Ten Deep 03.11.10: The Top Ten Movie Mind Blowers

Posted by Mike Gorman on 03.11.2010

This week Mike Gorman brings you the Top Ten Movie Mind Blowers. These are the twists, turns and surprises that leave you stunned, changed, or just plain exclaiming WTF! Spoilers ahead...

"The Top Ten Movie Mind Blowers"

It is kind of sad that today that great plot twists have become almost cliché and many times you see movies sacrificing their plots for the sake of squeezing some out of left-field twist that will get audiences talking. This week in Ten Deep we're looking at films which utilize this tool effectively and leave you really thinking when you exit the theater. You know the type I am talking about. The movies that pull the rug out from under you while you are watching them and make you want to re-watch them immediately to see how you missed the curve ball you were thrown.

Needless to say, this week's column contains SPOILERS for every one of the movies listed. If you don't want to read them, then stop now or forever hold your peace!




10. Memento

Christopher Nolan's truly twisted tale of an amnesiac man told simultaneously forward and backward is one of the most mentally challenging films to follow in recent history. And it is wonderful. Guy Pearce's character has anteriograde amnesia, in that he cannot create new memories so he has been conditioned to use a series or tricks, tattoos anyone?, to construct some semblance of order in his life as he attempts to find the man who murdered his wife. There are many great twist moments in the film as we journey with the main character but the biggest is saved for the end when we learn that he has been manipulating himself to kill the man he may or may not have been involved with his wife's murder. I say may or may not have because there is a lot of debate about this film and its use of truth. To me, I follow the popular belief that Pearce's character was not sure that his ally is the killer but chooses to set himself up to kill him anyway. It is this search for the killer and vengeance, real or fabricated that gives his fractured life purpose.




9. The Others

A woman and her children are the victims of a haunting after dealing with the loss of their husband/father. They inhabit a creepy mansion full of creeks, bumps, and soon powerful haunting. Or do they? The Others is a haunting film that does tell a tragic tale laced with fear. Nicole Kidman is great at the mother who remains protective of her children, seemingly due to the creepy happenings in their home and her husband's passing. This movie blows my mind in a very subtle way when it reaches its climax and we learn the truth about the home's residents and ghosts. Kidman and her children are the restless spirits, and those "ghosts" bothering them are the new inhabitants trying their best to rid their home of the unwanted visitors. It is a movie that you want to watch again so that you can connect all of the dots that have been laid out for you. The first time I saw this film the person working at the concession stand actually accidentally ruined the twist for me, so I watched the film with a knowing eye and was really impressed with the way the narrative was constructed to throw you off the case.




8. Fight Club

Fight Club is the complete opposite of The Others in terms of the reveal of its twist. As your mind explodes so do the city's buildings. What I really liked about Fight Club is how it presents itself at face value as a film about anarchy and rebellion. Edward Norton's character goes on a journey of personal discovery led by the charismatic Brad Pitt. But wait, he really doesn't do any of that. In actuality this film that many people believe shaped their personal philosophy is about a man with mental illness who is upset with how his life is turning out so he releases his inhibitions in the form of his self ideal, Tyler Durden. Forgive me if you are one of those people who took the words of Durden to heart and it changed your life. To me I enjoyed discovering that Durden is a figment of Norton's imagination, split personality who has been manipulating his followers. No real higher calling or purpose, but illness. It was brilliance in my opinion.




7. Saw I

From the beginning to end Saw was a mind fuck that trapped you within its own labyrinthine madness. How far are you willing to go in order to save your family? It is an amazing premise and the greatness of the film is that it actually takes this idea and plays it out on the screen. The characters trapped in that room are willing to forgo their humanity, their base moral structure in order to succeed at Jigsaw's game. The film was visually stunning and visceral in its impact. All of the films in the franchise are loaded with amazing twists but I selected the first for this list because it was the original, it was unexpected. In the other films we expect the crazy puzzles and twists. Here we are treated to one of the biggest when the dead body in the center of the room gets up in the end, revealing not only was he alive the whole time but that he was the killer. I may not always enjoy the over the top gore of this series but I give it major props for construction a viable horror franchise at a time when most had gone dormant. It changed the game and we all benefit from that now.



6. Frailty

Clearly not loved by all that view the film, I will saw that Frailty is actually one of my favorite films of all time. It presents to us the tale of a fanatic and his family. Bill Paxton has allegedly been chosen by God to remove the demons from the earth and his sons are to help him. There is a madness to this tale as you watch it unfold. Of course Paxton is insane. Right? God would not select a man and his family, give them a magic axe and a list of demons disguised as humans, would he? Of course not. We are watching the story of a sad mentally ill man who inflicted his will upon his children. Luckily one of them did not bend to his will and is now retelling the story of how his brother became the "God's Hand Killer" to the authorities. Not that interesting really, is it? Well as we approach the film's end we learn that the story is true and that father was actually chose by God to do his work. What?! Nutty! That is what I love about this movie. In this tale, the religious fanatic is no fanatic. He is the righteous man doing God's work. There are demons and in fact the detective we have seen throughout the film is one. He too will be judged and eradicated. I like that the film plays with our willingness to write something off as insanity. Is it a commentary on the state of faith in our society today? Maybe. I'm not that concerned I just really enjoyed how we all got played by this one.




5. Unbreakable

I know that putting Unbreakable on this list will be a controversial choice but I believe that it is one Shyamalan's best films. It earns a place here because it is a film of misdirection that plays on our expectations and ends up presenting us a very painted picture of the origin of a superhero and his villainess counterpart. Shyamalan gets us to focus on the development of the hero taking us along with Bruce Willis on his character's path of awakening. What you forget along the way is that if there could actually be a superhero then perhaps there could really be a super villain out there. How could we miss it? The film is a truly beautifully crafted sleight of hand trick which leaves you slack jawed in the end as you realize the depth of Mr. Glass' insanity. In that same moment the film makes total sense. Of course there must be evil if there is good.




4. Identity

Identity is the mind blower that catches you off guard. It appears to be a very put together murder mystery. The characters seem very well developed as they rendezvous at a rainy motel. Each brought there by circumstances beyond their control, soon they start dying and many interesting coincidences begin to present themselves. At the same time we see the story of a criminal facing death and the panel determining his competency. These separate tales will intersect in a big fat mental car crash as it is revealed that the adventures of the characters at the motel are actually happening in the criminal's mind. The murders are actually the integration of his multiple personalities, one of which is a killer. Great, interesting, fun even… if it ended there. Instead we are presented with a happy ending as the "killer personality" is exorcised and the man will be able to live. Except it seems that we were all wrong in our guessing and the killer is not one of the surly adult personalities but the sweet innocent child who thanks to the integration efforts can now assume complete control. Bad news people, bad news!




3. The Empire Strikes Back

Here we have the classic twist presented as one of the most important moments in one of the greatest film trilogies of all time. As a child I remember watching this film and leaving the theater with my dad in a state of complete and utter shock. Was it true? Could it be? Was my idol Luke Skywalker's greatest enemy actually his father? The original Star Wars trilogy was an epic space opera of sorts telling a tale that was over the top with universal themes at the same time. It caught on in the pop culture zeitgeist and as they say, the rest is history. These films shaped the growth of many people and it was the moment of revelation at the end of this the second chapter that got heads spinning. Luke Skywalker is the innocent meant to be a force for good, while Darth Vader was the personification of darkness. Father versus son is a tale both biblical and Shakespearian in its scope. Here it is dressed up in some shiny new clothes as a sci-fi epic but none of its strength was diluted. The twist in Empire is unlike many others to follow in that it was a string piece of storytelling that moved the tale forward and was not just a twist for twist's sake.




2. Primal Fear

Edward Norton returns to the list as a young man accused of killing a Catholic priest. Norton's altar boy is the picture of innocence and Richard Gere fights for his freedom as his lawyer. Gere's arrogance is only overshadowed by the media attention paid to the case. The plot thickens as Norton's character reveals there may have been someone else in the room at the time of the murder. Finally we hit our big reveal; Norton's character has dissociative identity disorder aka multiple personalities (another topic rearing its head multiple times this week!). Gere must prove that this is indeed what did happen. Of course, because this is the movies, he does just that and Norton's character is determined to be insane. He will not face death for his actions. Everything is wrapped up in a very nicely done package until Norton's character makes a slip and we learn that he has been lying the whole time. He does not have an alternate personas and he played Gere's ego like an instrument to ensure his life would be spared. Here we see the depravity man is capable of and how sometimes our most primal instincts exist in darkness.

And lastly…




1. The Sixth Sense

It is the film that put M. Night Shyamalan on the map and reminded audiences how amazing a great plot twist can be. Sure it can also be blamed for spawning a slew of films with twist endings that exist solely for the twist but go back in time to the first time you saw this movie. I remember that about ten minutes before the end I started to put it all together and I kept saying to myself "Holy crap, no. No. Is this really happening?" Shyamalan's ghost story was unique but blatant at the same time. First time you see it, you are certainly shocked that Bruce Willis' character has been dead the whole time. Upon repeated viewings you kick yourself for not picking up on the signs and solving the puzzle earlier. For me that is the sign of a great film. It stands up to multiple viewings and presents you with a different experience each time.


So what mind blowers did I miss? Is there a twist out there that deserved mentioning here on Ten Deep? Let me know, and bring on the spoilers. I am not afraid!

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