25 truly great movies with absolutely ingenious plotlines

Among the thousands of mediocre movies with predictable plots, there are true pearls of cinematic art that break the boundaries of tradition and stand out from the crowd.

Bright Side is here with a selection of pictures that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the start and until the credits.

Se7en

A pretty rough crime thriller about a psycho killer who punishes his victims for the deadly sins they commit. Before production, the studio bosses insisted on making slight changes to the conflict, namely re-writing the final scene. Nobody knows what would the movie have looked like if not for Brad Pitt, who refused to shoot in it if anyone tampered with the ending.

Fight Club

The Fight Club

An office clerk suffering from insomnia and trying to do something with his unbearably boring life meets Tyler Durden, a charismatic soap trader living by a twisted philosophy. The final scenes of the movie are shocking, and the discoveries made by the characters will lead to unpredictable events.

Angel Heart

Harry Angel is a private investigator who receives an assignment from a mysterious aristocrat to locate a war veteran that failed to fulfill the terms of a certain agreement. After a promise of good payment, he agrees, but the case that looked easy at the first glance becomes ever more complicated and littered with corpses as Harry progresses to the ugly end.

Shutter Island

Two US Marshals go to an island in Massachusetts to investigate the disappearance of a patient from an asylum for criminally insane. During their investigation, the characters will have to face a web of lies, a natural disaster, and a riot of inmates. In addition to this, the ending scene will surely become a point of discussion between you and your friends.

The Mist

A horror drama by Frank Darabont, the famous creator of The Shawshank Redemption, is based on the book by Stephen King. It differs from the book in the final scene, which is one of the main plot twists. We won’t spoil the fun for you, but we want to say that King was content with such a turn of events — he even claimed that this was the original thought behind the misadventures of the book’s characters.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

One day, an enormous fleet of alien starships arrives in Earth’s orbit and announces to the whole human race that their planet is to be demolished to make way for a luxurious interstellar bypass. This is a movie that will make you both laugh and pause to think; there is a grain of truth in every joke.

The Departed

Two of the best police academy graduates find themselves in a tricky situation — one is a mole in the police ranks, and the other is an undercover cop. Both of them think that it is his duty to destroy the opponent, but their twisted realities gradually change them from inside.

The Sixth Sense

This picture is about the terrible fate of a 9-year-old boy. There is literally nothing a kid his age can do alone, but when a brilliant psychologist comes to his aid, not thinking of him as a weirdo or mental like others do, the boy’s life becomes somewhat easier. He confides in the doctor and trusts him even more than his own mother. The unexpected finale of the movie is not really what it’s about — the attention should be focused on the feelings of the characters and the twists and turns of events.

The Life of David Gale

A law-abiding intellectual college professor, who is an activist against capital punishment is, ironically, sentenced to death for the murder of his colleague. This is a clever drama that tells us that justice may make fatal errors, and some people will stop at nothing in their fight for an idea.

The Best Offer

Like many adventure thrillers, The Best Offer has quite a standard and straightforward structure, and the viewer is likely to understand the gist at once. But, unlike other movies of this genre, it has its own catch. The director artfully twists the plot and mesmerizes all who watch this picture.

Law Abiding Citizen

The District Attorney strikes a deal with criminal offenders and lets them out of the prison. The man whose wife and child died at the hands of those murderers then decides to do justice himself and thus has revenge on the DA. He is caught and sent to prison, but all of a sudden, he says something that doesn’t make any sense — he will be killing without leaving his cell until his conditions are met. This would have been a laughable statement, but soon the police understand that they should have known better.

The Prestige

The action takes place in the middle of the 19th century when mystery is all around, and the focus of everyone’s attention are magic tricks. Robert and Alfred are old-time friends and illusionists, but their career paths make them adversaries. They blow up each other’s performances, sniff out the trade secrets, and eventually become blood enemies. This movie is for all who love unexpectedness, non-triviality, and fresh, new views.

A Beautiful Mind

From worldwide recognition to the depth of sin — John Forbes Nash, Jr. had seen it all. As a math genius, he made enormous gains in the game theory that brought new revolutions and an international reputation. However, the arrogant womanizer mathematician gets a blow that will change his life forever.

The Others

The Others is one of the most breathtaking movies of its genre. There are few pictures like it — with no erotics, gore, or other action, it enchants the viewers with its magnificent plot. The climax leaves you at a loss for words. The setting and acting make you believe that you are not watching a movie, but living through the story along with the characters, trying to find out the truth.

The Usual Suspects

A company of bad guys assault a boat with another company of bad guys, and after the clash, there is only one survivor. He is the only clue for the investigator who wants desperately to find the mastermind behind the whole operation, a mysterious villain named Keyser Soze. This is a great opportunity to play detective for those who haven’t watched the movie yet.

Looper

A really puzzling action movie about the future, where some bandits have learned how to send unwanted individuals back in time. Like any picture based on time-travelling, this one has its own fragile logic, but don’t think about it too hard — just watch and have fun.

Memento

Leonard Shelby is luxuriously dressed and drives a brand new Jaguar, but he lives in shabby motels. His aim in life is to find his wife’s killer. However, he is hampered by anterograde amnesia, a rare condition that makes him forget everything that happened more than fifteen minutes ago while still remembering all that happened before the murder. Thus, his companions are a Polaroid camera and the tattoos that cover his body.

The Game

The dynamic and unexpected plotline in combination with the eccentric atmosphere make this movie a true masterpiece among thrillers. The climax is quite predictable, but it doesn’t spoil the fun whatsoever. Besides, the way the director leads the viewers to the grand finale is really all but conventional.

Lucky Number Slevin

Slevin is unfortunate: his house is foreclosed, and his girlfriend has left him for another man. Nick, Slevin’s friend, offers a place to live in his apartment while he’s away from New York. A crime lord called The Boss finds Slevin, mistaking him for Nick. The Boss bids him to avenge his son’s murder by killing the heir of The Rabbi, The Boss’s former partner.

Deja Vu

The title of this one says a lot about the contents of the picture itself. Both the director and the scriptwriter are in it to make time traveling as plausible as they can. All in all, what you see here is a really good action picture with the elements of a close-to-life sci-fi.

Vanilla Sky

Life is strange sometimes — you begin a very usual day, and end in a bag of ice enjoying the view of the vanilla skies over your head. Nobody could see it coming. It’s really true that everything could change in a flash.

Secret Window

«Johnny Depp» and «based on the novel by Stephen King» are the key words that will make you watch this movie and put off all of the work you might have for later.

The Skeleton Key

Imagine you have a key that opens any door — any at all. It seems like a blessing that would give you a lot of opportunities. But would you risk opening every door?

Inception

If you like light and easy movies, this one is definitely not for you. If you are a true movie connoisseur and would love to spend two and a half hours thinking really hard, and then at least half an hour more getting over it, then you should watch Inception.

Moon

Sam’s contract is nearing its end — he has spent three years on the moon, supervising the automated rare gas mining station. Three long years in the sole company of an artificial intelligence called GERTY are bound to change a person. Two weeks before his departure and returning home to Earth, Sam meets his shift relief.

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of every movie that has an unexpected twist. Share your favorite in the comments, and we will make a second part to this list!