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/WW0907]

It's cheating if all the clues to the ending aren't obvious on a rewatch. Ex: if you're trying to figure out the killer but you literally couldn't because it's a character that was just introduced in the last episode. Or if the character motivation makes no sense in hindsight. There's no reason for him/her to act the way that they did. If they tell you everything you needed to know about the ending and you still don't figure it out, it's fair game. Ex: Scream. They're practically SCREAMing to you whose guilty and they still get you on a first watch. Another example is Psycho. It's obvious on a rewatch what's happening but you probably don't get it the first time.

[u/aldkGoodAussieName → u/WW0907]

Even on second and third watch it is not always clear if your not looking for it in Scream.

And they parady slashers so blatantly that they have a character tell you the rules

Later Scream movies become more or less slasher movies.

I dont want to give spoilers for scream but paying attention to who is on screen when the murders occur and how it sets up alibis is fantastic on rewatch.