I love a good plot twist, even more so when the movie is set up with a standard story structure, until some kind of reveal shocks you to your core. There is nothing quite like the feeling of the floor dropping out from under you in the final act of a movie. Film fans have probably all had those moments where you think you’ve outsmarted the screenwriter, only to realize you were looking at the wrong hand the entire time.
Luckily, Paramount+ is currently sitting on a goldmine of psychological puzzles and narrative trapdoors. Whether it’s a slow-burn thriller that rewires your brain or a modern horror masterpiece that flips the script just as you get comfortable, the platform has some great movies.
We’ve sifted through the Paramount+ library to find five movies with twists you’ll likely never guess.
‘Strange Darling’ (2024)
It’s hard to talk about this movie without giving too much away, but “Strange Darling” weaponizes your own assumptions against you, and the less you know about the central story, the better. What I can say is that this thriller feels like a fever dream from the 1970s, especially in the way it’s shot, with its grainy, saturated look becoming one of its biggest assets. Another strength is the film’s very interesting structure, which forces you to piece the puzzle together.
“Strange Darling” follows a seemingly random encounter between a man (Kyle Gallner) and a woman (Willa Fitzgerald) that quickly spirals into a violent game of cat and mouse across rural Oregon. Told in a non-linear chapter structure, the thriller slowly reveals that nothing about either character is what it first appears to be. During this intense chase, new details constantly reshape the audience’s understanding of what is actually happening.
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‘Arrival’ (2016)
“Arrival” is widely considered one of the most intelligent and emotionally resonant science fiction films of the 21st century. Director Denis Villeneuve (who also did “Dune” and “Blade Runner 2049”) creates a sense of monumental scale in such an incredibly quiet, personal movie. When the final pieces click into place, the film will change how you feel about life, loss, and the choices we make. You will likely finish this drama wanting to immediately start it over from the beginning to see all the clues you missed.
Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is recruited by the U.S. military after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world. Tasked with communicating with the alien visitors, Louise works alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to decode their complex language before rising global tensions spiral into conflict. When they make progress, Louise begins experiencing strange visions that seem connected to the extraterrestrials and their unusual way of communicating.
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‘Smile 2’ (2024)
If the first “Smile” was a jump-scare-heavy exploration of personal trauma, “Smile 2” is a maximalist, neon-soaked descent into madness. It takes everything from the original and cranks the volume up to eleven. The twist in this film is a total interrogation of what you've been watching, and by the final act, you’ll be questioning every single scene that came before it. It’s a bold and wildly ambitious ending that expands the lore in a massive way.
“Smile 2” sees global pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) preparing for a major world tour while struggling with the pressures of fame and the lingering effects of a traumatic past. After witnessing a horrifying incident involving someone close to her, Skye begins experiencing terrifying visions and increasingly disturbing encounters with people wearing unsettling smiles. As the hallucinations grow more serious, her grip on reality starts to slip, threatening both her career and personal life.
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‘Shutter Island’ (2010)
I think most film fans have seen “Shutter Island” and already know about its twist, but for those who somehow haven’t, this is your sign to finally watch it. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the psychological thriller builds toward one of the most talked-about endings of the 2010s. And yes, it delivers one of the greatest twists in modern thrillers. Pro tip: pay attention to the background characters, because the people not speaking often tell the real story.
U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) travel to a remote psychiatric hospital on an isolated island to investigate the disappearance of a patient. As a violent storm traps them on the island, Teddy becomes increasingly suspicious of the doctors and the institution’s secretive practices. Strange clues, eerie encounters, and disturbing visions begin to send Teddy’s investigation down an increasingly unsettling path.
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‘Orphan: First Kill’ (2022)
Usually, prequels feel predictable because we know where the characters end up. “Orphan: First Kill” bypasses this by introducing a twist you won’t expect. It’s a total subversion of expectations that breathes fresh, chaotic life into the franchise. I truly believe this is one of those rare prequels that feels completely unnecessary on paper but absolutely essential in execution. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a film that turns into a twisted game of psychological chess.
“Orphan: First Kill” follows Leena Klammer (Isabelle Fuhrman), a dangerous woman who escapes from an Estonian psychiatric facility before traveling to America. Pretending to be Esther, the long-missing daughter of a wealthy family, she quickly settles into her new life while hiding her violent tendencies. However, what begins as another carefully planned deception soon takes a very unexpected turn when Esther realizes this family has dark secrets of its own.
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