A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Movies with Massive Twists
Don't look away.
Films that pull the rug out from under you and change everything you thought you knew.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Sixth Sense
A chilling supernatural drama where a final revelation redefines every scene that came before it.
Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.
- 02
The Usual Suspects
A masterclass in deception that builds toward one of the most famous identity reveals in cinema history.
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
- 03
Fight Club
A gritty psychological thriller that uses unreliable narration to hide a shocking truth about its lead.
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.
- 04
Parasite
A sharp social satire that takes a sudden, dark turn into thriller territory halfway through.
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
- 05
The Prestige
A complex tale of rival magicians where the narrative itself mimics a grand, multi-layered illusion.
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
- 06
Se7en
A grim crime thriller that concludes with a devastating and thematic final move by a calculated killer.
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
- 07
Memento
A unique, reverse-chronological mystery that forces you to piece together a fragmented and deceptive past.
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
- 08
Arrival
A cerebral sci-fi experience that uses a linguistic puzzle to hide a profound shift in how we perceive time.
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
- 09
Get Out
A tense social thriller that slowly uncovers a disturbing conspiracy hidden beneath a polite surface.
Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
- 10
Psycho
The groundbreaking classic that famously subverted audience expectations with a mid-film shock and a dark finale.
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
- 11
The Handmaiden
A lush, erotic thriller told in three parts, each peeling back a new layer of a complex con.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
- 12
Oldboy
A visceral and intense mystery featuring a devastating revelation that is as shocking as it is tragic.
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.