19 Times Movies Had Absolutely Shocking Twists In The Very Last Minute

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

1. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, when Mysterio revealed Peter's identity as Spider-Man in the last seconds of the end credits:

Marvel

Marvel has had some fantastic cliffhangers over the years, but I think this is my favorite end-credits one. It's such an "oh shit" moment, and I couldn't wait to see how the MCU handled an unmasked — and hated — Spider-Man (and No Way Home did not disappoint!!!!).

2. In The Mist, when the Army appeared in the last two minutes of the film, revealing that David had just killed his son and friends for nothing as they were minutes away from rescue:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Dimension Films / The Weinstein Co.

This is perhaps the most fury-inducing ending of all time. I cannot overstate how much I hate this ending. Still, that's why it's effective. It's just genuinely one of the most messed-up, horrifying film endings I have ever seen, and you do NOT see it coming, especially because the book didn't end this way.

3. In Kill Bill: Volume 1, when it was revealed that the Bride's daughter was alive:

Miramax Films

The Bride was killed while pregnant, so this adds a whole new "WTF" layer to this twist. It's one of my favorite final lines to a movie, and it gets you pumped for Volume 2.

4. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, when Gale revealed District 13 was gone:

Lionsgate

I mean, yeah, you know this twist if you read the books, but "there is no district 12" will still go down in history as one of the most memorable movie lines of the 2010s. It's a mic drop, horrifying moment, and Katniss's changing expressions as the camera focuses in on her face is just a master-class in acting, character, and how to end a film. 

5. In The Planet of the Apes, when Taylor stumbles across the Statue of Liberty and realizes he's on Earth:

20th Century Fox

There's a reason this is one of the most iconic movie twists of all time. I'm a sucker for a visual reveal, and the ruined Statue of Liberty is just such a great symbol to end this movie with.

6. In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, when Nancy realized Matthew was actually a duplicate:

United Artists

I get chills just looking at these images. It's a horrifying note to end on (a common theme in this list), but again, that's why it's so effective!

7. In Iron Man, when the film ended with Tony telling the world he was Iron Man:

Marvel

This literally changed superhero movies as we knew them. Until then, most superheroes had secret identities, or operated out of the public eye. Ending the first film of the MCU this way was a hint of all the great, inventive things the MCU had coming that caused them to utterly dominate the cinema landscape for over a decade. 

8. At the very end of The Usual Suspects, when Keyser Söze was revealed to be Verbal:

Gramercy Pictures/Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International

This is another one of the most famous movie reveals of all time, and that it happens at the very end makes it all the more chilling. Verbal is the last person you suspect to be Söze, and watching him get away is as painful as it is weirdly satisfying, because you know as you're watching it that the movie has just pulled off a fantastic twist.

9. In The Departed, when Dignam shot Colin in the last moments of the film:

Warner Bros. Pictures

This is just a personal favorite of mine, LOL, because god, did I HATE Colin. The Departed is one of my all-time favorite movies (why did Leo not win an Oscar for it????), but it seems poised to end on an incredibly bleak note. The good guys lost, and even though Frank is also dead, it's infuriating to know that Colin makes it out fine and unexposed after all the terrible things he's done. While I'm not going to call Dignam killing him justice (I wanted to see him fully caught by everyone), this was a pretty satisfying movie death that proved we all get ours in the end. 

10. In Uncut Gems, when the movie ended with Phil killing Howard and then Arno.

A24/Netflix

True to form, one of the most stressful films of all time ends on an equally stressful note. Howard's death is sudden, and Arno's is unneeded, and somehow, that feels perfect for the movie while also being shocking.

11. In Drag Me to Hell, when it looked like Christine had escaped the curse only for Clay to reveal the button...causing Christine to back into a moving train and get dragged to hell:

Universal Pictures/Mandate Pictures

I mean, did you expect anything less from a movie called Drag Me to Hell? I'll be honest, I'm pretty squeamish, and this incredibly brutal "death" (death feels too small a word for literally being dragged to hell) feels utterly undeserved for a character who is proven on multiple occasions to have a moral compass. The movie utterly DELIVERED on the horror aspect in the final moments.

12. In I Care a Lot, when Marla was shot dead by the son of one of her patients:

Netflix

I feel like I'm one of the few people that enjoyed I Care a Lot, and like in The Departed, it felt right that Marla did not make it to the very end of the movie. She's not a protagonist we rooted for, but she's been so slick in so many impossible situations that it feels impossible that she be killed by one of her run-of-the-mill victims with a gun. But that's the reality of death and violence — Marla played with people's lives, but in the end, she was not a god — she was a human who could be ruined, too, albeit in a far simpler way than she ruined her victims.

13. In Sweeney Todd, when Sweeney discovered he'd just killed Lucy and that Mrs. Lovett had lied to him, so he killed her then had his throat slit by Toby...all in the last few minutes.

DreamWorks/Paramount /Warner Bros. Pictures

WHAT A REVEAL!!! Now, I was aware of this plot twist by the time I saw the movie, having played the starring role of Ensemble Member 12 in my ninth grade production, but I still remember it blowing my mind when I read the script and listened to the soundtrack. Sweeney Todd is more greek tragedy than horror to me, and this ending feels utterly shocking yet inevitable. It's an extremely bleak end, but then, with the way the story started, did you expect anything different?

14. In Saw, when the "corpse" from the beginning of the film stood up, revealing himself to be Jigsaw:

Lions Gate Films

Watching the dead body in the background rise is actually one of the creepiest horror movie shots ever and I can't believe it's from Saw. This is such an incredible twist, and it's made even better by the fact that Jigsaw doesn't even do anything but say "game over" and walk away as Adam screams. Saw is full of gore, but the most horrifying scene still manages to be literally a guy just standing up and walking away. They really nailed it with this one.

15. In Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), when Riggan climbed out the window and was assumed to have flown into the sky:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

This is a deeply bizarre, open-ended final scene, but in a film filled with absurdist aspects and magical realism, it feels just right. I was shocked and pleased it ended on a joyful note, especially coming from Sam, who has not shown us this much happiness and wonder throughout the entire film. It's really one of the most memorable film endings of the last few decades to me.

16. In Promising Young Woman, when Ryan got a final set of texts from Cassie, and Al was arrested at his wedding:

Focus Features (United States)Universal Pictures

This is another one of those film endings that makes me angry, but looking back, I think it was really effective. I hated that Cassie died, and I don't think this ending is truly satisfying even though we see Al apprehended, which was what Cassie always wanted. Cassie should have been able to live. But the injustice I felt at Cassie's death abated after we realized that Cassie was in control all along — she knew she might die, and in fact, she may have counted on it to make sure Al actually got arrested. It's a genius ending, even if it's not quite satisfying, and it still sticks in my memory whenever I think of memorable movie endings.

17. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when Luke showed up in the last seconds:

Lucasfilm/Disney+

Yeah, I know, I'm one of those people who likes The Force Awakens. (Poe!!! Finn!! A stormtrooper that's a good guy!!! The return of our faves!) While I always hated Kylo and hated him killing his father, overall I enjoyed the first of the sequel series and was really excited for what was to come next. It was so nostalgic to me, and of course, one vital thing was missing: Luke Skywalker himself. So, when he showed up at the very end, I was STOKED, and I couldn't wait to see the next film.

...Of course, that Luke ended up being super out of character, and the next two movies were trash, but I was a sweet summer child back then and didn't know that.

18. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, when Barbossa was revealed to be alive.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"That beloved dead character is actually alive!" is hit or miss with me, but this one's definitely a hit. It's completely unexpected but also welcome, and I was so happy to see Barbossa back that I didn't care how realistic it was.

19. Finally, in Avengers: Infinity War, when the film ended with 50% of the world — and 50% of our heroes — disappearing:

Marvel

This is still one of the most impressive, gutsy moves Marvel has ever made. The heroes always win — it's almost a rule of superhero movies. They lose people, and they can be hurt, but in the end, good wins. That didn't happen here. They lost in a battle with catastrophically high stakes, and this slow, music-less ending of half our heroes disappearing instilled a sense of shock into a global audience of people who were not used to seeing this from Marvel films. Hats off to you on this one, Marvel.

What movie ending utterly shocked you in its last few minutes? Let us know in the comments!