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5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The movie: Bright-eyed boy wonder Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) comes face to face with Darth Vader at Cloud City, engaging the Sith lord in a fearsome lightsaber battle that costs him his hand.
What's the twist? Darth Vader, embodiment of all that is evil, reveals himself to be Luke's old man. Luke does not take the news well.
4. Psycho (1960)
The movie: Mad old Mrs. Bates has been preying on the guests of the Bates Motel, sneaking up on them during their most intimate moments before hacking them to pieces. As plucky Lila Crane (Vera Miles) goes prowling around the old Bates house, she spies Mrs. Bates sitting in the cellar and prepares to confront her.
What's the twist? Mrs. Bates is nothing more than a mummified corpse. Her son Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) on the other hand, is alive and well. Er, he's alive at least.
3. Se7en (1995)
The movie: Having worked his way through five of the seven deadly sins, serial killer John Doe inexplicably turns himself in to detectives Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman), promising to show them where the last two bodies are hidden. As the trio reach the wasteland Doe has led them to, a delivery van arrives to bring them a package.
What's the twist? The package contains the severed head of Detective Mills' wife. Consumed by jealousy of the investigator's happy home life, Doe becomes envy and kills Tracy. Mills then becomes wrath, shoots Doe in the head, and completes the madman's sick master plan.
2. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The movie: Young Cole (Haley Joel Osment) suffers from an unusual condition. That's right, he sees dead people. Fortunately, Malcolm (Bruce Willis), a friendly psychologist is on hand to help him through it. Not that things are all roses for the doc, whose relationship with his wife has got so bad that she barely seems to acknowledge his presence.
What's the twist? Bruce was dead all along, which is why only the boy could see him. Ta-daaaa! M. Night Shyamalan sprinkles the film with clues aplenty (the marital dinner scene seems shamelessly blatant on second watch), and yet it's easy to get totally hoodwinked first time around.
1. The Usual Suspects (1995)
The movie: When a botched heist leaves a boat full of corpses at the door of inspector Dave Kujan (Chazz Palmintieri), he ropes in limping con-man Verbal Kint for a protracted haul across the coals. As he leans on the hapless Kint, he learns the legend of a monstrous crime lord known as Keyser Soze.
What's the twist? Convinced he has wrung the source dry, Kujan sends Kint on his merry way before realising he's just been fed a pack of lies - Kint IS Keyser Soze. Meanwhile, out on the street, Kint shakes off his limp, lights a smoke and rides off into the sunset. And like that, *poof*, he's gone.
