Top 10 Weirdest Movies I’ve Ever Seen

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This list is in honor of the only little rating icon I have not had the opportunity to use: the confused, puzzled icon.


The movies I’ve listed below have a special significance for me. Some were precursors to some of the madness I’ve seen recently (hence why perhaps you may not see some current titles). Others may not seem weird today, but when they came out, there were considered pretty “out there”. Others are just plain mad. Or they are too refined for my taste, I really don’t know. For sure, you will not find some popular choices in other weird movie lists (Eraserhead, Pi, Inland Empire) because I have not seen them or beause I didn’t find them strange (Black Swan, Inception, Vanilla Sky)

10. Pulp Fiction (Read synopsis on IMDB) Yes, it is not a weird. Movie by today’s standards, but when it came out and I first saw this movie, there were some many things that made it stand out. The non-linear plot can be slightly confusing for some. The now unmistekable Tarantino style of dialogue was back then both awesome and disconcerting: Could I really be laughing and finding amusement in a conversation about burger namings? A special note, this is one of my favorite movies of all time!

9. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Read synopsis on IMDB)

I discovered this one some 7 years ago and had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. The plot is not difficult to follow at all, there is a lot of singing and famous performers. Just because the plot is not difficult to follow doesn’t mean it is not completely mad. A sweet transvesty from transsexual Transylvania? Exactly, if that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will. The film is an adaptation of the 1973 musical of the same name. Today, it has a mass cult following as a midnight movie where the audience interacts with the movie as it’s played. I’ve yet to attend such screening, but I’d love to go one day!

8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Read synopsis on IMDB) Most peple would start watching this movie and already categorize it as a romantic film following a non-linear plotline. It is a very artsy, edgy narrative which can confuse pretty easily. Then, as the movie progresses, things start getting weirder and weirder and the plot seems more like a science fiction movie minus the futuristic aesthetic and the cool techno soundtrack. One thing is for sure about this movie and that is, it tends to have a pretty polirizing effect: you either love it, or hate it. Us that fall in the middle are pretty rare. The performances in the movie are brilliant though, so from that point of view it’s worth a watch. But watch with an open mind!


7. Mr. Nobody (Read synopsis on IMDB) The premise was really interesting. Nemo Nobody is a 118 year-old man in the year 2092. He is the last mortal on Earth. The movie is a narrative from the point of view of the main character of 3 important times in his life and the consequences of the decisions he makes. Each decision presents us with an alternate reality. Interesting, uh? I thought so too. As the plotline moves along, things get crazier and crazier. It is fairly easy to follow with some moderate reasoning skills. But you do hope the knot is untangled at the end. I won’t spoil it for you. But you’ll probably won’t feel much a sense of resolution from this one. Turns out this movie was directed by a Belgian.

6. Cube (Read synopsis on IMDB) Cube is this amazing Canadian movie that took me by surprise. This movie will keep you intrigued from beginning to end. Several strangers wake up inside a cube shaped room. There are doors on each side of the room which lead to other cube shaped rooms. The strangers wake up on their own and as they move between rooms find each other. Why are they there? What is the purpose of this? Is it a conspiracy? To make matters worse, some of the rooms are booby trapped with some pretty deadly stuff. The overall premise is extremely dark and inriguing, making this one of the best weird movies you’ll ever see.

5. The Fountain (Read synopsis on IMDB) Darren Afronoski is a famous weird movie director. His credits boast Pi and Black Swan. The Fountain is a science fiction, love, fantasy movie about 3 different stories (played by the same characters): a conquistador and his Spanish queen, a neuroscientist trying to save his cancer-stricken wife, and a space traveller who often sees his long lost love. I don’t know if I was tired or in the mood to watch some senseless comedy with lots of poop jokes, but I did not get this one. Each of the storylines is understandable and the overall message is conveyed. But the way the intertwined narrative goes can be extremely confusing. Weird, but not weird. Get it?

4. A Clockwork Orange (Read synopsis on IMDB) Classic Kubrick movie. A masterpiece. It is not the type of movie that will appeal to the mainstream audience. It is a modernist, avant-garde piece that is both puzzling as well as compelling. Alex is a young kid with a penchant for extreme violence and Beethoven. After being locked up for commiting some serious crimes, Alex is subjected to a psychological experiment, the Ludovico technique, which will cause his extreme aversion to violence. The film explores the dilemma of free will and whether we are allowed to manipulate it even in the most horrendous of cases. Worth a watch.

3. Abre los Ojos (Read synopsis on IMDB) This is the original Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise. Abre los Ojos is a Spanish movie directed by Alejandro Amenabar about a young man who has it all, except true love. The day he meets the woman of his dreams he is involved in a terrible accident that leaves him terribly disfigured. Things start getting awfully strange from here onwards. I found the Spanish version to be a much more impactful story than its American counterpart. Maybe I was completely biased about Vanilla Sky because at that time I already started thinking about Tom Cruise as a complete douchebag. I recommend the Spanish one best!

2. Donnie Darko (Read synopsis on IMDB) I love, love, love this movie! Another one of my favorite movies of all time. Donnie Darko is super weird, but easy to watch, will keep your eyes fixed on the screen while totally desperate to get a resolution. Imagine you’re peacefully sleeping in your bed. You all of a sudden wake up and stand in front of a demonic looking bunny who tells you the world is going to end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. Yeah, that’ll get you intrigued all right! The entire movie runs at a pretty slow pace, but itis by no means boring. Donnie must figure this whole world ending thing, is it a dream? Is it simply another symptom to his existing psychological problems?

1. Mulholland Drive (Read synopsis on IMDB) Ah! Number 1 weirdest movie ever is by none other than director David Lynch. Google weirdest movies of all time and at least 4 of his movies, including this one will make the cut. You may have heard of Lynch before, as he also directed the extremely weird TV show Twin Peaks. This is not a favorite movie of mine. It made me feel very, very dumb. I watched this once and had to watch again to understand what happened. I still didn’t get it, so I went online for an explanation. Massive WTF! There was no way I could’ve gotten this! I watched yet another time to compare note. Kudos to Lynch for pulling this off and to every movie goer that actually got the plot! The film tells the story of Betty Elms, who has recently arrived in Los Angeles and hopes to be an actress. She meets an amnesiac hiding in her aunt’s apartment who claims to be called Rita after she sees the movie poster of Rita Hayworth’s movie Gilda hung there. That’s one of the few things that make sense here. The rest is just a bunch of seemignly random events which give tiny little clues to connect to main Rita and Betty narrative. Add a couple of very bizarre surrealist moments and the plotline completely shifts. I can now conclude either Lynch is a mastermind or a complete lunatic. Or both.

 

What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever seen?

3 Comments

  1. Manuel Anaya

    Nice list! I was always curious about this Mulholland drive movie and now I feel like i should watch it!

    Reply
  2. Paola

    Oh please, do watch it, and then post here or send me your theory. Don't look it up online. I'm going to watch other Lynch movies one of these days, too. To make my mind explode!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    I saw mulholland dr a year ago, and I didn't get a thing… ¬¬

    Reply

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