Confusing Movies
AMC Movie List

Confusing Movies

It's not just you: Some movies are confusing. But there are degrees, from tricky to just plain incomprehensible. Rank these twisty, unpredictable movies on a scale of "entertaining" to "made my head hurt."

rank title points votes your vote
1 Mulholland Dr.
Aspiring actress Naomi Watts gets lost in David Lynch's vision of Hollywood -- an evil, perverted wasteland where nothing makes sense. Perplexing on purpose.. 75 209
2 12 Monkeys
Bruce Willis hopscotches around time trying to prevent the apocalypse in this sci-fi thriller. It's good enough to watch twice and clearer the second time around. 74 226
3 Donnie Darko
Is Jake Gyllenhaal hallucinating, or is that guy in the rabbit suit who says he's from the future really there? It's open to interpretation. 71 267
4 Memento
The main character has no short-term memory and the story is unfolding backwards. Pay attention and it makes sense. 58 220
5 Lost Highway
David Lynch + The Twilight Zone = LA as a spooky funhouse. Think of it as a bad dream and it makes perfect sense. 1 137
6 Syriana
Plots, counter-plots and counter-counter-plots -- that's the Middle East for you, except that if -- and only if -- you stay focused, the movie all comes together in the end. -12 150
7 Burn After Reading
The breakneck pace, large cast and farcical complications require concentration, but the Coen brother's pitch-black sense of humor justifies the effort. -22 194
8 Inland Empire
Maybe Laura Dern plays multiple characters. Maybe she plays an actress playing multiple characters. Maybe... who knows? Even by David Lynch standards, it's a head scratcher. -33 111
9 eXistenZ
In the future, VR games are plugged directly into players' brains. They're confusing, so the movie's confusing -- that's the point. -43 113
10 Schizopolis
Parallel worlds intersect, writer-director-star Steven Soderbergh crosses paths with himself, people talk nonsense. It's supposed to be satirical. -46 92