10 Best Plot Twists in Western Movies (2024)

A hallmark of cinematic history, Western film has long been defined by its sweeping landscapes, its strong thematic focuses, and its larger-than-life stories that have long been a powerful vessel to explore cultural and national identities as well as notions of violence, heroism, honor, and justice. While the genre’s narrative tropes are well established, there have been plenty of Western films that have incorporated enthralling and even shocking plot twists to see the story veer in interesting directions while leaving audiences staggered.

From modern revisionist Westerns that won Academy Awards to decades-old classics that continue to define the genre today, these movies have excelled by making bold narrative choices. Whether it’s the death of a major character, the triumph of villainy and evil, or something as simple as the revelation of a gunslinger’s underlying motive adding a new layer to the story, these plot twists are among the best Western cinema has seen.

10 'For a Few Dollars More' (1965)

El Indio's victim is Colonel Mortimer's sister

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly may be the best of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns, and maybe even the greatest Western of all time, but for a great, rewarding twist, it is difficult to go past the reveal of Col. Mortimer’s (Lee Van Cleef) motivation for wanting El Indio (Gian Maria Volonté) dead in For a Few Dollars More. The gritty classic focuses on two bounty hunters who form an uneasy alliance to bring down the wanted criminal, agreeing to split the reward when the job is done.

Culminating in an epic showdown between Mortimer and Indio, the film teases the significance of the Colonel’s mission without resorting to overblown or gratuitously emotional scenes. Instead, after the standoff, a triumphant Mortimer affirms to Manco (Clint Eastwood) that the photo of the victim in Indio’s locket was of his sister. He refuses to take any of the bounty, allowing Manco to cash it all in with Mortimer content with justice being served for his sibling.

For a Few Dollars More

R

Western

Release Date

May 10, 1965

Director

Sergio Leone

Cast

Clint Eastwood , Lee Van Cleef , Gian Maria Volonte , Mara Krupp , Luigi Pistilli , Klaus Kinski

Runtime

132

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9 'Bone Tomahawk' (2015)

The true nature of the Troglodytes is revealed

A cult classic that blends Western storytelling with powerful overtones of cannibalistic horror, Bone Tomahawk is famous for its graphic violence. When a handful of residents in the small town of Bright Hope go missing, the town’s sheriff assembles a small posse to rescue them. Convinced that they had been abducted by the cave-dwelling troglodytes in the nearby valley, the posse set out to face off against the notorious tribe.

While it doesn’t stand as a plot twist that presents a narrative shock or a mind-bending revelation, the moment the group realizes exactly what it is they are up against, the film transitions from a Western adventure to a grueling and visceral horror. Those who have seen Bone Tomahawk won’t soon forget its tonal descent into suspenseful terror or the disturbingly violent sequences that follow.

Bone Tomahawk

Not Rated

Western

Horror

Drama

Where to Watch

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Release Date

October 23, 2015

Director

S. Craig Zahler

Cast

Patrick Wilson , Kurt Russell , Sean Young , Lili Simmons , Matthew Fox , Zahn McClarnon

Runtime

132 minutes

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Studio

Image Entertainment

8 'Unforgiven' (1992)

Will Munny reveals his true nature

While revisionist Westerns had been around for some time, 1992’s Unforgiven is inarguably the picture that saw the contemplative subgenre soar to new heights. The Best Picture winner follows Will Munny (Clint Eastwood), an aging gunslinger who teams up with an old acquaintance and an eager young bounty hunter to claim the reward on a cowboy who slashed a prostitute’s face.

Presented as being a remorseful figure, Munny’s past is always shrouded in violence and ambiguity, though the degree of his past cruelty is finally revealed when he states just some of the terrible things he had done before. A beautifully constructed antihero that is both coarse and compassionate, Munny’s personal revelation isn’t just an intriguing twist but a brilliant commentary on the Western genre at large and how it takes ruthlessly violent characters and, with romanticism and embedded themes of justice, molds them into mythic figures of courage and righteousness.

Unforgiven (1992)

R

Western

Where to Watch

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Not available

Release Date

August 7, 1992

Director

Clint Eastwood

Cast

Clint Eastwood , Gene Hackman , Morgan Freeman , Richard Harris , Jaimz Woolvett , Saul Rubinek , Frances Fisher

Runtime

130 minutes

7 'The Power of the Dog' (2021)

Peter Gordon poisons Phil Burbank

An awards season favorite that saw director Jane Campion win her first ever Oscar for Best Director, The Power of the Dog uses Western conventions well to explore themes of sexuality, masculinity, and toxic relationships. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Phil Burbank, a domineering rancher who begins tormenting his brother’s new wife and her teenage son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). However, the relationship between Phil and Peter takes an unexpected romantic turn when they start spending more time together.

The film ends with Phil dying from an infected cut related to anthrax poisoning, something that is unexpected considering Phil’s care with his work. The final moments reveal that Peter deceived Phil by making contaminated hides for him. The surprise reveal gives the film an intriguing and unnerving ending, with the relatively kind and reserved Peter Gordon smiling as he watches his mother, now free from Phil’s psychological abuse, return from the funeral.

The Power of the Dog

R

Drama

Western

Psychological

Where to Watch

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Not available

Not available

Release Date

November 17, 2021

Director

Jane Campion

Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch , Kirsten Dunst , Jesse Plemons , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Thomasin McKenzie , Keith Carradine

Runtime

125 minutes

6 'Django Unchained' (2012)

Dr. King Schultz guns down Calvin Candie

Quentin Tarantino’s riveting take on the spaghetti Western genre, Django Unchained, is a true modern classic that blends tons of stylistic fun and excessive ultra-violence with a rousing tale of racism and revenge. Django (Jamie Foxx) is a slave freed by German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to help him on a job. In return, Schultz agrees to help Django reunite with hiswife,e who has been sold into the services of ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

When Django and Schultz’s plan to purchase Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) is unveiled, Candie’s smug villainy is put on full display with spiteful results. While many viewers would have expected Candie to get his just desserts later in the film, Schultz hurries things along with his famous “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist” moment. The ensuing shootout is a medley of divine violence, but the plot twist leads to a fascinating yet rewarding final act where Django must kill Candie’s goons to rescue his wife.

Django Unchained

R

Adventure

Drama

Western

Where to Watch

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Release Date

December 25, 2012

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio , Jonah Hill , Samuel L. Jackson , Jamie Foxx , Kerry Washington , Christoph Waltz

Runtime

165

Studio

TWC

5 'The Great Silence' (1968)

Silence and the outlaws are killed by Loco

For all the cowboys and showdowns and the aesthetic of a new America and an expanding frontier, the Western is ultimately a genre about heroes and justice amid times of violence and disorder. The Great Silence is a terrific spin on these ideas, following a vengeful and mute gunslinger who agrees to protect a young widow and her band of persecuted outlaws from a sad*stic gang of bounty hunters as they trek through the snow-swept mountains of Utah.

Cast as the great defender of innocence against the evils of greed and moral corruption, silence seems as though he will prevail over bounty hunters simply because that’s how the story ought to go. However, with Sergio Corbucci’s intense perspective of the old west, The Great Silence arrives at a far bleaker ending with Silence and the outlaws being unceremoniously executed by Loco (Klaus Kinski) and his crew. Feeding into Corbucci’s political allegory for the film, it is a deflating twist but a memorable one that emphasizes its condemnation of violence.

The Great Silence

Not Rated

Western

Drama

Release Date

January 27, 1969

Director

Sergio Corbucci

Cast

Jean-Louis Trintignant , Klaus Kinski , Frank Wolff , Luigi Pistilli , Mario Brega , Carlo D'Angelo , Marisa Merlini , Maria Mizar

Runtime

105 Minutes

Studio(s)

Adelphia Compagnia Cinematografica , Les Films Corona

4 'The Wild Bunch' (1969)

The gang is betrayed by one of their own.

Famous for its graphic violence that made it a controversial release back in 1969, The Wild Bunch is a revisionist Western that has no qualms about deconstructing notions of honor and heroism that usually take center stage in the genre. It follows a band of outlaws who, with their way of life on the decline in the early 1900s, plan one last big heist before retiring. When the job goes wrong, however, they flee to a decrepit border town, where they are tailed by the man who betrayed them.

While the revelation that it is Pike Bishop’s (William Holden) old partner that was responsible for the set-up comes early in the film, the twist still signals that The Wild Bunch will be a Western like few others. Forsaking admirable crooks and ideals of dignity, it delves into the backstabbing grit and senseless death of the romanticized era, with each bandit out to save their own skin.

The Wild Bunch

R

Action

Adventure

Drama

Where to Watch

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Not available

Release Date

June 19, 1969

Director

Sam Peckinpah

Cast

William Holden , Ernest Borgnine , Robert Ryan , Edmond O'Brien

Runtime

135 Minutes

Studio(s)

Warner Bros./Seven Arts

3 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' (1962)

Tom Doniphon shot Liberty Valance

“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” One of John Ford’s defining masterpieces, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, is a work of genius as it manages to portray a thrilling and traditional Western story while dissecting the themes and audience response to the genre. It follows a U.S. senator as he travels back to his hometown to attend the funeral of an old friend and, while there, shares the true story of his stand against Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), a notorious outlaw leader.

While the senator is revered as the man who shot Valance, an achievement that launched his political career, he eventually confesses that it was Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), a hardened local ranger, who actually fired the shot. It’s a twist that gets to the core of the film’s focus on politics, the media, and how the Western genre propagates a myth of American history.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Approved

Western

Drama

Release Date

April 22, 1962

Director

John Ford

Cast

James Stewart , John Wayne , Vera Miles , Lee Marvin , Edmond O'Brien , Andy Devine , Ken Murray , John Carradine

Runtime

123 Minutes

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2 'No Country for Old Men' (2007)

Llewelyn Moss gets killed by the Cartel

It should come as no surprise that one of the greatest twists in Western cinema comes from the dare of the Coen Brothers, with their Academy Award-winning picture, No Country for Old Men, containing one of the most shocking and direct twists of all time. The film follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a hunter who stumbles upon a case full of cartel money and takes it, only to find himself being pursued by the psychotic hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem).

The duo’s game of cat-and-mouse delivers pulsating tension throughout the heart-stopping thriller, at least until Moss is killed off-screen by cartel soldiers, with Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) arriving to see his bullet-ridden corpse. It is a violent jolt that sets the final act of the film on an unpredictable trajectory that both enthralls and unnerves viewers. Effective, shocking, and propelling the story on a fascinating new path, the twist in No Country for Old Men is one of the best in any genre in recent decades.

No Country for Old Men

R

Crime

Drama

Thriller

Where to Watch

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Release Date

November 8, 2007

Director

Ethan Coen , Joel Coen

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones , Javier Bardem , Josh Brolin , Woody Harrelson , Kelly Macdonald , Garret Dillahunt

Runtime

122 Minutes

1 'The Hateful Eight' (2015)

John Ruth is poisoned

Few directors have the ability to shift a story in a new direction with the violent urgency and palpable tension of Quentin Tarantino. Arguably his most underrated picture, The Hateful Eight, is full of shocking twists as it follows a bounty hunter and the fugitive he captured as they seek shelter from a blizzard in a log cabin and find themselves in the company of all manner of suspicious characters.

While John Ruth (Kurt Russell) is presented as one of the main characters, the movie takes a violent twist halfway through when he drinks poisoned coffee and dies in a particularly nasty fashion. The midpoint flips the narrative on its head, drastically elevating the tension and setting the confined characters on a deadly path of distrust and vengeance. Additionally, Ruth’s death itself is so graphic that the scene in isolation has a powerful impact on viewers, making it a narratively brilliant plot twist that has immense shock value and thrives as the greatest narrative turn Western cinema has seen.

The Hateful Eight

R

Western

Crime

Mystery

Where to Watch

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Release Date

December 25, 2015

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Cast

Demián Bichir , Michael Madsen , James Parks , Dana Michelle Gourrier , Lee Horsley , Gene Jones

Runtime

182 minutes

Studio

The Weinstein Company

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