A plot twist is an effective way of keeping audiences on the edge of their seats, but
not every surprise comes completely out of the blue.
Filmmakers just can’t help leaving a hint or two for all to see – even if it’s just
the viewers paying the closest attention who catch them.
Here are Screen Rant’s 10 Best Movie Clues You Missed.
Back to the Future – Twin Pines Mall
The first Back to the Future ends with a bit of a twist, revealing that the life Marty
McFly leaves behind in 1985 is not the same he returns to.
His actions in the past have caused his entire family history to change for the better - but
you don’t have to wait until the final sequence for that surprise.
When Marty rushes to the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall to save Doc before he’s killed,
it’s revealed to have changed its name to Lone Pine Mall, a result of Marty running
over one of Farmer Peabody’s prized pines when he first arrived in 1955, and the first
clue that he altered the timeline, instead of preserving it.
21 Jump Street – A Familiar Flavor
Undercover officers Schmidt and Jenko are given a simple mission: infiltrate and bring
down a high school designer drug ring.
Finding the dealer is simple enough, but finding his supplier and kingpin proves more challenging.
But it didn’t have to be.
After the two first take the drug while at school, Jenko notes that “it tastes like
cool ranch”.
Just a few moments later, Coach Walters appears snacking on – you guessed it - Cool Ranch
Doritos.
Walters is revealed to be the operation’s mastermind, explaining where that flavor came
from.
The officers may have spotted the clue, if they weren’t too distracted by their own
tongues.
Reservoir Dogs – Big Tippers
After a jewel heist goes horribly wrong, Quentin Tarantino’s cast of thieves are convinced
that there’s a rat in their midst, with the survivors left to find out which one of
their team may be working with the police.
A collection of bottles hints that Mr. Orange isn’t on the same side as Mr. White or Pink,
but the undercover LAPD officer actually lets his secret slip in the very first scene.
First, he changes his mind to fit in with his colleague.
Then when the group is asked who didn’t tip for their breakfast, Orange immediately
squeals, showing he doesn’t subscribe to the same code as his partners.
If only they’d caught it, the movie’s ending might have been a lot less messy.
Fight Club – Flashes of Tyler
When the Narrator learns that he and Tyler Durden are actually the same person, it blows
his mind - but eagle eyed viewers weren’t caught completely by surprise.
In the film’s first act, the Narrator begins to see quick glimpses of Tyler as he battles
his insomnia, suggesting he’s simply a figment of his imagination begging to be unleashed.
If that wasn’t enough, Tyler later calls the Narrator on a pay phone that doesn’t
accept incoming calls.
Saving the big twist from eagle-eyed viewers was obviously not a priority for director
David Fincher.
“He is Jack’s Spoiler Alert.”
The Sixth Sense – An Unfriendly Ghost
Discovering that Bruce Willis’s character was dead the whole time is one of the greatest
twists in cinematic history, immediately warranting a second viewing, where viewers learn the
twist wasn’t necessarily a total surprise.
It makes sense for Crowe to spend plenty of time with his patient Cole, but it is a little
strange that he doesn’t address any other human after the opening scene, at one point
arriving late for an anniversary dinner, with his wife not even acknowledging his presence.
The clues are subtle enough to go unnoticed the first time, but on repeat viewings, they’re
impossible to miss.
Shutter Island – A Glass Half Full
The movie’s story of a Federal Marshall pursuing a killer in a remote mental hospital
is turned on its head in Shutter Island, when hero Teddy Daniels is revealed to be a patient
acting out an elaborate fantasy.
It’s a shocking twist, but viewers should have known that Teddy’s experience was less
than reliable.
When a patient requests a drink during her interview, the glass she drinks from is non-existent,
returning only when it has been completely drained.
Teddy’s fear of water may be actively censoring what he does, and doesn’t see, but regardless,
it’s just one of the clues that show the investigation is not what it seems.
The Usual Suspects – The Truth is Golden
Everyone was floored to learn the unassuming Verbal Kint was really the criminal mastermind
Keyser Soze, but hints were sprinkled throughout this mysterious crime drama.
In the film’s opening scene, the faceless Keyser lights a cigarette with a gold lighter
before setting a fiery blaze.
Later on when Verbal leaves the police station, one of his belongings is a gold cigarette
lighter - the same one used in that first sequence.
It’s a minor detail before the far larger twists are revealed, meaning deductive viewers
realized the truth before the characters in the story.
The Big Lebowski – No Strike, He’s Out
Since the film’s starring duo spends most of their time dismissing their fellow bowler,
Donnie, viewers might not notice that every time he’s shown bowling, he gets a strike
– until his final game.
He seems as confused as anyone when he leaves pins standing, but exits the bowling alley
to face off against a group of violent nihilists, where he succumbs to a heart attack and dies.
Turns out, his last bowl was an ominous piece of foreshadowing.
What would have happened if he’d thrown a gutter ball?
The Prestige – Look to The Birds
A single trick lies at the heart of this tale of rival magicians, with Hugh Jackman’s
character desperately trying to learn how Christian Bale’s Borden can transport between
two points instantly.
He eventually recreates the trick by copying himself, drowning each time as his new copy
appears to wow audiences.
In the end, Borden’s explanation is a twin brother, not actual magic – a secret discovered
early on by a young boy unconvinced by a ‘disappearing bird’ trick.
The boy sees what the audience doesn’t, but even his rival’s horrifying loop of
suicide is explained using the same dead bird.
The Dark Knight Rises - The League’s Mark
The third of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films finds Bruce Wayne surprised and devastated,
discovering his corporate ally and lover “Miranda Tate” is actually Talia al Ghul, daughter
of Batman Begins villain Ra’s al Ghul.
But her membership in the League of Shadows is foreshadowed long before she confesses
it.
Bruce makes a note of a triangular scar on her back which is never explained, but are
similar to those covering Bane’s head, implying a link between the two.
Some have argued that the scar resembles the brand of the League seen in Batman Begins,
but whatever the case, having a villain covered in scars suggested there was more to “Miranda”
than met the eye.
Those are our picks for great clues hidden in the background of movies.
Are there any we missed?
Sound off in the comments section below and be sure to subscribe to our channel for more
videos like this one!