There’s definitely a fine line between a confusing movie that makes no sense and a well-told story that takes a while to reveal its secrets. For instance, horror fans enjoy the plot twist in Orphan: First Kill because it makes sense and the reveal and context are perfect. But sometimes it’s a good thing when a movie doesn’t completely add up upon the first viewing. This often suggests a deeper meaning, a theme that makes audiences think, and creative storytelling.

  • There is no shortage of confusing horror films, for better or for worse. While horror fans enjoy being surprised and watching a movie more than once to figure out what happened, it can also be frustrating to feel like a story doesn’t make complete sense. Redditors have discussed the many films that have baffled them.

Redditors have shared the horror movies they have seen that have made them think and wonder what the movie is really trying to say. These movies range from a popular franchise with various timelines to some films that have science-fiction elements.

Mother! (2017)

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Movies like mother! are allegorical, and the 2017 movie can be really tough to describe. It’s a fairly abstract film that doesn’t have a story that is easily explained, making it one of the most confusing movies of the past decade.

Redditor NoxiusScintilla mentioned a few horror movies, including mother! and said, “Now I do understand what the movies were about, but yeah, directly after watching I was clueless.”

The Halloween Franchise (1978-Present)

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When talking about confusing horror movies, several Reddit users mentioned the timeframe in the Halloween franchise. Redditor gf120581 said, “The ‘Halloween’ series now has more divergent timelines than ‘Avengers: Endgame.’”

After the 1978 movie when Laurie Strode is tormented by Michael Myers, a direct sequel was released in 1981, but then there are also films made by Rob Zombie that follow a different timeline. There are different continuities within this franchise, as Halloween III: The Season Of The Witch is a totally different story and timeframe, with Halloween the movie actually playing on TV in one scene. Several other movies are direct sequels to Halloween II, and now there is the new trilogy Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends that are sequels to the first movie.

The Wailing (2016)

When talking about The Wailing, Redditor BruceShark88 said, “I had to read up a bunch after it haha (great movie too)!”

In this movie, an infection takes hold of people and makes them killers, and police officers Jong-goo and Oh Seong-bok are investigating when they meet Moo-myeong, who says that a spirit is involved. Critics loved this movie and horror fans also were intrigued by the premise.

Lost Highway (1997)

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David Lynch’s best movies are impressive, as there’s always a compelling message and something to think about, but many would agree that these films are often fairly confusing.

These movies aren’t easily explained or understood, and Redditor agent2coopers said that Lost Highway was “the one I had to wrap my brain around the most, which is weird because it feels the most mainstream.” The movie tells the story of a couple, Fred and Renee, and after Fred is given videotapes showing him and his wife in their home, he is told that he has killed her.

Annihilation (2018)

Redditor mattaphorica said that Annihilation “had me confused” and they “read a few articles/posts to get it in the end.” This isn’t exactly surprising, as the nature of the story is meant to be as baffling to the viewer as it is to the major players in the tale.

The main characters investigate an area, The Shimmer, where some sort of alien entity has affected animals and plants. While the plot is interesting, there’s definitely a lot going on in this movie, and it would take a couple of viewings for it to feel less confusing.

Mandy (2018)

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When it comes to horror movies that take a while to understand, one Redditor felt this way about Mandy. The fan wrote that “some rumination and reading afterwards helped it come together for me.”

The movie is about a couple, Red and Mandy, and how their lives are altered when Mandy comes across a cult named Children of the New Dawn. The ensuing story is a psychedelic horror show that is as confusing as it is scary.

The Empty Man (2020)

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There are some movie plot twists that are memorable and clever, and then there are films that take turns that feel strange and hard to understand.

Redditor mgcat17 found The Empty Man difficult to figure out, writing that the movie “felt like a loosely thrown together patch-work of different ways the same movie could go.” When friends go hiking, one of them, Paul, becomes taken over by a spirit, and there’s also a figure named The Empty Man who James begins seeing.

The Big Bad (2011)

In the horror movie The Big Bad, a woman has had a hard time since a monster hurt her family, and she wants to get revenge. This is definitely a film that isn’t talked about much. Frankie finds the werewolf who she has been searching for, and viewers might find a lot of the story confusing.

Redditor p_a_schal said that it can be tough to put the pieces of this movie together. The fan wrote, “For the first 27 minutes you have absolutely no idea what’s going on, and for the remainder you have mostly no idea what’s going on.”

The Endless (2018)

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The Endless is both an interesting movie about brothers and also a super confusing science fiction horror story.

One Redditor loved The Endless and said of the movie, “I need to watch it few more times to really understand what I even watched.” The movie tells the story of Aaron and Justin who are brothers and who each think differently about something that they used to belong to when they were younger. Aaron thinks that the group was great, but Justin thinks that it was a cult all about UFOs. When they go back to Camp Arcadia, there’s something supernatural there.

The One I Love (2014)

The One I Love could be considered a thriller or horror movie, and Redditor MissyPie said it’s “very light on the horror, but very confusing and extremely interesting.” Redditor antigravity12 agreed that it’s “heavy on the confusing” and called it “psychological sci-fi.”

In The One I Love, Sophie and Ethan are having some relationship problems, and when they stay at a house together, they see their doppelgängers. It’s the kind of movie that has an ending that could go either way, and it might take a few viewings to fully understand the entire story.

Audition (2000)

When replying about confusing horror films, Redditor Sevvie82 mentioned “Audition.” Shigeharu Aoyama wants to find a romantic partner and interviews women for this role.

The main character likes Asami and after she disappears, the movie becomes full of danger and intrigue. It’s also possible to say that the plotline is a bit perplexing, not to mention astonishingly horrifying, even over twenty years later.

Kill List (2011)

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Kill List tells the story of Gal and Jay, who used to be soliders and who are now living in England and working as hitmen. The story is unnerving, as they are put in scary and dangerous settings regularly, and they are definitely affected by what they’re doing.

Redditor Sandihil considers this to be a horror movie that doesn’t add up totally and wrote, “I literally sat down and watched the whole thing again trying to piece the clues that I had missed first time around.”

I’m Thinking Of Ending Things (2020)

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Redditor NoxiusScintilla replied in a thread and wrote, “If you count I’m Thinking of Ending Things as horror, then that one” is confusing. Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman and adapted from the book by Iain Reid, the movie begins with a character named Young Woman driving to meet her boyfriend Jake’s parents.

The movie is definitely about a lot more than this simple plotline, and the Netflix movie talks about mental health in a thoughtful way.

Braid (2018)

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There are some horror films that are hard to work out even after the end credits have finished rolling. For Redditor Slothstr0naut, “I thought Braid (2018) was extremely confusing. Still not sure what I make of it all.”

The story follows Petula Thames, Daphne Peters, and Tilda Darlings, who act weirder and weirder as the movie progresses and who start off by playing a game that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Those looking for easy explanations won’t find any here.

In Fabric (2019)

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In a Reddit thread about horror films that are tough to pick apart and understand, Redditor stirgood77 said “In Fabric.” The movie starts out innocently enough as Sheila Woolchapel works at a clothing store and her life seems pretty dull. But then weird things start happening, and it seems that a dress from the shop is actually evil…. or maybe it’s a mannequin who is watching everyone.

In Fabric is the kind of horror movie that people could watch a few times and still be a bit puzzled by what has just happened, as it doesn’t follow a typical structure.