Boiling Point: And the Killer is…

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 15, 2009

bp-harpersisland

Twist endings have been around for a very, very long time but I’ll always jump at a chance to point the finger at M. Night Shyamalan, because thanks to his Sixth Sense twist endings were pretty much requisite for a good part of the last decade. It’s hard to come up with a good twist, but that didn’t stop studios and writers from going ahead with shitty ones.

I’m reminded of crappy twists most often when it comes to the reveal of the killer. Sure, we all figured it was probably the kid who supposedly died in the first act or maybe a relative of his. That’s standard fare, so when people want to get a little more clever they reveal the bad guy to be none other than… the lead character! Or someone pretty close to it. What’s got me remembering this right now is “Harper’s Island” a show I’m certain few people are watching considering the ratings drop every week. A shame, because it’s something fresh on TV, and I love horror. But that’s not to say their aren’t problems. Of course, this will probably change, but the last episode points to the Sheriff as the killer, which makes little sense. He’s been a good guy this whole time and, further, has been attacked by the bad guy. When seemingly no one else was around. So if he is working with a partner, why would the partner attack the Sheriff with no witnesses around? To fool the audience, sure, but in story it makes no sense at all.

Perhaps the most audacious of these examples is Perfect Stranger starring Halle Berry who won the Oscar for looking good (clearly her acting is not to credit) and Bruce Willis. I’d warn that I was about to ruin the ending, but really I’m doing you a favor by getting this out of the way. See, the whole time the film wants you to think Bruce is the bad guy and Halle is the good girl who is in danger. We see Halle sneak around, fearing for her life, worried about every little thing. Then at the end, surprise, she was the killer all along! But here is the deal – why was she scared snooping around all the time? She knows she’s in no danger. No killer is after her because she’s the killer. Bruce poses no threat – worst he would do is call the cops because his employee is acting kind of weird.

Surprise endings don’t have to be in every film. Sometimes it’s fine to have the killer just be some random psycho or the survivor of an accidental fire out for vengeance. One thing is for sure – when you try the bait and switch, it usually comes out stupid. Sure, it might make for some temporary tension and drama, but then we’re left scratching our heads at why the killer attacked himself, somehow, when he was alone or why the killer always seems so afraid of himself when no one is watching. That is lying to the audience, not being clever. Take that weak sauce back to the page, my friend, and come up with a real twist. Meanwhile, I’ll pack no surprises and hit my boiling point.

Worst killer reveals…Go.

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Reebee7

I love good twists, but they are hard to pull off, and too often they fail miserably. I also hate it when they do exactly what they said, completely throw out the rest of the story in order to have a twist. Like you said, why is the killer acting like a victim the whole time? This gets particularly bad in the Fight Club-esque twists, "It was really me, or the other side of me, ah ha ha ha!" This is particularly bad in High Tension, the movie I regard as the worst I've ever seen. But it's one of those, oh wait "SPOILER", it's one of those where the main girl is revealed to be schizophrenic and it was her the whole time! OMG! But what about the scary truck that was around? Okay, some will say, "but it's all in her head!" Great, except it happens ten thousand other times... God i hate that movie.

Chris

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane to me is a pretty poor reveal at the end I'd say. The whole film you don't expect that character, because the film gave you NO clue as to that character having any reasons to act, or believe in such a way. Maybe for some it worked, but for me, it left me just saying "meh".

And I doubt the Sheriff is the killer in Harper's Island (yeah, I'm one of the 3 who watch it). There's gotta be a reason behind why he looks guilty as Hell (because it's too damn obvious he is the killer). If anything, I think it's A: Henry the groom (it be outta left field), B: The main girl's fisherman boyfriend (with some sorta "I'm Wakefield's kid!" reasoning a'la Scream), or C: Some guy we've never seen before/minor character (the groundskeeper who we saw for a split second when the fat guy went to retrieve his money? There were garden shears in that lady's back) popping up.

RobertFure

You know what bothered me? At the end of the episode 2 weeks ago (when they went to the boat dock) right at the end JD tells Abby "It's all about you" and then they cut to her looking up at Henry covered in blood. Then next week its just like things start up normally. That would have been a great spot to be like "Henry is the killer look at him!!! He loves you and that's why he's killing everyone!" But they didn't. Though I do think they might make him the killer in the end - he hasn't really been threatened with death that much.

But yeah, the fisherman (Jimmy) is a very likely candidate.

Dani

I was just talking about this very thing! It doesn't bother me that they didn't really reference the fact that Henry looked like he could be the killer, but it did bother me that no one said anything like "hey dude, why all of the blood?"

Dani

I am one of the other two people watching this show and I have said from the beginning that I think it is Henry. Now with the last couple of episodes, I have also been thinking about the fisherman Jimmy. Someone on another site talked about the gardener who may also have been the same man nonchalantly waxing the floor when everyone was fleeing the island. I hope it is not him as that would feel like a rip off to me. It is hard these days to pull off a good twist.

Seaghan

I was going to post just about the same thing. There was a car chase at the end of the movie. So, she was essentially chasing herself and trying to evade herself in two different automobiles at the same time. Way to go, movie!

DrewCSchultz

The thing I hate most about these types of movies is that they break the rules. It's funny because I just got done watching Righteous Kill (don't ask why), and /BIG SPOILER ALERT/ they show Robert Deniro killing all those people in flashback sequences, when he never actually killed anyone. Same thing with High Tension, except in reverse. I'm fine with twist endings (in moderation), but don't fucking lie to me, man. Be creative, for Christ's sake.

B.Shet

I really liked "My Bloody Valentine 3D" but was pretty disappointed with the ending. I felt like the writers sh*t their pants and just threw in some lame twist so they didn't have to come up with an ending that would require any real thought.

Reebee7

One of the better twists actually came in Saw. When that music was pounding and the body you thought was dead stood up and revealed himself to be the killer, I about shat myself with excitement.

Then they made sequels... blech.

Paul

Worst reveal ever? It. My wife and I say King must have gotten tired of writing, so Big Giant Spider. It's the writing equivalent to jumping the shark.

When Wakefield came up to Abby (I'm the third person who watches this show), all I thought was, Big Giant Spider.

Lame

Boiling Point: And the Killer is…

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