Looking back at the weirdest and riskiest movies of 2019, some were fantastic, and others
just didn't work.
Either way, these films featured plots that left viewers scratching their heads.
Here are some of the most baffling movies of 2019.
Heads up - some light spoilers ahead.
Writer-director Ari Aster's Midsommar avoids many horror tropes to tell its tale of folk
horror - and Florence Pugh is nothing short of a powerhouse in the lead role.
Midsommar is one of those films where you can tell things are going to go majorly sideways
from the beginning.
Aster loves to leave dangling threads for his characters - and his audience - to pull
on, with lots of half-answers sprinkled throughout.
"That sounds fun."
Regardless of what your theories about the movie might be, there are most likely clues
to support them - and plenty of clues that point in the opposite direction.
Velvet Buzzsaw is one of those movies that makes it tough to truly tell whether what
you're watching is actually any good.
It has all the pieces in place, starting with a solid cast lead by Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo.
Dan Gilroy directed it, fresh off the dark and grossly satisfying Nightcrawler.
It centers around artwork coming to life and murdering critics - and that basically sums
things up.
On the other hand, is anything in Velvet Buzzsaw really happening?
Or is it all just an extremely meta commentary on the way we consume and critique art?
What's even going on in this movie?
There are a lot of questions raised and not a lot of answers given.
But if you like watching good actors playing bizarre characters, Velvet Buzzsaw is for
Very few directors have debuted with their first feature quite like Jordan Peele did
with 2017's Get Out.
He had high hopes to live up to with his sophomore effort, Us, and he delivered another fresh
thriller with a ton of layers.
"If you wanna get crazy we can get crazy."
It didn't quite strike the same nerve as Get Out, but it inspired plenty of hot takes on
its release.
Everyone in the main cast plays a double role in the film - their regular selves and their
"Tethered" version, unleashed from the secret underground society where they've been kept
for who knows how long.
As the film goes on and you learn more about what the Tethered are, it becomes apparent
why they're a force to be reckoned with.
Lupita Nyong'o steals the show, delivering an impressive dual performance.
Even after you've seen it multiple times, Us will keep you guessing and have you theorizing
for hours.
Robert Eggers followed up his 2015 film The Witch with 2019's equally perplexing The Lighthouse.
It's shot in black and white and an almost square aspect ratio - no widescreen here.
It's a two-man show, with Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe playing two men manning a
lighthouse together - and it's completely bizarre.
When you watch The Lighthouse, there are about 50 different ways to interpret it.
Maybe everything is literally happening.
Maybe only some of it is.
Maybe Pattinson isn't real.
Maybe Dafoe isn't!
Unlike The Witch, The Lighthouse never really gives you any answers.
Still, it's an impressive film that a group of people could watch at the same time and
all come to wildly different, plausible conclusions.
The Perfection is a body-horror masterpiece that will have you squirming in your seat.
It's also a film that will keep you guessing until the very end, even if things do wrap
up a little more neatly than many of 2019's weirdest films.
The plot centers around two women in a prestigious music academy.
What starts as a simple tale of revenge becomes more and more insane - it's exploitative and
tough to watch, but it definitely hits the right buttons for people who are looking for
a bizarre viewing experience.
"Something is wrong.
Something is wrong with me."
Featuring killer performances from both Allison Williams and Logan Browning, The Perfection
is creepy, weird, and oddly satisfying.
One of the best films of 2019 is also one of its most baffling.
Legendary Korean director Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite is full of twists and turns, and you never
quite know exactly where it's going.
The film starts out as a commentary on wealth and social class and a story in which one
lower-class family begins to push themselves into the life and social standing of a much
wealthier family.
About halfway through, however, things take a dramatic turn and Parasite becomes more
of a horror-thriller as secrets are revealed and a series of dramatic revelations occur.
Joon-ho employs dark humor so perfectly that it keeps you off balance.
While watching Parasite, you never know if you should be smiling or just plain horrified.
Not every baffling movie of 2019 was good, and Serenity never quite gels.
That said, it's still worth a watch just for one particularly memorable and bizarre plot
twist.
If you want to see Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway work their way through some
truly strange material, Serenity is a good way to do it.
After Hathaway's character asks her ex-husband, played by McConaughey, to murder her current
husband, he wrestles with the idea, and you'll probably think you know where the plot is
going from there.
Fun fact: you don't!
When the twist arrives, odds are pretty good that you'll find it just doesn't work that well.
But man, does it try.
Serenity really swings for the fences, and many of the bizarre plot twists further confuse
things rather than clearing them up.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.