Everyone loves a good twist ending. It’s the cherry on top of a good - or even bad - movie. When you’re watching a twist go down live, you tend to be so amazed, you forget to take into account whether or not these twists are worthwhile. Or well-conceived, no less.
The horror genre loves its twists, but these revelations and shocking developments can make or break a film. Again, if a plot hole forms because of said twist, then the whole movie might fall apart. With that in mind, here are ten horror movie twist endings that make little to no sense for whatever reason. Oh, and yes, there are spoilers below. So, read at your own risk.
Hide and Seek (2005)
After his wife dies, David moves to a new town with his daughter. The child struggles to adjust, and she constantly talks to an imaginary friend named Charlie. The father, however, suspects Charlie might not be imaginary after all.
First off, Hide and Seek might amuse you if you don’t think about the ending too much. Yet, if you do, the story crumbles.
We learn that Robert De Niro’s character David has multiple personalities. One of whom is Charlie, a violent manifestation who also killed David’s wife and then made her death seem like a suicide. Did the police not investigate? If someone does possess multiple personalities, their DNA doesn’t change. Surely cops would have found evidence to suggest foul play, no?
D-Railed (2019)
During a murder mystery dinner aboard a train, passengers are held up by criminals on board before the train eventually crashes into the water below. As the passengers struggle to escape, they are attacked by an aquatic monster.
D-Railed is fairly new so, understandably, a lot of people won’t be familiar with this film or its twist. And what a twist it is. In essence, D-Railed is three different movies fused into one. What happens after the monster appears is truly unexpected. And unnecessary.
The lone survivor finds herself back at the train station, looking for help. When help does arrive, the woman is nowhere to be found. As it turns out, the survivor was part of the catastrophic train accident ninety-something years ago. A photo confirms she and the other passengers from the movie are from that time period.
Catacombs (2007)
Victoria, a woman with severe anxiety, agrees to go to an underground rave in the Paris catacombs with her sister Carolyn. While down there, the party gets broken up, and Victoria becomes paranoid that someone is after her.
The ending to Catacombs is astonishing because it’s so utterly silly. Victoria spends a night in what feels like hell, evading someone who might be trying to kill her. When she reunites with Carolyn (played by singer Pink), she learns that everything was a prank. Yes, a prank.
The only problem is that Victoria already killed someone who she thought was her attacker; he was really Carolyn’s friend. And when Carolyn berates her, Victoria loses it and murders her sister and her friends. Then, she flees to the airport!
Frayed (2007)
A boy named Kurt was sent away to a mental health hospital after he killed his mother thirteen years ago. Now, he’s escaped and he’s looking for his family.
Prepare to be confused. Firstly, Kurt’s father has since remarried, and he has a grown-up sister. Kurt reaches his family’s house under the guise of Gary, a hospital security guard. We didn’t realize until later that Gary was actually Kurt, though. It doesn’t stop there either. Most of the movie was a figment of Kurt’s imagination — namely having a sister and attacking her and his stepmother. That never happened nor did they exist.
What really happened was Kurt escaped the hospital upon realizing the truth about his past — Kurt’s father framed him as a child so no one would know he was abusing his son — and then was immediately killed by his father, the sheriff. Finally, Kurt’s father is shown coming home to a different family. Whew! Frayed is a rehash of Halloween, but with a huge, convoluted twist that begs the question — why?
High Tension (2003)
When Alexa and Marie stay at Alexa’s parents’ house, a homicidal maniac breaks in. The two women then flee into the night, trying to escape the killer.
A lot of people will tell new viewers to skip the ending of this movie if at all possible. That’s sage advice. What upsets audiences is the twist — Marie is the killer, and there was no man to begin with. Marie was after Alexa this whole time. This revelation might sound daring, but it feels tacked on. It also creates plot holes if we’re expected to take everything at face value.
Signs (2002)
A preacher loses his faith after his wife dies in a terrible accident. When he finds crop circles in his fields, the farmer suspects something sinister is at play. He’s right. Crop circles are popping up all over the world, and extraterrestrials are thought to be among us.
M. Night Shyamalan is known for his huge twists, but, surprisingly, Signs doesn’t have one. He does, however, force us to suspend our disbelief. Not because there are aliens. No, it’s the fact that the aliens can’t withstand water. Does it make sense that aliens — allergic to H2O — traveled to a planet that is roughly 70% water?
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Julie has barely recovered from what happened two summers ago — she and her friends didn’t tell the police about running a man over on the Fourth of July. Then the following summer, the man — Ben Willis — stalked them out of revenge. Now, Julie wins a trip to the Bahamas. At the desolate resort hotel, though, a bizarre series of incidents makes Julie think Ben is still alive.
This rushed sequel to the hit slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer is better in some regards. For instance, Julie is allowed to fight her own battles, rather than relying on someone else to do it for her. On the other hand, the sequel’s twist — more like a hard pivot — of her friend Will Benson (a pun on “Ben’s Son”) being the killer’s son was groan-inducing. And would the killer go to all this trouble — planning a fake trip to the Bahamas — just to lure out Julie? Ben clearly knew where she lived. Why not finish her off there? Killing her overseas doesn’t make murder any more legal.
Gothika (2003)
A psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the mental health hospital she works at. She has no recollection of how she got there, though.
Gothika was a box office success, but the script in this Halle Berry thriller is a mess. As we find out, Berry’s character was in the hospital because she murdered her husband. Right off, it seems strange they’d admit her to the place she once worked, and have her with patients she used to treat. Anyway, the twist is Miranda killed her husband because she was possessed by one of his victims. Yeah, her husband was secretly abducting women.
Although Miranda is a victim herself, she was illogically set free at the end of the movie. Lest we forget she technically still murdered someone. Possession or not, that’s not something the legal system easily absolves you of.
The Forgotten (2004)
Telly’s therapist tells her that the dead son she’s mourned for eight years never existed. Now, Telly sets out to find the truth.
The Forgotten is a misstep in Julianne Moore’s career, but people seem to enjoy it in spite of its ridiculous twist ending. Telly’s son did exist, but he was taken away by aliens as part of an experiment to see if the bond between mothers and children can be diminished. The experiment is ended when Telly remembers everything. Then, her son is returned to her. It’s a “happily ever after” moment for the main characters, but what about the fact there are aliens conducting thought experiments on us?
The Village (2004)
In a reclusive 19th century village, the community is fearful of creatures inhabiting the nearby woods. But when one resident leaves to find medicine, she makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.
M. Night Shyamalan was back to his twisty ways in The Village. This period horror invites a lot of criticism because the ending is genuinely asinine. The creatures in the woods aren’t monsters or anything. They’re really other residents trying to scare anyone from leaving the community. And when the blind protagonist escapes, she unknowingly finds herself in the modern age. She didn’t time travel or anything; the village is really built on a wildlife preserve marked as a no-fly zone. It’s no wonder audiences were upset by this ending.
