Weirdest Movie(s) you have ever seen?

[PSUSignore]

I love the "weird" movie genre, in part because I have grown tired of the same old Hollywood plot lines that repeat ad nauseum in slightly different formats in so many movies.

A couple of my favorites were already mentioned like Donnie Darko and Memento. Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors largely because of how he creates unconventional movies with weird time shifts but Memento is probably his "weirdest" one. Pretty much anything by Darren Aronofsky fits the bill... Black Swan, Pi, Requiem for a Dream (best movie you only want to see once), Mother!, etc. area all pretty out there. Stanley Kubrik is another director with a few strange ones.

A few others I haven't seen mentioned:
Natural Born Killers
12 Monkeys
Pan's Labyrinth

I'm not sure if these qualify as "weird" per se, but are more unconventional movies or cult classics
Big Trouble in Little China
Dark City
The Crow
Fight Club
Ex Machina

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

What is the weirdest movie or movies you have seen? I've seen a number over the years, but my guess is that people's standards concerning what is "weird" or "good" might vary considerably. I thought The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and her Lover was both crazy and bad. I also thought The Blair Witch Project was bad in a weird sort of way (with all of the POV shots of people whimpering in fear), and ended up rooting for the (never to be seen) witch. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (with Donald Sutherland) was mainly bad, but also weird. Seems like most weird movies are bad, but they can occasionally be good. The Gods Must Be Crazy was very offbeat, but I thought it was good.

How about you?

Powerful thread yo.

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Pretty Weird


FYI TEAM, posted this before reading the thread, please forgive

 

[BBrown]

I love the "weird" movie genre, in part because I have grown tired of the same old Hollywood plot lines that repeat ad nauseum in slightly different formats in so many movies.

A couple of my favorites were already mentioned like Donnie Darko and Memento. Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors largely because of how he creates unconventional movies with weird time shifts but Memento is probably his "weirdest" one. Pretty much anything by Darren Aronofsky fits the bill... Black Swan, Pi, Requiem for a Dream (best movie you only want to see once), Mother!, etc. area all pretty out there. Stanley Kubrik is another director with a few strange ones.

A few others I haven't seen mentioned:
Natural Born Killers
12 Monkeys
Pan's Labyrinth

I'm not sure if these qualify as "weird" per se, but are more unconventional movies or cult classics
Big Trouble in Little China
Dark City
The Crow
Fight Club
Ex Machina

JMO Pans Labyrinth is awesome.
Dark City is a great Sci-Fi movie.

 

[STPGopherfan]

View embedded media

I found that movie weird as well.
Dennis Hoper movies automatically rise toward the top/

 

[1000_OaksLion]

Jacob's Ladder - Tim Robbins - 1990-91

 

[Lattner]

" I Was a Teenage Werewolf"
Starring Michael Landon and a Hugh Hefner GF.
Fascinating pre boob job masterpiece.

 

[GreggK]

Sorry To Bother You.

I went to see this with my nephews. It was pretty odd but ok for most of the movie. And then bang, huge minotaurs with giant penises everywhere for the last 10 minutes. Didn't see that, uh, coming.

At the end all I could say was, "uhh, sorry about that guys"

 

[Shadow99]

A couple of movies that I thought were weird, but very good were Birdy with Matthew Modine and Nicholas Cage (great ending) and A Clockwork Orange.

Haven't seen Birdy but agree completely about A Clockwork Orange being exceedingly weird, but yet good.

 

[Shadow99]

Momento

A man who, as a result of an injury, has anterograde amnesia (the inability to form new memories) and has short-term memory loss approximately every fifteen minutes. He is searching for the people who attacked him and killed his wife, using an intricate system of Polaroidphotographs and tattoos to track information he cannot remember.

At least 10 people walked out. The guy behind us stood up and announced, “This is the worst movie I’ve ever seen.”

Agree that it is a very unique, weird premise and alternate organization of the movie timeline, but I actually love the movie Memento and would definitely recommend it to others.

 

[Shadow99]

Quentin Tarantino punched a pretty big hole in Memento when it came out - 'If he has short term memory loss, how can he remember that he can't remember?' It's a good question, but ruins the fun - Memento is a great film IMO and a testament to Christopher Nolan's ability to use time as a narrative in innovative ways (which is the case with *all* of his non-Batman movies - Inception, Tenet, even Dunkirk - all use time in different ways to tell a story).

Not sure that is a big hole...the short-term memory lapses were a long-term problem of which the character would therefore be aware?

Definitely agree that it is a great film.

 

[Midnighter2]

Not sure that is a big hole...the short-term memory lapses were a long-term problem of which the character would therefore be aware?

Definitely agree that it is a great film.

If you get too in the weeds you ruin a really unique narrative device. But, the way his condition is described is anterograde amnesia, in which he’s unable to 'form new memories' after his head trauma. Knowing he cannot form new memories would be a 'new memory' since it would be after trauma. I would have to watch again, but pretty sure he knows he can't make memories and thus, the reason for the tattoos. I think Quentin is right here.

 

[Shadow99]

I love the "weird" movie genre, in part because I have grown tired of the same old Hollywood plot lines that repeat ad nauseum in slightly different formats in so many movies.

A couple of my favorites were already mentioned like Donnie Darko and Memento. Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors largely because of how he creates unconventional movies with weird time shifts but Memento is probably his "weirdest" one. Pretty much anything by Darren Aronofsky fits the bill... Black Swan, Pi, Requiem for a Dream (best movie you only want to see once), Mother!, etc. area all pretty out there. Stanley Kubrik is another director with a few strange ones.

A few others I haven't seen mentioned:
Natural Born Killers
12 Monkeys
Pan's Labyrinth

I'm not sure if these qualify as "weird" per se, but are more unconventional movies or cult classics
Big Trouble in Little China
Dark City
The Crow
Fight Club
Ex Machina

Fight Club is likely classified as a cult classic, but it definitely DOES fit the category of "weird" as well. That said, I know of a class that actually uses the film's main character as an example presentation of dissociative identity disorder.

 

[Fayette_LION]

What is the weirdest movie or movies you have seen? I've seen a number over the years, but my guess is that people's standards concerning what is "weird" or "good" might vary considerably. I thought The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and her Lover was both crazy and bad. I also thought The Blair Witch Project was bad in a weird sort of way (with all of the POV shots of people whimpering in fear), and ended up rooting for the (never to be seen) witch. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (with Donald Sutherland) was mainly bad, but also weird. Seems like most weird movies are bad, but they can occasionally be good. The Gods Must Be Crazy was very offbeat, but I thought it was good.

How about you?

They shoot horses don't they...........really weird Jane Fonda depressing movie

 

[Shadow99]

If you get too in the weeds you ruin a really unique narrative device. But, the way his condition is described is anterograde amnesia, in which he’s unable to 'form new memories' after his head trauma. Knowing he cannot form new memories would be a 'new memory' since it would be after trauma. I would have to watch again, but pretty sure he knows he can't make memories and thus, the reason for the tattoos. I think Quentin is right here.

Perhaps you are correct...but speaking only for myself, that in no way diminishes my enjoyment of the movie LOL.

Have you seen the movie "Deja Vu" with Denzell Washington, James Caviezel, Val Kilmer and Paula Patton? It was similarly criticized for a "plot holes" (that ironically existed only in the movie itself and not in the original script), but I think it hit the mark anyway, providing something for both sci-fi fans and those who desire significant emotional components in a movie.

 

[HazletonLion]

Rocky Horror Picture Show , was expecting something sort of like House On Haunted Hill. Left early , couldn't handle it.

 

[Midnighter2]

Fight Club is likely classified as a cult classic, but it definitely DOES fit the category of "weird" as well. That said, I know of a class that actually uses the film's main character as an example presentation of dissociative identity disorder.

I don't know that Fight Club is weird; I will say it got kind of panned when released because it came out the same year as 'Sixth Sense' and both have a similar plot twist (of course, the 'Fight Club' novel came out in 1996, which predates Sixth Sense by three years). Since then, it's become a cult classic and revered I think as a breakthrough, generational film (and one of David Fincher's best movies).

You want weird? 'Holy Motors'. There.

 

[Midnighter2]

Perhaps you are correct...but speaking only for myself, that in no way diminishes my enjoyment of the movie LOL.

Have you seen the movie "Deja Vu" with Denzell Washington, James Caviezel, Val Kilmer and Paula Patton? It was similarly criticized for a "plot holes" (that ironically existed only in the movie itself and not in the original script), but I think it hit the mark anyway, providing something for both sci-fi fans and those who desire significant emotional components in a movie.

Same; it's a small issue in an otherwise stunning film.

 

[PSUSignore]

If you get too in the weeds you ruin a really unique narrative device. But, the way his condition is described is anterograde amnesia, in which he’s unable to 'form new memories' after his head trauma. Knowing he cannot form new memories would be a 'new memory' since it would be after trauma. I would have to watch again, but pretty sure he knows he can't make memories and thus, the reason for the tattoos. I think Quentin is right here.

That reminds me of a story I had heard about Michael Bay's first Transformers movie (not in the weird category at all btw). Someone was critiquing how unrealistic some of the actions and decisions of the Transformers were, really digging into it and claiming it ruined the movie for them. The perfect counterpoint was raised, saying that critiquing minor unrealistic details in a movie based on walking, talking, transforming robots from another planet was a ridiculous premise.

Some movies just require turning off your brain, sitting back and enjoying them. That said, part of the reason I like many of the weird unconventional movies is because they require the viewer to pay close attention and to interpret things for themselves rather than simple spoon-feeding viewers a rehashed cookie-cutter plot.

 

[Midnighter2]

That reminds me of a story I had heard about Michael Bay's first Transformers movie (not in the weird category at all btw). Someone was critiquing how unrealistic some of the actions and decisions of the Transformers were, really digging into it and claiming it ruined the movie for them. The perfect counterpoint was raised, saying that critiquing minor unrealistic details in a movie based on walking, talking, transforming robots from another planet was a ridiculous premise.

Some movies just require turning off your brain, sitting back and enjoying them. That said, part of the reason I like many of the weird unconventional movies is because they require the viewer to pay close attention and to interpret things for themselves rather than simple spoon-feeding viewers a rehashed cookie-cutter plot.

Yeah, outside of that one, somewhat debatable detail (aren't there theories that maybe he didn't even have memory issues?) it's a flawless, and unique semi-debut film. That's really, really tough to do. Nolan is a true visionary.

And agree about the Transformers stuff; some movies warrant a bunch of criticism, others are going to entertain for two hours (if you let them).

 

[Shadow99]

That reminds me of a story I had heard about Michael Bay's first Transformers movie (not in the weird category at all btw). Someone was critiquing how unrealistic some of the actions and decisions of the Transformers were, really digging into it and claiming it ruined the movie for them. The perfect counterpoint was raised, saying that critiquing minor unrealistic details in a movie based on walking, talking, transforming robots from another planet was a ridiculous premise.

Some movies just require turning off your brain, sitting back and enjoying them. That said, part of the reason I like many of the weird unconventional movies is because they require the viewer to pay close attention and to interpret things for themselves rather than simple spoon-feeding viewers a rehashed cookie-cutter plot.

The only significant issue I took with that Transformers movie is that in the fighting scenes, while the depictions and action were impressive, they seemingly lost sight of distinguishing characters. In other words, it was difficult to tell who was who in most of the battles unless you caught a glimpse of a certain color lol.

And in the sequels of course the major issue is that if there is ANYTHING in Transformers in which to cater to fans, it would be Soundwave's unique voice...which they disappointingly didn't do. That is an example where a producer / director "making it their own" actually was detrimental imho, especially considering the fact that his voice would otherwise be an insignificant component of the movie...the only reason that it could be considered significant (in a slightly negative way) is because they didn't even make the attempt to keep it unique, all imho of course.

 

[Spydersgirl]

Barton Fink is another weird Cohen movie

Barton Fink....two hours of my life I can’t get back. But, it was raining cats and dogs on a cruise ship....meh.

 

[83wuzme]

The only significant issue I took with that Transformers movie is that in the fighting scenes, while the depictions and action were impressive, they seemingly lost sight of distinguishing characters. In other words, it was difficult to tell who was who in most of the battles unless you caught a glimpse of a certain color lol.

And in the sequels of course the major issue is that if there is ANYTHING in Transformers in which to cater to fans, it would be Soundwave's unique voice...which they disappointingly didn't do. That is an example where a producer / director "making it their own" actually was detrimental imho, especially considering the fact that his voice would otherwise be an insignificant component of the movie...the only reason that it could be considered significant (in a slightly negative way) is because they didn't even make the attempt to keep it unique, all imho of course.

I took my wife to see The Piano. After that and The Crying Game, she won’t see anything other than a Rom Com.

 

[mdking001]

A very young Jane Fonda! This trailer a must watch!

 

[johnmpsu]

"The Man from Earth". Weird but very good especially if you like dialogue driven movies. The entire movie takes place in a single room.

Written by Jerome Bixby who also authored the twilight zone episode "It's a Good Life". The one where the kid sends people into the cornfield.

 

[STPGopherfan]

Wow, I liked Sin City.🤷‍♂️

I did too, but it was weird.

 

[The Stan]

Pi

 

[LafayetteBear]

Can't recall the name of the movie, but I think Nicholas Cage starred in it. The plot was essentially that an island of women sends one of their number out every so often (either annually or every few years) to find a guy and lure him back to the island, where they use him to impregnate one of their number and then stick him up on a platform in a tower and incinerate him. The premise of the movie was so absurd that I found it comical. As I recall, the movie ended with Cage up on the platform, the tower supporting the platform on fire, and him realizing that he was well and truly phucked.

 

[83wuzme]

Can't recall the name of the movie, but I think Nicholas Cage starred in it. The plot was essentially that an island of women sends one of their number out every so often (either annually or every few years) to find a guy and lure him back to the island, where they use him to impregnate one of their number and then stick him up on a platform in a tower and incinerate him. The premise of the movie was so absurd that I found it comical. As I recall, the movie ended with Cage up on the platform, the tower supporting the platform on fire, and him realizing that he was well and truly phucked.

The Wicker Man
“ NOT THE BEES ! “

 

[ACGT]

Seriously? Saw it at Sundance and I thought to myself, "This director is going to have an amazing career." I thought it was very thought provoking and original. It crushed the festival circuit and even though domestic distributors were hesitant and unsure how to market it, the film still ended up with a mushrooming release and made a nice profit.

I'd cringe if I looked at that "worst movie ever" guy's DVD collection.

Nolan sure survived the experience. His next movie had a $46M budget and he became Warner Bros. A-list director.

When I saw it I thought WTF? But enjoying puzzles, I spent an hour on my VCR, back and forth, till I figured it out. I recall part was in black and white and part was in color. I believe it was the black and white portion that was filmed, then parsed, and portions inserted in reverse order in the color portion.

 

[Tri-Power65]

The Wicker Man
“ NOT THE BEES ! “

Along the same line, Midsommar.

 

[RochLion]

Brazil. Saw this at the Forum on campus and thought that's the oddest role I've seen DeNiro in.

 

[sluggo72]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
From the Coen brothers on Netflix
It’s an anthology of Cowboy stories
Definitely different

 

[SheldonJoe2215]

 

[canuckhal]

 

[canuckhal]

 

[canuckhal]

“Nothing but Trouble”

It had a really good cast with Akroyd, Chase, Candy and Demi Moore (when they were all stars).

The movie is supposedly inspired by Centralia, PA, but is an insult to the good people of that town that were displaced from their homes. It’s weird and bad, but not in fun, campy way. Whatever they were going for completely missed the Mark.

Here is my vote for Centralia movie and coal region PA.

 

[canuckhal]

And of course a classic.

 

[LafayetteBear]

The Wicker Man
“ NOT THE BEES ! “

Yes, Wuz, that was it. Thanks.

 

[Petch]

Gotta go with Birdemic: Shock and Terror.

Can’t really decide what I enjoyed most about this movie...the writing, the acting, the cinematography, the sound track. It was truly a masterpiece!