Thread: Movies that screw your brain

Some people like movies that make you laugh. Others like the ones that make you think. Others like the movies that get the adrenaline pumping. All of these are undeniably great. But my absolute favorrrrite kinds of movies are the ones that make your brains shatter into so many pieces that you need the rest of the evening to reassemble it. You know what I'm talking about, stuff by those directors that are out to mindfuck.

Doesn't matter what genre, as long as it hits my mind hard. Whether its out there from a plot-oriented or a creativity standpoint doesn't matter. I'm sure there's many people on DV who share these sentiments, so lets get some lists and recommendations going! I was never much of a movie buff before now so my knowledge is limited, but I'll get the ball rolling.

A few old favorites:
City of Lost Children
Fear and Loathing in LV
A Clockwork Orange
The Science of Sleep
Fantastic Planet
Brazil
Delicatessen

I like the DV favorites too, generally anything that deals with sleep or dreams is pretty interesting:
Waking Life
Vanilla Sky
The Matrix

Also been getting into anime recently, lots of good stuff there:
Paprika
Akira
Spirited Away
Mind Game

I've been told I should check out David Lynch...but where to start? Everything looks good.

I'll namedrop Jacob's Ladder now, so Mark75 doesn't have to. =D

Also, Pan's Labyrinth. And Bowie's Labyrinth. For very different reasons.

Silence of the Lambs is pretty... :shudders: good at giving you something to think about.

'a scanner darkly' was pretty nuts. and it was visually.. confusing at times haha, in a good way.

OMG Across the Universe... the story isn't a mindfuck but the way the director presents it is.... i watched it once sober and it psyched me out, then i watch it high on weed and adoral (back in my partying days) and i still to this day am creeped out by that fucking movie...

Edit:the plot is a great story though...

Fantastic Planet... that's a Rene Lalloux (spelling) stop animation film, right?

Stephen King's The Stand is a very good book/movie that really gets you thinking about humans, when they revert to their primal form. There's a lot of good sociological theory in it (in fact, there's a character in there that I believe was included for that reason).

The book is anywhere from 400-600 pages for the edited, 800-1100 for the original and uncut (depending on height of the book and text size, obviously) and the movie is 4 parts, each an hour and a half to two hours long. But if you have the time, I recommend picking up one or the other.

Nice responses, these should keep me busy for a good while

Originally Posted by cygnus

'a scanner darkly' was pretty nuts. and it was visually.. confusing at times haha, in a good way.

Yeah that's definitely on my list, but I've also been getting into Phillip K. Dick's books recently. I may wait until I've read it to check that one out, though its very likely I won't have the patience for that

Originally Posted by oniman7

Fantastic Planet... that's a Rene Lalloux (spelling) stop animation film, right?

Stephen King's The Stand is a very good book/movie that really gets you thinking about humans, when they revert to their primal form. There's a lot of good sociological theory in it (in fact, there's a character in there that I believe was included for that reason).

The book is anywhere from 400-600 pages for the edited, 800-1100 for the original and uncut (depending on height of the book and text size, obviously) and the movie is 4 parts, each an hour and a half to two hours long. But if you have the time, I recommend picking up one or the other.

Hell yeah! Its not stop-motion animation though, if that's what you mean. Just plain ol' drawings, but among the most creative ones I've seen. His other two feature films 'Gandahar' and 'Time Masters' are also great. Story's not as good but they're just as visually compelling.

I'll have to check out The Stand too, sounds right up my alley.

Originally Posted by Luanne

Start with Mulholland Dr. ( I also recommended it in 'The last movie you saw...' thread.) I won't say a thing except - it's a 'must see', and makes you appreciate cinematography much more!

Will do! I think I'm gonna look this up now in fact, I've been putting off Lynch for far too long now...

Though its not really a psychological mindfuck type movie, the movie 'Dead Girl" freaked me the hell out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2SSL6Ipnvw

Its sick, twisted, and undeniably wrong. But you gotta love it.

Originally Posted by Speesh

I've been told I should check out David Lynch...but where to start? Everything looks good.

That's what I immediately wished to advice after seeing the thread title.

Start with Mulholland Dr. ( I also recommended it in 'The last movie you saw...' thread.) I won't say a thing except - it's a 'must see', and makes you appreciate cinematography much more!

Death? What y'all know bout death?


Have my top 3

These aren't neccessarily the MOST mindfuckery i know, however these are my favourite mindfuckeries.



1. 'Begotten'




2. 'ERASERHEAD'






3. 'INLAND EMPIRE'








Just ask if you want some more.





Oh, and for David Lynch, watch 'Mulholland Drive' or 'Lost Highway' first. Either order is fine.

While it's not a movie, Chaos;Head is a mind fuck. It's definintly not intented for younger audiences, as it has some very distrubing writings.

It's a visual novel about this guy (you) that witnesses a murder and all these weird things start to unravel. It's a sci-fi/mindfuck kind of thing.

I was going to mention both The Begotten and Eraserhead, but Carou beat me to it. I'd go with Elephant. Not really a mind fuck, but I was really high/really tired when I watched it so it ended up being pretty weird. Also The Machinist, that's pretty trippy.

I'll second a lot of the recommendations above and add Brain Storm, from the early '80s and starring Christopher Walken. It starts off seeming like a fairly normal sci-fi flick, but about halfway in, it really heads off into the wilderness. I just found this movie last year--I think it's a bit of a cult classic, but otherwise off the radar.

Fight Club has been the king of all mind-fuckery for me, though I haven't watched it from beginning to end since that first time in the theater. The title could also go to Requiem for a Dream, but I don't know that I could, in good conscience, recommend that anyone subject themselves to Requiem for a Dream.

Definitely David Lynch's "INLAND EMPIRE" and Lars von Trier's "ANTICHRIST"

[Scene from Antichrist]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L2ooG_MX9E

Oh, yeah, Rabbits.... saw it the other day. It was actually too mind puzzling that it leaves you (at least me) with nothing. Not even a slightest bit of logic to get you started. Ok, except one obvious thing in their communication, but still that gave me nothing!

I've also seen his short movie Alphabet. Hmm, see it for your self. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmMwKBMse_w
That man is a psycho artist genius.

Edit: Oh, and a question for you guys who saw Inland Empire. How scary is it? Let's say Alphabet is my horror limit, so should I go for it?

Clockwork orange and Pi are probably my favorites. They've been mentioned already though.

Originally Posted by Taosaur

Well, I've discovered that the version I saw this weekend was the director's cut. I just finished watching the original release, and it's a totally different (less good) movie. They hacked two of the most effective scenes inside the room and slapped on a totally inappropriate "happy" ending

This is the second time I've unwittingly seen the director's cut of a movie, loved it, and then later found out that everyone else saw something neutered, mediocre and barely coherent, courtesy of executives who think they know better than the director.

Heh, pretty sure I did too. I watched a pirated one and then I watched the real one later on and was like "damn, I swear that ended differently"

Spoiler for for people who have seen 1408:

He burnt down the room in the shit version right? And then in the good one he didn't get out if I remember correctly?

I agree, the one most people seem to have seen had the lamest ending ever, ruined the whole movie basically. LAME!

Also yeah all those vampire etc. movies mentioned are NOT mind fucks. WE are talking about movies that you get to the end of and are like WTF just happened guys? Mvoes that make you think and stretch your limits of what you think is possible. Not vampires biting people's heads off etc.

Fear X, Lars von Trier's "Riget", John Carpenters Cigarette Burns and In The Mouth Of Madness.