8 Movies That Fooled Us Twice

There are great movie endings and then there are legendary ones. Planet of the Apes will be favourited itch in history as a twist that made audiences worldwide gasp in shock.

After going into a deep sleep for an outer-space voyage, Taylor and his fellow astronauts wake up in the year 3978 on what appears to be a planet far away from their home. After discovering primitive humans, they are taken hostage by advanced ape-like creatures.

The first surprise of the movie comes with the revelation that humans inhabited this planet at some stage in the distant past. Taylor finds his way into The Forbidden Zone, named as such because it houses various artefacts such as human dentures and a talking doll. Dr Zaius reveals that he had known that a human civilisation had existed long before his own and his suspicions that humanity had destroyed the planet are realised in the film’s iconic final moment.

Whilst Taylor gets the girl and escapes capture, he loses in the end when he finds proof that humanity wiped itself out. A ruined Statue of Liberty causes him to fall to his knees and despair as the world he knows is gone forever.

The book that Planet of the Apes is based on had a far different ending so even well-read moviegoers were shocked at the sight of the destroyed monument, just like everybody else.