More than any other genre of filmmaking out there, thrillers lend themselves to a style of heightened, powerful storytelling that keeps audiences engaged from the first moments all the way until their impactful endings. Thriller endings can especially be so effective in terms of the larger recognition and strength of the film that they become legendary in stature, often regarded as some of the greatest of all time. Many of these legendary thriller endings are among the most iconic and influential of their respective eras, attaining notable status that can sometimes even rival the film they’re a part of.
Whether it comes in the form of an earth-shattering twist or a culmination of the tension and narrative themes, the ending of a thriller acts as the glorious sendoff that defines the film in the eyes of many audiences. As such, several of these legendary endings are attached to some of the most acclaimed thrillers in film history, ranging from impactful cult classics to award-winning staples of the genre. Film as a medium simply wouldn’t be the same without these legendary endings blowing audiences away time and time again.
10
‘Memento’ (2000)
Guy Pearce in Memento.Image via Newmarket Films
Christopher Nolan has always had a tendency to create dynamic and mind-bending thrillers, with many featuring impactful and legendary twist endings to tie everything together. Among his acclaimed filmography, Memento especially stands out as not just one of his most iconic endings, but one of his most iconic twists in general. It’s the type of ending that gives the entire film an entirely new perspective, recontextualizing everything that was seen while also making for a striking, emotional reveal.
Through non-linear progression, Memento cycles back and forth between the chronological beginning and end of Leonard’s story, with the film ending at the exact middle. The scene reveals that the killer whom Leonard has dedicated his life to hunting has long been dead. The character of Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) has manipulated Leonard’s bloodlust for vengeance to get him to kill people of interest to him. With this reveal, Leonard gets the last laugh as he sets up the pieces to manipulate and trick himself into believing Teddy is the killer, ending the cycle once and for all.
9
‘Fight Club’ (1999)
Helena Bonham Carter and Edward Norton as Marla Singer and the Narrator, holding hands and watching buildings collapse at the end of Fight ClubImage via 20th Century Studios
Initially divisive among audiences and critics before growing into one of the most recognizable and acclaimed cult classic thrillers of all time, Fight Club‘s impactful final act is emblematic of its wide-reaching strengths and challenging narrative. The ending sees the narrator (Edward Norton) facing his literal alternate personality, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), head-on by shooting himself to rid himself of his alter ego. However, with Tyler’s plan still going ahead, the Narrator and Marla (Helena Bonham Carter) stand side by side as they watch all the bombs detonate, laying waste to the credit card buildings around them.
From the philosophical battle of facing off with one’s ego to the stunning visual beauty of its final shots to an exceptional needle drop of “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies, the ending is filled with standout qualities and strengths. Its legendary status has only continued to grow alongside Fight Club‘s status and is now widely considered one of the best moments of the film, perfectly capping off the renegade satire thriller.
8
‘The Mist’ (2007)
A shot from the ending of Frank Darabont’s The Mist (2007)Image via Dimension Films
It’s rare for adaptations of beloved novels to directly change the ending from their source material. The few that do it are overwhelmingly considered inferior to the original. However, The Mist is a stark exception to the rule, creating a disturbingly bleak ending that fits in with the overall tone perfectly, not holding back in terms of pure pain and emotional response. Nowadays, the infamous scene has amassed a notable legacy as one of the bleakest endings in film history.
The ending sees David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and a group of other survivors, including his five-year-old son, seemingly having no other option when their car runs out of gas and the mist and its deadly monsters surround them. They have the painful luxury of ending some of their lives early with a gun, yet they only have enough bullets to leave David alone to face the horrors of the mist. Just as he accepts his fate, the mist dissipates, and a legion of tanks and soldiers rolls up, painting a painful irony that they were minutes away from salvation.
7
‘Children of Men’ (2006)
Theo and Kee walk amongst soldiers in ‘Children of Men.’Image via Universal Pictures
The world established in sci-fi thriller Children of Men is one of the most painful and bleakest explorations of a dystopian future imaginable, making its hopeful ending that much more emotionally impactful. It completely recontextualizes and changes the meaning of normally menial aspects of a traditional life, showing the weight and impact that they hold in a world that has lived without hope or a future for so long.
The emotional ending sees various soldiers on both sides of an ongoing struggle stopping their battling to allow the escape of Theo, Kee, and Kee’s newborn, the first baby born in 18 years. The mixture of hauntingly beautiful music, various performances of confusion, awe, and emotion upon seeing the baby, and the consistent crying of the newborn comes together to make the film an undeniable tearjerker. The ending then further tugs at the heartstrings when the three escape to a boat, with Theo succumbing to his wounds, dying to keep Kee and the baby safe and giving humanity a renewed chance.
6
‘Shutter Island’ (2010)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo at the end of ‘Shutter Island’Image via Paramount Pictures
Few methods are more immediately impactful in terms of making a memorable ending than a shocking plot twist, and one of the best examples is Martin Scorsese‘s Shutter Island. It’s the type of twist ending that, on top of being memorable and well-crafted, entirely recontextualizes the film, giving it a completely different energy and impact. While many of Scorsese’s thrillers have had impactful endings, none have attained such a legendary status as Shutter Island.
The ending reveals the fact that the main character of the film, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), is not performing an investigation on the island asylum, but is instead a patient named Andrew Laeddis. He ended up creating the persona of Teddy as a way of escaping the trauma of his wife murdering their three children and the subsequent violence that he enacted. The entire investigation leading up to the ending was, in fact, a role-playing scenario held by doctors, in one last attempt to cure Andrew before giving him a lobotomy.
5
‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)
Bruce Willis at the end of the Sixth SenseImage via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
In a similar vein as Shutter Island, no singular thriller director has been more celebrated and recognized for their impactful twist endings like M. Night Shyamalan, with the director’s magnum opus easily being The Sixth Sense. The twist ending has become so legendary that it has taken over the film’s modern discussion, often considered one of the most iconic climaxes in cinematic history. It still stands as Shyamalan’s greatest twist and the singular moment that solidified him as a master of suspenseful filmmaking.
The ending reveals that protagonist Malcolm (Bruce Willis) has actually been dead for the entire movie, one of the many ghosts seen by the other lead character, young boy Cole (Haley Joel Osment). It’s a seemingly simple twist that is chock-full of layers of depth, impact, and subtleties that add to the overall messaging and weight of the film. While the concept of a character “being dead the whole time” may be mocked as a lazy twist, that’s only because all attempts to parallel this twist have failed to recapture The Sixth Sense‘s legendary impact and greatness.
4
‘Oldboy’ (2003)
A man hugging someone and smiling in OldboyImage via Show East
Even without a legendary ending, Oldboy would be largely touted as one of the most important and dynamic thrillers of the 21st century, thanks to its grueling story of revenge, to top-notch action, and powerful lead performance. However, the shocking twist and raw uncomfortability of its ending is what further cements it as one of the all-time greatest thrillers of all time and an icon of South Korean cinema. For a film that was consistently displaying an array of painful and unsettling circumstances, the setup surrounding its ending is the most painful moment of all.
The ending sees Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) dealing with the shocking revelation that Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung), the woman that he fell in love with and helped regain his humanity after being imprisoned for years, is in fact his daughter. Revolted at the truth of learning that he slept with his daughter, Dae-su sets off to a hypnotist in hopes of removing the knowledge of Mi-do’s identity from his mind. The ending sees the two reuniting with a haunting smile on Dae-su’s face, being largely ambiguous whether or not Dae-su was successful in meeting the hypnotist or if he will continue his relationship with his daughter.
3
‘Psycho’ (1960)
Anthony Perkins as Norman in Psycho looking sinister while smirking.Image via Paramount Pictures
Psycho stands not just as one of the most highly acclaimed and celebrated horror films of all time, but also as a legendary thriller that excels from the filmmaking chops and brilliance of Alfred Hitchcock. While the legendary shower sequence is frequently the first scene that comes to mind when it comes to the film’s horror legacy, the haunting ending is also iconic in terms of thriller filmmaking. It keeps audiences off guard until the very end, utilizing a brilliant performance from Anthony Perkins to create a legendary emotional impact.
The ending sees a larger explanation from a doctor as to why Norman began murdering people at the hotel, showing that he recreated his deceased mother as an alternate personality. As “Mother” grew more jealous of Norman when he was attracted to surrounding women, it would take over and murder the women in order to keep Norman for herself. As Norman sits alone in a jail cell, he hears his mother’s voice blaming him for the murders before slowly looking up at the camera with a conniving, evil grin.
2
‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)
Verbal Kint smoking a cigarette in front of a parked car in The Usual Suspects.Image via Gramercy Pictures
Similarly to that of The Sixth Sense before it, The Usual Suspects‘ legendary ending has been so widely recognized and ingrained in wider pop culture that it has become the defining conversation point surrounding the film. It makes sense, considering how much the twist completely recontextualizes the entire film, pitch-perfectly and tailor-made for maximum impact. Even those who aren’t aware of the ending may have seen one of the many parodies and references to it over the years.
The sequence sees Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) leaving the L.A. interrogation room after having told his story of the events surrounding the central heist of the plot, finally confessing that Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) was behind everything. However, as Verbal leaves, the sergeant looks around the room and realizes that Kint has been making up the entire story, improvising on the spot using random objects and items around the room. It’s too late, though, as Verbal has already escaped as the true identity of legendary mobster Keyser Söze.
1
‘Se7en’ (1995)
close up of Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) aiming a gun in Seven.Image via New Line Cinema
Nearly every thriller that David Fincher has directed over the years has been heralded as a masterpiece, although Se7en still stands tall as the director’s best work in the genre. The ending is the most acclaimed part of the film, between the impact of the twist, the raw emotion and pain of the performances, and the overarching message with the narrative themes. It’s reached a point of pure icon status that people have repeated “what’s in the box!” to each other without even knowing that this comes from Se7en.
The ending reveals that the serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) murdered Detective Mills’ (Brad Pitt) wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and stored her head in a box delivered to Mills. Doe’s goal was to force Mills to embody the sin of wrath and kill him, thus completing his plan of murder based on the seven deadly sins. Doe’s plan goes off without a hitch, despite the pleas from Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), ending the film on a bleak, powerful note that continues to resonate today.
