Serenity

The element of surprise often feels like it’s being bred out of movies; the bigger and costlier they are, the less often they seem eager to challenge audience expectations. Then again, maybe that’s always been the case — there’s a reason “crowd-pleaser” is a superlative filmmakers hope to earn — but that’s also why the great, unexpected left turns taken in cinema history stay with us decades later. With that in mind (and in celebration of this weekend’s “Serenity,” which features one of the most bonkers twists ever), we’ve assembled a list of ten films with some of the most mind-blowing plot twists in movie history.