Warning: Spoilers ahead for all the movies listed.
Much like their genre’s title suggests, sci-fi films imagine realities that aren’t shackled by the limits of technological innovation, which often leads to great plot twists. In these movies, time can run backward, parallel universes exist, and objects aren’t confined by typical dimensions. Humanity’s norms are thrown out the window, and consequently, so are the standards of storytelling. It’s a double-edged sword when it comes to critical reception. Sci-fi movies with interesting concepts lead to entertaining viewing experiences, but they’re ultimately shoved into the box of genre films.
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The best sci-fi films use their twists to enlighten audiences, not just confuse them. Christopher Nolan is a great example when it comes to walking the line between complexity and substance, as his sci-fi projects are never straightforward and rather invite the audience to navigate the world from their own perspective. The result is a much more personable interaction with the story that requires an outside-the-box way of thinking. While there have been several excellent sci-fi twists over the years, some are more powerful than others.
10
Alien: Covenant (2018)
David Impersonating Walter
Although the Alien movies have a degree of universal appeal, the Prometheus era seemed to rub many the wrong way. Whether it was questionable decisions by the crew or structural issues within the plot, the poor critical reception was justified. Alien: Covenant failed to capitalize on the potential that its source material offered, but the ending was nicely executed. As the members of the Covenant expedition finally escape the clutches of the vicious Xenomorph, it’s assumed that everyone is home free.
Alien: Covenant never got a direct sequel.
When Walter (Michael Fassbender) begins to put Daniels (Katherine Waterston) into cryo-sleep, it’s revealed that David killed Walter earlier and took his place. Given that they look identical, it’s virtually impossible to know the switch happened. Powerless to his actions, Daniels watches in horror as she realizes the entire colony is doomed. It’s a relatively simple twist but makes for a monumental conclusion that the movie was in desperate need of.
9
Moon (2009)
Sam Is A Clone
Duncan Jones’ Moon is a masterful exploration of humanity and isolation through a sci-fi lens. The film has mostly flown under the radar since its 2009 release, which is unfortunate given its depth. Moon follows the story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), a lunar miner who is about to finish a three-year stint. After crashing his rover into a harvester, he finds a perfect clone of himself inside.
It’s an incredibly sad turn of events that speaks to issues of identity and mental health, but the twist only benefits the overall quality.
Moon’s ending blows the lid off the apparent circumstances and proposes philosophical questions about what it means to exist. It’s ultimately revealed that both versions of Sam Bell are duplicates, and each clone is retired every three years by incineration. From there, the two are forced to question the legitimacy and ethics of their company’s practices. It’s an incredibly sad turn of events that speaks to issues of identity and mental health, but the twist only benefits the overall quality.
8
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Joel And Clementine Already Had The Operation
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Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is as brilliant as it is poignant. It’s a sci-fi film that imagines a future made worse by its proposed phenomenon. In a world where the memories of an individual can be completely wiped from existence, the plot follows the unfolding of a relationship between Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) and Joel Barish (Jim Carrey). The two break up, receive the procedure, and forget each other.
Towards Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s ending, it seems like Joel and Clementine are seeing one another again for the first time since the surgery, but it’s the first time they’ve ever met, period. The couple’s supposed introduction at the start of the movie turns out to be their first reunion after the operation. Thus, the ending is open-ended and allows the viewer to come up with a personal conclusion about Joel and Clementine’s story. When the time perspective switches back, they have another chance to give their relationship a try.
7
Ex Machina (2014)
Ava Leaves Caleb To Die
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Ex Machina becomes an increasingly more unsettling film with each day that passes. It’s an exploration of how virtually identical humanoid robots might act or feel when giving sentience. On the surface, the story is straightforward. A rich scientist named Nathan (Oscar Isaac) hires Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) to perform a Turing test on Ava (Alicia Vikander), an AI droid. It’s one of Alex Garland’s best movies, and the twist takes it there.
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Throughout the entire film, the perspective towards Ava and Caleb is one of optimism. It’s assumed that the knight in shining armor will save the princess from the evil king. In Ex Machina, the princess escapes on her own, murders the king, and leaves the knight to die without a shred of remorse. It’s a genius twist on all levels. Ava was more inhuman and calculated than anyone could’ve imagined. She didn’t just convince Caleb of her altruism, but she fooled the audience too.
6
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
Matthew Is a Pod Person
It’s an incredibly rare occurrence for a remake of a critically acclaimed film to garner positive reception. Philip Kaufman seemingly did the impossible with his version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Whether or not it was an improvement from the original is up for debate, but the quality is undeniable. Among its plethora of strengths, this film features one of the most iconic twist endings in cinematic history.
In an alien invasion reminiscent of The Thing, the premise follows San Francisco as it is slowly taken over by an undetectable pod-based life form. Humans are unknowingly transformed into emotionless versions of themselves. As the plot unfolds, Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) and other individuals try their best to avoid the invaders. In a shocking final scene, Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) approaches Matthew, and he responds with a gut-wrenching shriek. He had already become one of them. The one remaining person is gone, the aliens win, and humanity is doomed.
5
The Prestige (2006)
Alfred And Freddy Are Identical Twins
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As far as Christopher Nolan movies go, The Prestige doesn’t get enough credit. The leading concept of magicians might give viewers cold feet, but it’s easily one of the director’s most nuanced films. There are enough twists throughout the plot to keep audiences scratching their heads for hours, but the most prominent revelation surrounds Alfred (Christian Bale) and Freddy’s hidden relationship.
The plot is built around dueling magicians Alfred Borden and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), who, after a tragic accident, will stop at nothing to surpass each other. Throughout the movie, Alfred is constantly in the company of his assumed engineer, Freddy. As it turns out, Freddy and Alfred are identical twins who each wear a disguise at different times.
This turn of events clarifies all the unanswered questions. That’s the reason that Alfred could perform the disappearing man trick without the use of Tesla’s (David Bowie) technology. He could effectively stay one step ahead of Angier at all times, but it was never clear how.
4
Planet Of The Apes (1968)
They Were On Earth The Whole Time
It’s hard to believe that Franklin J. Schaffner’s Planet of the Apes was released over fifty years ago. Since then, the franchise has evolved into a much larger beast. The progression of the films is amusing when examined from a broad perspective. In the first movie, apes dominated the planet while humans were mute and devolved. The spin-offs went down a separate prequel route, then came back full circle with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which is sort of the same premise as the original.
There aren’t many movie twists more recognizable than 1968’s Planet of the Apes. In the first installment, the ape-dominant society is already established when Astronauts land on the surface. They quickly become aware they are the inferior species. Having been under the impression that it’s a foreign planet, the ending reveals a shocking truth. When Taylor (Charlton Heston) is walking down the beach, he discovers the Statue of Liberty halfway buried in the sand. It becomes evident that this nightmarish dystopia was Earth the whole time.
3
Arrival (2016)
Louise’s Flashbacks Were From The Future
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Denis Villeneuve hasn’t wavered in his impressive streak of groundbreaking films. His space epic Dune Part Two was one of the most successful movies of 2024, and the sequel will only be bigger. The director’s first proper venture into the sci-fi genre came with Arrival, and he knocked it out of the park. When the world is invaded by alien ships, Linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is contracted by the government to try and communicate with them.
The timeline of the movie is thus completely thrown out the window in genius fashion, which ultimately elucidates the resolution.
It turns out the aliens, dubbed “Heptapods”, are peaceful, and they essentially want to cash in a future favor with humanity by teaching their language. Heptapods’ communication is non-linear, meaning they perceive the past, future, and present simultaneously. Throughout the movie, Louise is constantly plagued by incoherent flashbacks of a girl. It turns out that these aren’t memories at all, but rather a foresight of her daughter who will go on to pass away.
She can experience everything at once and consequently understands how a given path leads to a certain future. The timeline of the movie is thus completely thrown out the window in genius fashion, which ultimately elucidates the resolution.
2
Interstellar (2016)
Cooper Was Messaging Murph From The Future
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After watching Interstellar, most audiences will either leave the theater in tears, completely confused, or both. Exactly what somebody might expect from a Christopher Nolan film. Although the director has made some of the best movies of all time, there are few as unique as this mind-blowing space adventure. Interstellar follows pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) who sets out to the stars with other astronauts in search of a planet that isn’t infected with blight. When Cooper ends up going through the black hole, he enters a higher dimensional space where he can interact with his daughter Murph’s (Jessica Chastain) bedroom.
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He’s put there by fifth-dimensional beings who are helping Cooper communicate through time via gravity to save the population. It quickly becomes clear that Cooper sent himself the NASA coordinates that started the whole mission, in addition to the quantum data. He never would’ve left the house had he not told himself to go, but he also couldn’t have told himself without leaving in the first place. It’s an incredibly difficult concept to understand on the first try, but that’s the reason the twist is so impressive.
1
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Darth Vader Is Luke’s Father
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In the case of The Empire Strikes Back, the single greatest twist in cinema history also serves as the most misquoted line. Nowadays, Darth Vader (David Prowse) being Luke’s (Mark Hamill) father seems like a piece of trivia that the average four-year-old might already know. In 1980, it wasn’t so obvious just yet. The sheer shock that audiences felt in theaters hearing those words for the first time must’ve been second to none. It was the sequel that somehow outshined its nearly perfect source material, and the astonishing revelation helped make that happen.
It’s the single greatest blow that anyone could’ve struck. Everything that Luke stood for and believed was immediately tainted by his heritage. The galactic dictator that he would stop at nothing to defeat turned out to be his father. Worse yet, Obi-Wan had put him under the impression that Vader was the one who killed his dad. Technically, Obi-Wan may have been talking about Vader ridding himself of Anakin completely, but Luke wasn’t drawing that conclusion anytime soon. It took the sequel in a much darker direction than its predecessor, but the results speak for themselves.
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