Here’s a look at 10 thrillers that ruined the movie with disappointing, absurd, or just plain confusing endings. Thrillers are meant to keep us at the edge of our seats, hearts racing, minds working overtime to piece together clues. But every once in a while, a movie builds up tension so well, only to fall apart in the final moments with a twist, reveal, or ending
that makes you want to scream, “Really?! That’s it?!” Nothing’s worse than an ending that ruins the entire movie. If you’ve ever invested time in what seemed like a killer thriller only to be let down by the payoff, you know exactly what we’re talking about.
10 Thrillers That Ruined The Movie
The Village
M. Night Shyamalan is notorious for his plot twists, and when he gets it right, he delivers masterpieces like The Sixth Sense. But in The Village, the twist is the ultimate letdown. The film sets you up to believe you’re watching a 19th-century isolated village living in fear of mysterious creatures in the woods.
The tension builds perfectly until—surprise!—it’s not the 19th century at all. The whole village is a modern-day experiment, completely undermining the atmosphere of dread and the movie’s entire premise. It turns from a compelling mystery into a laughable disappointment in a matter of minutes.
High Tension
High Tension starts as a gritty, intense horror-thriller about two women being terrorized by a brutal killer. It’s raw, violent, and genuinely gripping—until the twist completely derails the whole thing.
In the final act, it’s revealed that the main character, Marie, is actually the killer all along, suffering from some bizarre split personality disorder. The problem is, this twist makes no sense given the events you’ve witnessed up to that point.
Secret Window
Johnny Depp stars in Secret Window as Mort Rainey, a writer accused of plagiarism by a mysterious stranger. The tension steadily rises as Mort tries to uncover the truth, but the film’s conclusion is a major cop-out.
The big reveal? Mort is the bad guy. He suffers from a split personality and was the culprit all along. What could have been a fascinating psychological thriller turns into a lazy resolution, recycling a twist that’s been done to death in thrillers.
Knowing
Knowing starts off as an intriguing mystery-thriller with Nicolas Cage playing a professor who uncovers a series of cryptic numbers predicting major disasters. The suspense is real, and the movie does a great job of building up to what
seems like an epic conclusion. Then aliens show up. Yup, aliens. What could’ve been a complex, mind-bending thriller about fate and prophecy instead devolves into a generic sci-fi plot twist that feels completely out of left field.
The Happening
Another entry from M. Night Shyamalan (sensing a trend?), The Happening starts with an eerie, terrifying premise: people around the world suddenly begin committing suicide en masse, with no explanation as to why.
The suspense is thick as Mark Wahlberg’s character tries to unravel the mystery. But then the twist hits—you ready for it? It’s the plants. Yes, plants are releasing toxins that make people kill themselves.
Glass
After Unbreakable and Split, fans were eagerly awaiting the finale of M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero trilogy with Glass. The tension builds throughout the film as David Dunn, Elijah Price (Mr. Glass), and Kevin Wendell Crumb (The Beast) finally
come face to face. But instead of an epic, climactic showdown, we’re treated to a limp, underwhelming twist where the heroes die in the most mundane ways, and a secret organization is revealed to have been controlling everything.
The Snowman
The Snowman had all the ingredients for a solid thriller: a chilling premise, a star-studded cast (Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson), and a reputable source material from Jo Nesbø’s crime novel.
But the execution was a disaster. The movie’s pacing is off, the plot is disjointed, and the big reveal—that a random, barely-developed character is the killer—falls completely flat.
The Girl on the Train
Based on the bestselling novel, The Girl on the Train seemed poised to follow in the footsteps of Gone Girl with its unreliable narrator and intense psychological drama. Unfortunately, the film botches the payoff.
The big reveal—that the main character’s ex-husband is the villain—feels underwhelming and predictable. By the time you get to the twist, the suspense has worn off, leaving the resolution feeling like a cheap imitation of far better psychological thrillers.
Shutter Island
Now, Shutter Island isn’t a bad movie by any means—it’s actually quite gripping. But it’s the final twist that leaves some viewers feeling cheated. After following Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) through a maze of mind games and conspiracies, the reveal that he’s actually a patient at the asylum, and the whole investigation was a roleplay, feels like a cop-out.
Dream House
Dream House starts as a slow-burn psychological thriller about a man (Daniel Craig) discovering his new home was the scene of a brutal murder. As he uncovers more, the tension rises… until the film pulls a lame twist that undermines everything.
It turns out the main character committed the murders, but repressed the memory due to psychological trauma. This reveal feels lazy and predictable, deflating what could have been a more intricate, psychological unraveling.
Nothing ruins a thriller like a terrible twist or an ending that falls flat. The 10 Thrillers That Ruined The Movie on this list are prime examples of films that started with so much promise, only to completely self-destruct in their final moments.
A bad twist can turn a great thriller into a forgettable experience, leaving audiences rolling their eyes rather than gasping in shock. So, next time you settle in for a thrilling movie night, choose wisely—or you might just find yourself yelling at the screen in frustration!
