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The 1990s gave birth to many beloved and gripping horror movies. However, only a few of them are remembered for building the audience's expectations, only to turn them upside down with a staggering twist at the end.

A good horror movie goes beyond jump scares but instead creates a wholesome narrative, introduces meaningful characters, and gives hints to the plot's resolution, all the while keeping the audiences at the edge of their seats. A great horror movie does all of the above but also shakes the viewers out of their comfort zone and delivers an end twist that no one saw coming — these memorable '90s horror films do just that.

RELATED: 5 Underappreciated 90s Horror Movies

Scream (1996)

Scream-1996

Wes Craven's now-cult slasher masterpiece launched an extensive franchise, reinvigorated the genre, and presented an excellent combo of genre-true bloodshed, black comedy, and a who-done-it guess game. The film doesn't take itself too seriously, takes a stab at the established cliches, but still packs plenty of scares and an ultimate ending twist.

The story follows Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a high school student and a picture-perfect final girl who is being stalked by a masked killer in a Halloween costume. The movie does a great job making the audience guess the assailant's identity, all the while subverting the expectations. In the memorable reveal, Ghostface is the last and seemingly impossible person(s) the audience would suspect — a twist that is cleverly replicated and reinvented in the numerous sequels.

The Faculty (1998)

The Faculty students

When Robert Rodriguez, the creator of From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, and Planet Terror, comes together with Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter behind the majority of the iconic '90s slashers like Scream, Scream 2, and I Know What You Did Last Summer, the result is a wild, wonderfully gory, mixed-genre, and darkly hilarious rollercoaster of a ride that is The Faculty. The film features a superb cast including Josh Hartnett, Salma Hayek, Robert Patrick, Famke Janssen, and Elijah Wood, an epic soundtrack, self-aware humor, surprisingly impressive effects, and an excellent end twist. It is a must-watch sci-fi body-snatching horror experience.

The story follows a mismatched group of high schoolers who suspect that something is not right with their teachers, only to discover that the faculty has been infected by nasty-looking aliens. The reveal of the alien queen's identity comes with an excellent dramatic twist, throwing the movie onto the wonderfully gory monster-slasher rails in the blood-pumping race to the finish line.

Funny Games (1997)

Paul in Funny Games 1997

Michael Haneke's Austrian home invasion horror (as well as its 2007 frame-by-frame American remake with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts) follows two well-mannered young men who break into a vacation home and take a family hostage, forcing them to play a number of twisted games. The psychological horror movie bluntly smashes the fourth wall, with one of the killers, Paul, at one point directly addressing the audience and wondering what would make them continue watching such a sadistic feature.

Funny Games is intense, quietly terrifying, disturbing, and asks difficult social questions. It also features one of the most hope-shuttering and unexpected end twists. In a staggering power-move, Paul outright rewinds the scene where the captives finally manage to overwhelm and kill his partner, mercilessly erasing their small victory and leaving the audience feeling just as helpless.

Se7en (1995)

John Doe, Mills, and Somerset in Se7en

David Fincher's cult crime horror thriller features a stellar cast that includes Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey, and follows the story of two LAPD detectives, Somerset and Mills, who are tracking down a serial killer, whose explicit murders are based on the Bible's seven deadly sins.

Se7en is known for its dark narrative, bleak visuals, compelling performances, and insanely clever, gut-wrenching ending. Unlike many other movies, including the Scream franchise mentioned above, Se7en's twist isn't based around the killer's identity — in fact, he turns himself in in the final act. Instead, it revolves around the events that follow and the moral and personal revelations of the protagonists. It's clever, ruthless, and needs to be experienced to be truly appreciated.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Malcolm and Cole in The Sixth Sense

This supernatural psychological horror is the embodiment of a surprise ending or what became known as the 'Shyamalan Twist.' Directed by M.Night Shyamalan, the film follows a child psychologist, Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), whose 9-year-old patient, Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), can see and communicate with the dead. Still haunted by his inability to save his previous patient who committed suicide in front of him, Malcolm is helping Cole understand and come to terms with his supernatural gift.

The movie's ending comes with an original, stunningly well-crafted, and beautifully simple revelation. Not to spoil anything to those who somehow managed to miss this spectacular '90s horror masterpiece, it's enough to say that all the puzzle pieces fall together, and the whole narrative is turned upside-down in a final rapid-fire montage. It's truly a twist to end all twists that few (including the director himself) managed to replicate since.

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