REVEALED: The Top Ten most confusing films in history

AS ANOTHER Hollywood blockbuster is released leaving audiences perplexed, research has revealed the Top Ten Most Confusing Movies.

Directed by the acclaimed Christopher Nolan, ‘Tenet’ came out in August this year, and immediately joined the ranks of films that have audiences scrambling for a sensible explanation.

Described as ‘Bond on acid’, his latest release left viewers with more questions than answers, according to online retailer OnBuy.com

They looked at internet search criteria to determine which other films through the decades confused us the most.

FIRST – Nolan’s own Inception (2010) claims top spot with the most confusing movie plot of all time. The film asks what happens when someone enters different layers of a dream and was a huge box-office success, but over 80,000 people a month still look to Google for further explanation.

SECOND – Shutter Island (2010) has Leonardo DiCaprio starring in Martin Scorsese’s mystery thriller that has 55,000 a month still searching for a plot analysis.

THIRD – Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, The Shining (1980) has nearly 49,000 looking into plot twists and conspiracies, despite the ‘modern-day horror’ being 40 years old, this year.

Filmgoers and critics alike still debate the hidden messages and mise-en-scene that suggest faked moon-landings and the ruination of indigenous native-American tribes, among many other theories.

FOURTH – Chris Nolan features again with Interstellar (2014), where a team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival.

FIFTH – Alex Gartland, who also wrote The Beach and 28 Days Later, made a stunning directorial debut with Ex Machina (2014). 

The futuristic but slow-paced homage to Kubrick delves into the unknown world of artificial intelligence and still gets over 32,000 confused viewers a month looking for explanations.

Here are the other confusing movies to make up the top ten (listed with monthly online searches).

Donnie Darko (2001) – 32,000+

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – 31,000+

The Matrix (1999) – 27,000+

Citizen Kane (1941) – 25,000+

Memento (2000) – 24,000+

OnBuy.com surveyed 3,217 film fans in their research and 65% said they were happy to watch a  film again if they found it confusing.

Of the repeat watchers, 41% admitted to watching a film three or four times again.

And 20% say they watch a film five or more times before they begin to comprehend what’s going on!

Which films have Olive Press readers found most confusing over the years? Share your frustration with us at [email protected]