10 Horror Movie Twists That Were Hiding In Plain Sight

We really should've seen that coming.

Scream 2022
Dimension Films

Horror movies are designed to shock the viewers by using graphic gore, creative kills, and a slew of jump-scares. However, the most effective way to really surprise moviegoers is with a mind-blowing twist. Many slashers, sci-fi flicks, or found-footage B-movies conclude with some sort of reveal, hoping to catch the audience out.

Although people often say the best twists are the ones you don't see coming, this isn't true. It's the twists that you SHOULD have seen coming that have a lasting impact on us. Even though the climax of The Sixth Sense, The Cabin in the Woods, and Saw caught everyone off guard, there were clues that implied the big reveal. If you managed to follow these breadcrumbs, you could've figured out the twist long before it was unveiled.

A throwaway line in Psycho implies Mrs Bates' fate. Shutter Island's first scene gives the whole game away. One of the first shots of Us tells you how it's going to end. Even though these twists felt like they came out of nowhere, the truth was hiding in plain sight to anyone who was paying attention.

10. Dewey Guesses The Killer In His First Scene - Scream (2022)

Scream 2022
Paramount

Although it's usually difficult to deduce the killer's identity in the Scream franchise, many viewers correctly guessed Amber and Richie were behind the mask in the latest film. When Ghostface claims to have cloned Amber's phone (just like in Scream 3), a lot of viewers didn't think the franchise would be lazy enough to use this trope again and so, suspected it was a bluff.

Likewise, when Richie visits Tara at the hospital, she whacks him with her mobile, causing him to yell, "Did you just hit me with a phone?" This is a callback to how Billy hit Stu (AKA the original killers) with a phone in the first movie. The fact that Amber and Richie are the only new characters to have zero connection with the people of Woodsboro was also incredibly suspicious.

However, the most obvious clue is when Dewey tells the gang Richie is the most likely person to be Ghostface since the killer is usually the seemingly loving boyfriend. And, well, it turns out he was exactly bang on the money, which Richie even comments on at the end of the movie.

Sadly, nobody paid attention.

Contributor
Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85