The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History
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It’s an experience we’re all familiar with. Whether you’re at home or in a cinema, at one point you will have been blindsided by a shocking moment that completely turns the film you’re watching on its head. Maybe a beloved character dies, a person turns out not to be who they said they were, or something comes so far out of left field that it leaves you speechless. It’s all part of the magic of the movies. We’ve put together 25 of the big screen’s most jaw-dropping surprises that keep people talking well after the credits have rolled. It goes without saying that beyond this point there are spoilers, and they may be, well, shocking to some readers!

By Victoria Luxford

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it…” (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015) – The last stand of a scoundrel. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) came back to the Star Wars franchise after 32 years for the first of the sequel trilogy, and was a big part of the draw for nostalgic fans. Imagine the shock, then, when in this heart-breaking scene, Han tries to reason with his son, Ben (Adam Driver), only to be killed by him as Ben gives in to the Dark Side. A shocking twist and emotional blow, it signalled that no one was safe in this new vision of the space opera.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“I am your father!” (The Empire Strikes Back, 1980) – A shocker for the ages. It’s a cliché now, recited by millions, but at the time it was staggering to think that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the saviour of the universe, could be the son of Darth Vader, its greatest menace. Perfectly delivered, there are still many social media posts that capture the reaction of younger viewers learning the revelation for the first time. Interestingly, many of the crew didn’t know the twist either, with the line on set originally being “Obi Wan killed your father” and later dubbed by James Earl Jones.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“You have all the time in the world.” (No Time to Die, 2021) – There are certain things you expect from a James Bond movie, like martinis, tuxedos, death-defying action and an enduring promise at the end that “James Bond Will Return”. Well, that slogan was cast into doubt with Daniel Craig’s final turn in the role of 007, which ended with Bond sacrificing himself to save those he loved. It’s a heroic and noble death, but one shocking for everyone who grew up watching him ride off into the sunset. Given that Craig revitalised the franchise during his tenure, it’s fitting that he bowed out in a way no one had done before.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“Who is Tyler Durden?” (Fight Club, 1999) – Many films feature characters who start out good then become evil, or vice versa. In Fight Club, the hero and antagonist turn out to be the same person! Miserable insomniac Jack (Edward Norton) discovers the earth-shattering truth and is confronted by Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), the charismatic leader of the Fight Club movement who turned out to be Jack’s alter ego. Part of a number of shocking twists in late ‘90s movies, David Fincher’s critique of consumer culture managed to flip the script instantly. After all, how do you defeat your own imagination?

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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Mr Tibbs Slaps Endicott (In the Heat of the Night, 1967) – A detective slapping a suspect may not seem like a noteworthy moment, but context is everything in this Oscar-winning drama. The scene, where Mr Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is slapped by plantation owner Endicott (Larry Gates) and immediately slaps him back, was groundbreaking in 1960s America. It was one of the first instances in mainstream cinema where a Black character stood his ground against a racist. While the shock led to controversy at the time, it is remembered as a watershed moment in American culture.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“She wouldn’t even harm a fly.” (Psycho, 1960) – The shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho deserves a spot on this list, but it’s already been covered numerous times. The shock of losing a main character halfway through the film was revolutionary, but equally shocking was the film’s coda where a now-imprisoned Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is revealed to be thinking with his mother’s voice, before staring at the camera in a bone-chilling moment that let you know all did not end well.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Lighthouse Revelation (Shutter Island, 2010) – The devastating truth at the heart of Martin Scorsese’s dark mystery: US Marshall Teddy (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been investigating a conspiracy in an insane asylum, and just as he feels he’s reached the truth, the institution’s chief (Sir Ben Kingsley) reveals what’s been happening. Teddy is not a US Marshall, he is a patient at the institute, and he has created a fantasy in order to deal with a horrifying truth about his past. Superbly acted by Kinglsey and DiCaprio, it is a scene that draws gasps every time.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“You don’t want the truth.” (Memento, 2000) – Guy Pearce plays Leonard, a man with a form of short-term amnesia trying to piece together the mystery of who raped and murdered his wife. In this stunning moment from Christopher Nolan’s breakthrough film, Leonard learns from his contact Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) that, in fact, Leonard was his own wife’s killer, a fact that he had repressed through guilt. Using incredible editing techniques that tell the story out of order, this final blow is an aptly sensational ending for a cult classic.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“How about another joke, Murray?” (Joker, 2019) – The final transition from Arthur to Joker. Joaquin Phoenix portrays Batman’s arch enemy in a much more mature and violent way, as a disturbed man pushed too far by society. In the climactic moment, Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) achieves his dream of appearing on a popular talk show, having caused a riot movement based on his killing people dressed as a clown. Finally cracking, Arthur embraces the chaos and ends a vicious argument by shooting the host of the show (Robert DeNiro) in the head on air. It’s a moment so graphic we’ve only included the scenes leading up to it above, but anyone who saw the film will have that image engraved in their memory.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Snap (Avengers: Infinity War, 2019) – In the same year DC brought us Joker, Marvel brought its Infinity saga to a head with the incredible Infinity War. The first of a two-part story with the following year’s Endgame, directors the Russo Brothers ripped up the rule book with a flabbergasting end sequence where Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) secures the power to wipe out half the world… and succeeds. The film’s most unsettling moment is Tony Stark comforting a terrified Spider-man (Tom Holland) as he disintegrates along with many Marvel favourites. While some would come back, at the time the ending left movie fans floored.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Statue of Liberty (Planet of the Apes, 1968) – A space adventure turns into a chilling portent of mankind’s doom in an all-time great Hollywood ending. Having believed he has travelled to a far-off planet entirely populated by apes, astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) discovers that the world he has visited is in fact Earth, destroyed by a nuclear war after he departed. Played with emotion by Heston, who chose this out of three possible endings, it is a dark and enduring image that kicked off a cinema franchise.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“The food ain’t that bad, baby!” (Alien, 1979) – For years, one of the most terrifying and bloody sequences movie fans could think of. The first arrival of the alien xenomorph comes during a relatively innocent dinner scene on the ship Nostromo, where crewmember Kane (John Hurt) doubles over in pain, before dying as an alien bursts from his chest. It became a byword for horror in movies, aided by the fact that none of the cast, aside from Hurt, were aware it was going to happen. The looks of shock and terror from Sigourney Weaver and others were real, with cast member Veronica Cartwright reportedly passing out after the scene.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“You know I can’t give you the keys, right babe?” (Get Out, 2017) – Chris’ (Daniel Kaluuya) nightmare comes true in this psychological horror. Convinced the parents of his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), are capturing people for their own nefarious means, he asks Rose to get the keys so he can leave. With a terrifying change of expression, Rose lets him know she was part of the plan all along. Chris realises that he is alone, and is now fighting for his life.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Reveal (Oldboy, 2003) – Park Chan-wook’s trailblazing story of revenge features many shocking scenes, but it is toward the end when we were truly knocked out of our seats. Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) punches and slashes his way through an empire in order to gain revenge for his 15-year imprisonment. As he finally confronts his captor, it is revealed that his accomplice, a woman he has fallen in love with, is in fact his daughter now grown up. It’s one of the most uncomfortable twists of perspective you’ll see on the big screen.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“It was perfect.” (Black Swan, 2010) – While paced like a horror, Black Swan was also an intriguing drama about the nature of obsession, and the price that many pay in pursuit of perfection. We see that price paid literally here, where ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) stabs herself in the midst of a paranoia-induced hallucination. Bleeding profusely, she goes on to perform the closing moments to Black Swan, with her character falling to her death. As with Darren Aronofsky’s previous film The Wrestler, it’s not clear whether she dies, but it is a shocking final act for Portman’s Oscar-winning performance.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“And like that… he’s gone.” (The Usual Suspects, 1995) – Even several decades on, this ensemble crime thriller’s ending stands as an example of genius storytelling. Having told the story of the dreaded mastermind Keyser Söze and the criminals he hired to do his bidding, quirky witness Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint (Kevin Spacey) leaves the police station. The questioning detective (Chazz Palminteri) begins to realise the facts of his story have been made up with names on the notice board in the interview room, and that Kint himself may be Söze. As we follow Kint from the station, we begin to see that we viewers have been hoodwinked as well.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Ice Cream Truck (Assault on Precinct 13, 1976) – There are certain unspoken rules of action cinema – the dog doesn’t get shot (unless you want John Wick on your hands), and all the victims are adults. John Carpenter, who had already broken many rules with Halloween, threw conventions out the window in a moment where a young girl is shot indiscriminately while approaching an ice cream truck. “A simple dramatic trick,” he told the BFI. “I wanted the bad guys to be bad. And if they could kill that little girl, there is no way you’ll sympathise with them.”

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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Regan (The Exorcist, 1973) – Where do we begin with The Exorcist? There are so many moments that have left audiences shaken over the years, it’s perhaps better to talk about the concept itself. Young Regan (Linda Blair) is possessed by a demon, a concept that plays out on screen to make one of the most notoriously frightening films ever made. Whether it’s Regan walking on the ceiling and vomiting on a priest, or that infamous scene with a crucifix, it caused such a stir that Blair had to be supplied with bodyguards after receiving threats from religious fanatics.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Funeral (The Omen, 1976) – Like The Exorcist, The Omen involved the demonic possession of a child. However, there is one standout moment among the film’s many scares, and it comes with the final shot. Having tried in vain to kill satanic child Damien (Harvey Spencer Stephens), we see the funeral of diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) attended by the US president, who appears to have taken in the child. Damien turns to the camera and smiles, implying he has won the battle. While the young star wasn’t meant to smile, his inability to keep a straight face was kept as – and in the context of the scene, the effect was chilling.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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Strange Bedfellows… (The Godfather, 1972) – You know something is good when it becomes a trope for an entire genre. Leaving a horse’s head in someone’s bed seems like a mafia cliché that’s been around forever, but it was in fact popularised by Francis Ford Coppola’s masterful crime saga where an uncooperative film producer (John Marley) wakes up next to the head of his prized horse. Even more shocking? It was a real horse’s head (who had been put down prior to being acquired by the production).

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“John Doe has the upper hand.” (Se7en, 1995) – After spending the entire film trying to stop serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) from enacting murders based on the seven deadly sins, Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) becomes the seventh sin (vengeance) when Doe kills his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and has her head delivered to him. It’s devastating, as in a single second we realise there will be no justice – the plan has been completed. It’s one of several possible endings for the film: Pitt petitioned for no head to be shown, although one was made and later used for Paltrow’s 2011 movie Contagion.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Elevator (The Departed, 2006) – An agonising twist, just when you thought everything was about to be resolved. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a cop infiltrating the crime world, who discovers Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a rat working inside the police force. Just as Costigan seems to have Sullivan cornered, he’s executed abruptly by an unknowing colleague of Sullivan, who then is repaid by being shot himself. When you’re used to seeing the ‘good guy’ succeed, it’s a jarring juxtaposition.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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The Queen of Trash (Pink Flamingos, 1972) – John Waters’ Pink Flamingos’ entire reason for existence is to shock. The story of a woman (drag queen Divine) who competes to be crowned The Filthiest Person Alive, the film culminated in a scene involving animal waste that scandalised America. Waters would build a reputation on the back of the film’s cult success, but for star Divine, it would be a blessing and a curse. Haunted by such a reputation, his attempts to break into the mainstream were thwarted by his involvement in the film, right up to the moment he tragically passed away aged 42.

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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“I see dead people.” (The Sixth Sense, 1999) – The film that created “The M Night Shyamalan Twist”. Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist working with a boy who can speak to the dead (Haley Joel Osment). Having helped the child, the heartbreaking final moments see him realise that he was, in fact, one of the ghosts the boy could speak to, and his final act on earth had helped him come to terms with it. When the film was released, it was a great secret that really revived the culture of ‘no spoilers’!

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History.
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Saigon Freakout (Apocalypse Now, 1979) – During an early scene, we see lead Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) endure trauma-induced flashbacks that result in him punching a mirror in his hotel room. Not the most shocking thing by itself, but all the more intense when you realise Sheen wasn’t meant to break the mirror, and the blood on his hand was his own. Reportedly, Sheen had to convince director Francis Ford Coppola to keep filming, as he felt it added to the moment. Given that the film is now upheld as a classic, he may have been right!

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The 25 Most Shocking Moments In Movie History

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