There are many reasons why a movie is a hit, from having an engaging story that commands the audience’s attention to boasting clever filmmaking techniques and captivating performances. Some of the most elite films are so carefully constructed that a single watch barely scratches the surface. Seemingly insignificant visual clues, a throwaway line of dialogue, or a character’s unusual reaction can take on an entirely new meaning once you know how the story unfolds.
Whether they’re packed with subtle foreshadowing, clever narrative tricks, or layers of meaning that are easy to miss the first time around, many hit movies become even more rewarding upon a rewatch. Horror movies like Get Out and thrillers like Shutter Island encourage audiences to go straight back to the beginning after the credits start rolling, offering another incredible viewing experience on the second or third watch.
7
Fight Club
1999
Though it faced a troublesome development, David Fincher’s Fight Club is now a critically acclaimed and award-nominated psychological thriller. Edward Norton stars as the Narrator, a bored, lonely office worker whose consumer-driven life completely changes upon meeting Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden, a charismatic and seemingly free salesman. Together, the pair begin an underground fight club to vent their emotions and feel alive, but it gains a massive following and eventually transforms into an out-of-control anarchist group led by Durden.
Fight Club‘s story is captivating enough, given the gravitas and charisma of both actors’ performances and the anti-establishment and anti-consumerist message at the film’s surface. However, once the audience learns Fight Club’s iconic plot twist – that Norton and Pitt are actually playing the same character – at the film’s explosive conclusion, the central message hits far harder. With the twist out of the way, the movie goes from a punchy, rebellious movie to a multi-layered, cerebral thriller. On a second watch, the audience can fluidly watch the Narrator unravel, spot all the foreshadowing to Fight Club’s twist, and finally understand that Durden is less of a charmer and more of a destructive symptom of the Narrator’s mind. Every interaction and line of dialogue takes on a new meaning on a rewatch.
6
Shutter Island
2010
Shutter Island is Martin Scorsese’s hit neo-noir mystery thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, respectively. The government agents arrive at Shutter Island, a secluded psychiatric hospital, to investigate the disappearance of a patient, Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson). As they arrive on the island, a hurricane strikes, and the pair are stuck there until it passes. During the investigation, Daniels, who is also on the hunt for Andrew Laeddis, an arsonist patient who killed his wife, begins to suspect the hospital staff is hiding something from him. At the same time, Daniels suffers migraines and flashbacks that reveal his traumatized past to the audience.
Once the audience learns the truth about Teddy Daniels at the end of Shutter Island, the narrative almost transforms into a different story. What initially seems like a captivating detective story becomes a cerebral mystery. Now that the audience knows Daniels is Laeddis and the plot is a form of role-play therapy for his trauma, the interactions between the hospital’s staff and Daniels become more strategic than avoidant. The symbolism also becomes more prominent, such as the constant presence of water, which hints toward the memory of his children, as well as his guilt, with the lake behind his house having heavier significance. Every clue is more prominent on a Shutter Island rewatch; “Rachel Solando” is an anagram of his wife’s name, Dolores Chanal, and “Andrew Laeddis” is an anagram of Teddy Daniels.
5
Hereditary
2018
A24’s supernatural thriller, Hereditary, follows the Grahams, a family grieving the loss of matriarch Annie’s mother, Ellen Leigh. As they’re preparing for her funeral, the family endures a series of dark and unfortunate events, such as the seemingly sudden death of the daughter, Charlie. Eventually, Annie learns that her mother was a member of the occult and part of a group attempting to bring the demon king Paimon to the mortal world. By the end of Hereditary, it’s further revealed that Ellen meticulously planned almost everything that happened to the Grahams in order to serve Paimon with a host body.
Hereditary’s harrowing story, Ari Aster’s direction, and the cast’s performances all received huge praise from critics and fans alike. But on a Hereditary rewatch, returning viewers will be rewarded with a story that has a lot more to say than a mourning family stumbling onto a dark secret. With the knowledge of what’s to transpire, it’s even clearer just how planned out the events are. This makes the ending even more heartbreaking and — given that Ellen had been preparing Charlie as a vessel since birth — may even have some wondering when exactly Paimon inhabited Charlie, or if he was actually there with the Grahams all along.
4
Get Out
2017
Jordan Peele’s feature film debut centers on Chris Washington and his girlfriend Rose Armitage, as they embark on a weekend stay with her family. When they arrive, the Armitages seem like they’re awkwardly overcompensating for the couple’s interracial relationship, but as the film continues, a sinister truth lies beneath their kindness. Chris learns that the Armitages are actually one of many wealthy white families transplanting their brains into the bodies of Black victims— and he’s next. Get Out’s haunting story, tense atmosphere, and impeccable direction earned Peele numerous Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Actor, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Like much of Peele’s work, Get Out is an excellent, thought-provoking viewing experience, and it benefits from a rewatch. Double meanings and symbolism become clearer in moments like when a traffic officer pulls Chris and Rose over. Though it may seem like Rose is defending Chris from being racially profiled, she’s actually preventing anything from connecting him to their house. Once they’re at her family’s property, the dialogue from her family and other guests shifts. The seemingly innocent remarks and “accidental” microaggressions take a much more sinister turn, and there’s a ton of Sunken Place set-up for eagle-eyed viewers.
3
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
2022
Rian Johnson had a tough job following up the hit Knives Out movie, but the sequel came out swinging with another expertly written mystery for Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc to solve. Johnson’s Glass Onion takes place during the COVID pandemic, not long after the events of the original movie, with Blanc invited to a weekend getaway on tech billionaire Miles Bron’s private island. The group was originally supposed to play a murder mystery game, but the festivities take a turn for the worse when someone actually dies. Then, Blanc is off doing what he does best.
In a way, I feel like the movie’s almost designed more to be watched a second time than a first time. And we play, we play really, really fair in that first half, that’s the other thing. It was a little scary, actually.
Glass Onion is a perfect sequel, thanks to its star-studded cast, intriguing plot, and rewarding rewatch. While the audience may be expecting a brilliant villain, the murderer’s incompetence is laid out openly in the background. Those paying close enough attention will catch small clues and offhand comments that make rewatching Glass Onion a rewarding experience, rather than a tiring re-tread of a mystery you already know the answer to.
2
Unbreakable
2000
Eight years before the MCU took its first steps with 2008’s Iron Man, M. Night Shyamalan gave the world his own street-level superhero story in Unbreakable. Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, a security guard turned super-powered vigilante, while Samuel L. Jackson plays Elijah Price, a comic book collector and art dealer who plays Professor Xavier to Dunn’s X-Man. As Dunn learns about his supernatural gift of invincibility, Elijah offers him guidance, and then soon reveals that he’s not only Dunn’s brittle-boned polar opposite, but also his arch nemesis.
Naturally, Shyamalan’s second major movie contains another shocking plot twist, which has now become the filmmaker’s signature. With that said, Unbreakable is more than the trope that made Shyamalan famous; it’s an exercise in cinematic art. Upon a rewatch, fans can focus on Unbreakable’s numerous other impressive traits, like its comic book framing, visual foreshadowing (Elijah is often shot through reflective surfaces, hinting at his fragile nature), and use of color theory (Dunn is surrounded by green colors, which represent life, growth, and rebirth. Elijah, on the other hand, is surrounded by purple, symbolizing power and leadership).
2022
The Menu is a critically acclaimed dark comedy and a sharp-witted take on elitist food critics. The movie follows Tyler Ledford, a self-proclaimed foodie, and his date Margot Mills, who are awaiting their transport to The Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant settled on a private island owned and operated by Chef Julian Slowik. They join a cavalry of pretentious characters, like food critic Lillian Bloom, wealthy regulars, and former Hollywood royalty George Diaz. While those in attendance may believe they’re just there to experience Chef Slowik’s talents, they soon realize that it’s meant to be his final culinary act.
Audiences already have enough reason to watch The Menu, given its cast and accolades. However, on a repeat viewing, audiences will likely pick up on the deeper story happening and the symbolism of Slowik’s menu leading up to the blazing s’more finale. Admittedly, it’s a lot to unpack in only a few words, but the dishes are simultaneously visually appealing foods and deliberate takedowns of ideas like the male ego and female mistreatment in the industry, those who call themselves experts without actually respecting or appreciating the culinary arts, and Slowik’s frustration that the industry’s commercialism will forever cause an imbalance in its art. There’s a lot more for audiences to digest on a second watch of The Menu.
- Release Date
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November 17, 2022
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Mark Mylod
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Ralph Fiennes
Chef Slowik
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
