No genre is better suited for a plot twist than horror.
Scary movies are all about getting a reaction out of the audience.
They want us to lean forward in our seats, eyes wide, hearts racing.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
They want us to scream and even laughto release the building tension.
No film did it better than 2004’sSaw, because we never saw it coming.
Released in 1960, audiences didn’t know what to expect going in.
Image via Lions Gate Films
Hitchcock did though,instructing theaters not to let in anyone who showed up late.
The other twist comes at the end.
When he becomes his mother in his mind, he turns murderous.
Image via Lions Gate Films
While chilling, this is Hitchcock we’re dealing with here, already a household name in 1960.
The fact that he could do this to an audience was impressive but not surprising.
Modern horror’s plot twist king isM.
Image via Lions Gate Films
It’s more heartbreaking than scary though, similar to howThe Otherspulled the same trick a few years later.
We’re stunned rather than frightened.
‘Saw’ Scares Us by Not Revealing Too Much
Saw’s plot twist is different.
Image Via Lionsgate
While there is some heartbreak involved, it’s more terrifying than saddening.
It works so well in part because we go in knowing so little.
Alfred Hitchcock was a legend beforePsycho.
There’d be some gory kills maybe and Glover saving the day, the end.
But what we ended up getting was something else entirely.
We didn’t know who John Kramer was, or whoJigsawwas.
We didn’t know why he kills or how.
We couldn’t anticipate any twist, because we were just trying to keep up with what was happening.
It’s very intense.
Will Dr. Gordon and Adam escape, and if so, in what shape?
Will the detectives be able to catch the killer in time?
And who is behind this all?
What Is the Twist in ‘Saw’?
The story gets more twisty.
We can respect that.
These young guys are putting some real effort into the plot.
It’s more than just a gimmick and gore.
Is Dr. Gordon the killer, only pretending to be a victim?
Then who is the man keeping his family hostage?
He sure seems like it, going as far as to shoot Detective Tapp.
Still, it doesn’t feel quite right, even as Zep barges into the warehouse.
He’s too timid and scared.
What’s going on?
Adam is able to easily overpower and kill Zep.
There surely has to be more.
Oh, is there.
Dr. Gordon has cut off his own foot to escape his chains.
He even shoots Adam to save his family but doesn’t kill him.
With Zep now dead and the door open, Gordon can hobble to safety and come back for help.
After he leaves, a shocking twist occurs.
So who is Jigsaw?
We wait for the shocking reveal.
No one steps through.
Instead, they stand up.
The dead, bloodied body that has been in the center of the floor this entire time rises.
The man has been alive and pretending to be dead this whole time.
He tells Adam that the key to his chain is in the bathtub, but that’s no good.
That key went down the drain when the movie started.
Who Is Jigsaw and Why Does He Kill?
We learn why John Kramer kills.
He has an inoperable brain tumor.
For Adam, his time has run out.
The twist of a killer we don’t expect has been done ad nauseam.
What makesSawso different, however, is that the killer is right there the whole time.
He’s not some surprise new entrant.
He’s been lying there, literally in the center of the action, for the entire run time.
We pay no attention to him, assuming he is dead, but those assumptions are turned against us.
He has been conscious, listening to every word Dr. Gordon and Adam say.
The plot twist is not exactly a reveal, but a realization.
What could be more terrifying than that?
