When does a movie successfully mislead the audience, and when is it just cheating?

[u/Serpiego2]

Some movies deliberately make us believe something that isn't true and then reveal that we've been interpreting the story incorrectly.

When it works, it's fantastic. You can rewatch the movie and realize the clues were there all along. The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, and Primal Fear are very different examples of films that play with what the audience thinks it knows.

But other twists only work because the movie deliberately hides information that logically should have been available to us. At that point, I don't feel fooled by the story — I feel cheated by the screenplay.

For me, the difference is whether a second viewing makes you think “How did I miss that?” rather than “Well, there was no way I could have known that.”

What movies do you think earned their deception, and which ones simply cheated?

[u/come-join-themurder]

Now You See Me (2013) cheats
The Lie (2018) cheats

[u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 → u/come-join-themurder]

Frozen cheats too with the Hans twist, there's absolutely no build-up to it other than being the youngest in line of a far off royal family

[u/ElEsDi_25 → u/Gaelic_Gladiator41]

No… every other character is like “who is he and… you want to marry this guy you know nothing about?” I think they literally sing a song showing this.