false ending
Deceptive narrative termination
A false ending is a moment in a story, film, or piece of music that seems like a conclusion but isn't—the narrative continues after the apparent resolution.
In music, a composition may reach what sounds like a final cadence before resuming.
In horror films, the monster often appears defeated before returning for one last scare.
Just when you think the movie's over, there's a false ending and twenty more minutes.
- fake outDeceptive maneuver to mislead
- cliffhangerSuspenseful unresolved ending
- twistRotating motion or surprise
- anticlimaxDisappointing conclusion after buildup
- psychMentally unsettle an opponent
just kidding · sequel hook · stinger · post credits scene · encore · curtain call · curtain drop · plot twist · misdirection · red herring · fake death · resurrection · comeback · surprise · deception · second wind · final boss · gotcha
- plot twistsplot twist, unexpected turn, final reveal, surprise reveal, reversal
- musical endingscoda, outro, finale, postlude, fadeout
- endingsthe end, finish, close, final, end
- experimental narrativemetafiction, nonlinear plot, fragmented narrative, unreliable narrator, stream of consciousness
- metafictionfourth wall break, self-reference, breaking the fourth wall, metanarrative, metafiction
false endinglast chapter
Concluding portion of text
closing scene · terminal point · final curtain · denouement · epilogue
false, falsely, falseness, falsity, falsify, falsification, falsified, falsifier, ending