46 Movies That Are So Clever, They’ll Have You Thinking For Days – BuzzFeed

What it’s about: “The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “Just thinking about this movie makes me want to spiral down into a deep, dark, black hole.”

—ravenbard

What it’s about: “A brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “This one made me feel so many things. It’s dark, sad, and moving.”

—reneenicolem

What it’s about: “In 1954, a US Marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderer who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It left me completely baffled. I still don’t really know what to believe about the ending, but I loved it.”

—aliceg407e887ff

What it’s about: “A woman who lives in her darkened old family house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that the home is haunted.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I sat there for an hour, thinking, ‘Okay, where is this going?’ Then everything completely flipped, and it all clicked into place. I was telling people about that movie for the whole year after I first watched it.”

—lorencandace

What it’s about: “A boy stands on a station platform as a train is about to leave. Should he go with his mother or stay with his father? Infinite possibilities arise from this decision. As long as he doesn’t choose, anything is possible.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It takes place in the future and is about the last immortal man on Earth who lives out every possible outcome of his life. It made me have weird dreams about parallel universes and made me question my existence.”

—marleypirochta

What it’s about: “Six complete strangers of widely varying personality characteristics are involuntarily placed in an endless maze containing deadly traps.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “How people respond in a crisis is terrifying, as is the realization that there is no master plan. The Cube exists simply because it does.”

—skellycog

What it’s about: “A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a 14-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “This is one of those occasions when the actors are wayyyy too good at their job (especially Juliette Lewis). It’ll make you question everything.”

—creativemummy

What it’s about: “Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s so heartbreaking, and the plot twist messes it up even more. I sat there in shock when the movie was over.”

—mega5n

What it’s about: “The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s the type of film that, two days later, makes you think ‘OH! THE TWO SCENES ARE HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY,’ and you get to untangle the mess on your own.”

—batrxsyxa

What it’s about: “Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s amazing. I watched it for the first time with some friends at around 4 a.m., and it completely fucked all of us. Nothing gets to you quite like the possibility of infinite alternate universes.”

—katz4lyfe

What it’s about: “An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present, and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s soooo intriguing, and part of you will leave completely baffled.”

—rachelc77

What it’s about: “A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “Space freaks me out big time anyway, but this was too much. I didn’t take my eyes away from the TV for the entire three hours of the movie. Pure fuckery of time and space.”

—jasminek464370c74

What it’s about: “Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It stars Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, and it completely messed me up at a young age.”

—crystat

What it’s about: “A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return no longer human. Can two college dropouts save humanity from this silent, otherworldly invasion?”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I watched it over a year ago and still don’t really understand what happened, but it was so fantastic.”

—skycariad

What it’s about: “An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I finished watching it and immediately felt like everything I knew was a lie.”

—poisonpurple

What it’s about: “A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after he narrowly escapes a bizarre accident.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I’ve watched it so many times, and I still have questions that remain unanswered. Such a mind-fuck!”

—jenniferr452daccac

What it’s about: “A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for three years.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s a really freaky documentary about a random guy who claimed to be a family’s missing son. Somehow he tricked the family and lived with them for several years. The wildest part? It’s a true story.”

—nms124

What it’s about: “For his final assignment, a top temporal agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time. The chase turns into a unique, surprising, and mind-bending exploration of love, fate, identity, and time travel taboos.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “Just when you finally think you understand what’s going on, BANG! It messes with your mind again. By the end, you’ll be questioning everything.”

—alaynam44a363701

What it’s about: “Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I watched it shortly after it came out on DVD, and the dog scene reduced me to a sobbing mess. TO THIS DAY I have nightmares about it when I’m particularly stressed or anxious.”

—l4cc479c84

What it’s about: “A 15-year-old Long Island boy loses everything and everyone he knows, soon becoming involved in a relationship with a much older man.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s an amazing, dreadful indie drama. It explores a grieving teen’s relationship with his distant father, his best friend who’s an underage prostitute, and one of the friend’s pedophile clients. It’s nuanced without becoming abuse apologia, well-acted, and majorly unsettling.”

—taelors

What it’s about: “A young programmer is selected to participate in a groundbreaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s a little creepy, but it draws you in. I was thinking about it for days afterward I first watched it.”

—oliviab4e8e85370

What it’s about: “Eight candidates for a highly desirable corporate job are locked together in an exam room and given a final test with just one question. It seems simple yet confusing, and tensions begin to unravel.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It will make you doubt who’s on your side for the rest of your life.”

—EGOfficial

What it’s about: “A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I grew up in a very small and sheltered town, and after seeing this movie I was in shock for a couple days. The story is so real and plausible, even though it scared me. All young people should watch it.”

—eholmes

What it’s about: “A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s a creepy but creative thriller. Just trust me on this one.”

—mollynoellechen

What it’s about: “A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado town. In exchange, she agrees to work for them. As a search visits the town, she finds out that their support has a price. Yet her dangerous secret is never far away.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It really screwed with me. It wasn’t trippy, but it left me questioning humanity and my own morality for a long time. I second-guessed every thought and emotion I had, and I doubted the honesty of my interactions with other people. The minimalist staging only heightened the emotional impact.”

—mercutio

What it’s about: “In a dystopian future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “Even though the plot is pretty simple, the movie is the weirdest freaking thing I have ever seen.”

—florencer4cad972dc

What it’s about: “The story of a family in Waco, Texas, in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents’ conflicting teachings.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I’ve watched this film several times. It always raises more questions than answers, and I am always left thinking about the expansiveness of the universe and the complexity of faith and death and family. It always leaves me in wonder.”

—picassopizza

What it’s about: “After a tragic accident, two stage magicians engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “The multiple plot twists at the end just messed me up. I sat on the couch, staring into space for 10 minutes while the credits rolled.”

—autumnm451930e01

What it’s about: “When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It realllllly messed with me, and it made me look at the people who I trust differently.”

—jacobg48cf95235

What it’s about: “A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife’s murderer.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I had to analyze this movie in film class, and it confused the crap out of me. I watched the full movie and then watched it from end to beginning, just to try to piece it together. Total mind warp.”

—hansonkendal

What it’s about: “After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I show this movie to people just to confuse them. I bet Naomi Watts can’t even explain what happened in her own movie either.”

—nikkic43321fe78

What it’s about: “An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “You think you know what the twist is, and then they blow your freaking mind!”

—sierrah43af12414

What it’s about: “Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face-changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don’t recognize.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It blew my mind. It’s an Austrian film with English subtitles, but don’t let that turn you away. It’s about these twin boys who don’t believe their mother is really their mother.”

—mackenziea47aeadecf

What it’s about: “An aspiring model, Jesse, is new to Los Angeles. However, her beauty and youth, which generate intense fascination and jealousy within the fashion industry, may prove themselves sinister.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It still has me feeling uneasy. Beautifully shot, fantastic soundtrack, and worth sticking around to the last shocking shot.”

—alia41929a2ef

What it’s about: “A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “A dream within a dream within a dream. But was it all a dream? Did it even happen? Was it all a figment of his imagination? I have no freaking idea, but I do know it’s a great movie.”

—shannonc49761bf7a

What it’s about: “After a wealthy banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down when he becomes unable to distinguish between the game and reality.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “So many twists and turns that will keep you guessing throughout the whole movie. It’ll make you question absolutely everything.”

—ashleys3

What it’s about: “In 1988, a teenage girl’s life is thrown into chaos when her mother disappears.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’ll make you question whether or not you truly know the people around you.”

—rockchick19

What it’s about: “A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “After watching it once, I immediately had to go back and watch it a second time to see everything that I missed.”

—victormg

What it’s about: “A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It messed with my mind for months after watching it. I even Googled what happened but still couldn’t quite get my head around it!”

—maryj487055765

What it’s about: “A mockumentary following an ambitious TV network executive trying to produce a controversial reality show where contestants play Russian Roulette.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I couldn’t stop thinking about the ending of this underrated film for weeks! It’s completely harrowing.”

—thebmass

What it’s about: “A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “This movie is not for the sensitive or faint of heart. It stayed with me for days. Emotional roller coaster doesn’t even begin to describe the pain and emptiness the viewer feels after watching this.”

—RachelE99

What it’s about: “A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It has so many layers to it. I watched it three times, and each time was like watching a different movie. Amazing.”

—katief4f35922ac

What it’s about: “As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I’ve probably seen it over 20 times, but I still find something new about it each time I watch it.”

—iungureanu12

What it’s about: “A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “This one really made me think. I mean, the ending… there were so many levels to it. That movie made me look at life differently and question how I would act if I was in that position.”

—pooingpony

What it’s about: “A family’s serene beach vacation turns to chaos when their doppelgängers appear and begin to terrorize them.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “It’s exciting and will scare the hell out of you. You’ll have to re-watch it over and over again to figure out what you missed.”

—pattiecolvin23

What it’s about: “When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories.”

Why it’ll melt your mind: “I wish I could go back to that first time I watched it all over again. I remember feeling so clever when I pieced it all together. And there have always been new things to notice each subsequent time I’ve seen it.”

—itwasonlyakriss