8 Plot Twists Couldn’t Save Mediocre Movies

Plot twists are considered to evoke surprise and you probably talk about them sometimes. From the times of Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski to David Fincher and Christopher Nolan, plot twists hit the right notes. And every change in the plot’s orientation and character perspectives can bring a new meaning to the story. If produced properly, a plot twist can notably save the grace of otherwise dull or lackluster movies.
However, there are a lot of examples where even a spectacular plot twist failed to save a movie from failure. As movie fans, we can’t help but wish that the movie can satisfy the audience. From Lucinda’s Betrayal to The Longest Dream, they all have great plot twists in preserving the audience’s expectations. Sadly, these determined efforts didn't work out.
Below are 8 plot twists that failed to save mediocre movies. Let’s scroll down and check them out!

#1 A Digital Island (Serenity – 2019)

Source: @telegraph

It goes without saying that this year’s neo-noir thriller Serenity has got to be one of the most terrible movies of this decade. What let us wonder is that Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway chose to take part in this project.
Still, it contains a jaw-dropping twist. McConaughey’s character Baker Dill who runs a charter fishing boat from “Plymouth” island is approached by his ex-girlfriend Karen who gives him a big amount of money to kill his offensive husband. It’s told later that nothing is true as Baker had died in Iraq so many years ago and Plymouth is just a computer game designed by Karen and Baker’s son Patrick. After Baker’s death and the arrival of a step-dad, Patrick made the game to play with the idea of killing his step-dad.

#2 Jarrod the Alien (Skyline – 2010)

Source: IMDb

Skyline is a strong instance that films don’t work without characters that the viewer likes and can relate to. To top it all, Skyline’s generic action sequences, also lack of a tension-induced environment, makes it a film that you might never watch again.
But its saving grace was the ending plot twist, which saw the protagonist Jarrod shifting to an alien upon being abducted by the extra-terrestrial creatures which are different from other victims who had their brains sucked out. Even after turning into an alien, he fights everyone on board only to save his girlfriend, conveying that his human self was still in control.

#3 Eliminating the Root of the Problem (The Butterfly Effect – 2004)

Source: @toledoblade

The Butterfly Effect remains a topic today. The concept of the film was decent but the actual flick was extremely heartbreaking, making certain scenes hard to watch. Evan discovers that he can revisit the traumatic moments of his life and fix them. But he finally makes things worse for himself and the people he cares about.
Struggling to make things right, Evan determines to kill himself before even being born and thus travels back in time when he was in his mother’s womb and strangles himself with the umbilical cord. The twist was great but not captivating enough because of the movie’s discomforting nature.

#4 It’s All in the Head (Identity – 2003)

Source: @imdb

Identity was a typical slasher film but the revelation of the twist shoots up the interest level by leaps and bounds. It’s told mid-way through the film that all of the fiasco at the motel is transpiring inside Malcolm River’s (a serial killer) head. Rivers suffers from numerous personality disorders and the action happening inside of his head is to get rid of his hostile personality. Finally, the killer, in the form of a small kid Timmy, stands tall and controls River’s mind for good.
The twist was definitely awesome but it ended up being exposed too soon and nothing could top the amazing reveal from that point on.

#5 The Controlling Sphere (Sphere – 1998)

Source: @bloody

The Sphere is an excellent instance of that. It could be an instant classic sci-fi horror film but came up short because of struggling to determine whether it likes to be a horror film or go down the philosophical path. This bizarre mix, coupled with boring characters, made the movie disappointed so much.
The sharp plot twist it included was that the Sphere in the alien aircraft was showing the investigating scientists their most in-depth fears. Moreover, the messages they were taking from “Jerry” were truly from Dr. Harry (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson), one of the scientists who was amazingly communicating with the others while he fall asleep. The movie had massive possibilities and could have been a big deal, had the story been produced properly.

#6 Hitman Got Hit With Amnesia (Unknown – 2011)

Source: @mysterytribune

Although Unknown was a forgettable film, the twist it was packed with was a treat for the viewers. Liam Neeson’s character, after healing from a car accident, figures out that his identity as Martin Harris and life has been controlled by another man and his wife doesn’t remember him either.
It is later revealed that Martin Harris was just a cover given to Neeson’s character for a mission and he was an Assassin. The accident caused him to believe that he was indeed Harris.

#7 Norman is the Killer (What Lies Beneath – 2000)

Source: @imdb

The story rotates around Claire investigating her shadowy nature for the murder of a girl, whose ghost Claire usually is in her new home.
In the final act, it’s said that the murderer was Claire’s husband, played by Harrison Ford, who killed the girl as she was his student and in an affair with him and forced to reveal the truth to the Dean. The twist was amazing, but the entire concentration of the neighbor during the film, only to throw it all away and make Ford the big bad was a bit too extra for the viewer’s taste.

#8 Delusional Payton (Pandorum – 2009)

Source: @timeout

Pandora is another instance of such a movie with an intriguing plot but clichéd implementation and a struggle to set the right tone. But the plot twist almost made up for the otherwise disappointing movie, but still can’t make it an enjoyable film.
Payton, who is haunted by Gallo’s tales, comes to figure out that Gallo is his younger self who went into hypersleep after torturing the ship’s residents. It’s told that their ship has already landed on the new planet that was 900 years earlier. It was a captivating twist but the struggle to find a balance between making a film horror or sci-fi, overshadowed the good parts.