29 Devastating Horror Movie Twists That We Still Haven't Recovered From

The synopsis: A pair of young, imaginative twin brothers named Lukas and Elias excitedly welcome their mother home after she's had a cosmetic surgery procedure on her face. She treats the boys rather coldly, and with her face wrapped almost entirely in bandages, they begin to suspect that the woman who came home isn't their mother at all.

The twist: In an effort to get the "imposter" mom to reveal who she really is, Lukas and Elias superglue her to the living room floor. They begin to burn down their home to pressure her into telling the truth, which is when she begs Elias to stop doing all this so they can move on from his brother's death — Lukas has been dead the whole time, having passed from a tragic accident before his mom returned home. Elias refuses to believe her, and the house burns down around them, killing them both.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪 🔪🔪🔪 (an extra knife for the sound of the mom ripping her superglued skin off of the floor)

The synopsis: Three friends decide to rob a blind veteran who just won a massive settlement from a young, rich woman who killed his daughter in a car accident.

The twist: Technically Don't Breathe has seven big twists, all of which you can read here. The biggest one, though, is that "The Blind Man" (yes, that's the name of his character) kidnapped the woman who ran his daughter over, and has held her hostage in his basement for months. On top of that, he impregnated her with his sperm (via turkey baster, naturally) so that she could bear him a child to replace his late daughter.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Some teens gather to spend Spring break together at a friend's remote mansion, where they are promptly all murdered except for one lucky girl.

The twist: April fools! No one actually dies, since it's all an elaborate prank to fool the final girl into thinking it's real. The movie attempts to flip the script on traditional '80s slasher movies, but since none of the characters die, it's lamer than having someone try to trick you into eating a toothpaste-filled Oreo.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪

The synopsis: Greta (Lauren Cohan) applies for a job as a nanny for an elderly British couple, who want her to watch their "son" — a life-sized, porcelain doll named Brahms modeled in the likeness of their son who died tragically in a fire years before — while they go on vacation for two months. After accepting the position, disturbing things start happening that convince Greta the doll might be posessed.

The twist: Although the doll isn't posessed, the 28-year-old man who's been been living in the walls of the house throughout the movie and terrorizing Greta definitely is, and he pops out at the end to murder everyone. Turns out the elderly couple's son never died — they just hid him away after he murdered another little girl in the town as a kid. Thankfully Greta is able to subdue him with multiple stab wounds to the stomach and escapes.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: When the dead begin to rise in George A. Romero's famous 1968 zombie movie, a group of individuals take refuge in an abandoned farmhouse and try to survive the night.

The twist: The sole survivor is a man named Ben (Duane Jones), who makes it to the morning, only to be mistakenly shot by soldiers who think he's one of the undead. It's a perfectly horrendous conclusion to one of the best horror movies in history.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Anna returns home from a stay in a psychiatric institution following her mother's accidental death, and soon teams up with her older sister to see if their father's new girlfriend — their mother's former nurse — might be the reason their mom is dead.

The twist: While we're led to believe the new girlfriend is a murderer, it's actually Anna who does all the killing in the film. She inadvertently caused both her mother and sister's deaths — that's right, her older sister isn't actually alive, either — and the memory of it drove her crazy. She ends up murdering the girlfriend, and going back to the mental institution.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: A group of people become stranded at a motel during a massive storm, and are gradually murdered one by one by an unknown serial killer.

The twist: None of it is real, and none of it ever actually happened. The people in the motel are simply split personalities in the head of a real-life serial killer, whose psychiatrist created this fictional scenario to "kill off" his violent personalities, in hopes of leaving a kinder man in his wake.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: Sara (Natalie Dormer) gets a call that her twin sister, Jess, has gone missing in the infamous Aokigahara Forest in Japan, which is known for the high number of suicides that occur there. She journeys into the forest to rescue Jess, where she encounters terrifying hallucinations (as well as Taylor Kinney's gorgeous face).

The twist: Trapped in a hallucination, Sara thinks she's cutting away the fingers of a ghost that won't let go of her wrist, but she's actually cutting into her own arm. She bleeds out and her spirit is trapped in the forest forever, just as Jess makes it to safety. Freakin' spirits, amirite?!

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: A journalist named Rachel (Naomi Watts) investigates an urban legend surrounding a video tape that seemingly causes the death of anyone who watches it exactly seven days later.

The twist: After Rachel finally figures out the cause of the murders (a vengeful ghost with an aversion to dry shampoo named Samara), she tracks down her body, which is lying submerged at the bottom of a well. She brings Samara's body out to give her a proper burial thinking that doing so will put her spirit at peace. Unfortunately it just frees Samara's spirit to kill whomever she wants, wherever she wants (including Rachel's baby daddy, Noah). Fun!

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A group of female spelunkers become trapped after the cave they're exploring collapses, leading to the horrifying discovery that they aren't alone — they're being hunted by pale, humanoid creatures thirsty for blood.

The twist: The film has two endings, and the original European conclusion is a total punch to the gut. One of the girls survives and starts driving away from the horror of the caves, only to realize that she's hallucinating, still trapped, and will soon die at the hands of whatever is lurking down there. It's depressing as all hell, but also the perfect punishment for someone who ever thought spelunking in some unknown cave formations was a cool way to spend a weekend.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) are on the hunt for an elusive, demented serial killer referred to as John Doe (Kevin Spacey), who murders people whom he believes represent one of the seven deadly sins.

The twist: After catching Doe, the detectives are presented with a box by the killer, which he taunts them into opening. In it? Mills's wife's head. Mills shoots Doe to death on the spot, completing the list of seven sins with his uncontrollable wrath.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: The shy, awkward owner of a motel, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), tries covering up a series of murders (including Janet Leigh's famous death-by-butcher-knife while showering) perpetrated by his insane mother.

The twist: Norman has a split personality (one is him, one is his long-dead mother), and he's actually been killing everyone himself while dressed up as his mom. Scary bonus? He has her skeleton sitting in a rocking chair in his basement. You could almost call him a . . . PSYCHO. Ha! Ha! Ha!

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A little boy named Jason Voorhees drowns while swimming at Camp Crystal Lake in the '50s because the camp counselors are distracted, and his body is never found. After a few of the counselors are mysteriously murdered, the camp shuts down for over two decades. Upon its reopening in the '70s, the killer returns to take down the fresh crop of counselors.

The twist: Jason's mother, driven crazy by the death of her son, went on a killing spree out of revenge (the original counselors were too busy getting it on to notice Jason drowning). Luckily the final survivor of the massacre, camp counselor Alice, kills Mrs. Voorhees. Not so luckily, she decides the best way to decompress after all that murder is to paddle a canoe out on the lake. All of a sudden, Jason's shriveled, gross, Gollum-like body leaps from the depths and drags her overboard. She gets out with the help of some cops, and Jason is never seen again (well, until the 300 or so sequels that came out afterwards).

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A 17th century family is banished from their Puritan community and forced to live on the outskirts of the woods, where they're promptly terrorized by a witch.

The twist: After her whole family dies or disappears in variously graphic ways (ex: the witch steals the infant brother, chops him up, and rubs his blood all over her body), the family's eldest sister discovers that their goat is actually the devil, and is seduced by him into becoming a witch herself. She then strips down, walks into the woods, finds a group of other witches dancing around a bonfire, and flies naked into the sky. Goodbye, forever.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: In WWII-era Britain, Grace (Nicole Kidman) is left raising her two sunlight-allergic children alone in a secluded British mansion while her husband is away at the front. Strange occurrences start happening around their home, leading Grace to believe it's haunted.

The twist: Grace and her children have been ghosts the whole time, and the odd bumps in the night have been the people who actually live in the house, who are trying to get rid of Grace and Co. with a séance.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Lawrence (Cary Elwes) awaken in a sketchy, dirty bathroom, each chained to a pipe across the room from each other. Between them lies a corpse holding a gun and a tape recording from the "Jigsaw" killer that instructs Lawrence to kill Adam by six o'clock, or his wife and daughter will die. The only way for them to escape their chains? Using a pair of hacksaws to cut off their feet. So thoughtful of the killer to provide those!

The twist: A lot of complicated things go down, but basically Lawrence gets so desperate that he ends up sawing off his own foot, shoots Adam in the shoulder, and crawls out. After that, the corpse in the middle of the room casually gets up, revealing that the killer has been in the room with them the whole time. He turns off the light, yells "game over," and shuts the door, leaving Adam alone to die.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A teenaged brother and sister, Becca and Tyler, head to their maternal grandparents' house by train for a week while their mom goes on a cruise with her new boyfriend. Neither of the kids have ever met their grandparents before, and plan to document the whole experience on their video camera. As the week wears on, their grandparents become stranger and stranger, leaving both kids terrified and afraid for their lives.

The twist: In a truly chilling moment of M. Night Shyamalan's found-footage film, the kids are telling their mother via Skype about how concerned they are about their grandparent's behavior, when their mom happens to see a glimpse of the grandparents in the background. She's like, "Hey, not to freak you kids out or anything, but THOSE AREN'T MY PARENTS." The real grandparents were counselors at a local psychiatric hospital, and ended up being murdered and impersonated by pair of their elderly patients, who have been with the kids all week. There's then a big, deadly showdown between Becca, Tyler, and the faux-grandparents, involving poopy diapers and some big shards of glass.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: After the tragic loss of their unborn baby, Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) adopt a seemingly angelic little girl named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). Not too long after they bring her home, however, dangerous events start occurring, and Kate wonders if Esther is responsible.

The twist: Not only is Esther responsible, but she's also a 33-year-old woman!!!!!!!!!!! Due to a hormone disorder that stunts her growth, Esther is cleverly able to hide her true age with makeup and clothing. In an even more bizarre turn, Esther attempts to seduce John, fails, and then kills him. This leads to Kate having an epic showdown with her on top of a frozen lake that finally results in middle-aged Esther's death.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Low on cash, Caroline (Kate Hudson) accepts a job as a caregiver for an elderly man living on a historic Louisiana plantation with his wife. The land is apparently haunted by the ghosts of two former servants, who were hanged in the '20s after they were caught practicing "hoodoo" with the plantation owner's young children.

The twist: Not only have the vengeful spirits of the servants been in the bodies of the elderly couple all along, but they manipulate their way into the bodies of Caroline and the family's young estate lawyer (Peter Sarsgaard). Caroline and the lawyer's spirits now trapped in the bodies of the old man and wife, and to add insult to injury, they're also mute and unable to move since the servants gave them a liquid that causes pseudo-strokes, rendering their bodies useless. Worst bosses ever?

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Erin (Sharni Vinson) agrees to go with her boyfriend to his family reunion at their remote Missouri vacation house. Once there, the family is attacked and murdered one by one by unknown assailants wearing animal masks. Luckily, Erin happened to grow up on an Australian survivalist compound (NBD) and has intense martial arts and weaponry training, so she's able to fight back.

The twist: Erin's boyfriend and his brother arranged the entire scheme so that they could receive the majority of the family inheritance. Erin is not cool with this, naturally, and takes them all out in variously graphic ways (note: if you're really into smoothies and/or use a blender on a daily basis, I suggest avoiding this movie at all costs).

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A heavy mist home to giant monsters rolls into a small town in Maine, leaving a group of people — including David (Thomas Jane) and his young son — stranded in a local grocery store.

The twist: Five members of the group decide they've had enough, and make a break for it in one of their trucks. Sadly the fogbank appears to go on forever, their truck runs out of gas, and everyone becomes so depressed at the thought of being an afternoon snack for one of the monsters that they decide suicide is a better bet. The gun only has four bullets, however, so David agrees to shoot them all, and sacrifice himself to the monsters. After he's done killing everyone (including his son — rough), the Army conveniently shows up to save the day. File this under: the bleakest of bleak.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A masked serial killer starts slashing his way through a group of teenagers at a local high school.

The twist: It's not just one killer — it's two! Part of what makes this meta horror-comedy slasher flick so great is its truly awesome, unpredictable twist, revealing the killers to be the boyfriend of Neve Campbell's character, and another student at the school.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: Not to be confused with the disastrous remake with Nicolas Cage, this 1973 horror film sees a British policeman being sent to a British isle known for its pagan customs to investigate the case of a missing child.

The twist: There is no missing girl — the residents of the island lured the policeman there on purpose so they could use him as a human sacrifice in their latest ceremony, which involves burning him alive inside a giant "wicker man" statue. Pretty rude way to treat your guests, TBH.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: Following a nasty breakup with his wife Amy (Maria Bello), novelist Mort (Johnny Depp) heads to a secluded cabin in upstate New York to throw himself into his next book. Mort soon runs into a creepy dude named Shooter, who begins harassing him, stealing his manuscript, killing his dog, and burning down his soon-to-be-ex-wife's house.

The twist: When Amy finally goes to the cabin, along with her new fiancé Tom, to confront Mort with divorce papers, it's revealed that Shooter is just a split personality of Mort's. He kills Amy and Tom, buries their bodies in a garden behind the house, and gets away with the crime.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪

The synopsis: Philadelphia child psychologist Malcolm (Bruce Willis) is working with a troubled young boy named Cole (Haley Joel Osment) who claims he can "see dead people." Over the course of a few weeks (and some ghastly encounters), Malcolm starts to believe in Cole's ability.

The twist: If you've made it this long in your life without ever having this twist spoiled for you, 1.) which cave have you been living in? and 2.) I almost feel bad giving it away. Are you sure you want to know? Yes? Okay, here we go: Malcolm is dead the whole time. Director M. Night Shyamalan's grandaddy of a twist shocked audiences, and he's continued to attempt to re-create it in the rest of his movies (to varying levels of success).

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: Rose (Allison Williams) brings her boyfriend Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) home to meet her so-called liberal parents, Missy (Catherine Keener) and Dean (Bradley Whitford), who initially appear to give their daughter's interracial relationship the seal of approval. As the weekend wears on, Chris realizes not all is as it seems, and that he's in grave danger.

The twist: Chris discovers Dean and Missy's family transplants the brains of aging or disabled white people into black bodies, leaving the host's consciousness trapped in "the sunken place" while the white person's consciousness takes over. Not only that, but Rose had been lying about Chris being her first black boyfriend — she's been systematically luring black men (and at least one woman) to her family's home to keep the business alive. Luckily Chris is able to escape with his brain intact and kill the entire family on the way out.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: After a nun commits suicide at a haunted abbey in Romania, young Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and a priest (Demián Bichir), Father Burke, arrive to investigate. Once there they — as well as their new buddy, Maurice — find themselves pursued by a demonic force called Valak, and it's dead set on possessing Irene.

The twist: In the film's brutal conclusion, Valak chases Irene, Burke, and Maurice into the catacombs below the abbey. It succeeds in separating the trio and appears to drown Irene, which would make her body available for possession. But at the last moment, Irene rears up and spits the blood of Christ (yes, that Christ) into Valak's face, and the demon immediately recoils and burns, seemingly vanquished. Unfortunately, a few scenes later it's revealed that Valak didn't die and also managed to possess Maurice, instead. That's how it later haunts Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring 2.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪

The synopsis: A family of four heads to Santa Cruz for a Summer vacation, where they're soon terrorized by people who look exactly like them. Over the course of one night they do battle with their "Tethered" clones and desperately fight to survive.

The twist: Long before she's a paranoid suburban mom, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o) was just your average preteen getting taken to the Santa Cruz boardwalk for her birthday by her parents. But during that trip, the real Adelaide wanders off by herself into a hall of mirrors and is captured by her own doppelgänger, another little girl named Red, who looks exactly like her from her face to her choice of clothing. Red proceeds to drag Adelaide down to the tunnels and trap her there with the rest of the Tethered. The doppelgänger essentially then steals the real Adelaide's life, going back to her parents and living above ground. At the end of the film we discover this massive twist when Adelaide and Red fight to the death in the underground tunnels beneath the boardwalk. Their fatal interaction reveals that the seemingly "normal" woman we've been watching all along was actually born a member of the mysterious, "evil" Tethered race.

The amount of damage it'll do to your psyche: 🔪🔪🔪🔪