10 Movies That Secretly Revealed Their Endings

Guillermo del Toro's latest movie might feature a distinct lack of strange and disturbing sea creatures, but it's no less dark than his previous endeavours. His neo-noir physiological nightmare tells the story of Stanton "Stan" Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) - a morally bankrupt drifter whose traumatic past comes back to haunt him.

Stan finds work at a local carnival. At a geek show he's shocked when witnessing a drunk bite the head off a live chicken to entertain the crowd. For a significant section of the movie Stan - a t-totaler, due to his alcoholic and abusive father - is portrayed as a man driven to succeed, as he hoodwinks clients and colleagues, eventually becoming a successful mentalist.

Much of the movie is foreshadowing Stan's own fall into damnation, however. At one point Stan is told how someone is manipulated into becoming a geek: the victim is lured in with booze, assured that the job is temporary, and then tricked into staying. This is mirrored in the way Stan is later manipulated by Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), who convinces him to drink alcohol, feigns a caring relationship, and persuades him to take part in a con before betraying him.

At the end of the movie Stan - now an alcoholic and bum - requests a job in a carnival, but what he is offered is a drink and "temporary" work as a geek. Realising he's being conned, he laughs and says "I was born for it" recognising he's been a geek his whole life.