• 3 weeks ago
It's not a twist if we see it from a mile away. Welcome to MsMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most overused plot twists that are as predictable as the sun rising in the east.
Transcript
00:00I'll never give in. You killed my father.
00:02No, Buzz. I am your father.
00:07NOOOOO!!!
00:10Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:13for the most overused plot twists that are as predictable as the sun rising in the east.
00:18Why, that's me! I'm asleep!
00:2110. The Prize is a Trap
00:24You know those moments where the villain dangles some too-good-to-be-true offer to the hero?
00:28There is a cave, boy, a cave of wonders, filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams.
00:37Usually it's to save someone they love or grant some wish.
00:41The hero takes the deal and holds up their end of the bargain, only to come back and
00:44realise, surprise, that the promised prize was a total scam.
00:48Don't you get it?
00:50You're just a toy, Sebastian.
00:54A little toy I like to play with.
00:57Anyway, if you make a deal with the devil, you can hardly be surprised when you get burned.
01:01Maybe they didn't know who they were dealing with.
01:03But if we can tell it's too good to be true, why can't they?
01:07Bring me the girl, and I will bring back your wife.
01:13Nothing can bring her back.
01:16I can.
01:17They do often have us yelling, don't do it, at our screens.
01:20Now I've got her, boys.
01:21The boss is on a roll.
01:22The boss is on a roll.
01:23This poor, unfortunate soul.
01:249.
01:25Toppling the Queen B If you're a fan of teen movies, you know the
01:26drill.
01:27We gave her these candy bar things that would make her gain weight, and we turned her best
01:41friends against her.
01:43And then, oh yeah, Katie, you know my friend Katie, she made out with Regina's boyfriend
01:48and then convinced him to break up with her.
01:50The new or so-called invisible girl comes along and befriends the popular crew who take
01:55her under their wing.
01:56Soon enough, all this newfound attention goes to her head.
01:59Other times, she earns everyone's respect just by standing up to the reigning Queen
02:03B.
02:04Well, in the last few weeks, it's all come clear, and on a clear day, baby, you can see
02:11tomorrow.
02:12Excuse me?
02:13I've got the power.
02:14From there, one of two things happens.
02:16She either becomes just as bad, if not worse, than the last queen, or she restores balance
02:21to the school.
02:22Meanwhile, the dethroned queen spirals into outcast status, and who knows, she might even
02:28try to claw her way back to power.
02:38Classic high school drama, right?
02:40We've seen it a million times.
02:55It was inside you all along.
02:57Isn't it great when you're all invested in a movie where the protagonist goes on this
03:01epic adventure, chasing some life-changing answer, only to find out, dun-dun-dun, they
03:07had it all along.
03:18Cue the crickets and tumbleweed rolling by.
03:21This trope can involve some hidden object they've had the whole time, but more often,
03:26it's about them learning a profound moral lesson.
03:28Apparently, they simply can't do that without often putting themselves and others in peril.
03:34Don't get us wrong, we love a good journey of self-discovery and growth, but we've seen
03:39it so many times.
03:50As soon as they start, we're like, save yourself the drama, you've already got what you're
03:54looking for.
04:04Alright, let's set the scene.
04:07A character makes a deal or signs a contract, but then tries to change the terms.
04:12They might attempt to destroy any physical evidence of their original agreement, but
04:16if the other party is savvy, they've kept backup proofs to hold the transgressor accountable.
04:30Ever watch a movie where the villain, or hero, quickly wipes out the evidence, and
04:38it all seems too quick?
04:40Too easy?
04:41That's because it probably is, and someone is about to whip out the backups.
04:46Sometimes those extra copies even end up saving the day.
04:52Sure, it's an overused trope, but it's actually also some solid life advice.
05:03Always make copies.
05:10When M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense hit theatres in 1999, that twist genuinely
05:16blew people away.
05:28It felt fresh, shocking, and brilliantly executed.
05:31Shyamalan managed to hide the twist right in plain sight, which made the reveal so impactful.
05:43Naturally, this success inspired a ton of filmmakers to chase a similar reaction.
05:53But here's the problem.
05:54Now we know what to look for.
06:08These days we can usually spot the I See Dead People twist coming from a mile away.
06:12It became so overused that it was even parodied in Scary Movie.
06:17It's almost as if the original twist was too good for its own good.
06:33This trope shows up a lot in horror and slasher flicks.
06:36You know how it goes.
06:37You watch a bunch of characters frantically run from the villain for most of the movie.
06:41Then someone finally steps up and takes them down.
06:47The threat's gone, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
06:50We're now moments from the rolling credits, so that's it, right?
06:54Well, wait, they're not actually dead.
07:08Cue a sequel, or several.
07:11While this isn't just a horror thing, by now, when the supposedly dead villain pops back
07:15up, it's more likely to earn an eye roll than a scream.
07:18We've seen it so many times that the shock factor has largely worn off.
07:32Come on, you know this one.
07:34All together now.
07:38While Star Wars gets most of the credit for popularising this trope, we've seen tons
07:43of versions since.
07:44It could take any form.
07:46From the Darth Vader approach to someone secretly looking out for the protagonist while
07:50concealing their true identity.
07:51It works the other way, too.
07:53A character grows up believing the people who raised them are their biological parents
07:57only to find out that's not true.
08:00Sometimes the only ones shocked by the reveal are the characters themselves.
08:15What happens next?
08:16Well, that depends on how they handle the bombshell that just changed everything.
08:20We've seen it play out in so many ways.
08:27Also known as the wolf in sheep's clothing, this trope is everywhere, from Alfred Hitchcock
08:44classics to Disney movies.
08:47So if you grew up with trust issues, this might be why.
09:05You spend much of the movie rooting for this person, who seems to be our protagonist along
09:08the way.
09:09Maybe they're originally established as besties, or maybe one of them is a love interest that
09:14seems just a little too perfect.
09:24These days, it takes a really well-executed twist for this one to catch us off guard.
09:29But most of the time, we've learned that if someone is too nice, or too good to be
09:33true, they probably are.
09:49This trope tends to go one of two ways.
09:51First, we've got our heroes trying to stop a world-ending event.
09:55It's rare, but some brave storytellers let them fail.
10:08Usually though, the planet is saved and crisis averted.
10:11The other route is that we're led to believe the characters are far from home, maybe even
10:14on another planet.
10:27Then comes the big reveal.
10:28They're actually on a post-apocalyptic Earth.
10:31Arguably, no one nailed this shocker quite like Planet of the Apes.
10:44While many have tried to replicate that legendary twist, we usually go into these movies already
10:49suspecting we've been on Earth the whole time.
10:51Yeah, it's not really as Earth-shattering as it once was.
10:57Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
11:01Who, or what, am I?
11:03That moment where a character uncovers a part of their identity they had no idea about.
11:16Careful what you wish for.
11:18Not all wishes are cracked up to what you'd hope they'd be.
11:29The pauper is a prince.
11:30Or princess.
11:31Predictable?
11:32Yes.
11:34Are you expecting for a long-lost relative to show up out of the blue and tell us we're
11:37royal?
11:38Absolutely.
11:39Me?
11:40A princess?
11:41Shut.
11:42Up.
11:43I beg your pardon?
11:44Shut.
11:45Up.
11:46Epic wedding fail.
11:47Just as the couple are ready for their picture-perfect wedding, disaster strikes.
11:48One day she didn't do a perimeter check.
11:49Her wedding day.
11:50A big, dramatic, terribly timed confession.
12:10Sometimes that thing you've got to get off of your chest can wait.
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12:40Number one, it was all just a dream.
12:42Are you sure about that?
12:44Is there a more tired, eye-roll-inducing plot twist than the, it was all a dream?
12:50But it wasn't a dream.
12:52It was a place.
12:53And you, and you, and you, and you were there.
12:58But you couldn't have been, could you?
13:01We've invested our time, emotion, and energy into these characters only to discover none
13:06of it happened.
13:07Like seriously, what was the point if none of it transpired?
13:20Few tropes make us regret buying movie tickets more than this one.
13:23Naturally, we've learned to spot the signs and avoid disappointment early.
13:40It takes a very clever subversion to truly take us by surprise, and don't even get us
13:45started on when they reveal some object that tries to make us question reality.
13:50When this trope pops up, we're the ones hoping to wake up, realizing it was all just a dream.
14:02What movie plots would you like to see retired?
14:04Let us know in the comments.
14:15Do you agree with our picks?
14:16Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo.
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