suddenly PLOT TWIST

Started by moon February 25th, 2015 6:46 AM
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moon

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~~ What do you think of plot twists? Do you need a surprising story to keep you engaged?
Which movie/book/etc has the best (and/or most surprising) plot twist according to you?

I'mma name two obvious examples. Fight Club and Oldboy. Wow haha in the first case and wow ew in the second. I'll also name Interstellar, but that was mostly wow what, and I'm not sure I think it was the twists at the end that made the movie enjoyable so it's not quite up there on this particular list.

Put more in-depth comments on ending in spoilers please, in case someone hasn't seen the cool movie you mention :)
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Klippy

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Gone Girl's twist was one of the best I'd ever seen.

Though I don't like knowing a movie has twists because that, in itself, is a spoiler and it ruins the element of surprise that comes with said twist.
Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
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16.6 Years
Disappointed that the thread with the same name wasn't generally about the subject. So I changed the capitalisation and here we are.

What do you think of plot twists? Do you need a surprising story to keep you engaged? I expect you do, since I've only seen plot twists regarded as positive things, with their lack being negative.

But I don't feel that way myself. I've been listening to audiobooks of Tolkein's works and have found that a story can very well be tiresomely predictable and yet not tiresome on the whole. Suffice to say, then, I simply don't care about plot twists. I suppose predictable stories are disliked because people lose immersion by virtue of noticing patterns in the media they consume, as humans are wont to do, through a thought like "I bet this character will do that" instead of just taking it as it comes. Mind you, it might start bothering me once I've heard enough stories.
Oh, I've seen plenty of negative plot twists, in that they derail what was otherwise fantastic...or just wind up disappointing, as they're constantly teased at and ultimately turn out to be pathetically anticlimactic or so glaringly obvious that they lose their status as a plot twist and become just another point to the story.

I don't think any media with sufficiently good writing needs a plot twist to be engaging; in fact, I'd prefer to have meaningful character interaction, and you can accomplish that without springing surprises. It's not as easy - in many ways a plot twist is a writing cop-out, as it's a convenient excuse to have characters react a certain way, or just outright kill them off - but I'd say it's a mark of a good show that manages to do it without resorting to major twists. Plot twists usually are there to keep the viewer engaged, and if a show can do that without it, that speaks volumes for its quality, at least to me.

But I don't mind plot twists that contribute in a lasting and meaningful way; it's all a part of it, after all. I just don't think they're absolutely necessary for a good piece of fiction.

antemortem

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yo i merged the two plot twist threads because lbr they are the same thing
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gimmepie

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I like plot twists generally, there's something good about that sense of surprise and wonderment. I don't think all movies need a plot twist though, however I think that the need for a twist becomes greater in genres like mystery, drama, horror and more serious action films.

The Sixth Sense has the best twist.

I like plot twists generally, there's something good about that sense of surprise and wonderment. I don't think all movies need a plot twist though, however I think that the need for a twist becomes greater in genres like mystery, drama, horror and more serious action films.

The Sixth Sense has the best twist.
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Her

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The only plot twist of recent years (not including M. Bore Shyamalan, sorry, The Sixth Sense isn't recent) that I can recall is the revelation in the Deathly Hallows that Snape did it all for Lily. Dumbledore dying in the previous book was expected, and to an extent, Snape's ultimately good character was expected. But the way the revelation unfolded is something that will stick with most readers of the books.

Oh, BioShock came to mind, too. Granted, BioShock is a game, but the revelation that Atlas is Fontaine is too bloody good to not be included.

Sydian

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Posted November 29th, 2021
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I'm taking a film class this semester and we literally just watch films and have to write on some prompts every so often, lol. But I've been exposed to quite a number of films so far in the class and the biggest plot twist for me was in Fried Green Tomatoes. I really enjoyed that film, the most out of all of them so far even. But I can't get over the morbid fact that they actually BBQ'd a man. lol Like...I was not expecting that. I love that movie so much but Jesus!!! That's so weird!!!
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Bounsweet

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Posted October 11th, 2017
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15.6 Years
I live for great plot twists. Honestly they can make or break an entire story for me.

Honestly, the most memorable or iconic stories seem to have profound plot twists that really stir the audience and gets their attention - like aforementioned The Sixth Sense and Harry Potter had quite a handful throughout the series that kept all of its readers so engaged.