- The Usual Suspects (1995): The revelation of Keyser Söze's true identity.
- The Sixth Sense (1999): The audience discovers Bruce Willis' character is a ghost.
- Fight Club (1999): Tyler Durden is an imaginary alter ego of the protagonist.
- Se7en (1995): Detective Mills finds his wife's head in a box.
In TV shows
- The Sopranos (2007): The show ends with Tony Soprano sitting at a diner, and viewers are left unsure whether he is about to be killed.
- Breaking Bad (2013): Walter White's death and the fate of his family and associates.
In books:
- The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James: The governess's uncertainly about whether the ghosts are real or part of her imagination
- The Great Gatsby (1925): Daisy's choice of Tom over Gatsby.
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The revelation of the true identity of the hound.
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) by Agatha Christie : the surprise reveal that the narrator was the murderer.
In video games
- BioShock (2007): The twist ending reveals that the protagonist, Jack, has been manipulated by the game's antagonist, Atlas, and is actually a clone of Andrew Ryan.
- The Stanley Parable (2013): The game breaks the fourth wall and gives the player multiple alternate endings, each offering different insights into the nature of choice and reality.
- Spec Ops: The Line (2012): The game's ending reveals that the player's actions have devastating consequences for the innocent civilians of Dubai, leading to a moral quandary about the nature of war and responsibility.