Sometimesmoviescan begin to blend together, and a good shock to the system with a completely unique and bizarre experience can be just the thing to satisfy the craving for something different. No matter the genre, even thebest moviesexhibit the same tropes and formulas to some degree, meaning that they can all begin to blend together somewhat for vigilant cinephiles. However, some rare films are daring enough to leave massive impressions with their shockingly genre-defying stories and absurd imagery.
The most deliciously strange films can be refreshing in a profound way, arming their audiences to an entirely new reality existing in parallel to the world we know or even any othercinematic fantasy setting. These kinds of movies can totally tear asunder conventional storytelling, with unique act structures, offbeat approaches to character development, or even the lack of a coherent narrative in general.Whether they succeed or fail, these kinds of films are critical to the health of the cinematic ecosystem.
Being John Malkovich
Cast
Being John Malkovich: This film follows the story of an unsuccessful puppeteer named Craig who discovers a portal that leads into the mind of actor John Malkovich. The phenomenon soon entices others to explore the bizarre and controlling world of inhabiting another person’s consciousness.
Movies on the stranger side don’t always need to totally eschew traditional writing to work, sometimes being carried by their performances and incredibly narrow premises.Such is the case forBeing John Malkovich, a surreal comedy focusing on character actor John Malkovich, who stars in the film as a fictionalized version of himself. John Cusack stars as a struggling puppeteer who finds a magical portal that leads to John Malkovich’s mind, allowing anyone who enters it to experience the world from the hapless actor’s perspective.
The bizarrely specific magic of the film is hilarious enough on its own, but it’s the performance of Malkovich that truly carries the absurdity across the finish line.Malkovich is able to convincingly portray both his own satirical life and Cusack’s character with stunning accuracy, culminating in a hilariously contrived finale leaving him with multiple passengers inside his head.Being John Malkovichis an excitingly original experience that literally analyzes cinema’s ability to put the viewer in someone else’s shoes.
Sorry to Bother You
Written and directed by Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You is a Comedy and Surrealist film released in 2018. Starring Danny Glover, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, and LaKeith Stanfield. The film follows a young man that gets a new job which he initially struggles with, only to begin excelling with practice. Once he finds out what the company is involved in, things get more complicated.
Sorry to Bother Youis a perfect example of afilm that pakours between genresat the drop of a hat, constantly keeping audiences guessing with its shifting focus.The story begins with the tale of a broke man who gets a job as a telemarketer, finding great success when he pretends to be white over the phone, leveraging his “white voice” to superstar benefits. When this gets him closer to the leadership of a dystopian megacorporation, he soon uncovers a ghastly secret behind their next big launch.
Sorry to Bother Youexists in a strange, almost cartoonish parallel reality from the very beginning, from the audacious jewelry choices of some of the main cast to the ambiguous time period.The film’s efforts in examining themes of racial identity and class warfare are intriguing enough at first,but eventually boil over into the realm of pure science fiction with a shocking body horror reveal. Few films are able to keep their audiences as thoroughly in the dark about what will happen next asSorry to Bother You.
Swiss Army Man
Starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, the 2016 comedy Swiss Army Man follows Hank, a man who befriends a dead body on a deserted island and uses its unexpected abilities to survive. It is the directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan and also features Mary Elizabeth Winstead in its cast.
Survival films likeCast Awaydo a great job studying the effects of isolation on the human psyche, but none are as offbeat or downright silly asSwiss Army Man.The movie follows a marooned man, played by Paul Dano, who finds comfort in a non-living entity given life by his imagination, much like Tom Hanks' beloved volleyball, Wilson.Only instead of a discarded piece of sports equipment, Dano’s character finds himself making best friends with a human corpse, portrayed by none other than Daniel Radcliffe ofHarry Potterfame.
From the moment Dano’s character mounts the corpse and uses his postmortem flatulence to ride across the ocean like a jet ski, it’s clear thatSwiss Army Manisn’t interested in reality. Instead, the movie finds comfort in examining the life of a man who was very much an outcast long before he was ever stranded on an island, with his literal attempts to return to civilization only outweighed in importance by his metaphorical ones. Cartoonish, crass, and utterly absurd,Swiss Army Manmarches to the beat of its own drum.
Beau Is Afraid
Beau Is Afraid (formerly known as Disappointment Blvd.) is a new supernatural horror/comedy film from Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar.) Joaquin Phoenix stars as the titular Beau in his older years, as a young man with a strained relationship with his mother. After her death, his return home is marked by strange supernatural occurrences.
Horror is often the perfect genre for films to explore the stranger side of storytelling, with confusion piling up on fear to create a potent cocktail of emotions.After the success ofHereditaryandMidsommar, the filmography of horror visionary Ari Aster was challenged byBeau Is Afraid.The story centers on a neurotic, lonely man who goes on an arduous journey to his mother’s funeral when she suddenly dies, falling down a dizzying rabbit hole of dangers and side quests that eventually reveal some startling truths about his own conception.
Joaquin Phoenix truly sells the sheer fear he feels as the titular Beau throughout his time in the film, and it’s more than justified.The film assaults the viewer with all sorts of deranged threats, from naked assaulters to unhinged veterans to phallic alien monsters.Going on tangent after tangent before eventually settling into a grim anticlimactic ending,Beau Is Afraidis hard to process for any viewer.
Mad God
Mad God is a stop-motion animated horror film directed by Phil Tippett. Set in a nightmarish, dystopian world, it follows an assassin venturing through a labyrinthine landscape filled with grotesque creatures and desolate ruins. The film showcases Tippett’s dark, inventive imagination and creates a visual experience of chaos and despair, highlighting the haunting power of meticulous animation.
Stop-motion is quickly becoming a fading art form thanks to the rise of computer-generated graphics, but masterpieces of animation likeMad Godprove the medium still has legs in the modern era of filmmaking. Amazingly,Mad Godwas labored over for 30 anguished yearsbefore eventually releasing in 2021, making it the magnum opus of Phil Tippett. Tippett is the special effects mastermind behind the creatures and machines of famous franchises likeStar Wars, Robocop, andJurassic Park.
The plot, as much as it can be said to have one, centers on a lone assassin clad in a gas mask tasked with delivering a bomb disguised as a briefcase.In order to do so, the character has to descend deep into a hellish nightmare landscape of horrific creatures, each more upsetting and repugnant than the last.Completely devoid of dialogue while remaining visually marvelous,Mad Godtruly feels like the product of its title as it hurls those who dare watch it into a harrowing journey through the darkest depths of the human imagination.
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a fantasy adventure film directed by Terry Gilliam. The story follows a young boy named Kevin who joins a group of dwarfs on a journey through various historical eras, using a stolen map to navigate different time periods. Along the way, they encounter iconic figures and ultimately confront an evil force. The film combines elements of history, humor, and fantasy in a visually distinctive narrative.
The irreverent mind of former Monty Python Terry Gilliam can always be relied upon for a good bizarre film, from the dystopian misery ofBrazilto the pulpy escapades ofThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen.Coming out on top as the strangest film in such an utterly alien filmography is truly an accomplishment, butTime Banditsnevertheless manages to do so. The film follows the escapades of a group of time-traveling dwarf thieves who enlist the help of a young boy obsessed with ancient history.
Despite time travel being the primary appeal behind such a premise,Time Banditsexpands its horizons to all sorts of audacious fantasies.From living minotaurs to giants big enough to wear ships as hats to aPower Rangers-esque villain driving the conflict,Time Banditsis awash with absurd and unexplained beings. An audacious romp through time, space, good, and evil,Time Banditshas a lovably homemade look and an earnest beating heart beneath its bizarre elements.
After Hours
After Hours is a dark comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 1985. The film follows Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne), a word processor in New York City, who experiences a series of misadventures and increasingly bizarre occurrences during a single night out in the SoHo district after meeting a woman. As the night progresses, Paul finds himself entangled in a surreal, nightmarish series of events.
Compared to the rest ofMartin Scorsese’s movies,After Hoursis a bizarre outlier in his usually grounded filmography.The film begins quite simply, with a simple data entry worker hoping to go on a nice date after striking up a conversation with a woman at a coffee shop after work. His romantic attempts soon turn disastrous when a series of unlucky events and misunderstandings, including the death of his original meet-cute partner, leave him stranded in an unfamiliar neighborhood as public enemy number one.
The remarkable thing aboutAfter Hoursis the way each kooky character encountered by the protagonist manages to come back multiple times in the story, getting two or more chances to harass him after getting off on the wrong foot.After Hoursis undoubtedly one of the most stressful movies ever made as the disastrous events of the night continue to unfold, with burglars played by Cheech and Chong, quirky artists, and obsessive women all pilling up to an unbearably horrific conclusion.However, the humorous rug-pull the film manages to end on is the perfect cherry on top.
House
House is a Japanese horror-comedy film released in 1977 and was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. A schoolgirl and her group of friends travel to the countryside to visit her aunt only to discover the house is haunted as it slowly consumes the girls.
Few foreign film scenes can match the utter weirdness offered by Japanese cinema, as proven by hauntingly weird horror films likeHouse.Also commonly referred to by its stylized title,Hausu, Houseis a classic haunted house story with some bizarre ideas on paranormal activity. The plot centers on a young girl who flees for summer vacation along with her friends to her Aunt’s house in the country after the shock of her father suddenly remarrying without telling her is too much to bear.
Everything aboutHouseis downright dreamlike. The glittering stage sets and sickeningly sweet music set the tone, while cartoonishly creative editing choices and silly writing drive the promise thatHouseis unlike any other movie.From the infamous piano death scene to the fact that all the main characters have simple descriptive names like Gorgeous and Kung Fu,Houseprovides a stunning glimpse into a maddeningly wacky reality that has yet to be seen ever again.
Eraserhead
David Lynch’s Eraserhead is a surrealist horror movie where Henry Spencer, played by Jack Nance, deals with the terrifying challenges of fatherhood, including caring for his deformed child. Released in 1977, the black-and-white film has sparked many discussions about its meaning and themes.
The works of the late great David Lynch offer no shortage of totally bizarre films that defy all convention, a signature of the director’s trademark dreamy style.However, these dreams are turned into nightmares in Lynch’s first major film,Eraserhead, which still manages to shock and confuse decades later. Whatlittle storyEraserheaddoes offerfollows a man living in a harsh industrial district of a city whose life is thrown into chaos when his girlfriend suddenly gives birth to a monstrous, alien-like baby creature.
Eraserheadis a story that’s far more allegorical than literal, chronicling Lynch’s own misgivings and fears with fatherhood in a very personal matter. But drenching the meaning in absurdity are the nauseatingly repugnant visuals, such as the lady in the radiator, the planet with the face of a man, or the infamous baby itself, all made worse by the eerie black and white cinematography.Truly, no other movie quite lives up to the strangeness ofEraserhead.
The Lobster
The Lobster is a dystopian romantic comedy set in a world where single people are forced to find a mate within 45 days or be turned into an animal. The film follows David, a recently divorced man, who checks into a hotel where he has 45 days to find a new partner, or else he will be transformed into a lobster.
While it’s easy for absurd or bizarre movies to be loud, frightening, and stressful, it takes a skilled hand to maneuver a story that’s strange without being indulgent. EnterThe Lobster, yet another absurdist black comedy to excel thanks to the casting of Colin Farrel. In a world in which single people are not tolerated, recent divorcees like Farrel’s David are taken to a hotel filled with other single people and given 45 days to find a mate. Those that fail are transformed into various animals, though they have the option of choosing which.
Even though David never turns into the eponymous crustacean he chooses at the beginning,The Lobsteris one of the strangest dystopian worlds ever created for cinema. The film is intent on whittling down romance and attraction to base similarities, such as physical impairments, even as a revolutionary cell of single people who conversely ban romance takes hold. Fewmoviesare as strange or ambitious with their creativity, pacing, or general themes, leavingThe Lobstersin an offbeat league of its own.
