10 Horror Movies That Subtly Spoil The Ending Early

The torture porn genre didn’t really outlive the noughties (and not for want of trying), and even those franchises that maintained a strong presence throughout the decade (Saw, Hostel) offered diminishing returns with each new entry. Nevertheless, the James Wan-directed first Saw film has found a comfortable spot in the horror canon, recognised for its compelling mystery, inventive plot, star turns from the likes of Cary Elwes and Danny Glover, and, of course, its big twist ending.

A photographer (Leigh Whannell’s Adam) and an oncologist (Elwes’ Dr. Lawrence Gordon) awaken chained to the fixings in what appears to be a subterranean bathroom, a dead body lying between them and a mystery to solve before their time is up forever. The latest victims of the Jigsaw Killer, the film then spends the next 100 minutes depicting the killer’s other crimes, identifying his motives and attempting to track him down, while the two men fight for their lives.

And yet the killer is subtly revealed in his very first scene. 

Early in the film, we flash back to Dr. Gordon discussing patient John Kramer’s (Tobin Bell) terminal brain cancer, while Kramer sleeps. But eagle-eyed viewers can spot designs for the Jigsaw Killer’s reverse beartrap device just out there on Kramer’s hospital bed table, ignored by the staff and most viewers, but revealing everything.