There have been some movies that were engaging and fun to watch. The directors added certain things to the plot which made the film interesting. But there have been some situations where the director didn’t offer up key plot twists on a platter and wanted the audience to work for them. So, there have been some popular twists in a few movies that went unnoticed by us, no matter how many times we have watched that movie. A subtle reveal has many advantages as it makes you rewatch and figure out another layer of the film. So, here are eight movie plot twists that we missed and we realized later.
1. The actual issue of the artist revealed in the end – The Artist
‘The Artist’ is popular for being the silent film that won the Oscar and has been a cheerful celebration of cinema in a classical art form along with a message that the industry should not be afraid of accepting changes. Jean Dujardin played the role of George Valentin, a silent movie star whose world crumbles when sound enters the movies and he fails to catch up.
We saw in the movie that Valentin was not capable of making a Talkie hit. The general fact is that his ego is too great because of which he lost his objective filmmaking ability. But the final scene revealed the truth that he is French. It was a moment that managed to provide a line to Jean Dujardin, honor the French origins of the film, and the movie ended on a high note. But another thing which was revealed is that it was not a problem in the silent days and now his accent cannot fit in the new Hollywood sound.
2. The Monster was an Alien from the bottom of the sea – Cloverfield
Cloverfield was produced by J.J. Abrams and very less marketing was done for the film. At the time of announcement and release, it was known only by its release date, which was 1-18-08. The film is still remembered for being a thrilling watch although there have been no new updates about the rumored sequel.
The final scene of the film showed a recording that the rest of the movie was taping over. It showed Rob and his love interest Beth at Coney Island a few months before the disaster which had a big and hidden piece of info. While looking out to the sea, something is seen crashing down into the ocean. It might be the monster itself or the satellite which was responsible for waking it up from the deep-sea slumber. This changed the film from normal ground footage of a disaster to a key clue about where the horror came from.
3. Bruce Banner could control his anger (before The Avengers) – The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk was released in the year 2008 and was considered as an improvement over the one directed by Ang Lee in 2003. It was the lowest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is a movie that is watched again and again by Marvel fans but also getting ignored at the same time. Well, you all noticed a certain disconnect between this film and The Avengers released in 2012 – the plot points were dropped completely. But there is a moment that leads into the team-up and it is hard to notice without the pay-off.
The climax of The Incredible Hulk shows Bruce Banner on the run once again but he is later shown to be meditating and transforming for one last time. There is an uncertainty to this scene since Marvel didn’t decide if Hulk would be a villain in The Avengers or not. A scene where he says that he is always angry revealed the actual meaning that Bruce Banner is coming out of his alter-ego shadow and taking control.
4. Nick’s Sperm was kept by Amy – Gone Girl
American thriller film ‘Gone Girl’ directed by David Fincher had a lot of twists. The premise revolves around Amy Dunne missing and the blame directly falls on her husband Nick. The reveal would definitely be a shocking one and this is what keeps the audience engaged. The film saw Nick playing happy families with Amy who returned and she used the unborn child as a bargaining chip.
The film had a throat-slitting scene which means we don’t question how Amy became pregnant by an understandably uninterested Nick. If you watch the film again, you would get to know that the sperm samples presumed to be destroyed earlier in the film by Nick were actually kept by Amy for use in a certain situation.
5. Deckard is a Replicant – Blade Runner
Blade Runner is known as the best sci-fi film ever made and it was able to redefine the visual landscape of the genre of Star Wars films and allowed Harrison Ford to go against type as Deckard, a titular cop asked to hunt down renegade replicants. Deckard was actually a replicant. You will get the clues when you watch the film and the major one is his eyes flashing a recognizable replicant red and the final discovery of an origami unicorn that matches up to a dream he had earlier.
Years of reinforcement removed all of the subtlety from this reveal despite being a small undercurrent to the story, most of us now consider it like a big narrative drive but this cannot hide the fact that when you see it for the first time, it is magnificently under the surface.
6. The actual name of Indy makes the film the end of his journey – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade repeated various tricks like the Nazi villains from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Christian-inspired MacGuffin who is a wicked and power-driven rival but throws in many new concepts which don’t feel like a complete rehash. The end of the film saw Henry revealing the reason he calls his son Junior most of the time, which is his real name. Henry Jones Jr. adopted the cooler moniker from the family dog and this revelation was very funny since it nods to the development of the character which is, George Lucas’ own pooch was known as Indiana.
We get to see in the previous scene that Indy lets the pull of the Grail overcome him and Henry snaps it out of him with the use of his chosen name and this is an ultimate show of fatherly acceptance. It is something the son has been longing for since childhood as shown in the prologue. After this, things go back to normal since families love to bicker.
7. A fake investigation that surprisingly worked – Shutter Island
American actor Leonardo DiCaprio has mostly played unconventional roles in biopics and period films. His role was praised in the neo-noir psychological thriller film ‘Shutter Island’ directed by Martin Scorsese and was released in the year 2010. The film is remembered for using classical as well as modern classical music in its official soundtrack. If you have seen the film, you must remember that scene where Teddy asks his doctor, “Which would be worse – to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?”.
For the first time, it is a nice close to the film but when you watch it again, it shows the ending in a more depressing light than it was already. We get to see that Teddy is already aware of the situation. He is definitely a disturbed individual but the exercise has worked and he gains clarity on his past and sees his true self which he decides to destroy. With Holocaust imagery seen in the fictional backstory, the film turns into a strong morality tale from a pulpy thriller.
8. It’s… Complicated – Enemy
Neo-noir psychological thriller mystery film ‘Enemy released in 2013 and was directed by Denis Villeneuve. The dual roles of a loner history professor named Adam Bell and an actor named Anthony Claire were portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal. The film ended with the actor getting killed in a car crash and the professor taking up his life which included going to a strange sex club where women step on spiders.
The plot twist of this movie will not be noticed by you unless you don’t spend some time analyzing the film in-depth. The enemy is not a normal doppelgänger story but it takes place in the inner realm of consciousness with both the Jakes conflicting the elements of the similar and presumably real-world, person. The end of the film saw the actor getting killed and the professor then visits the strange spider-fetish dungeon thing which means that although the positive side wins, it becomes corrupted by the negative, manifested by the last-minute recoiling spider.
