12 Movies That Wasted Great Twist Ideas

6. Skyline— The Aliens Won! (Wait No, Never Mind, The Hero Did)

Life Itself Twist
Universal Pictures

An alien invasion thriller which sees its cast utterly defeated in the end, powerless to stop the hordes taking over earth?

There's an effective ending. After all, it certainly worked in the infamously downbeat coda of 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake.

But you know what else could work?

Having one of the heroes seemingly offed by the aliens, only for his brain to take control of their tech and kick their asses at the last moment.

A bit like the surprisingly cool ending to 2005's otherwise sub par movie adaptation of Doom. Yeah, that works too.

What 2010's Skyline proves, however, is that the filmmakers need to pick one of these two endings and stick with it.

Instead, the movie tries to have it both ways. First viewers are presented with the bleak, brutal ending outlined above, then suddenly the film throws in a reversal of fortune in its literal closing images, with the indecision leaving neither twist satisfying.

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