Generally, movies are meant to entertain and serve as a platform for escapism from the harsh realities of life, as well as a unifying force for most families. However, there are other categories of movies that have a greater value that engages us to taste our intellect by a deliberate show of complexity and puzzling stories.
This article features a fair selection of 12 most distinct mind-bending movies from in no particular order. Check it out!
Best Mind Bending Movies
12. DONNIE DARKO (2001)
This movie is told out of the ordinary story of a young boy in high school whose life was saved through the twist of fate. What was regarded as an anomaly ‘’sleepwalking’’ turns out to be the life-saver.
Darko kicked off his normal rounds of sleepwalking on that fateful night an airplane crashed into his bed which might have left him instantly dead if he was to be on bed. After that incident series of other events that further led him into the company of the apocalypse. I must say that the movie was scripted with some touch of humor and poetic elements.
However, it will leave you with much-unanswered questions in your mind it is one of the most awesome debuts of the decade.
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11. BRAZIL (1985)
In as much as this movie debuted in the 80s, it is one of the mind-bending movies that have left an ineligible mark in the minds of fans. Brazil showcased the imaginative gamut of Terry Gilliam.
The movie satirized the bureaucratic era of the government, as the lead character Jonathan Pryce advocates for hope amidst darkest conditions he found himself. You will be touched by his purest intent to rescue his girlfriend (Kim Greist) from a grey dystopia, as he ended up being caught up by the dictatorial government in attempted treason. Following up the storyline of this movie is quite tasking you need to pay keen attention.
10. GOZU (2003)
What more can one expect of the Takashi Miike, the Japanese director whose name is synonymous to oddity? Little wonder he directed Gozu in 2003 which is considered as one of the most bizarre mind-mending movies ever.
This great breathtaking movie is shrouded in so many intriguing complexities, from mind bugling scenes to disgusting endings, you will bare make any logic inferences from the unfolding of events and definitely, your six senses need to charge actively to decipher this movie.
9. LOST HIGHWAY (1997)
Set in 1997, David Lynch brought this great movie to limelight in partnership with Barry Gifford. This story is about the saxophonist (Bill Pullman) whose marriage is facing a strong storm.
It started off with an action scene where someone was brutally killed in cold blood and suddenly, it swifts into an unusual thriller, crime, and zombielike atmosphere. It is quite a weird but fascinating film and certainly one of the mind-bending movies you can find.
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8. THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973)
The Holy Mountain can be described as a comic satire which tries to bring out the flaws in most institutions of the society such as religion, military, and sanity. This was brought out through lead character popularly known as Thief, who is a symbolic figure, that posed as Christ along with his weird eight disciples who embark on a tour to conquer the Holy Mountain. Which is another mysterious force that most audience struggle to comprehend. However, the director was able to create haunting images in the minds of fans with this thriller.
7. ENTER THE VOID (2009)
This is one of the mind-bending movies that brings to fore the Buddhist myth of life after death, drawing principles from the Tibetan Book of Dead. I am sure most fans like myself kept wondering what is embedded in this book of the dead.
Interestingly the director Gaspar Noe fades in the movie with the experience of a hardened drug lord based in Thailand, whose drug deals went awry and claimed his life in the wake of the movie. Nevertheless, the story pushes further, taking us to void that is the afterlife world that Nathaniel Brown the dead protagonist found himself. The story painted a vivid picture of the illusion of the world of the dead.
It revealed how the dead loiter around visiting living loved ones, feeling much regrets of what they fail to achieve while they are still alive. I bet you this is one of the mind-bending movies that will send shivers down your spine, as you bask in the thought of what lies ahead in the void of the afterlife.
6. IDENTITY (2003)
This mind-blowing movie was set in a renowned Motel, where fun-seekers were made stranded in the midst of a dark storm created a strange force so as to make them timid while dead struck them at random.
It is in this life-threatening situation that the supposed strangers discovered that they have something in common with each other after all. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine the feeling created in this movie by the inordinate director James Mangold, with a perfect cast line up in the likes of John Cusack, John Hawkes, Ray Liotta, to mention a few. Not only will the eye be entertained, but the mind will also be in wonderland. You can’t afford to miss any scene in this horrifying movie.
5. PRIMER (2004)
Like the other mind-bending movies, this film has spurred up many controversies, creating factions amongst fans, with several contradicting opinions all as a result of intricate nature of the movie.
From the outset, the movie gives us a feeling it is about technology only to swiftly switch to a shaky unconventional unfolding of events taking audience off-balance. The build-up is just pointlessly dense and puzzling, you will be kept trying to crack the puzzles as time fast ebbs away in through the movie this is not uncommon with Shane Carruth’s directing style if you have been following her movies.
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4. PREDESTINATION (2015)
This movie features the story of Hawke the hero who undertakes a mission impossible like a quest to trail an old veteran terrorist known as the ‘’fizzle bomber’’ who is responsible for the several deadly attacks on New York way back in 1975.
We have barely come to terms with this story when the director introduced another baffling storyline of the odd experiences of a lady (Sarah Snook) battling gender issues and a gory past. However, the duo lead characters turned the movie into a sci-fi thriller, coupled with the expertise of the director Spierigs to engage the minds of the audience.
3. THE PRESTIGE (2006)
Notable for engaging his audience intellect, director Christopher Nolan is at it again with this brainstorming masterpiece. In the gross of the movie, the issues led to conflicts and obsession with heightening suspense, although you should expect some deeper explanation of the storyline as you must have to read between the line to crack the thick-headed puzzles created in this movie. This explains why this movie earned a spot in this category.
2. JACOB’S LADDER (1990)
The title Jacob’s Ladder obviously rings the bell as though it was produced yesterday and is considered one of the most mind-bending movies out there. However, this famous movie was set in the late 90s starring Tim Robbins, who acted starred as Jacob a soldier who battles during the Vietnam conflict. After being gravely injured in the battle, we were taken to a flashback of Jacob’s home in New York where city inhabitant displayed their dark powers while he tries to deal with them.
What got us thinking was whether his current psychic was due to illusions or there is a deeper force? These questions kept popping off are his attackers’ past demons seeking for revenge? Is it the side effects of government drug war experiment? Or is it his mind exploring itself? All these are nightmares Jacob was battling with. Consequently, Adrian Lyne, the director incorporated a mirage of both horror and psychological forces as well as purging emotions in an intriguing interplay, with Jacob’s Ladder, this made this thriller to earn a top spot in this lineup.
1. SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (2008)
Top of the mind-bending movies list is the Synecdoche, New York. This movie is one of the masterpieces of renowned scriptwriter Charlie Kaufman, who stands out as one of the most celebrated screenwriters in terms of offbeat poetic and humorous movies. This movie started off more like a biography of Kaufman with scenes depicting his persona, however, we suddenly realized that it actually what we thought, but rather it was embedded in the dream world.
With a line-up of remarkable characters like Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Tom Noonan that enchanted us with their breath-taking performance living us suspense-filled in every scene. This is one of the most intellect challenging movies of all times little wonder, it took the top spot in this category.
