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Let me set the scene for you: You’re watching a movie; it’s all fun and lighthearted, and then you reach the halfway point, and there’s a sudden tonal shift; now the movie is a straight-up horror film!
Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of films that try to pull this stunt. They don’t always pull it off seamlessly, but when they do, it can become a cinematic masterpiece worthy of an Oscar.
Do you know any movies that completely change halfway through and actually pull it off? Apparently, Redditor @Big_Emotion4963 was curious, too, and asked people in this Reddit Thread. A lot of people shared some great responses, and it’s wild how many movies are guilty of doing this.
1. “Parasite (2019).”
CJ Entertainment / Via youtu.be
“It’s probably the most perfect modern example of this. It spends the entire first half building this brilliant, dark, satirical comedy about class infiltration. Then, it instantly drops the floor out from under you and turns into a suffocating, tragic thriller.”
What’s the movie about: The Kim family worms their way into the wealthy Park household by pretending to be unrelated, highly qualified professionals, eventually uncovering a dark secret while working for them.
What’s the movie about: A young secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), steals $40,000 from her employer to start a new life for herself. While on the run, she ends up staying at the Bates Motel, managed by the shy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).
3. “From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).”
What’s the movie about: Two criminal brothers, Seth (Harvey Keitel) and Richie Gecko (George Clooney), go on the run after kidnapping a minister’s family, hoping to cross the Mexican border.
4. “Predator (1987).”
What’s the movie about: A paramilitary rescue team, led by Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is sent on a mission to rescue hostages in a Central American rainforest.
5. “Prey (2022).”
What’s the movie about: Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled young Comanche woman, who wants to prove herself as a hunter.
6. “District 9 (2009).”
Tristar Pictures / Via youtu.be
“Starts as a documentary, becomes an action film, and then ends as a documentary again.”
What’s the movie about: After a population of aliens, called “Prawns,” lands their ship, seeking asylum in South Africa, the government tasks the Multinational United (MNU) to relocate them to an internment camp called District 9.
7. “Full Metal Jacket (1987).”
What’s the movie about: A platoon of U.S. Marines, including privates J.T. Davis (Matthew Modine) and Leonard Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), go through boot camp training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, before eventually joining the war in Vietnam.
What’s the movie about: Two young men, conspiracy theorist Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), kidnap CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), suspecting that she is secretly an alien who wants to destroy Earth.
9. “The Sound of Music (1965).”
20th Century Fox / Via youtu.be
“All the fun songs are in the first half, but the second half is a great war drama.”
What’s the movie about: A free-spirited young Austrian woman named Maria (Julie Andrews) is sent to teach and care for the seven children of the widowed naval captain Georg Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer).
10. “The World's End (2013).”
Focus Features / Via youtu.be
“Starts as a British comedy, then there's an exact moment when it turns into something completely different. My wife was just about to tell me she wasn't really into this movie, then that scene happened, and she just kind of stared for a few minutes, going '...what is happening...'"
What’s the movie about: 40-year-old Gary King (Simon Pegg) asks his childhood friends to reunite and finish an epic 12-pub crawl in their hometown that they attempted 20 years ago.
11. “Sorry to Bother You (2018).”
What’s the movie about: A young Black man, Cash Green (LaKeith Stanfield), adopts a "white voice" to succeed at his job as a telemarketer at RegalView.
12. “Life Is Beautiful (1997).”
What’s the movie about: Jewish-Italian bookshop owner Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni) tries to protect his son with humor and imagination during their time in a Nazi concentration camp, along with his wife Dora (Nicoletta Braschi).
What’s the movie about: A film crew is tasked with making One Cut of the Dead, a Japanese zombie horror film for live television that must be shot in a single take.
14. “Bone Tomahawk (2015).”
What’s the movie about: Small-town Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) leads a posse into a desolate region of the Old West to rescue three people who were abducted.
15. “Colossal (2016).”
What’s the movie about: Unemployed writer Gloria (Anne Hathaway), while struggling with alcoholism and dealing with a dislikeable colleague, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), unintentionally causes a giant reptilian creature to appear in Seoul, South Korea.
16. “Triangle of Sadness (2022).”
What’s the movie about: Celebrity couple Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean) go on a luxury cruise with other wealthy guests who end up stranded on an island and fighting for survival.
What’s the movie about: Amateur boxer Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) seeks out boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to help achieve her dream of becoming a professional.
18. “Audition (1999).”
What’s the movie about: Widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) hires his film producer friend to stage fake auditions to meet a new girlfriend, only to find that the young woman he chooses, Asami (Eihi Shiina), holds a dark secret.
19. “Sunshine (2007).”
What’s the movie about: Set in a future where a global freeze threatens humanity, a space crew is sent to space to deliver a stellar bomb, operated by physicist Robert Capa (Cillian Murphy), to reignite the dying sun.
20. “Bridge to Terabithia (2007).”
What’s the movie about: Young Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie Burke (Sophia Robb) create a fantasy land, “Terabithia,” to escape their troubled reality.
21. “The Abyss (1989).”
20th Century Fox / Via youtu.be
“Starts as more or less an action/suspense kind of movie, then takes a hard left turn into pure sci-fi.”
What’s the movie about: While trying to save a sunken American submarine in the Caribbean from Soviet Ships, a U.S. search and recovery team works with an oil platform crew, led by Bud Brigman (Ed Harris).
22. “Jojo Rabbit (2019).”
Searchlight Pictures / Via youtu.be
“The character of Hitler as Jojo's imaginary friend evolves from silly to sinister as Jojo begins to realize what Nazism really means. The scene with the shoes is one of the great thematic turning points I've ever seen.”
23.
What’s the movie about: Johannes “Jojo” Betzler is a 10-year-old Hitler Youth member who finds out that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), is hiding a young Jewish girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), in their attic.
24. “Click (2006).”
What’s the movie about: Workaholic family man Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is given a magical universal remote that can control reality in his favor.
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