30 Mind-Blowing Movie Twists, Scares, And Reveals That Left Basically Everyone Speechless
Recently, Reddit user Plus-Friendship4649 asked the fine people of r/movies an interesting question: "What movie made you audibly gasp and/or say, 'Oh no, oh shit...' because you realized the protagonist is in imminent danger? Not just a simple jump scare or a twist ending, but a scene where both you and the character realize simultaneously that their situation is hopeless." And here's what they said:
Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead!
1."In Silence of the Lambs, when we realize the FBI went to the wrong house, and then they cut to Buffalo Bill opening the door for Clarice. That tricky editing blew my mind the first time I saw it."
2."Parasite. When the old housekeeper goes to the house and opens the secret room. I had no idea what the fuck was happening but I knew it couldn’t be good."
3."Whiplash, when Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) says, “Do you think I’m fucking stupid? I know it was you.”
4."Inglourious Basterds, when Michael Fassbender as Archie Hicox blows his cover in the basement bar by holding up three fingers the English way instead of the German way."
"He had already drawn the Germans' suspicion with his weird accent, and made up that story about being from that Swiss village to cover it up. There was a lot of tension as that got resolved, and it looked like the Germans bought it and everything was fine...and then Hicox fucks it up right at the end. The way things play out from there is fantastic."
"Or when Lander started speaking Italian fluently. Didn't expect that at all."
5."Interstellar. 'Those aren’t mountains, those are waves...' I remember the whole theater gasped audibly."
6."Rogue One. A few characters drop and it's like whatever. Then Bodhi eats it via a bomb, and I had a brief thought, I guess it's just the others that survive. And at that moment I had the realization, Hey, dipshit. None of these characters are in Star Wars..."
"That was really well done, it goes so well at first, and slowly things start to go wrong. Then you remember the speech in A New Hope about how many people died to get the plans and the slow realization hits that you already know exactly how the movie is going to end."
7."Training Day. When Jake realizes Alonzo ain't coming back."
8."Every time Adam Sandler digs his gambling hole deeper in Uncut Gems. The 'oh-no, the protagonist is in a lot of trouble' moment hits at the 0:08 mark of the film and never ends until three minutes before the credits."
9."That ONE scene in The Departed. I thought, WHO THE FUCK IS THE PROTAGONIST ANYMORE?!"
10."Rear Window, when Thorwald stares directly at the camera."
11."The very end of Get Out. After thinking, Well fuck those are the cops and he has literally no way to explain/get out of this, the relief of seeing the TSA logo was one of my favorite movie theatre experiences ever."
12."Spider-Man: Homecoming, when he rings the doorbell and the Vulture answers. Could have heard a pin drop in that cinema."
13."In The Blair Witch Project, when they realize that they have spent the whole day walking in a big circle, are back at the beginning and it’s nearly night."
14."The Invisible Man (2020). The movie is great at building tension. Whenever the camera drifts somewhere empty, you know it's because it's not truly empty. The more attention you paid, the scarier it got. You notice the fire turning on by itself, that breath coming out of nowhere while the main character stands outside in a seemingly empty garden... But the scene that took the cake for me was the one in the restaurant. A truly 'oh no, oh shit' moment."
15."It Follows. Probably the greatest combination of dread and jump-scare is when that incredibly lanky person comes into her bedroom just when the protagonist thinks the danger is gone. Not a perfect film but I'll always remember how terrifying it was when watching it for the first time."
16."In Pitch Black, Vin Diesel and co. are exploring this control center left over by the previous occupants (who are notably absent) and happen upon a planetary diorama. Huge spoiler: They wind it up and realize, to their great horror, that a long eclipse is imminent and about to plunge this eerie, hostile planet into abyssal darkness. Darkness in which the photosensitive, viciously aggressive nightmare spawn called the Bioraptors to come out of their nests to hunt and annihilate any living thing."
17."When James Caan is trying to get back into his room as Kathy Bates is coming back in Misery. That scene took some years off my life when I saw it as a youngster."
18."Seven, when suddenly a fucking delivery vehicle turns up to drop off a box."
19."Wind River, when the security contractors are flanking the cops and one of the cops calls it out. I'm like, 'Oh fuck he's right, oh shit!'"
20."Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse. When Miles realized he was still not home. I was so scared for him."
21."Hereditary. When Toni Colette's character was on the ceiling stalking her son I legit didn't see her at first and when I noticed her my mouth dropped and I audibly started saying 'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit' right there in the movie theater."
22."Toy Story 3. The incinerator scene. The looks from toy to toy were heartrending."
"That scene was so serious and I think about that scene very often. They all accepted their fate and were planning to die together holding hands,"
23."Sunshine, when Icarus reveals there's an unknown fifth member on board."
24."That scene in Glass Onion before the first death, where the bulletproof case kept locking and unlocking. The sound of it was such a fun telltale sign of imminent danger, it was a cool way to keep you on edge even tho the characters were just having casual conversations. What a fun movie."
25."Jurassic Park. 'Clever girl...'"
26."Goodfellas. Despite being so entertaining and high-energy, there are so many scenes that slam on the brakes to ratchet up the anxiety and the dread to unbelievable levels and you really think things are about to go very, very wrong. The way Scorsese is constantly adjusting the tone and pace of the movie is so good. Obviously, the 'funny how?' scene, the one where Spider tells Tommy to go fuck himself, the entire 'last day as a gangster' sequence, and the one where Karen is walking down the alleyway towards the end had my stomach in knots."
27."28 Days Later does this over and over again, but there's a single shot that SCARES me every time and it's when Jim lights a candle at home and is reminiscing in his dark kitchen. But from outside, a Dutch angle camera cocks its head and turns to the lit window. Enemy POV will ALWAYS make me queasy."
28."Buried, the 2010 Ryan Reynolds movie, *spoiler* when you think he’s about to be rescued but the rescue team arrives at the wrong location. You then realize he’s not making it out alive."
29.Green Room. The whole film really. Saw it in the cinema and it felt like I was in danger.
"Before Uncut Gems, this was the most stressful movie theater experience I’ve ever had! Pure anxiety from beginning to end!"
30.Finally, "Avengers: Infinity War. I knew there was going to be a follow-up in Endgame, so I thought the movie was going to end with all the heroes suffering a small loss, Thanos and crew escaping like a villain of the week and all would be concluded in the next film. When characters were dying left and right for Thanos to get the last Infinity Stones and finally the snap happened everyone at the cinema was at a loss. Still the best MCU film."
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
