Can You Solve These 5 Puzzle Films before the End?

Who is Keyser Söze?

At Krakit Escape Game, we are big fans of a movie that gets our brain gears spinning. What escape room addict isn’t?

It’s true that there are some “twist-ending” films out there that the audience has no chance of solving before the twist is revealed. However, the really good twist endings are good precisely because you can solve them—if you’ve been paying enough attention.

These films are more like puzzles than narratives that drag you from plot point to plot point. They challenge you to look closer, pay attention, and put together the clues before the end credits roll.

When a good twist ending is revealed and you haven’t already figured it out, you’re left feeling silly, because you realize the answer was under your nose the whole time. (We’re looking at you, every Harry Potter book!)

If you’re clever enough, you might have figured out the endings to these five puzzle-like films before the solution was revealed. If you haven’t seen them, well, it’s time to test your mettle.

1. Memento (2000)

It’s very easy to settle in for the ride and let Christopher Nolan’s breakthrough film bend your mind. But it’s a lot more fun if you try to solve the film’s central mystery along with memory-impaired protagonist Leonard. You won’t be able to (trust us), but even going back and trying to figure it all out is satisfying.

Film reviewer Taylor Holmes explains Memento best: “Riddles wrapped in riddles—mazes set inside mazes.”

2. The Prestige (2006)

“Of course!” you will yell at the screen. “Of course! How could I not see that?”

3. The Sixth Sense (1999)

It’s hard to believe there are people out there who haven’t seen M. Night Shyamalan’s masterpiece. That is, until you realize it was released 18 years ago, which means there are thousands of high schoolers who need to get cracking on the many puzzle pieces this film offers.

And no, it’s not the fact that the kid sees dead people.

4. Source Code (2011)

Like Memento, Source Code has us trying to solve a mystery alongside the main character. A soldier is tasked with figuring out who bombed a train by going over the event again and again through a virtual reality program. With each successive trip on the train, the puzzle becomes clearer.

5. The Usual Suspects (1995)

We still aren’t entirely sure who Keyser Söze is. Ah, well, we never claimed to be geniuses.

Test out your puzzle-solving skills in one of Krakit Vancouver Escape Game's four themed rooms: http://bookeo.com/krakit

No Escaping These Endings: 5 Worst Twists in Horror History

Joaquin Phoenix, trying to figure out why The Village's twist ending seemed like a good idea

At Krakit Vancouver Escape Game, it’s our job to keep you on your toes. This is a quality we share with our favourite genre of movie: the horror film. There’s really only one way to do this, and that is, of course, through the unexpected.

Because what is a horror movie without a fantastic twist? (Or an escape game without a few wrenches thrown into the mix?)

However, if you don’t do these twists right, it can ruin the entire atmosphere, story, and suspense you’ve been building. We’re really careful to strike the right balance in our escape rooms. We only wish we could say the same for these films’ directors.

Spoilers ahead!

5. I Am Legend (2007)

As horror films grow ever more desperate to surprise viewers, they can become victims of their own desire to think outside the box. The film I Am Legend, based on a highly regarded book, goes ahead and twists the book’s twist ending, ultimately ruining the entire story’s message. Plus, the hero dies. Always a cheap trick.

4. The Mist (2007)

The reason The Mist’s twist ending is so horrible is more due to the pure anger it makes many of its viewers feel. It’s not like you’re expecting a happy ending to this Stephen King story, but having the main character mercy kill his son just before safety arrives is just, well, it’s just not cool.

3. High Tension (2003)

Another cheap trick to end any story is “and it turned out it was all a dream!” The ending “and the person was crazy all along” is a version of this, and that’s what makes the ending of this otherwise excellent French flick a big letdown. Plus, the revelation that Marie is the killer all along raise a lot of questions about events that happen throughout the story.

2. The Village (2004)

Of course this psychological horror film is on the list. The Village is the movie that took M. Night Shyamalan from horror golden child to a bit of a laughing stock. The movie starts out really great, but it’s all undone when we find out the whole escapade has taken place in modern times and the monster is nothing but a trick.

1. Shutter Island (2010)

Like High Tension, this leftfield Martin Scorcese film ruins what otherwise would be a thrilling ride by using the “and the person was crazy all along!” trick to conclude the story. However, it’s one worse than High Tension, since it transpires that basically none of the film’s events really happened, and it’s all just part of Teddy Daniels’s delusion.

Book yourself in for a brilliant twist ending in one of Krakit’s four themed escape games, including our Zombie Apocalypse, Asylum, and Saw games. Choose your slot here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Summertime and the Escaping Is Easy: 10 Summeriest Escape Films

Blake Lively trying to escape an overachieving shark in The Shallows

Whether your fancy is horror, adventure, thriller, or kid friendly, there’s a summertime escape film for you. After you’re done picking up tips from these 10 flicks, you can test out your own escape prowess at one of Krakit Vancouver Escape Game’s four themed rooms.

1. Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Though a great watch in any season, summer is the perfect time to revisit Dana and her compadres as they try to outwit and escape the lineup of horror film monsters set upon them by a twisted crew of reality TV show makers.

2. The Great Outdoors (1988)

John Candy, an oversized steak, creepy twin girls, a misunderstood bear, and an epic cave escape scene. What’s not to love about this summer classic?

3. The Descent (2005)

Talk about your summertime outing gone wrong. When a spelunker thinks she can spice up her friends’ day by taking them to an undiscovered cave system, she really just goes ahead and ruins the whole spelunking season.

4. The Beach (2000)

Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his pals think they’re escaping civilization when they set out to find a beach that’s rumoured to be paradise on earth. Cut to poor Rich trying to escape the hellscape it becomes.

5. Homeward Bound (1993)

The Seavers family think they’re going off on vacation, but their two dogs and cat think they’re heading off forever. The three pets escape the ranch they’re meant to be chilling at and embark on a crazy dangerous journey back home to San Fran.

6. Deliverance (1972)

Decidedly not one for the kids, this classic film is set in the backwoods of Georgia, where four city slickers think they’ll have a nice summer getaway. Nope. Just nope. Their main objective soon turns to escaping the woods with their lives intact.

7. The Hills Have Eyes (19777)

Wes Craven’s dusty desert-set slasher flick takes a similar turn to Deliverance, where a nice family vacay turns into a desperate bid to escape a landscape they don’t know and a group of people who are none too friendly.

8. A Perfect Getaway (2009)

This overlooked thriller is set in luscious Hawaii, but unfortunately for the two couples (including Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich) who are hiking through the beautiful terrain, some psychopaths are killing people on the trail. And, yep, you guessed it: their perfect holiday getaway turns into the perfect “run for your life”-type getaway.

9. The Shallows (2016)

It’s not an escape game any of us would like to play: outwit and wait out a bloodthirsty shark while standing on a teeny tiny rock in the middle of the open ocean. Blake Lively takes on the challenge with aplomb.

10. Super 8 (2011)

A group of ambitious kids plan on spending their summer making a noir-inspired flick. They end up spending it dodging supernatural events and escaping the clutches of a big ol’ alien. Comme ci comme ça.

Get your own summer escape on by booking an escape room challenge for you and your friends here.

Woods, Cubes, and Hills: 5 Best Canadian Escape Thrillers

Canada is kind of a scary place. No—really. We’re not all polite mounties and adorable moose. Our country is vast, and full of dark corners. This place is mysterious! All you have to do is look at Canada’s film legacy to know that our countrymen have got a seriously dark edge—and a fear of getting stuck in any number of terrible situations.

Have you seen The Revenant? Sure, it’s not set in Canada, but we all know it is Canada (Kananaskis Country in Alberta and Squamish, BC, to be exact). Need we say more? It’s a scary place.

In fact, this entire country could be considered an escape game, given the right situation. Whether thriller, horror, or drama, the Canadian films below certainly have escape on the mind. It’s simply an anxiety that comes with living in a sprawling, unknowable, unpredictable country.

Krakit’s Five Favourite Canadian Escape Thrillers

1. Cube (1997)

What began as a Canadian Film Centre First Feature Project has turned into one of sci-fi’s most beloved cult films. Six strangers wake up in a maze made of a series of interconnecting cubes. Unfortunately, some of the cubes are death traps just waiting for some unlucky soul to crawl into their centres.

2. Backcountry (2014)

Here is Canada in all its glory: the great outdoors. But in this case, the outdoors ain’t so great. Two campers—who come from the city, of course—get lost in one Canada’s many provincial parks. Unfortunately, the bear that’s tracking them knows the woods a whole lot better than they do. Even better: Montreal-born director Adam MacDonald based his film on a true story.

3. Silent Hill (2006)

The video game may not be Canadian, but the creepy, nightmare-inducing film version is the work of Flin Flon’s own Roger Avary (who also works a lot with Quentin Tarantino). In the search for her daughter, a woman enters the deserted town of Silent Hill—then finds herself desperately trying to escape it.

4. The Captive (2014)

Vancouver-born Ryan Reynolds—currently the darling of both Hollywood and the Internet in general—stars in fellow Canadian Atom Egoyan’s recent crime drama. A little girl goes missing, locked up against her will and unable to escape. It’s eight years later, and her father, Matthew (Reynolds), begins to experience strange events that suggest she’s still alive.

5. Prisoners (2013)

Celebrated Quebec director Denis Villeneuve helms this offbeat thriller, which sees a troubled cop (Jake Gyllenhaal) and an anguished father (Hugh Jackman) go head-to-head as they try to track down the man’s missing daughter and her friend. Things quickly spiral out of control as desperate men take desperate measures. This film is not advised for people afraid of small spaces.


Book your own escape thriller in one of Krakit Vancouver Escape Game's four themed rooms, here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.