit. But Uncle Charlie may not be the man he seems to be.
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Spellbound Script

Spellbound poster thumbnail
Year:1945
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Ben Hecht (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.
10049

Dial M For Murder Script

Dial M For Murder poster thumbnail
Year:1954
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Frederick Knott (Author)

Script Synopsis:An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to have his wife murdered after discovering she is having an affair, and assumes she will soon leave him for the other man anyway. When things go wrong, he improvises a new plan—to frame her for murder instead.
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I Confess

I Confess poster thumbnail
Year:1953
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:George Tabori (Writer), William Archibald (Writer)

Script Synopsis:Unable, due to the seal of the confessional, to be forthcoming with information that would serve to clear himself during a murder investigation, a priest becomes the prime suspect.
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Vertigo

Vertigo poster thumbnail
Year:1958
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Pierre Boileau (Author), Thomas Narcejac (Author), Alec Coppel (Screenplay), Samuel A. Taylor (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
*4712

To Catch A Thief

To Catch A Thief poster thumbnail
Year:1955
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:David Dodge (Author), John Michael Hayes (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:To prevent being accused of the crimes, an ex-burglar must catch a thief who’s been copying his style.
*4682

Torn Curtain

Torn Curtain poster thumbnail
Year:1966
Director:Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:Brian Moore (Novel), Willis Hall (Screenplay), Keith Waterhouse (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:During the Cold War, an American scientist appears to defect to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the formula for a resin solution, but the plan goes awry when his fiancee, unaware of his motivation, follows him across the border.
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