With its shocker ending, The Sixth Sense is one of the most famous '90s horror films. But many of the decade's scary movies use the "Shyamalan twist."
The '90s ended with a mainstream horror genre revival brought on by M. NightShyamalan'sThe Sixth Sense. Released in 1999, the film's terrifying surprise ending stirred up so much chatter among fans that Shyamalan would go on to replicate this twist plot device in his other films for better or worse.
RELATED:The 5 Bleakest Horror Movie Endings From The Past 5 Years (& 5 That Give Us Hope)
While he wasn't the first to incorporate the shocking and unexpected turn into horror features, Shyamalan definitely ramped it up a few notches for contemporary audiences. That being said, there are many other scary films, ranging from dark sci-fi to taut thriller, from the '90swithshow-stopping twists. Some are more subtle than others, and they don't always arrive at the end of the film.
This Lovecraftian horror film stars Tim Robbins as a Vietnam veteran haunted by his experiences at war. Robbins' character, Jacob Singer, lives in New York City after fighting in the Mekong Delta, but his attempts at a normal life are undercut by hallucinations and supernatural occurrences.
It all comes to a head in a creepy, surreal, and unexpected way at the very end of the movie. The terrifying imagery inJacob's Ladderinspired video games likeSilent Hill, and the film was remade in 2019.
Alex Proyas' neo-noir thriller is a dark and creepy sci-fi tale full of horrific scenes. Rufus Sewell stars in this film about an amnesiac man who is suspected ofmurder by police.
The twist inDark City happens when the plot jumps into supernatural territory, delving further and further into bizarre worlds and circumstances. Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and William Hurt co-star.
David Fincher'sSe7en is a warped morality tale about two LAPD officers investigating a serial killer obsessed with the Bible's seven deadly sins. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt play the officers, the former on the eve of his retirement and the latter just getting started in his career.
RELATED:10 Best Plot Twists In David Fincher's Movies Ranked
Se7en is known for its dark narrative style, horrendous crime scenes, and especially for its insane ending, a shocker later mimicked by films likeSaw. Instead of making the identity of the killer the upsetting plot development, the twist comes in what the killer does for their final act.
The disturbing and gruesomeAudition takes body horror to the next level. Directed by Takashi Miike, this infamous Japanese featureis about aman who seeks a new female companion after his wife dies.
WhenShigeharu Aoyama meetsAsami Yamazaki, he feels the younger woman has potential. As they begin to date, Asami's dark nature is slowly revealed, until it all comes to a head in a horrific, unexpected way.
The grand killer reveal in Wes Craven's post-modern slasher masterpiece is what affordsScreama place on among these twisty horrors. This ensemble teen movie stars Neve Campbell as the contemporary horror movie final girl Sidney Prescott,a high schooler who is being stalked by a crazed assailant in a ghost costume.
RELATED:Wes Cravens 10 Best Movies (According to IMDb)
Scream is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously, but it still packs in plenty of scares. The true identity of the now-iconic Ghostface also manages tocome off as a surprise, one replicated over and over again in each subsequent film.
Another '90s teen horror movie,The Faculty is every high schooler's worst nightmare. After their teachers and fellow students start acting really strangely, a disparate group of youths band together to figure out what's happening.
It turns out their school has been invaded by a parasitic alien creature taking control of everyone's body. This Robert Rodriguezfilmstars everyone from Salma Hayek to Josh Hartnett to Usher, and it contains an unforeseen dramatic twist ending.
Equal parts suspenseful and frightening,Malice is a psychological thriller about a newly married couple whose lives are forever changed when they open up part of their home to a new renter. Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman play the couple, while Bill Pullman co-stars as the tenant, a surgeon by trade.
RELATED:Nicole Kidman: Her 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Films According To IMDB
Nothing is what it seems between these three characters, and their true motivations (and identities) are revealed in stunning ways.Malice is the perfect film for horror fans who prefer human monsters over supernatural ones.
What's so shocking about this German horror film from Michael Haneke is how its deranged killers break the fourth wall, engaging directly with the audience and even rewinding the movie. What appears to be a straightforwardhome invasion film about two young men who decide to murder a vacationing family turns into something else entirely.
While not a Shyamalan twist, it's also shocking that the killers lack any concrete motivation for their crimes. Funny Games was later remade by Haneke frame-by-frame in English with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts, and both versions are two of the more uniqueadditions to the genre to date.
Part sci-fi, part horror,12 Monkeys is a Terry Gilliam gem starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Before he stunned audiences with his portrayal of Malcolm Crowe inThe Sixth Sense, Willis startled moviegoers with his portrayal of the time-traveling convict James Cole in this feature.
Cole is sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virusresponsible for killing most of humanity, but he ends up in the wrong year. One twist and turn after another culminates with a mind-bending finale that obliterates all sense of linear time.
Another Brad Pitt and David Fincher team-up,Fight Clubdefies genres, but there's no denying it is influenced by the psychological horror features that came before it. In this tale about two men who start their own underground fighting group, the distinction between reality and fantasy is completed shattered by the film's maniacal and unforeseen last chapter.
Edward Norton stars alongside Pitt, and the two give career-defining performances as a car insurance auditor and a soap salesman who spark a worldwide movement. Fincher's film is adapted from the Chuck Palahniuk book of the same name.
NEXT: David Fincher: 5 Reasons Fight Club Is His Best Movie (& 5 Alternatives)
Next The Cornetto Trilogy: 10 Movies Trilogies That Are Even Better
Megan is a public librarian by trade obsessed with the intersections between art, culture, and society. She's a nerd for horror, obscure memes, weird history, graphic novels, and binge-worthy science fiction series.
View post:
10 Horror Movies From The '90s With A 'Shyamalan Twist' - Screen Rant
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
- Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie Dominates The Razzie Awards - 106.3 The Groove - March 16th, 2024
- This Underrated Blumhouse Horror Movie Is Unlike Any Other Creature Feature - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- 13 Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience Villain The Unknown Gets Its Own Horror Movie - TMZ - March 8th, 2024
- The 13 Scariest Horror Movies Streaming on Peacock: Alien, Leprechaun, The Exorcist: Believer and More - Syfy - March 8th, 2024
- Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024 - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Scariest Movies That Have Won Oscars - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The 10 Best New Horror Movies To Watch in March 2024 - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on Viral Willy Wonka Experience Coming Soon - Bloody Disgusting - March 8th, 2024
- Where To Watch Imaginary: Showtimes & Streaming Status - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Immaculate: Eveything You Need to Know About Sydney Sweeney's Upcoming Horror Movie That Will Give You ... - FandomWire - March 8th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Peacock - Entertainment Weekly News - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on the Willy Wonka Experience Villain, The Unknown, Now in the Works - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Melissa Barrera's Scream 7 Replacement Actually Sounds Better Than Fighting Ghostface Again - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'Shaitaan' Movie 2024 Filming Locations: Shooting Spots Of The Horror Flick - TRAVEL + LEISURE INDIA - March 8th, 2024
- The Horror Movie Franchise With the Most Sequels Ever Is One You've Never Heard of - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title - Upworthy - March 8th, 2024
- The Absolute Best Horror Movies on Hulu - CNET - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience creepy character 'The Unknown' handed role in new horror movie - The Mirror - March 8th, 2024
- The Best Sea Monster Movies, Ranked - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- The Borderlands Movie's Scary Behind The Scenes Drama That Has Us Worried - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- Netflix Just Quietly Added the Best Holiday Thriller of the Decade - Inverse - February 28th, 2024
- The 20 best scary movies streaming right now - Entertainment Weekly News - February 19th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - Rotten Tomatoes - February 19th, 2024
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Adds Molly Shannon to Season 4 Cast - Yahoo Eurosport UK - February 19th, 2024
- Why Lindsay Lohan Refused to Kiss Charlie Sheen in "Scary Movie 5" - Best Life - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Scary Movies To Stream - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- Eight Skin-Crawling Scary Films That Don't Have Any Jump Scares In Them - Digg - February 11th, 2024
- David Cronenberg names some of the scariest movies ever - Far Out Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- 12 Horror Movies That Will Give You the Biggest Jump Scares - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- TAROT's Trailer Brings the Iconic Cards to Life and Things Get Weird - Nerdist - February 3rd, 2024
- Review: Baghead - Is the Movie as Scary as it Looks? - Blazing Minds - February 3rd, 2024
- Natasha Lyonne Says James Woods Hit On Her As A Teenager While Filming Scary Movie 2 - 106.3 The Groove - February 3rd, 2024
- The Witcher's Freya Allan explains the challenges of filming her first horror movie Baghead: "You have to surrender ... - Gamesradar - January 26th, 2024
- The 5 Best Uses of Popcorn in Scary Movies - Dread Central - January 26th, 2024
- 5 Horror Films That Transformed The Genre - Study Finds - January 26th, 2024
- Kristen Stewart Wants to Star in Another Horror Movie in the Future - ComingSoon.net - January 26th, 2024
- Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - January 26th, 2024
- Presence Review: Steven Soderbergh Tells a Ghost Story from the Ghosts POV. It Is Scary? Not Quite. But the Family Demons Lure You In - Variety - January 26th, 2024
- 55 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying - Digital Spy - January 18th, 2024
- She is a Real Housewife, was in a scary movie franchise, is pals with Bethenny Frankel, has a Hilton connectio - Daily Mail - January 18th, 2024
- The Scream cast talk about the legacy of Scary Movie - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix: January 2024 - Vulture - January 9th, 2024
- Scream cast reveals their favorite scary movies - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- Horror fanatics are 'desperate' to watch the first scary movie of the year Night Swim after trailer leaves the - Daily Mail - January 9th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies That Are Too Disturbing to Re-Watch - Collider - January 1st, 2024
- Raging Grace review politicised critique of imperialism in horror movie form - The Guardian - January 1st, 2024
- 15 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - January 1st, 2024
- The 19 Best Horror Films of 2023 Best Life - Best Life - January 1st, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked by Tomatometer - Rotten Tomatoes - December 23rd, 2023
- This Is What Takes 'The Descent' From Scary to Terrifying - Collider - December 23rd, 2023
- 15 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 - Screen Rant - December 23rd, 2023
- 25 Best Horror Movies Created in the Last 5 Years - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 12th, 2023
- 25 horror movies that were based on true stories - Yardbarker - December 12th, 2023
- The 30 best horror movies of all time - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movies In Theaters Now (2023/12/06)- Tickets to Movies in Theaters, Broadway Shows, London Theatre & More - Hollywood.com - December 12th, 2023
- What Is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time? - Collider - December 12th, 2023
- The 27 Best Horror Films of 2023 - MarieClaire.com - December 12th, 2023
- Upcoming horror movies: new scary films coming in 2023 and beyond - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- 20 Best Horror Movies on Max (Formerly HBO Max): Dec. 2023 - Vulture - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movie (2000) - Plot - IMDb - December 3rd, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Netflix - Rotten Tomatoes - October 16th, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now - October 16th, 2023
- From Psycho to a new crop of horror movies, the genre has some mommy issues - The Seattle Times - May 13th, 2023
- Months After Hulu Controversy, Mike Tyson Makes Major Move in the World of Cinema - EssentiallySports - April 8th, 2023
- Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - March 31st, 2023
- Three cheers for the Moose: Everybody knows the name of beloved '80s sitcom star and 'Masked Singer' eliminee - Yahoo Entertainment - March 31st, 2023
- The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever - Rotten Tomatoes - February 26th, 2023
- Films Turning 10 in 2013: Oz the Great and Poweful The Croods Oblivion Labor ... - Latest Tweet by Pop - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- Family of slain Idaho student from Skagit County relieved to hear of suspect's arrest - KPIC News - January 1st, 2023
- The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time - Reader's Digest - December 24th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy ... - December 24th, 2022
- "I was a side piece and you're a str*pper": Nia Long spills tea about Regina Halls role in The Best Man: The Final Chapters - Sportskeeda - December 24th, 2022
- Mother says scary movie guy wanted to kidnap her child in Spains Castellon area - The Olive Press - December 16th, 2022
- The Daily Show To Replace Trevor Noah with Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman & Leslie Jones - Television - December 8th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy: 'We don't want to try to educate' - Fox News - November 11th, 2022
- 20 Scary Horror Movies to Watch on HBO Max - Harper's BAZAAR - October 2nd, 2022
- Best scary movies of 2022 to watch for Halloween - Dexerto - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero