10 More Movies That Cleverly START With Huge Twists
3. Saw X
You can argue that Saw X's real twist was that it was actually a good movie, but it also offered up a few neat subversions of the series' expected formula, such as placing its most intriguing reveal not at the end but the beginning.
More to the point, the twist was inflicted on John Kramer, aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), himself, rather than him being the one to administer some not-so-welcome news upon one of his hapless victims.
Saw X is a prequel set between the first two Saw films, where a cancer-riddled Kramer learns of an experimental treatment spearheaded by Dr. Cecilia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund), and agrees to undergo the procedure in Mexico.
Though surgery apparently goes well, the movie's big early reveal is that John has been scammed - the entire clinic was a front created by Pederson to swindle desperate, terminally ill people out of their money.
The moment that John realises what's happened is punctuated with all the hallmarks of a classic Saw twist - a flashback montage illustrating pivotal moments within their shocking new context, and a musical cue nodding to Charlie Clouser's iconic "Hello Zepp" theme.
Even though the trailers basically let the cat out of the bag, it's still a nifty reverse-twist of-sorts which totally flips the script on what fans expect from a Saw movie.