The longer time goes on, the harder it is for any movie reliant on a twist to succeed to keep its secrets under wraps as future generations discover the project in question for the first time. It’s been over a quarter of a century since Primal Fear was released, but the jaw-dropping final reveal is clearly still capable of packing a punch.
Edward Norton’s breakthrough role saw him land an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe win for Best Actor, with the up-and-coming star playing an altar boy accused of murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Richard Gere’s lawyer is tasked with the case, but the truth is a lot more complex than anyone could have imagined, and that extends to the audience too.
If you’re unfamiliar with Primal Fear, then we’ll avoid going into specifics because it deserves to be seen for the first time with a completely fresh pair of eyes for maximum impact. However, we will point out that one Redditor was left absolutely shaken by the conclusion to the classic thriller, and it looks as though they’re not alone.
Everyone knows that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father, just as everybody is fully aware that Bruce Willis was dead for the entirety of The Sixth Sense, and that doesn’t matter if you’ve even seen the aforementioned features. As a $30 million hybrid of drama and thriller released in 1996, Primal Fear gets to fly a little further under the radar.
As a result, there’s a whole lot of people who don’t have a clue how it ends, and that once-in-a-lifetime feeling is a rush.
