Movies that screw your brain

[Speesh]

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.

[Abra]

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.

[Kraftwerk]

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

[cygnus]

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

[MementoMori]

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...

[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.

[Xei]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is fantastic in this respect; one of those movies you have to watch twice to get to grips with.

[Kromoh]

The Others really crashed my brain.

[Luanne]

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!

[Carôusoul]

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.

[slayer]

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.

[Catbus]

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.

[Taosaur]

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.

[Carôusoul]

I forgot PI!

[Catbus]

I couldn't get all the way through Pi. I liked it, but it got kind of slow towards the end. For me, at least.

[Zhaylin]

Pi put me to sleep lol I highly recommend The Stand as well... but the book, not the movie. Things that mess with my mind don't seem to bother most people: The Butterfly Effect Donny Darko The Hours A Beautiful Mind and apparently Memory as well. I've been dreaming about that movie for several nights now after having watched it. I couldn't watch A Clockwork Orange. I just can't get into pointless violence.

[Marvo]

I just watched Moon. That's a very trippy film, and it's gotten very good reviews. You should check that out

[Scatterbrain]

Watched Vanilla Sky yesterday, I can say with little doubt that it is the best movie I've seen.

[Xei]

I just watched Moon. That's a very trippy film, and it's gotten very good reviews. You should check that out Oh yeah, watched that recently. It was quite good and definitely confusing for the first half or so.

[Carôusoul]

I couldn't get all the way through Pi. I liked it, but it got kind of slow towards the end. For me, at least. Pi put me to sleep lol Nawww man give it a chance. You do need an attention span but then most top movies require that. Also, Zhaylin, I think you're kind of missing the point if you thought the violence in A Clockwork Orange was pointless. Watched Vanilla Sky yesterday, I can say with little doubt that it is the best movie I've seen. Watch the movie it's based on, Abre les ojos. It's totally top.

[katielovestrees]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned 1408. That was one of the first things that came to my mind. Also, not a mindfuck in the typical sense, but Natural Born Killers definitely freaked me out. I'm really bad at remembering movies so there are a few others that I can think of, but don't remember the titles.... I agree with The Butterfly Effect and Waking Life. I'm gonna see if I can find Vanilla Sky and check that out tonight.

[Carôusoul]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned 1408. That was one of the first things that came to my mind. Also, not a mindfuck in the typical sense, but Natural Born Killers definitely freaked me out. I'm really bad at remembering movies so there are a few others that I can think of, but don't remember the titles.... I agree with The Butterfly Effect and Waking Life. I'm gonna see if I can find Vanilla Sky and check that out tonight. There was a climate of mindfuck in 1408, but it was somewhat predictable and ham fisted. There are lots of movies like that though, I'd like to think this is thread is more based on the movies which really do fuck your mind heavily, whilst being quality pieces of art, and maybe trying to convey a point to you. I don't feel 1408 achieves this successfully enough to really get a mention. But of course I may well have missed something. I only watched it once in Czech, not english, so I may have not got the full blast of awesome it may have harboured. Either way, top.

[Blackichan]

I watched Let the Right One In couple of nights ago. Freaky stuff.

[Speesh]

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

[C-Fonz]

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.