Sometimes, movies are known for fantastic acting, gripping writing, or excellent special effects. Sometimes, they’re more confusing than anything, but still successful. We look at this second category, with some of the strangest movies you won’t believe were actually made.
Birdemic
Made on a budget of just $10,000, Birdemic: Shock and Terror was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and the environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth. This unlikely combination gave us a romantic thriller horror movie with a warning about the dangers of climate change.
The Lobster
The premise of The Lobster is that single people are taken to a hotel where they have 45 days to find a partner, after which they will be turned into an animal of their choice. ‘Loners’ roam outside the hotel, with guests granted an extra day for each loner they capture.
Eraserhead
The surrealist movie Eraserhead stars Jack Nance as Henry Spencer, a man left to care for a child who doesn’t seem quite human. Written, directed, and produced by David Lynch, it originally opened to little interest, but repeated showings as a midnight movie led to it gaining a cult following.
Pink Flamingos
Shocking and controversial, Pink Flamingos is a black comedy movie by John Waters. Drag queen Divine stars as Babs Johnson, a woman proud of her reputation as the filthiest person alive. The film received mixed to average reviews but has been celebrated as part of the LGBT community and punk culture.
Holy Motors
Holy Motors tells the story of Mr. Oscar (Denis Lavant), who dresses up in multiple costumes throughout the day, acting out different people. Although it wasn’t a box office success, Holy Motors picked up several awards and was praised by critics.
The Room
Written by, produced by, directed by, and starring Tommy Wiseau, The Room has reached infamy as one of the worst movies ever made. A box office and critical failure, it received new life as a cult classic.
Midsommar
The folk horror movie Midsommar focuses on a group of friends during a pagan festival in Sweden who slowly realize they are being pulled into a cult. Ari Aster wrote and directed it and claimed he wanted the final result to be confusing.
Samurai Cop
Although the bizarre action movie Samurai Cop was made on a low budget of $7,000, it made a profit even though it was released direct-to-video. Critically panned, fans loved it for its unintended humor.
Mulholland Drive
Directed by David Lynch, Mulholland Drive is a surreal mystery about an aspiring actress meeting an amnesiac woman. It was initially intended to be a TV pilot, but after executives rejected it, Lynch added an ending and released it as a feature film.
Troll 2
The production of this fantasy horror was plagued by problems stemming from the language barrier between the Italian-speaking crew and the English-speaking cast. It was initially called Goblins, but American distributors tried to market it as a sequel to the horror movie Troll, even though the movie had no trolls.
Brazil
The dystopian sci-fi movie Brazil stars Jonathan Pryce as Sam Lowry, a man who tries to find a woman who appears in his dreams. Although it was a flop in North America, it had much greater success on its release in Europe.
Sharknado
The comedy disaster movie Sharknado has achieved legendary cult status despite being made for TV. The titular Sharknado refers to a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the sea before dropping them into flood waters in Los Angeles. Mayhem reigns in this over-the-top movie as the cast struggles to survive.
Synecdoche, New York
In Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut, Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Caden Cotard, whose insistence on realism in a stage production leads him to make a mock-up of New York City inside a warehouse. Synecdoche polarized critics, with Roger Ebert giving it four stars and others criticizing it for being incomprehensible and pretentious.
The Wicker Man Remake
A reimagining of the 1973 horror movie of the same name, The Wicker Man, sees Nicolas Cage portraying Edward Malus, a police officer investigating his daughter’s disappearance. Absurd and often unintentionally funny, it was a huge box-office success but not a critical one.
Undefeatable
Martial arts expert Cynthia Rothrock stars as Kristi Jones on a mission to rescue her sister from a serial killer. Baffling and hilarious, it was released in Asia as Bloody Mary Killer with extra scenes, then badly subtitled back into English and re-released for Western audiences for added confusion.
Twin Sitters
Starring the Barbarian Brothers Peter Paul and David Paul, Twin Sitters asks what would happen if you got twin bodybuilders to babysit your twin children. The answer is a lot of chaos, making for a hilarious and bizarre movie with limited critical success but a cult following.
Snakes on a Plane
The title promises no ambiguity, and this is one movie that lives up to its name. Snakes are released in an attempt to eliminate a key witness in a murder trial. Samuel L. Jackson stars in this action horror movie as the FBI agent assigned to protect the witness.
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats
Death Bed is a surreal folk horror movie about a bed that has been possessed by a demon and devours its victims. Only one man is spared so he can be imprisoned in a painting for all eternity, forced to watch the demon’s feeding sessions. When it was first completed, Death Bed failed to get a distribution contract but has since been elevated to the status of a cult classic.
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Starring professional wrestler Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, this sci-fi action movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by mutant amphibians. With high priority placed on men who are still fertile despite the nuclear fallout, he is recruited by the government for repopulation efforts. Hell Comes to Frogtown was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, Frogtown II.
Napoleon Dynamite
The titular character, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), is a socially awkward teen trying to navigate his high school years despite the bullies who torment him. The humor and charm led to many quotable one-liners.
Tremors
In monster comedy horror Tremors, the danger comes from underground, where mutant prehistoric worms are stirring. Although the movie was a box office failure, critical reception was much more positive, and it became a hit on the home video market.
Wolfcop
Wolfcop’s protagonist, Lou Garou (Leo Fafard), is a small-time cop who is cursed to transform into a werewolf but still has his human intelligence. He uses this to carry on working as a police officer, only to discover a larger plan by a group of reptilian shapeshifters to sacrifice him. Reviews were mixed to positive and paved the way for a sequel, Another Wolfcop.
The Meg
The Meg sees a group of scientists being attacked by a 75-foot megalodon in the Pacific Ocean and trying to destroy it. The following creature feature is cheesy but fun, with mixed reviews that didn’t stop it from being a box office success, which led to a sequel, Meg 2: The Trench.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The 1988 American sci-fi horror movie Killer, Klowns from Outer Space, centers around invading extraterrestrials that look like clowns. A comedic horror movie, Killer Klowns had plenty of confusing scenes, such as the Klowns storing people in balloons. Ingenious practical effects were used throughout to great effect. Critics praised the resulting movie and instantly achieved cult status.
