20 Secret Movie Sub-Plots You Didn't Notice
The secret storylines that may have passed you by, and change everything...
Movies are designed to surprise us, and sometimes - just sometimes - they get away with more than what audiences may notice.
From sci-fi thrillers to classic westerns, abduction actioners to silly comedies, movie history is rife with films that have perfectly hidden subplots buried under the surface of the main action, some of which are so rewarding they can completely recontextualise the film in question.
Of course, the following films still work without these quiet revelations and background antics, but add the extra drama into the mix and you'll find the movie all the richer for having noticed it. After all, who doesn't love being surprised by a brilliant revelation capable of shaking the very foundation of the movie you've been watching?
With that in mind, then, from blink-and-you 'll-miss-it character work to recurring villains you can barely see, and clever dialogue to subversive pop culture references, here are 20 movies with secret subplots you probably didn't even notice first time around, all of which offer great depth to the main storyline guiding its characters forward.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
20. The Aliens Have Landed! - Searching (2018)
It turns out his missing daughter may be the least of John Cho's worries in this twisty abduction thriller, because there may be a bigger issue looming on the horizon.
Searching follows an embattled father desperately attempting to find his teenage daughter, and its unique execution is to die for, set entirely on computer screens. Not only is this a clever narrative device - claustrophobic and chilling - it also leaves the film packed with easy-to-miss details.
The biggest revelation lurking under the thrills is scattered throughout the movie, with various headlines and news reports suggesting an alien invasion is taking place in the wider world. None of the headlines or posts are entirely obvious, because the film's main storyline is such an intense rollercoaster.
Put in place as a silly joke by writer Sev Ohanian, this is one meta subplot that really adds some tension to Cho's situation: His daughter's missing, and extra-terrestrials have landed? That's a full day, alright.