While everyone loves a good dumb action movie or a simple rom-com from time to time, few film lovers would deny thatthere is hardly a more exciting or engaging movie-going experience than seeing a great, twisty, mind-boggling masterpiece. Whether these flicks left audiences in a state of shock with a huge revelation at the end of the story, or were just so loaded with heady ideas and complex plot points that it was too much to digest in one viewing, these movies are completely different the second time around.
With some of Hollywood’s best filmmakers – includingChristopher Nolan,David Fincher,Stanley Kubrick, andAlfred Hitchcock– all represented, these movies have become timeless classics because of the rewarding experience they offer when revisited. From cerebral science-fiction stunners to heart-pounding horrors that harrow and haunt, these 11 films only get better the more they are watched.
11’Fight Club' (1999)
Directed by David Fincher
Not only one of the most famous films of the modern age of cinema, but boasting arguably thegreatest plot twist in film history,Fight Clubis a quintessential picture that continues to impact pop culture over 20 years after its release. It follows an insomniac whose dissatisfied existence finds a purpose when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and forms an underground “Fight Club” which quickly becomes something much more sinister.
Fight Club’s anti-consumerist punch and its introspective critique of overt masculinitycan strike audiences as being an eccentric glorification of violence and a striking rebellion against modernity. With the mystery of who, or what, exactly Tyler Durden is defining much of the latter part of the film, a repeat viewing may be necessary to not only see all the signs of the twist to come, but to embrace the film’s actual message of the dangers of toxic masculinity.
Fight Club
Rent on Apple TV
10’The Sixth Sense' (1999)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Still viewed asM. Night Shyamalan’s defining masterpiece,The Sixth Senseis famous for its iconic twist which has had many first-time viewers rewatching the film immediately to see the shocking revelation being broadcast in plain sight throughout. It focuses on Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), a child psychologist who works with a disturbed young boy in Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) who claims he can see dead people.
Mixing elements of classic Hollywood drama with modern horror and some surprisingly poignant ghost stories,The Sixth Sensewas entirely captivating, and was one of the few horror movies to have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.What makes a second viewing so effective though isn’t just how obviousThe Sixth Sense’s twist seems, but how well it feeds into the storyas a brilliant narrative point even more so than a shocking revelation.
The Sixth Sense
9'12 Monkeys' (1995)
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Inspired by the French short filmLa Jetée,12 Monkeyshas stood the test of time as a mind-bending masterpiece of sci-fi, time-travel cinema. Starting in a disease-ravaged future where the few pockets of humanity still alive have been forced underground, it follows a prisoner who is sent back to the mid-1990s to uncover the origin of the virus, pursuing leads on a terrorist group known as “The Army of the Twelve Monkeys.”
In addition to exploring a number of red herrings and half-truths surrounding the mysterious organization, the film also delves deep into time travel paradoxes with James Coles' (Bruce Willis) haunting memories of a man being shot in an airport coming to a brilliant though harrowing revelation.A film that practically demands a second viewing,12 Monkeyspresents Terry Gilliamat his thought-provoking and evocative best.
12 Monkeys
Watch on Apple TV+
8’Crazy, Stupid, Love' (2011)
Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
While a romantic comedy probably isn’t the first thing many would think of when pondering movies that need to be revisited in order to be fully appreciated,Crazy, Stupid, Lovedoes manage to drop some significant twists on the audience. It follows Cal Weaver (Steve Carell), a middle-aged family man whose wife asks for a divorce, prompting him to frequent bars where he befriends Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a charismatic womanizer who takes Cal under his wing while pursuing the possibility of a genuine relationship with Hannah (Emma Stone).
While the film is consistently funny, it becomes truly hilarious near the end when a completely unexpected link between Cal and Hannah is revealed, seeing a family event deteriorate into a hysterical fight. As funny as it is though,the unexpected twist also packs an interesting punch on rewatch, one which analyzes Jacob’s behaviorand attitude towards women in a completely new light.
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Rent on Amazon
7’Memento' (2000)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
The early breakout fromChristopher Nolan,Mementosaw the famed filmmaker at his time-bending, narrative-stretching best.A gripping revenge thrillerat its core, it follows a former insurance investigator as he works tirelessly to find the man who murdered his wife, a vendetta made all the more difficult as he lives with anterograde amnesia and has to rely on tattoos, photographs, and notes to figure out the identity of the killer.
With the active revenge story being told in reverse to immerse audiences in Leonard’s (Guy Pearce) headspace, the film is an enthralling watch on first viewing, but a complicated one.Knowing where all the plot threads lead and how Leonard is being manipulated by those around him actually allows the audience to appreciatewhat each scene is achieving without making their minds run forward to try to figure it out.
Watch on Peacock
6’Unbreakable' (2000)
WhileThe Sixth Senseis undeniably Shyamalan’s magnum opus,Unbreakablewas the film that proved he was more than just a one-hit wonder. A grounded and gritty superhero story, it follows David Dunn (Bruce Willis) a security guard with advanced strength who stands as the sole survivor of a catastrophic train wreck, an event which leads to him being contacted by Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a comic-book collector with a rare brittle bone disease, who believes that he and David may be linked by fate.
Its meshing of narrative and tone was a peculiar mixture, especially for superhero cinema at the time, andUnbreakablemade for an engrossing, bleak, and meditative take on the genre which is arguably even more compelling today. It also maintained the director’s great love of hitting the audience with a major plot twist which forces them to think on the story and characters in a whole new light.
Unbreakable
M. Night Shyamalan presents Unbreakable, a superhero thriller that sees Bruce Willis star as David Dunn, a man who survives a train derailment completely unscathed. Now discovering that he has superpowers, he is invited to meet a man who may know more about his unique condition working at a comic book shop. What begins as a discovery of who he is and why he has these powers turns into David assuming the role of a reluctant hero in an ordinary world.
Watch on Max
5’Donnie Darko' (2001)
Directed by Richard Kelly
One of the most iconic movies of the 21st century thus far,Donnie Darkohas earned critical acclaim and enduring fan admiration as an intelligent and baffling sci-fi drama. It follows Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), a disenchanted teenager who, after surviving a freak accident, is plagued by visions of a man in a creepy rabbit suit who tells him the world is nearing its end.
An incredible effort fromRichard Kellyin what was his directorial debut,Donnie Darkothrived as a moody and atmospheric picture with a terrific centralperformance from Jake Gyllenhaalin what was his major breakout.Loaded with heady themes and a winding narrative that is difficult to predict,Donnie Darkooffers plenty on a repeat viewing, and tends to only get better with every rewatch.
Donnie Darko
4’Arrival' (2016)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Standing asDenis Villeneuve’s first forayinto science-fiction film – a genre he has now become a master of –Arrivalwas a brilliant dramatic story interspersed with sequences of the protagonist’s family life which, for much of the film, audiences may assume are flashbacks. The major narrative, however, follows a linguistics professor as she is enlisted by the military to communicate with one of twelve alien ships that have arrived on Earth.
The film throws a lot in the audience’s direction as a first-time viewing experience, with its thought-provoking and intense narrative being complimented by an awe-inspiring sense of spectacle and plenty of philosophically challenging scenarios.RevisitingArrivalallows viewers to grasp the nuances and shifting political tensions of the main storywith more confidence, while also enabling them to comprehend the true tragedy of time-jumping family sequences.
Watch on Fubo
3’The Prestige' (2006)
A true master of head-scratching narratives, Christopher Nolan was at his mind-boggling best with the period thrillerThe Prestige. Transpiring throughout the 1890s, it follows Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), two London-based magicians whose friendly rivalry turns volatile following the death of Angier’s lover. With each showman trying to outperform the other, their feud turns violent as they each try to create the greatest magic trick of all time.
While it explores the lives, careers, and crippling obsession of both men,The Prestigerefuses to reveal their true nature, and the secrets of their performances, until the final moments, which shed light on everything with disturbing results. An exceptional head-scratcher that comes to a bold conclusion, Nolan’s adaptation ofChristopher Priest’s novel is endlessly rewatchable, with more being seen with each repeat viewing.
The Prestige
2Psycho (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
A classic horror from the master of the genre,Alfred Hitchcock,Psychouses many technical tricks to heighten the suspense, but what truly made it excel as a harrowing viewing experience wasits incredibly intelligent story and the manner in which Hitchcock brought it to the screen. The film follows Marion (Janet Leigh) as she steals a sum of money from her employer and hits the road, winding up at the Bates Motel where she begins to reconsider her erratic decision.
However, she is brutally murdered before she can make amends, leading her sister and her lover to embark on a search for her which leads them right to Bates Motel and its mild-mannered proprietor andone of horror’s greatest villains, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). With another shocking twist happening at the end of the film,Psychois an assertive horror film that only gets more disturbing on the second viewing.
