Plot twists. Whether it be mystery novels, an M. Night Shyamalan movie, or the prolific father-son reunion in the Empire Strikes Back, plot twists pop up in every genre and medium of storytelling. With good reason, too. A plot twist surprises you, it makes you rethink everything you thought you knew, and it shatters whatever plot predictions you've racked up for the ride. A good plot twists enriches a story, it complicates it. A great one blows your freaking mind.
I think it's the "blows your freaking mind" variety that have really pumped us all up on the concept of twists. After all, when people talk about, say, The Sixth Sense, what do the