10 More Awesome Plot Twists That Totally Saved Terrible Movies
9. Snake Shuts Down The World - Escape From L.A.
Try as modern film fans might to reclaim Escape from L.A. from the trashcan of pop-culture history, it's an undeniably massive step down from John Carpenter's brilliantly pulpy predecessor, Escape from New York.
More-or-less a rehash of the original concept with a coastal shift, not even Kurt Russell's deliciously gruff performance can prop up this lazy sequel that's best remembered for that infamously terrible surfing scene.
It does finally feel worthy of the original in its final few minutes, though, when Snake (Russell) and the President's daughter Utopia (A.J. Langer) are caught by the President (Cliff Robertson).
The POTUS straps his traitorous daughter to an electric chair and orders Snake's execution by firing squad. Once the soldiers shoot, though, Snake is oddly unharmed, revealing the first of two sneaky twists - it was just a holographic projection of him.
The real Snake then reveals himself and activates the Sword of Damocles superweapon, deactivating all technology on Earth and effectively plunging humanity back into the Dark Ages. The End.
Coming at the end of a frequently silly sequel, this was a brilliantly bleak final rug-pull, leaving the audience to ponder on precisely what would become of the world in light of this tectonic shift.