10 Horror Movies With Unexpectedly Ridiculous Plot Twists
Instead of a jaw drop, these horror films left us scratching our heads.
The phrase, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, can be applied to the horror genre pretty liberally. Certain formulas within the world of horror work brilliantly, and there’s no point overcomplicating them. Halloween is about as straightforward as it gets for example, and you could watch Jaws with the sound off (not that you’d want to, what with the soundtrack being quite renowned and all).
However sometimes, horror films try to break away from the status quo and throw the audience a curveball that leaves them reeling. You’ve got your Sixth Senses, your Saws and your Get Outs. Hell even Alien is a bit of a plot twist: what if slasher movie… was in space?!
Sometimes though, these plot twists are a little bizarre to say the least. Just because something is surprising or out of the blue, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good plot twist. The following entries may be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ plot twists, but they are utterly ridiculous regardless.
10. The Unreliable Narrator - The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari
Robert Wiene’s 1920 masterpiece is pretty bizarre as it is. Striking imagery, revolutionising special effects and a twisted tale of madness came together to create something truly special. It deserves its legendary status completely, and its ending is almost as bizarre as everything that precedes it.
The film follows a man called Francis, who recounts his experience with the diabolical Dr Caligari who is using a somnambulist to commit murder in a small German town. Just telling the plot doesn’t fully do it credit, as much of the film relies on using visuals to take the viewer on a fantastical journey.
But how to end such a tale? Well, the ending is pretty bonkers. It’s revealed that Francis is in fact an inmate at a psychiatric asylum, and all of the characters in his story are other inmates. ‘Dr Caligari’ is the asylum director, not an evil mastermind. Whilst modern viewers are accustomed to the “it was all a dream” trope, contemporary audiences were blown away and Francis went from heroic protagonist to a deeply troubled and untrustworthy narrator. Eat your heart out Fight Club.