Over the past fifteen years, Peter's work in horror and other genres, in the form of short fiction, poetry, criticism, and comics, has appeared in numerous anthologies and periodicals.
Current publications: Rue Morgue (issue #82) ComiPress Dark Territories Read by Dawn Volume 3 Diamond BookShelf Withersin Speaking gig: SFABC
(Note: this entire article is, in some sense, one big spoiler)
Recently, the folks at Premiere.com came up with a fairly serviceable list of the top
movie twists.Not my intention here to debate each selection—I’ll leave that to others. However, for your benefit, dear reader, I’ve broken down the list by genre. I guess I shouldn’t be too shocked that musical comedies don’t appear, but I’m a bit taken aback that no Western does: I thought some old-time Hollywood fans would at least push The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) onto this list.Perhaps even more odd, if one considers the intentions of its genre, is that there’s also no straight-ahead mystery represented—that is, a conventional whodunit. And no, Chinatown (1974), that great deconstructionist noir, doesn’t count.
Horror
The Sixth Sense
Psycho
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Friday the 13thThrillers
Old Boy
The Usual Suspects
Chinatown
Fight Club
The Game
Angel Heart
Science Fiction
Planet of the Apes
The Empire Strikes Back
Soylent Green
12 Monkeys*
Drama
Citizen Kane
Jacob’s Ladder**
The Crying Game
Eddie & The Cruisers
Action/Adventure (?)
Mission Impossible (note that since I’m not a fan of this movie, nor its ostensible twist, I’m loathe to place it with the other thrillers for fear of contamination)
*…and not La Jetée? I guess the argument is that it’s a short subject and, technically speaking, barely a “movie”; also, the twist that Premiere identifies in 12 Monkeys is nowhere present in the film that inspired it.
** and not Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge? Well, that makes sense as it’s also not feature-length—but it’s hard for me to get excited about a twist that I’ve experienced previously.
Anyone care to add their two cents’? Premiere’s message board has several suggestions but these are more often depressing than not.