Although it’s become common to describe any sort of big story surprise as a “twist,” to me, it has a much deeper meaning. Real twists rock our understanding, forcing us back through the story to reinterpret what we think we know.
Classic examples of the twist include Charlton Heston’s discovery of the wrecked Statue of Liberty in The Planet of the Apes or the last five minutes of The Sixth Sense.
Great twists are earned.