Shubhabrata Dutta
Have you ever seen a movie that makes you go, “What on earth did just happen?” Surprise is not an easy-to-achieve effect in the human psyche, and Freud says it’s because of the Thanatos or the death drive. Since death is the final destination (and we’re keeping ‘Final Destination‘ out of the list), the surprise feels mundane in the next moment. However, some movies defy the stance and still pack enough mind-bending twists to keep you bewildered for a day or an eternity. The following films on HBO Max are some of the best movies that will leave you confounded.
6. Diabolique (1955)
A classic French psychological thriller, ‘Les Diaboliques,’ aka ‘Diabolique,’ is directed by Henri-Georges Clouzo, based on the 1952 novel ‘She Who Was No More’ (‘Celle qui n’était plus’) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. In it, two ladies conspire to kill cruel boarding school headmaster Michel Delassalle (Paul Meurisse). One is Michel’s ailing wife, Christina (Véra Clouzot), and the other is his mistress, Nicole (Simone Signoret), who both teach at Michel’s school.
However, things get complicated and scary when Michel’s body disappears from the swimming pool where the ladies had dumped it. Christina also starts to see her husband’s ghost wandering around the school and following her. Nicole is afraid because she doesn’t want what she did to come out in any way. Does it mean that Michel is alive? Or is Christine hallucinating? If yes, then where did Michel’s body go? A film that keeps introducing twists and offers a bonus twist at the very end, ‘Diabolique’ is the one to inspire Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho.’ You can watch it here.
5. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Directed by Herk Harvey, this psychological horror film is considered by many as a classic art film. Starring Candace Hilligoss, Herk Harvey, Frances Feist, and Sidney Berger, it follows a woman named Mary Henry (Hilligoss) who miraculously survives a car accident in Kansas, after which she moves to Utah and is hired as a church organist. However, her visions of a ghoulish pale-faced man (“The Man”; played by Harvey) and others like him keep getting more frequent. Is she having a nightmare? Or are the ghouls real? A body recovered from the car crash after the accident carries the truth. To learn more about it, you can stream the film here.
4. Caddo Lake (2024)
Co-directed by Logan George and Celine Held, ‘Caddo Lake’ is a mind-bending mystery thriller that focuses on two people, Ellie (Eliza Scanlen) and Paris (Dylan O’Brien), who are driven by their personal losses that lead them to the titular lake in the Deep South. As the two enter the swampy waters, truths unfold in an entangled manner that incorporates family secrets and time travel. The M. Night Shyamalan-esque drama, the man also serving as a producer, blends past and present to give us a gripping, twist-filled drama. You can watch it here.
3. Heretic (2024)
Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, ‘Heretic’ is a psychological thriller that follows two Mormon missionaries, Paxton and Barnes, who meet a guy named Mr. Reed, hoping to convert him. However, what begins as a conversation on religion slowly takes the form of something dark. Consequently, the ladies find themselves in a cat-and-mouse game with the man who seems to have turned them into his latest pawns, stuck as they are inside his personal “checkerboard.” Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East, ‘Heretic’ is a gripping thriller/horror movie that is bound to make you question what’s real and what’s not as it culminates in a shocking revelation at the end. It can be streamed here.
2. The Usual Suspects (1995)
A criminal named Roger “Verbal” Kint, who has survived an explosion, is brought in for questioning, and what he tells the investigators makes for a thoroughly entertaining viewing of Bryan Singer’s cult classic crime thriller ‘The Usual Suspects.’ As he reveals what led him and his partners to go to the boat, we find out about the mysterious Turkish crime lord Keyser Söze, who is believed to be working from the shadows, as there is no proof of his existence. The answer to whether what Verbal is saying is true is revealed at the end, bringing a beautifully crafted crime drama about lies and deceit to an unexpected conclusion. With powerful performances by Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Baldwin, and Benicio del Toro, ‘The Usual Suspects’ is a must-watch. You can stream it here.
1. Inception (2010)
Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ deals with the concept of lucid dreaming and the ability to hack into people’s dreams and extract information. The story follows Dom Cobb, a professional “extractor” tasked with dissolving a business empire in return for a clean slate and the chance to go home. He brings together a crew of talented individuals who will help him make the mission a success. However, to do that, they need to use a technology that enables them to build layers of dreams, AKA dream within a dream. As the mission begins, Cobb finds himself dealing with visions of his dead wife, who has made her way into his dreams, and thereby the dreams he and his crew curate for their target. This leads him almost to lose his sense of differentiating between dream and reality, culminating in a mind-boggling ending. The ensemble cast of ‘Inception’ includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page, and Cillian Murphy. It is a must-watch espionage thriller that one just cannot get enough of. It can be streamed here.
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