An intelligent twist can change an entire movie in a single moment, leaving audiences with a completely different impression of the story. Some of the most powerful movie twists are the ones which alter the audience's perceptions of everything that has already happened, not just what's about to come.

A good twist can have the same jaw-dropping feeling of witnessing a magic trick, as audiences come to understand all the ways that they've been fooled. A daring director can leave clues to their twist long before it happens, so that when they pull off their big reveal, it seems even more surprising.

10 The Usual Suspects (1995)

Verbal Kint Is Keyser Söze

The Usual Suspects is the kind of movie that's known for the impact that its twist can have on people. It's been spoiled many times over, but The Usual Suspects is still an enjoyable watch, thanks to its energetic pace and labyrinthine criminal narrative.

It's the kind of twist that immediately urges audiences to rethink every detail from the movie.

The reveal about Verbal Kint's true identity comes right at the end of The Usual Suspects, dropping a bomb on audiences just before the credits roll. This is perfectly timed, because it's the kind of twist that immediately urges audiences to rethink every detail from the movie, interrogating what parts of Verbal's story, if any, are actually true.

9 Fight Club (1999)

Tyler Durden Is A Figment Of The Narrator's Imagination

David Fincher's movies demonstrate his mastery of the crime genre, as he often manages to create completely unpredictable thrillers which break the mold. Fight Club is the perfect example of this, since it's a crime thriller, a psychological drama and dark comedy rolled into one. Fincher blends these disparate ideas to create an offbeat atmosphere, which sets the scene for a narrative full of twists.

The Tyler Durden reveal is a moment of brilliance, as it reveals the true extent of the narrator's insomnia-fueled psychosis. The way that he is manipulated and charmed by Tyler takes on a darkly comic layer, but the suggestion that his mind has been at war with itself is also deeply disturbing.

8 Arrival (2016)

Louise's Flashbacks Are Actually Glimpses Into Her Future

Arrival isn't Denis Villeneuve's only movie with a great twist. Anyone who has seen Incendies will know this, while his psychological thrillers Enemy and Prisoners both have some unpredictable turns too. However, Arrival is the most unique and the most profound of Villeneuve's twists.

Arrival is all about how language can shape the way that our minds work and our perceptions of the world. When Louise gradually gains an understanding of the heptapod's language, which doesn't use tenses like English, she gains the ability to see the future as clearly as a memory. Arrival's unusual timeline adds another layer of tragedy to the loss of her daughter.

7 The Sixth Sense (1999)

Malcolm Never Survived The Shooting

M. Night Shyamalan's movies are famous for their twists, although the director's big swings don't always connect with everyone. While a lot of his movies tend to split opinion, The Sixth Sense is often cited as his best work, and this has a lot to do with its iconic twist.

One reason why the reveal about Malcolm works so well is that the audience discovers the truth at the same time that he does. In hindsight, Shyamalan left plenty of clues, enough to make anyone want to rewatch The Sixth Sense from the beginning to see the story with a fresh perspective.

6 Gone Girl (2014)

Amy Fakes Her Kidnapping

Gone Girl's narrative is filled with unpredictable twists and turns, right until the very end. However, the biggest twist of all comes around the halfway mark, as the perspective shifts from Nick to Amy to reveal her elaborate, meticulously crafted plan to fake her own death and blame him.

Gone Girl could have stretched into a lengthy murder mystery, saving its big reveal for the finale, but choosing to deploy this twist earlier sets up a brilliant second half. The onus shifts from questioning what has already happened to questioning what could happen next, and this creates a frantic energy as the media storm rages on.

5 Get Out (2017)

Rose Is Part Of Her Family's Plan

Jordan Peele's directorial debut immediately shook up the horror genre, and it proved that his comedic take on race in America could also be used in a much darker way. Get Out reveals the sinister plan of the Armitage family little-by-little, but Rose's villain twist delivers a jaw-dropping moment.

Rose's refusal to give Chris the keys is a powerful symbol, and it reveals how he was trapped from the very beginning. Suddenly, Rose's actions throughout the entire film take on a new meaning. For example, the moment that she diffuses a situation with a police officer originally seems noble, but it's clear after the twist that she's serving her own purposes by taking Chris home without a paper trail.

4 Parasite (2019)

Geun-se Lives In The Basement

There are long stretches of Parasite which focus more on dark comedy, as the Kim family's plan to gradually infiltrate the Park household has all the raucous, perverse joy of a crime caper, like The Sting or The Italian Job. The twist about what's really lurking beneath the Park home instantly changes the tone of the story.

Parasite is as much a thriller as it is a comedy, and this turn really takes hold when the Kim family are met with a grim portent of their potential future. Bong Joon-ho's powerful social commentary allows him to balance his different genres and tones, because he always retains a clear intent.

3 Chinatown (1974)

Evelyn Mulwray's Sister Is Also Her Daughter

Chinatown weaves a complex narrative involving murder, political conspiracy and a man-made drought. It can be a little hard to keep track of as Jake Gittes gets caught in the tangle of the case, but once the pieces start falling into place they form a picture that's even darker and more disturbing than he could have imagined.

The reveal that Evelyn Mulwray's sister is also her daughter is one of Chinatown's most memorable scenes, since it changes the entire complexion of the story in a single moment. It deepens her tragedy while solidifying Noah Cross' status as one of cinema's most contemptible villains. The iconic ending of Chinatown delivers a bleak, pessimistic finale, but it wouldn't hit as hard without the twist.

2 The Prestige (2006)

Borden Is Actually Two People

Like Interstellar, Memento and Tenet, The Prestige is another Christopher Nolan movie that features a shocking twist. In fact, The Prestige has multiple jaw-dropping twists, as Nolan uses magic tricks as a metaphor for the way that he masterfully toys with his audience's expectations.

Throughout Angier and Borden's feud, their competing methods for the "Transported Man" trick are shrouded in mystery. While Angier's trick relies on cutting-edge science and the ultimate sacrifice, Borden's secret twin proves that he's never been one to take shortcuts on the road to success. This one reveal allows the audience to see all his actions through a different lens.

1 Vertigo (1958)

Judy Was Pretending To Be Madeleine To Fool Scottie

Alfred Hitchcock's movies have a few famous twists, many of which have been spoiled many times over. The reveal of the killer in Psycho and Willi's identity in Lifeboat are both executed brilliantly, but it's hard to top the power of Vertigo's unforgettable ending.

Hitchcock pulls out some of his most sophisticated tricks in Vertigo, placing the audience inside Scottie's tortured frame of mind.

Hitchcock pulls out some of his most sophisticated tricks in Vertigo, placing the audience inside Scottie's tortured frame of mind. Despite the disorienting dolly zooms, strange luminescent lighting and a great performance from James Stewart, it's still easy to get blindisded by the reveal about Judy's real identity and Elster's plan.