4 Best and 5 Worst "Twists" of 2012 Movies

by Cameron Carpenter

The Best

4. Horror Movie Stereotypes Aren't Stereotypes At All; They're Prophecies - TheCabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods was a smash-hit because of its reverence and reinterpretation to the horror genre of film. One of the best plays the movie manages to come up with is making the stereotypical major players in a horror movie (blonde, jock, nerd, virgin, and the scholar) part of a ritual to keep the world's worst fears at bay by using their blood to feed the gods of terror that lie in the underground. It's funny, absurd, and using the device of the "twist" in the way that it's supposed to be used. It's not merely representing a character shift; it's valued on the entire narrative of the movie and changes every aspect of it. It's less "No, I am your father," and more, "Bruce Willis was dead the whole time." Inventive, fellas. Quite inventive.

 
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Contributor

Cameron Carpenter is an aspiring screenwriter, current film and journalism student, and self-diagnosed cinephile, which only sounds bad in certain circles. Devoted fan of comics, movies, theater, Jesus Christ, Sidney Lumet, and Peter O'Toole, he sometimes spends too much time on his Scribd and comicbookmovie.com, but doesn't think you're one to judge, devoted reader. You can follow him on Twitter to watch him talk to people you didn't know exist. Oh, and Daredevil is quite the big deal around here (my head).