M. Night Shyamalan's Best Movie Twists
It's Time to Settle This: Which M. Night Shyamalan Movie Has the Best Twist?
Split
The Setup: Kevin (James McAvoy), a man with dissociative identity disorder struggling to keep all 23 (that's right, 23) of his wildly different personalities in check. Unfortunately for him and the teen girls he kidnaps (Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jessica Sula), three of his unpredictable, vindictive "alters" take control: Patricia (a strict, pious British woman), Dennis (a pervert with OCD), and Hedwig (an energetic 9-year-old boy). The girls are taken to an underground bunker of some kind and are repeatedly told by the alters that they'll serve as "sacred food" for Kevin's 24th and final personality, known as "The Beast."
The Twist: Like The Village, Split has a multilayered twist. First, The Beast is real; when Kevin enters into the mindset of The Beast, his physicality actually changes (he's more muscular, his veins are glowing a light green, and he looks much taller), and he eats two of the girls alive. Second, the movie ends with a cameo from Unbreakable's David Dunn, linking those cinematic universes and confirming that The Beast is supernatural.
The Verdict: There is a lot going on in this movie, and one ending would be much stronger than the unnecessary two-part twist. Still, the Unbreakable connection is definitely a game changer, and the shock of both of the aforementioned moments serve as a perfectly fine conclusion to an enjoyable creepfest.
