If you’ve paid any attention to the buzz or news surrounding The Perfection, releasing on Netflix on May 24, 2019, then you’ve heard the warnings over and over again: do not watch the trailer, do read anything else about it, and go into this viewing knowing as little about the movie as possible. Out of Fantastic Fest last year, our own Trace Thurman gave the movie a perfect score, saying, “The Perfection consistently shocks and surprises and takes so many twists and turns you don’t expect that you’re bound to get whiplash.” But he also was extremely careful to tiptoe around any potential spoilers.
Trailers are notorious for giving too many secrets away, but on rare occasions, a movie is so off the rails in terms of plot twists, surprises, and genre switch ups that it’s impossible to avoid in the marketing. For movies like this, the best way to preserve the viewing experience is by going in knowing absolutely nothing about them.
While we wait to see if The Perfection lives up to its name, we look back at the horror movies that pulled the rug out from under us, whether by changing genres entirely halfway through, throwing twist after twist at us, or defying the norm in completely shocking ways. These horror movies are fantastic on their own, but if you hit play knowing nothing whatsoever about the ensuing madness? Prepare for a mind-blowing experience.
The Cabin in the Woods
The initial trailers for this fan favorite gave only slight hints of the madness within, and surely gave nothing away in terms of tone. Even the plot synopsis on the IMDb page is bare; “Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods.” Considering this one sat on the shelf for a few years before finally getting a release, it was fairly easy to go in blind to The Cabin in the Woods, making for a face-melting horror movie filled with humor and subversion. That epic third act was made all the sweeter having not a single freaking clue what was coming. This film is best viewed expecting just another run of the mill horror movie about a zombie redneck torture family descending upon unsuspecting friends vacationing in a cabin in the woods.
From Dusk till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn starts out like a familiar movie penned by Quentin Tarantino. A pair of fugitive bank robbers taking hostages and getting into deadly shootouts to evade getting caught, with trademark violence, style, and dialogue that’s pure Tarantino (and director Robert Rodriguez). The robbers, Seth and Richie Gecko, then kidnap a pastor with a crisis of faith and his two teenaged kids so they can be smuggled into Mexico via RV. But about halfway through, when the motley crew takes post at a remote strip club, the film takes a drastic 180-degree shift from crime thriller to full on creature feature. Imagine having watched this movie for the first time, without having seen any trailers and knowing nothing about the second half of the movie.
The Descent
One of the best modern horror movies, The Descent is a simple yet terrifying adventure gone wrong for the six women spelunking in the Appalachian Mountains. Neil Marshall presents the claustrophobic and dangerous realities of cave diving while giving subtle hints that there’s something more sinister lurking in the dark. Until it explodes into pure primal horror. There are no real drastic shifts in genre or tone here, and the twists are minor comparatively speaking. Even still, going into this one knowing nothing about the visceral fight for survival these women have ahead of them makes for an even more breathless experience.
Jacob’s Ladder
This psychological horror film goes heavy on the surreal, which makes for a perfect movie to watch with no preconceived notions or expectations. Post-Vietnam war, Jacob Singer is attempting to fill in the missing gaps of his life, particularly what happened to his platoon. It creates a bizarre horror-filled mystery that makes it difficult for Jacob (and us) to assess what’s real or not. Not knowing much about the film’s standout ending, or the hallucinogenic trip it takes to reach the conclusion, makes for an insane watch for the ill-prepared.
Kill List
Ben Wheatley’s Kill List isn’t as well known, making this an entry where you might have a much stronger chance going in blind. So, I won’t spoil it for you. What I will say is that the basic premise sees a down on his luck hitman accepting a new job that will make him rich after three completed hits. Being that the hitman is still struggling with a botched job from a year ago, there’s a level of psychological torment and character study involved. You’d think you know where a thriller involving a hitman is going, but Wheatley says you’d be wrong- this goes to some truly unexpected places.
Sunshine
Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland’s visually stunning Sunshine has a little bit of everything; heady sci-fi, meditative introspection, adventure, thriller, and, well, you can probably guess. Set in 2057, the film follows an international team of astronauts sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying sun, thus saving humanity from extinction. With such high stakes, what could go wrong? In deep space, a lot of things. Yet the most dangerous thing of all is one that neither the astronauts (nor the viewer) expected in a film like this, making for a major tonal shift in the final act.
Don’t Breathe
After Evil Dead, we expected director Fede Álvarez to deliver brutality in a home invasion thriller. What we didn’t expect is that he would continue to challenge our expectations at every possible turn. When it begins, you’re unsure who to root for; Jave Levy’s Rocky and her two accomplices are our audience proxy, but they’re not morally sound people we should be rooting for. Then there’s Stephen Lang’s The Blind Man, the latest chosen target by Rocky’s group. He’s an older blind recluse without a family; that earns instant compassion, right? Yeah. About that. Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues have us playing constant tug of war with our sympathies, in this depraved cat and mouse game that doesn’t stop throwing surprises and twists our way.
Audition
Imagine the poor soul who went into this movie knowing nothing at all about its genre or its director. Or even its plot. After a mock producer casting used to get widower Shigeharu Aoyama back into the swing of dating, he finds himself immediately smitten with the demure Asami Yamazaki. Director Takashi Miike bides his time while lulling the audience into mistaking the film for a romantic drama. Then he savagely rips the rug out from under you. Sweet romance turns into putrid bile as Asami drops her innocent façade. Very few movies have managed to achieve such a massive genre shift quite like Audition.
Oldboy
A Greek tragedy by way of visceral revenge thriller, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy will keep you guessing at every turn. And right from the get-go, too. Oh Dae-su is kidnapped on the night of his daughter’s fourth birthday and wakes up imprisoned, sealed in a hotel room. He learns his wife has been murdered and he’s been framed for her death. Cut to 15 years later, Oh Dae-su is suddenly freed and sent on a quest to find his captor. That barely, and I emphasize barely, sets up the insanity that follows. The twists and turns don’t stop, right up to its jaw-dropping finale. Oldboy isn’t horror, but it’s so violent, vicious, and boundary pushing that it’s a thriller widely embraced by horror fans. And if you go in blind? All the better.
Martyrs
Pascal Laugier’s extreme French horror film is a major shock to the system even when you’re mentally prepared for what’s coming. But if you have no idea what this is about, then watching Martyrs sight unseen might be the equivalent of an emotional sledgehammer to the skull. Anna and Lucie’s journey is an uncomfortable descent into madness, from beginning to end. It’s made even more dizzying in that each new act marks a major shift in style, tone, and story. This is like multiple movies in one, each one somehow much more primitive, bloodier, and extreme than the last.