Do Spoilers Ruin a Film?

By: Kameron McBride

A recent study by the University of California at San Diego has concluded that the answer this question might be no. If you would rather not read the entire article, the point is this: in both stories and movies people may prefer to have the plots spoiled so that they can focus on everything else. Plots are obviously stressful for the audience so if they know the ending they are free to appreciate the directing, acting, etc. Above all else, the audience will be able to enjoy the story more now that they aren't concerned with the suspense of the plot.

Do I agree with this? Yes and no.

I think it is fair to point out that great stories don't rely on the suspense of a story alone. If M. Night Shyamalan's career proves anything, it's that you can't let a plot twist cover up a flimsy story. Great films hold up because they combine all elements: plot, story, acting, etc. Even if you look at Hitchcock, who was obsessed with suspense and who essentially coached his actors, his films hold up in large part because they have brilliant subtext and the stories are very well constructed. So I do agree that the plot of a film isn't the whole package.

Where I disagree is this: I believe good elements of a film like the story should always shine through, regardless of the plot, or can be appreciated on subsequent viewings. The suspense of the story, however, will only ever be experienced once. The second you reveal the ending to a movie you will never know that feeling again and I think that's a big part of enjoying a movie. Look, I've watched The Usual Suspects nearly 400 times and I can tell you that I enjoyed the hell out of the ensemble cast and the subtleties of Kevin Spacey's performance on subsequent viewings, so much that the movie never seems old to me. However, you only get to experience the tremendous ending to that movie once and I think it would be a shame if that was spoiled for ¹

So obviously I don't have the resources of a University study to back my claims but I can say that I think getting to enjoy the suspense of a movie at least once is necessary. I'm never really satisfied when I see a film where I know the ending and I enjoy the feeling of being lost in the story and plot of the film, otherwise, I feel a little cheated.
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1 By the way if you haven't seen The Usual Suspects stop reading and go watch it now. I promise you won't be sorry.