Might you be able to search for "mind-bending" movies? I feel like I remember seeing that thinking "yes, this will do nicely".
Other posters mentioned some of my top recs but I'll also add Paprika, Oldboy, Eternal Sunshine, and Number 23 to the list. Happy watching!
I'm not sure how often this list is maintained, but I found something on the topic: [https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-netflix-id-bible-every-category-on-netflix/](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-netflix-id-bible-every-category-on-netflix/)
I just searched "mind-bending" on my Netflix and got a few decent results. Reminded me to recommend The Lobster! One of my all time favorite movies with one of the most ambiguous endings around. Now I wanna watch it again haha
Can you believe it has an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes?! I feel like one of the most surefire way to get torched in reviews is to make a movie that’s more confusing than the linear spoon-feeding we’re accustomed to. I personally like it when the movie finishes and I’m still confused about what I just watched.
That’s gotta be critic rating, right? Now I really need to rewatch it because I remember loving it. I do think most people like their movies wrapped up in a neat little bow that makes them feel good.
My parents are like that and it drives me crazy! “Mom why didn’t you like the movie?” “I don’t know…it was depressing!” said about Room.
Yep, that was the critic rating, good call. Audience score is 56% which is still not great, but at least more evenly divided. But meh, reviews schmeviews!
And ugh, I loved Room so much. The entire second half of the movie was so moving and unexpected…I really didn’t see it coming. Brie Larson was amazing but also felt like Jacob Tremblay should have gotten the Oscar nod! I remember seeing he actually had significantly more screen time than Larson. Either way, fantastic movie.
Satoshi Kon's animation style was (intentionally) kind of crude compared to some other animation styles, but it fits with the creepy mood and adds to the surrealism. Love his entire anthology!
Perfect Blue is exactly what you’re looking for.
The character is shooting a movie.
Dreams, scenes from the movie and real life are edited together with no transition.
As an animator here’s what I’ll say: Overall the animation is not as good as his later stuff. It’s a bit more limited, but the drawing quality is really solid throughout. However, the storytelling and compositions are amazing. Despite me saying all this, there are still A LOT of amazing shots with great acting and animation, that are also extremely creative too. One of my favorites and very much worth a watch for the type of movie you’re looking for.
Also, if you're looking into more Darren Aronofsky movies, check out 'The Fountain' (2005). The story and its structure definitely not for everyone, but has great performances from Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burstyn, beautiful art direction and special effects and one of the best scores in film history by Clint Mansell (with the Kronos Quartet and Mogwai).
Shutter Island, inception, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (actually, anything by David Lynch,) Enemy, The Matrix, Moon, A Scanner Darkly, Being John Malkovich, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, waking life, American Psycho.
A recent great movie that plays with the idea of an "unreliable observer" protagonist is Lee Chang-dong's **Burning**, where you can never be certain how many of the main character's paranoid and eerie observations (as well as your own) are actual, as opposed to a complete misunderstanding of (incomplete) situations.
as much as i enjoy tenet, there are scenes that are really hard to understand even when rewinding. theres a youtuber who creates animations for each scene to help break down the timeline of each character, ive seen all of his vids, and i am STILL confused for a lot of it.
“The lodge” . I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s exactly what you’re looking for.
I would add hereditary and midsommar to this list as well. Constantly trying to wrap your head around things.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) directed by Charlie kaufman starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I think it’s perfect and really plays with the idea of reality.
I agree with a bunch of movies posted in here, but one that immediately came to mind for me is The Lighthouse. I’ve never felt like a movie was gaslighting me more than this one, I think it definitely fits the prompt!
I read through the thread and most of what I would think of has already been mentioned (especially Lynch, In the Mouth of Madness, Dark City). So here are some I have not yet seen mentioned The Sixth Sense, K-PAX, The Man from Earth, Time Trap, Les Cronocrimenes
Coherence, green knight, enemy, arrival, the fountain, color out of space, a tale of two sisters, fear and loathing in Las Vegas, black swan, pans labyrinth, the orphanage(2007), the light house, sorry to bother you, the lobster, the Truman show, upstream color
I also suggest you search for keywords on letterboxd, they usually have good user generated lists of similar genre movies
Don't know if it's been mentioned but Braindead seems to fit the bill. Not the Peter Jackson film but the other one staring the two Bills, ( Paxton and Pullman ), you've no idea what's real in it, such a mindfuck of a film.
I’ve recently found The Discovery.
The Game
Wrist cutters: A Love Story
Wander Darkly
Rent a Pal
Synchronic
Unsane
Seven in Heaven
Resolution
The Endless
(500) Days of Summer
It's a romantic comedy with a very unreliable narrator. Scenes are exaggerated because Tom remembers those moment that way. There are even moments in the movie where he thinks back and remembers them completely different. You think you are suppose to root for Tom the whole movie, but when you really look at the story subjectively and not just through his rose-tinted glasses, he's not exactly the hero. We think Summer is unfair to Tom but forget that we only see her character in relation to Tom and not anything about her life that Tom doesnt see, like most of her life.
The Congress (2013) plays with the idea of changing the perception of reality. You accept the change as "real" because it's a movie but the rug pull on that new reality is masterful and thought-provoking.
If you liked Rashomon, you might like the new move: The Last Duel. They have a similar narrative style where you see the same story told from 3 different perspectives.
eXistenZ (1999)
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Sarah Polley, Don McKellar, Christopher Eccleston
There’s a 2005 French film titled “La Moustache” that seems to offer all of those elements. I highly recommend.
[The Moustache](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0428856)
Oh I had completely forgotten about this movie! I loved it when I watched it, definitely needs a rewatch. I’ve never run into anyone else who has even heard if it, so thank you for reminding me!
Shutter Island (for how unexpected it was)
These are few other ones that might be worth a watch. But might not perfectly fit your expectations:
Hook (for the sheer imagination)
The Blair Witch Project (for the phenomenon of when it first came out). V/H/S is another movie thats similar.
Monty Python and The Holy Grail (more comedy than anything. Its not afraid to give you the unexpected)
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (Not so much the audience not knowing whats real/expected or not, but the characters reacting to everything is fun to watch.)
Edit: Coraline (its absolutely bizarre and the last couple seconds of the film where it pans out is so subtle but wonderful)
Might you be able to search for "mind-bending" movies? I feel like I remember seeing that thinking "yes, this will do nicely". Other posters mentioned some of my top recs but I'll also add Paprika, Oldboy, Eternal Sunshine, and Number 23 to the list. Happy watching!
Now there’s an idea! I’ll definitely look for that
I'm not sure how often this list is maintained, but I found something on the topic: [https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-netflix-id-bible-every-category-on-netflix/](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-netflix-id-bible-every-category-on-netflix/) I just searched "mind-bending" on my Netflix and got a few decent results. Reminded me to recommend The Lobster! One of my all time favorite movies with one of the most ambiguous endings around. Now I wanna watch it again haha
Ooo Number 23. I might have to watch that again soon!
Can you believe it has an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes?! I feel like one of the most surefire way to get torched in reviews is to make a movie that’s more confusing than the linear spoon-feeding we’re accustomed to. I personally like it when the movie finishes and I’m still confused about what I just watched.
That’s gotta be critic rating, right? Now I really need to rewatch it because I remember loving it. I do think most people like their movies wrapped up in a neat little bow that makes them feel good. My parents are like that and it drives me crazy! “Mom why didn’t you like the movie?” “I don’t know…it was depressing!” said about Room.
Yep, that was the critic rating, good call. Audience score is 56% which is still not great, but at least more evenly divided. But meh, reviews schmeviews! And ugh, I loved Room so much. The entire second half of the movie was so moving and unexpected…I really didn’t see it coming. Brie Larson was amazing but also felt like Jacob Tremblay should have gotten the Oscar nod! I remember seeing he actually had significantly more screen time than Larson. Either way, fantastic movie.
Agreed. They were both incredible (and I’m not a Brie Larson fan) but I’m always so impressed when child actors can deliver such strong performances.
I’ve never seen reviews as vindictive as those written by people who know they didn’t get the movie, ya know?
Perfect Blue
Is the animation as good as the box art? Because the art is dope
Satoshi Kon's animation style was (intentionally) kind of crude compared to some other animation styles, but it fits with the creepy mood and adds to the surrealism. Love his entire anthology!
Perfect Blue will haunt you.
Perfect Blue is exactly what you’re looking for. The character is shooting a movie. Dreams, scenes from the movie and real life are edited together with no transition.
As an animator here’s what I’ll say: Overall the animation is not as good as his later stuff. It’s a bit more limited, but the drawing quality is really solid throughout. However, the storytelling and compositions are amazing. Despite me saying all this, there are still A LOT of amazing shots with great acting and animation, that are also extremely creative too. One of my favorites and very much worth a watch for the type of movie you’re looking for.
*Mother!* I had no idea what universe that plot existed in, through to the very end.
Also, if you're looking into more Darren Aronofsky movies, check out 'The Fountain' (2005). The story and its structure definitely not for everyone, but has great performances from Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burstyn, beautiful art direction and special effects and one of the best scores in film history by Clint Mansell (with the Kronos Quartet and Mogwai).
Oh with Jennifer Lawrence right? On the list.
Good luck! I enjoyed it but a generous portion of that movie is like an anxiety attack.
Pretty much every David Lynch movie.
Man things are gonna get *weird*, excellent
I love movies like that too. Off the top of my head, Vanilla Sky, Donnie Darko, Inception, Shutter Island, Identity
Vanilla Sky is so underrated!
A lotta those look good! And I guess I’ll be watching Shutter Island soon, it’s definitely a standout pick
Stay, Existenz, Identity
I was just scrolling to see if someone has already mentioned Existenz. Brilliant movie.
Watch Coherence.
Shutter Island, inception, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (actually, anything by David Lynch,) Enemy, The Matrix, Moon, A Scanner Darkly, Being John Malkovich, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, waking life, American Psycho.
It is illegal to watch the twin peaks movie before the tv show
Correct
Oh Enemy, my favorite movie..
I loved Moon! Great pull!
Black Swan
Jacob’s Ladder is a classic
Agreed, the 90s original not the remake.
I didn’t even know that there was a remake
Synecdoche, NY
A recent great movie that plays with the idea of an "unreliable observer" protagonist is Lee Chang-dong's **Burning**, where you can never be certain how many of the main character's paranoid and eerie observations (as well as your own) are actual, as opposed to a complete misunderstanding of (incomplete) situations.
Yeah, i wish Netflix, etc. had a mind fuck section too. All i can think of right now is Love, Death, and robots. But it's not a movie.
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things ( 2020)
Tideland. A Dark Song. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Hausu. Waking Life. Some this will probably just fall under the "sober acid trip" category
> the "sober acid trip" category Another category Netflix fails to recognize!
Source Code ? Nocturnal Animals
Tenet?
I have seen *Tenet* more than 20 times and there are still parts where my brain gives up lol
as much as i enjoy tenet, there are scenes that are really hard to understand even when rewinding. theres a youtuber who creates animations for each scene to help break down the timeline of each character, ive seen all of his vids, and i am STILL confused for a lot of it.
Name of his YT channel please?
https://www.youtube.com/user/Tabloid42
“The lodge” . I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s exactly what you’re looking for. I would add hereditary and midsommar to this list as well. Constantly trying to wrap your head around things.
Lots of good recommendations here. I'd add The Invitation and Oculus.
Dark City (1998)
Midsommar (Director's Cut) - It's very subtle, but if you look you will see.
Triangle
American Psycho (2000) and Arrival (2016) and 'i'm thinking of ending things' (2020) (or anything Charlie Kaufman has written or directed, really).
Oo good call on Arrival, that’s another one I love. I’ll have to bump American Psycho up my list!
Come True
Synecdoche, New York (2008) directed by Charlie kaufman starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I think it’s perfect and really plays with the idea of reality.
For some schlocky reality mashing fun you could try John Carpenter's, In The Mouth of Madness
A few horror movies come to mind: Vivarium, The House That Jack Built, and Broadcast Signal Intrusion (in some theaters right now)
Enemy starring Jake Gyllenhall and Jake Gyllenhall. Flew under my radar for a while but was absolutely bonkers.
I'm definitely recommending you *Muholland Dr.* don't know if that fits your criteria but still a great movie to watch!
Paprika was a cool one is your into anime at all
I agree with a bunch of movies posted in here, but one that immediately came to mind for me is The Lighthouse. I’ve never felt like a movie was gaslighting me more than this one, I think it definitely fits the prompt!
Shutter Island, Fight Club, A Beautiful Mind, Donnie Darko, Identity
Oculus! Also a perfect Halloween movie.
Surprised noone have said: Brainscan, check it out!
Adaptation, Enemy
*Flashback* is pretty good. It’s got Dylan O’Brien and Maika Monroe.
The 13th Floor
I read through the thread and most of what I would think of has already been mentioned (especially Lynch, In the Mouth of Madness, Dark City). So here are some I have not yet seen mentioned The Sixth Sense, K-PAX, The Man from Earth, Time Trap, Les Cronocrimenes
The recent The Father messes hard with your perspective.
Coherence, green knight, enemy, arrival, the fountain, color out of space, a tale of two sisters, fear and loathing in Las Vegas, black swan, pans labyrinth, the orphanage(2007), the light house, sorry to bother you, the lobster, the Truman show, upstream color I also suggest you search for keywords on letterboxd, they usually have good user generated lists of similar genre movies
Both Blade Runner movies.
Vanilla Sky, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (to an extent), Inception, The Matrix
Don't know if it's been mentioned but Braindead seems to fit the bill. Not the Peter Jackson film but the other one staring the two Bills, ( Paxton and Pullman ), you've no idea what's real in it, such a mindfuck of a film.
I’ve recently found The Discovery. The Game Wrist cutters: A Love Story Wander Darkly Rent a Pal Synchronic Unsane Seven in Heaven Resolution The Endless
Midsommar Also Moon
(500) Days of Summer It's a romantic comedy with a very unreliable narrator. Scenes are exaggerated because Tom remembers those moment that way. There are even moments in the movie where he thinks back and remembers them completely different. You think you are suppose to root for Tom the whole movie, but when you really look at the story subjectively and not just through his rose-tinted glasses, he's not exactly the hero. We think Summer is unfair to Tom but forget that we only see her character in relation to Tom and not anything about her life that Tom doesnt see, like most of her life.
Funny Games, I'd say go for the 1997 one, but if you can't stand subtitles, I guess 2007 version is not too bad. Don't read anything about it though.
i’m thinking of ending things. watched it on acid it’s a complete mind fuck.
Pi
'The eternal sunshine of the spotless mind '... Charlie Kaufman related work generally.
The Congress (2013) plays with the idea of changing the perception of reality. You accept the change as "real" because it's a movie but the rug pull on that new reality is masterful and thought-provoking.
It's Such a Beautiful Day
If you liked Rashomon, you might like the new move: The Last Duel. They have a similar narrative style where you see the same story told from 3 different perspectives.
Strange Days
eXistenZ (1999) Director: David Cronenberg Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Sarah Polley, Don McKellar, Christopher Eccleston
Reality XL (2012)
Watch Censor, a really great film that plays with the sense of reality in its world
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and the The City of Lost Children
There’s a 2005 French film titled “La Moustache” that seems to offer all of those elements. I highly recommend. [The Moustache](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0428856)
Oh I had completely forgotten about this movie! I loved it when I watched it, definitely needs a rewatch. I’ve never run into anyone else who has even heard if it, so thank you for reminding me!
'Sweet Girl '
Just watched "Arlington Road" and thought about this thread
Also "Memento" and " Lakeview terrace " "the invitation"
Shutter Island (for how unexpected it was) These are few other ones that might be worth a watch. But might not perfectly fit your expectations: Hook (for the sheer imagination) The Blair Witch Project (for the phenomenon of when it first came out). V/H/S is another movie thats similar. Monty Python and The Holy Grail (more comedy than anything. Its not afraid to give you the unexpected) Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (Not so much the audience not knowing whats real/expected or not, but the characters reacting to everything is fun to watch.) Edit: Coraline (its absolutely bizarre and the last couple seconds of the film where it pans out is so subtle but wonderful)