1995 Hit Crime Thriller Ranked No.1 for 'Best Movie Twists' of All Time
A good surprise twist adds a needed level of shock-and-awe that elevates a film's overall storyline to new heights. Director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie released a 1995 crime classic that has been argued to have the best storyline twist of all time, and even won an Oscar for it.
In a list by IMDb, The Usual Suspects ranked at No.1 for having the best movie twist and for good reason. The film has since been revered by film critics, academics, and film institutions, with Rotten Tomatoes commenting that it has a simple plot that then "piles on layers of deceit, twists, and violence before pulling out the rug from underneath."
The success of The Usual Suspects is also thanks to its leading ensemble cast, including Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, and Pete Postlethwaite. Its storyline focuses on a group of criminals who meet during a police lineup and begin to re-tell their story of what led them there.
The plot follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint, a small-time con man and one of the only two survivors of the criminal group. After a massacre and fire that took place on a docked ship, Kint tells a convoluted story of events of how his criminal companions ended up there and their involvement with a crime lord named Keyser Söze.
For the sake of the film, the plot twist won't be revealed, but it has stunned fans for decades since its release. Its plot has even been used as a pop culture reference in TV series and is highly talked about in academic settings.
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Singer came up with the film after reading a Spy magazine column called "The Usual Suspects" after Claude Rains' line in Casablanca. It led to the movie's overall concept of: What would possibly bring these five felons together in one line-up? McQuarrie then worked on the script with his own unpublished screenplays and a true story. The character of Keyser Söze is based on real-life New Jersey accountantJohn List, who murdered his family in 1971 before fleeing and taking on a new name.
The Usual Suspects was filmed with a $6 million budget and made $67 million after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It led McQuarrie to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and Spacet for Best Supporting Actor. The American Film Institute names the film as one of the top 10 film classics in the genre and for having one of the best movie villains of all time.
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 8:23 AM.