10 Most Disturbing Plot Twists In Non-Horror Movies

Chinatown is a film made up of plot twists. All of them are earned and more devastating than the last, and watching Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) battle the corruption and secrets around him makes it clear why Robert Towne's script is often cited as one of the greatest ever penned.

Initially, Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her cheating husband, only for the husband to turn up dead and the "Evelyn" that hired him to turn out to be an imposter. From there, Gittes is thrown head-first into a dangerous conspiracy with the real Evelyn, who finds herself torn between Gittes and the fear she feels for her father (John Huston).

After suffering numerous set-backs, a nasty injury and numerous threats on his life, Gittes finally gets to the bottom of the mystery, which basically boils down to the fact that Evelyn's daughter (Belinda Palmer) is also her sister, a result of her father's assault when she was a teenager.

If that wasn't enough, Gittes then plots for Evelyn and Katharine to escape Mr. Cross' clutches, only for Evelyn to be shot dead by the police and Katharine let back into her father/grandfather's care.

Gittes, meanwhile, is powerless to save either victim, leading his colleague to utter the famous words: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Wow.