Ranking Every M. Night Shyamalan Plot Twist From Worst To Best
3. The Village
The Plot: A group of 19th century Pennsylvanian villagers live in constant fear of "monsters" that roam the surrounding woods. The village Elders have many secrets, which they attempt to keep under wraps by isolating their residents from the neighboring towns.
The Twist: The village exists in modern times. The creatures only referred to as "Those We Don't Speak Of" were created by the town Elders - and "played" by trusted townspeople - to keep everyone from venturing outside the walls of the village and discovering the true evils that exist in the outside world.
This is one of those cases where the twist ending either completely saved the movie for you or completely ruined it. Because the scene in which Bryce Dallas Howard finally breaks through the walls of the village and into the streets of the modern day is as jarring as bait-and-switches come.
Some have said that this ending was telegraphed early on in the first act, but the way Shyamalan drops it into the viewer's lap still comes a bit out of left field. That said, it may be the most inventive plot twist of the director's career.