10 Exact Moments Movies Stopped Trying

By Matt Thompson / July 8, 2022

Ever had a great idea for a film, but halfway through explaining the story, the narrative didn't work and you lost momentum? Well, that definitely happens to real films too.

Sometimes a writers block prohibits a logical development and a ham-fisted bit of dialogue is waved in to force the story along. Other times the quality of the film drops and you start to see where the filmmakers stopped caring for their project.

It's unfair to accuse a film of losing its passion; but sometimes it's a painfully obvious thing that can be pinpointed to an exact moment. It can be a plot hole, an unexplained twist or just a dialogue exchange that is so sweaty it really drives home how tired the writer/director was when they were making it.

The scene can be almost masochistic; you've come this far and paid for a seat in the cinema, what are you going to do? Not watch this film to the end? So we plod along with a film that has lost its charisma and charm, lamenting the fact that it was made by someone who clearly gave up trying to impress and hold our attention.

Here are ten fairly recent films that suffered under filmmakers not caring about what they were making. This isn't a reflection on the cast and crew, but the person who steered the film toward its conclusion.

10. The Twin Reveal - Night Hunter

Night Hunter is a film that had (some) potential. It was a serial killer manhunt movie with top drawer actors and a few compelling twists and turns. The film follows cops and vigilantes tracking a serial killer who is capturing, mutilating and then murdering their victims.

When the prime suspect is caught red-handed, the cops (and audience) are confused to find he has an affliction that would make it hard for him to commit such horrific acts. Through a series of convoluted sequences, the suspect is released - but then re-captured. Only this time he isn't as naive.

Does the suspect have split personalities like Primal Fear? Or is a shady character in the police helping the killer? It doesn't matter. At the end of the second act, it's revealed that there is literally an evil twin committing the killings, and the afflicted twin is just an oblivious accomplice.

This would have been a neat twist if there was some moments that compel us to re-watch the film and point out where we were duped (like The Prestige). Instead, it feels like writer and director David Raymond wrote himself into a corner and had to double-down on the silliness from then on.