10 Awesome Plot Twists That Totally Saved Awful Horror Movies

Because horror often deals with mysteries, secrets, and masked serial killers, it's no surprise why the genre is filled with plot twists. (Seriously, it's weird when a scary movie doesn't end with a "gotcha" moment.)

Although this literary technique can be gimmicky, you can't deny how impactful it is when the rug is pulled from under us. We all remember the gut punch while watching The Sixth Sense. We remember picking up our jaw after learning the identity of Saw's killer.

Unfortunately, there's two problems. Firstly, most horror movies are rubbish. Secondly, pulling off a great twist is really hard. More often than not, the last-minute epiphany comes across as forced, non-sensical, or unintentionally hilarious. Even if the twist is decent, it's rarely good enough to redeem a bad movie.

But sometimes, that's exactly what happens. Just when you're about to give up on a mediocre slasher or derivative body horror, you're sideswiped with such a mind-blowing shocker, you see the whole film in a different light. Although we can't pretend these movies qualify as decent, the final reveal let us forgive some of their failings.

Don't Hang Up follows Sam and Brady, a pair of teens who make YouTube videos where they prank call people. During one prank, they convince a caller called Mrs. Kolbein that an intruder is in her house. When this prank goes viral, the channel blows up in popularity.

One day, a man called Lee rings Sam and Brady, informing him that he'll destroy their lives unless they do as he asks. He then performs his own pranks, which mostly involve killing the YouTubers' friends.

Because Lee comes across as a textbook wacko, it's easy to assume there's no rhyme or reason to his actions. But when Sam encounters Lee in the climax, he discovers he's not the monster he thought he was.

Lee explains how the call Sam made to Mrs. Kolbein (who's implied to be his wife) ended in tragedy. Before Kolbein realised the call was a gag, she shot the supposed intruder, unaware it was her daughter. Devastated that she killed her child, Kolbein blew her own brains out. Because Sam and Brady suffered no punishment for their actions, Lee was compelled to take matters into his own hands.

Now, no one is going to pretend Don't Hang Up isn't full of plot holes - why wasn't Sam and Brady prosecuted for manslaughter? - nevertheless, this twist helped turn a despicable villain into a surprisingly sympathetic character.