10 Horror Movies That Keep Tricking Viewers

Horror films are often designed, not just to scare but to mislead, especially when it comes to whodunits and slashers. If there's a great mystery to be solved or a deranged killer to be unmasked, there's bound to be a decent amount of misdirection to keep the guessing game going as long as possible.

However, some movies refuse to settle for just one red herring and instead throw in a whole gaggle of them. Now, these sorts of rug-pulls don't always lead to a twist, and sometimes ploys like these are there simply to subvert expectations.

For example, a character may be set up as an unstoppable hero, only to be the first person to pop their clogs. A specific plot point can be repeatedly teased, just to make it more shocking when the story veers in a different direction. When a certain character behaves like an imbecile, it's unexpected when they end up saving the day.

When the audience falls for these ruses, they should be more on their toes to ensure they don't get tricked again. Having said that, there's no doubt the entries on this list fooled everybody time and time again.

In Halina Reijn's satyrical whodunit, a group of vapid Gen-Z friends decide to party in an opulent mansion during hurricane season. When the wi-fi and lights go off, they play a murder-in-the-dark game to pass the time.

However, the murder game gets a bit too literal when one partygoer, David, winds up dead, his neck slashed with a sword. Believing there's a wolf in the fold, it isn't long before everyone is at each others' throats, leading to further bloodshed. When Bee and Sophie are all who remain, there's no doubt one of them is the initial culprit.

Or maybe not. 

When it comes to slashers, there tends to be one simple rule: somebody must be the killer. Despite that, Bodies Bodies Bodies flips the script, revealing that David slashed his throat by accident, meaning the massacre that followed was for nothing.

Since this trope goes hand-in-hand with the genre, it's impossible not to accuse every character, especially when everyone behaves suspiciously and acts hostile to one another. Although it's annoying to watch the group accuse the innocent, viewers will feel ashamed when they realise they were doing the same thing.