A plot twist is one of the biggest factors that makes any movie stick in the audience’s mind. At times, it is simply a small new detail towards the end of the movie that makes viewers completely reassess everything they have seen up to this point. Whether it is the revelation of the murderer or the possibility that the protagonist is not a reliable narrator. Sometimes the plot twist even happens at the midway point and drastically changes how the movie unfolds, such as the unexpected murder of the main character or perhaps an abrupt change in genre. If executed well, twists make movies so much more interesting, and 2022 did not fail. Here is a list of the most shocking plot twists in 2022, ranked.
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6 Lightyear
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
After being fans’ favorite in Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear finally got his own movie. This computer-animated film revolves around Buzz, who crash lands on this strange planet called, T’Kani Prime. Now, he has to save this stranded world from an evil Zurg who is attacking T’Kani Prime with his army of robots. More than half of the movie’s audience, along with Buzz, have wondered about the identity of Zurg. Any devoted fans of Toy Story 2 would know that it was revealed that Buzz’s arch-nemesis, Zurg, is actually his father. Thus, many fans were expecting the same in this movie. However, the director of Lightyear decided to take a different route. It turns out that this Zurg is an older version of Buzz from the other timeline who will do anything to undo the mistakes he made when he was younger. This unpredictable plot twist shocks the audience entirely, yet it beautifully ties in with Buzz’s character arc.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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5 Orphan: First Kill
Paramount Players
Orphan: First Kill is a thriller-slasher movie that had the audience at the edge of their seats from the get-go. The movie revolves around Leena Klammer, a 31-year-old woman that has the appearance of a nine-year-old, due to a certain kind of dwarfism. She runs from a psychiatric facility after killing half of the ward staff, and then pretends to be Esther, a missing daughter of an extremely wealthy family. The premise was enough to hold the audience extremely engrossed, but they found themselves losing their minds when the actual plot twist of the movie happened. Turns out, the innocent family they were rooting for is not so innocent after all, as the mother, since the beginning, knew that Leena is impersonating Esther, because her son actually killed the real Esther. This plot twist changes the entire setting of the story for the watchers, and now, despite who they root for, both are individuals who have done horrendous things.
4 Death On the Nile
20th Century Studios
This whodunit film is a movie adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name. In the film, Linnet and her husband Simon are stalked by Jackie, Simon’s ex-girlfriend, and Linnet’s ex-best friend. In an effort to get away from her, Linnet and Simon, together with their wedding guests, get boarded on a cruise ship. However, things take an interesting turn when Linnet is discovered dead. Now it is on detective Hercule Poirot to determine which person is behind it all.
Agatha Christie is the queen of the suspense genre and plot twists. Death on the Nile plays with the audience constantly. Every time the audience thinks they know the culprit, the movie throws in a twist, and their suspicions change entirely. The actual culprit turns out to be Simon and Jackie, who are still in love and were after Linnet’s money. This reveal makes the audience question everything they know because the culprits were right under their noses, and they overlooked them, a sign of excellent writing.
3 Don’t Worry Darling
Warner Bros. Pictures
It is the 1950s, when Alice and her husband Jack reside in Victory, a little suburban town. Every day all men go to work at the same place, Victory Headquarters, while their wives do house chores and wait for them. Everything seems perfect on the surface, but soon the mask of this being a perfect place starts wearing off as Alice begins questioning the place and the system. The audience will find themselves biting their nails off with the stress of what might be the real truth behind this place, and will Alice make it out alive. However, the actual plot twist hits like a truck to not only Alice, but to the audience as well.
They learn that Victory is simply a computer simulation within which the housewives are unawarely imprisoned, while the husbands go out in the real world to pay for the service. Jack, against Alice’s will, put her into this place. The film which felt paranormal and psychological at the start becomes much more menacing and diabolical, which haunts the audience for days after watching it.
2 Barbarian
This is one of those movies that makes it difficult for the audience to ignore. The story mainly revolves around Tess, who books an Airbnb in a shady neighborhood of Detroit. However, while reaching there she finds that it has already been occupied by a strange man named Keith. Turns out there was an error and it double-booked the home for both. Eventually, they share it for the night as it is already pretty late.
This setting from the beginning is enough to have the audience at the edge of their seats, as they cannot figure out if the two will fall in love or if Kieth will murder Tess. However, when Tess accidentally gets locked in the basement, she and the audience quickly realize there is much more to be afraid of than simply an unforeseen house guest. This is when the actual plot twist happens, that stuns all watchers. Turns out, there is a woman who goes by The Mother living in the basement with the original owner of the house, Frank. It is revealed he not only abducted but also sexually assaulted women for many generations. This plot twist changes the entire shift of the movie, and it becomes much darker and more sinister, something that audiences were not even slightly expecting.
1 Do Revenge
Netflix
Directed by Jennifer Kaylin Robinson, Do Revenge is a black comedy-revenge film that tells the tale of two young girls: Drea and Eleanor, who team up to out-bully their own bullies. Drea wants revenge on Max, her ex-boyfriend who leaked her sex tape, and Eleanor wants to take revenge on Carissa, who spread rumors about Eleanor, which led to her being the outcast. The movie initially draws inspiration from ’90s films. It feels cute and wholesome as these girls of two different personalities and worlds get close. However, the plot twist changes the complete story of the movie and hits the audience when they are least expecting it. Turns out, Eleanor is not who she appears to be, and her elaborate scheme of vengeance was clearly aimed against Drea, who was the real cause of the rumor that ruined Eleanor’s life.
This is done so beautifully that the audience feels a whiplash as the genre of Do Revenge takes a 180-shift. The audience that was rooting for Drea and Eleanor now sees them in a completely different light. This is a sign of excellent writing and directing, which is why people had such a good time watching it.
