12 Movies That Wasted Great Twist Ideas

Already infamous for her 1993 "it was all a dream" horror drama Boxing Helena (which there is no saving, twist or otherwise), Jenifer "daughter of David" Lynch was not met with much critical love when she released Surveillance in 2008.

The convoluted story of a violent interaction on a quiet highway as told from various interweaving perspectives, this muddled thriller flick fails to pull off its last second reveal, but just because it didn't work doesn't mean it never could have.

After the viewer sees events from numerous perspectives reported to a pair of FBI agents, the flick attempts to invert The Usual Suspects ending as (spoilers?) the two detectives investigating the case are revealed to be the masked perpetrators of the crime in question, covering their tracks by ensuring there are no witnesses.

As confusing as this one is in practice, it's easy to see how potentially chilling this "it was our heroes all along" twist could have been in more careful hands. If the audience saw the agents discussing whether they believe each suspect after their interview, these conversations could later be revealed to be the two trying to work out whether anyone recognized them, rather than the trippy over-edited mess the film offered instead.