Prepare for a cinematic acid trip through the most bewildering films of the decade! Join us as we count down the strangest, most mind-bending movies that left audiences scratching their heads during the 90s. From surreal nightmares to bizarre psychological journeys, these films pushed boundaries and defied explanation in ways that still have us questioning what exactly we witnessed.
00:00Ha ha ha! Goomba! Walk tall! Be proud! Go Goomba!
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most elusive, disturbing, and or confusing movies in the 1990s.
00:14May I have the password, please?
00:19Number 10. Jacob's Ladder
00:20Tackling a complex theme with psychological horror elements, Jacob's Ladder juggles a lot during its runtime.
00:26A Vietnam veteran tries to find the line between nightmare and reality.
00:30The visuals only add to this sometimes terrifying experience.
00:38Tim Robbins' protagonist tries to learn if he's become an unwitting test subject, or he's just losing his mind.
00:44The movie pushes you to the brink, with the main character going through hell and back.
00:49This all builds up to a bold ending that'll test your patience or render you speechless.
00:54Leaving you without easy answers, this trippy film doesn't give you much room to breathe.
00:58Life.
01:02I'm not dead.
01:04Number 9. Pi
01:05In his first film, Darren Aronofsky proved that he was a visionary director.
01:10Max Cohen slowly crumbles under the weight of his own intellect.
01:13Daylight crept in through the bandages, and I could see.
01:17He's a math expert, but he's also caught up in his theories.
01:19While his mental health deteriorates, the character starts to wonder if his calculations could change the stock market or even life as we know it.
01:26Within the stock market, there is a pattern.
01:29Right in front of me.
01:30This probably sounds insane because it kind of is.
01:33Regardless, Aronofsky puts you in the middle of a downward spiral.
01:36You might become confused or even start to think about math a little differently.
01:40Either way, this theoretical thriller makes you feel like you're stuck in an advanced college course.
01:44Number 8. Nothing But Trouble
01:49What exactly happened here?
01:51Dan Aykroyd directs this somewhat disturbing horror comedy.
01:55Chevy Chase and Demi Moore play two unlucky souls that end up being held by a strange judge.
01:59Before long, they meet oddball characters played by John Candy and Aykroyd under some creepy makeup.
02:04He's single and the best class A mechanic in five states.
02:08Despite the talent on display, nobody seems to be able to do anything right.
02:11The dialogue, plot, and overall vibes are continuously off-putting as the heroes struggle to escape.
02:16Bad call, Cornflake.
02:17I left that leg in France.
02:19And now, I'm gonna stick you!
02:22There's also the inexplicable cameo by Digital Underground and a young Tupac Shakur.
02:27Testing your patience, Nothing But Trouble is an absurd train wreck.
02:30I came for the party to get naughty, get my rocks on, eat popcorn.
02:34Number 7. Tank Girl
02:35While the comic has a fun art style, this movie crumbles under the weight of the plot.
02:39It can't quite decide whether it's goofy sci-fi or semi-serious.
02:43You've been stealing water.
02:45We'll give you that idea.
02:47Like many films of its kind, you might be wondering how they got the budget to make it.
02:50The post-apocalyptic setting lets the title hero encounter several strange characters
02:54played by random musicians like Iggy Pop and Ice-T.
02:58The latter wears some interesting makeup, having transformed himself into a role that's part kangaroo.
03:04163. We're toast.
03:05That alone might either scare you or make you curious for more.
03:08Aside from the visuals, this one fumbles around with its anti-corporate message
03:12before fizzling out by the end.
03:18Number 6. Tetsuo the Iron Man
03:21To put it lightly, this movie's about humanity's relationship to machines.
03:24The hero finds himself slowly turning into some kind of human metal cocktail.
03:28Tetsuo the Iron Man blends sci-fi, horror, and even dark comedy into one unforgettable experience.
03:39The main character transforms into some kind of awful mix between the Terminator and a mechanized tragedy.
03:44You may or may not have had the stomach to see this one during its stateside release in 1992,
03:57especially with Shinya Tsukamoto crossing the line many times over.
04:00Some low-budget effects also turn this into a memorable event.
04:03If you're not a fan of watching bodies being disfigured, you might want to skip this altogether.
04:07Number 5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
04:13Blending gonzo journalism and surreal images,
04:17Terry Gilliam's adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson book is a rollercoaster ride.
04:21And the sky was full of what looked like huge bats,
04:24all swooping and screeching and diving around the car.
04:26The director finds a way to turn a trippy tale about drugs in Las Vegas into a shock to the senses.
04:31Johnny Depp plays a fictionalized version of Thompson,
04:34bouncing off the walls in one of his craziest performances ever.
04:37He also has Benicio Del Toro as a scene partner to further stretch the concept of reality.
04:41I'm gonna tell you, he's lying to us.
04:46I could see in his eyes.
04:47Gilliam knows how to turn hotels and casinos into nightmares,
04:51with Vegas setting the stage for a hallucinatory journey.
04:54It might even make you question whether or not you're sober yourself.
04:56All right, you stay here and go to jail. I'm leaving.
04:58Number 4. Naked Lunch
05:00David Cronenberg is known for body horror,
05:03but he also finds a way to adapt difficult books.
05:05Naked Lunch doesn't exactly beg for a screen adaptation
05:08or make enough literal sense to have one.
05:11Oh my god.
05:13He's called Mugwump.
05:15William Burroughs constructs perhaps the strangest statement of the Beat era,
05:19but Cronenberg twists it even further.
05:21The central hero in Exterminator makes his way through the interzone
05:23while dealing with all kinds of creatures.
05:25To cause some images unsettling would be an understatement,
05:34with even a typewriter becoming a gross insect-like creature.
05:37What's up?
05:43The director's unhinged vision might haunt your dreams
05:46or make you more afraid of bugs.
05:48Number 3. Being John Malkovich
05:50From the mind of writer Charlie Kaufman,
05:52this film needs to be seen to be believed.
05:54What happens when a man finds a portal into John Malkovich's brain?
05:57There's a tiny door in my office, Maxine.
06:00It's a portal.
06:01And it takes you inside John Malkovich.
06:05In this movie,
06:05John Cusack's heroes start selling tickets
06:08and eventually comes to possess the actor.
06:09Things only get more bizarre from there in this cerebral comedy.
06:12I did it!
06:14I made him move his arm!
06:16Director Spike Jones envisions the increasingly wild scenarios
06:19that make for an ingenious idea.
06:21This includes a scene where Malkovich himself journeys into his own mind,
06:24finding a meta nightmare inside.
06:26It's one of the most original, strangest, and entertaining works of its kind.
06:30Malkovich.
06:31Number 2. Lost Highway
06:32Is this the most abstract David Lynch movie?
06:35It certainly boggles the mind in ways you're not even expecting.
06:37The filmmaker shows a musician having a breakdown
06:40after a mysterious man starts tormenting him.
06:42Where was it you think we met?
06:45At your house, don't you remember?
06:48That isn't all because there's also a mechanic
06:49that falls for a gangster's mistress.
06:51Leave it to Lynch to delve into the surreal aspects of your subconscious.
06:55When you aren't watching Bill Pullman's hero play saxophone,
06:58you can watch Robert Loggia's villain get serious road rage.
07:01I'm sorry about that, Pete.
07:04But tailgating is one thing I cannot tolerate.
07:06It wasn't the only sinister trip the director made in the 1990s either,
07:10revisiting Twin Peaks for a prequel.
07:12Consider it another in a series of singular and confusing works by a master.
07:21Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
07:24and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
07:27You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
07:31If you're on your phone,
07:32make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
07:351. Eyes Wide Shut
07:38Stanley Kubrick's final film is about jealousy, obsession, and conspiracy.
07:43A doctor seeks to understand his marriage and ends up at a shadowy party.
07:46After a creepy night out, Tom Cruise's character discovers a party that wishes to remain secret.
07:51Or if you say a single word to anyone about what you have seen,
07:58there will be the most dire consequences for you.
08:02His curiosity gets the best of him until he's lost down a rabbit hole.
08:05Eyes Wide Shut is full of scenes that might disturb you, but it's also a mystery worth examining.
