Psychological thriller with ‘most shocking twist in cinema history’ now streaming

A hit thriller known for its big twist at the end is now streaming (Picture: Universal Pictures/THA/Shutterstock)

A hit psychological thriller with an ‘unimaginable’ twist ending that fans never saw coming is now available to stream.

The movie, released at the start of 2017, received plaudits for its leading man James McAvoy and earned a huge $278million (£205.8m) at the box office from a budget of just $9m (£6.6m).

Split, which was written and directed by M Night Shyamalan, also starred Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula.

Now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, it opens with three girls being kidnapped by a man who imprisons them in his secret underground layer underneath the Philadelphia Zoo.

But the kidnapper (McAvoy) has been diagnosed with 23 distinct personalities (or ‘alters’), including ‘Barry’, who is currently in charge, ‘Patricia’, the sinister ‘Dennis’ and 9-year-old boy ‘Hedwig’.

Although he’s been working alongside his therapist Dr Karen Fletcher (Buckley) for several years, ‘Patricia’ is convinced that a dangerous 24th yet-to-manifest alter called ‘The Beast’ is imminent, who plans to rid the world of those who have not suffered – and the girls must escape before this happens.

James McAvoy stars as a man living with 23 different personalities in M Night Shyamalan’s Split (Picture: John Baer/THA/Shutterstock)

Split boasts a solid rating of 79% from both critics and fans alike on Rotten Tomatoes, with one even commenting: ‘Can’t believe this movie only has a 79%… one of my favourite movies.’

‘INCREDIBLE FILM. I loved this film so much, I can confirm I was sweating whilst watching. The split personality disorder is such an insane idea for a horror,’ enthused Poppy A, while Owen Isaac P called it ‘one of the best films by that director’.

‘Just watched this for a second time. Wow James McAvoy, take a bow. A fine actor. He definitely should’ve at least been Oscar nominated and probably should’ve won,’ shared Peter P. ‘To go through that many characters in one movie is just incredible. Not many I can think of could’ve pulled it off like he did.’

‘A MUST SEE!! I absolutely loved this movie!! Every second from start to finish,’ announced Bre Hunt in a Google review.

The film was a big box office hit in 2017, but its fans still say it’s under-rated (Picture: John Baer/THA/Shutterstock)

Barber Balan added: ‘Like pretty much every other M Night Shyamalan movie, Split is an extremely under-rated movie. You think Heath Ledger was good in The Dark Knight, James McAvoy in Split is phenomenal and deserved the Oscar that year and was unfortunately robbed.’

‘Split is the best M. Night Shyamalan creation in recent memory, as anchored by a great performance (or, rather, performances) by James McAvoy,’ read Screen Rant’s review, while Ireland’s Sunday Independent said: ‘McAvoy is in his element mincing about and scaring Taylor-Joy, while Shyamalan channels Hitchcock at his deviant best.’

‘It’s far from perfect, but where so many modern horror movies are anonymous, Split has personality and then some,’ added the London Standard.

McAvoy playing a character with dissociative identity disorder (DID) and such violent behaviour did spark some backlash from the mental health community upon release however, with psychiatrist and specialist Dr Garrett Marie Deckel telling CNN: ‘You are going to upset and potentially exacerbate symptoms in thousands of people who are already suffering.’

Many claim McAvoy should have been Oscar-nominated for his performance although the movie did face backlash (Picture: John Baer/THA/Shutterstock) Split’s twist ending has been called ‘one of the most shocking surprises in cinematic history’ (Picture: John Baer/THA/Shutterstock)

She also argued that those with DID were rarely violent and far more likely to hurt themselves than others.

Other fans also couldn’t get over the twist ending, with one writing on Google: ‘One thing no one can deny is that movies by M Night Shyamalan are remarkable, memorable, and talk about different things with a unique concept, more of a supernatural type. This movie is the same. You won’t forget it just after watching it. And the ending. No one could’ve imagined. Not for a second in the entire movie [did] it give a single hint.’

*Spoiler warning for Split’s ending below*

What is Split’s twist ending?

Split’s ending was dubbed ‘one of the most shocking surprises in cinematic history’ by The Hollywood Reporter after its final end credits scene showed it to be a stealth sequel to Shyamalan’s 2000 cult classic, Unbreakable.

It turns out Split is a stealth sequel (Picture: John Baer/THA/Shutterstock)

At a diner, patrons are shown discussing the crimes of ‘The Beast’ as they flash up on a news report, which also reveals that McAvoy’s character – whose real name is Kevin – has been given the nickname ‘The Horde’ due to his multiple personalities.

When a waitress says this reminds her of another criminal in a wheelchair who was imprisoned 15 years ago, whose nickname she can’t quite remember, Bruce Willis as David Dunn comes into view and tells her it was ‘Mr Glass’ (played by Samuel L Jackson).

Willis’ Dunn was the protagonist in 2000’s Unbreakable, revealing that Split exists in the same cinematic universe as it.

Shyamalan followed Split with the final film in the trilogy, Glass, in 2019, which brought together characters from both previous movies and concluded their stories.

Split is streaming on Prime Video in the UK now.

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