7 Confusing Movies That Totally Lost Me At The End

Plenty of movies take winding story routes to ultimately click by the film’s conclusion, but some throw in a last-minute twist that changes everything. This is rarely, if ever, an accident, as many filmmakers have made their names by making surrealist and nonlinear stories that push people to the brink of their imaginations. I enjoy movies like this and seek them out much of the time because they break the formula and mold of traditional narrative structure. However, it’s important that the writers and directors of these movies have an understanding of this typical format to create a satisfying conclusion.

If a movie is supposed to have a clear ending, but the meaning is lost on viewers, people shouldn’t take this as a sign that the true meaning has gone over their heads. This can be the filmmaker’s fault for not incorporating enough foreshadowing and thematic hints. However, utilizing media literacy skills is vital when watching complex movies. Filmmakers have been asking audiences to draw their own conclusions more than ever. Regardless, some confusing movies only make sense at the end, while others deliberately throw a wrench in the entire concept, making you wonder what the real plot was.

7 Donnie Darko (2001)

Directed by Richard Kelly

Donnie Darko

After troubled teen Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes on a local golf course after a night of sleepwalking, he has a vision of a man in a rabbit suit telling him that the world will end in 28 days. Returning home, Donnie sees that a jet engine has fallen on his bedroom in the night, and begins to feel increasingly detached from reality. Scrambling to make sense of the bizarre and unexplainable events that have altered his life, Donnie finds himself unravelling a tangled web of disaster and fate.

Director

Richard Kelly

Release Date

October 26, 2001

Studio(s)

Newmarket Films

Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal , Holmes Osborne , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Daveigh Chase , Mary McDonnell , James Duval

Runtime

113 minutes

In what can be described as Jake Gyllenhaal’s breakout role, he plays the titular character, Donnie Darko, an isolated teen who starts having hallucinations about the end of the world. It’s unclear if Donnie is genuinely having hallucinations or if he’s accurately predicting the end of the world through a larger connection with the universe. Gyllenhaal’s performance as Donnie plays a large role in how seriously the audience takes the character and his belief in armageddon as mysterious circumstances occur around him.

Donnie might have imagined all of the events between the beginning and the end of the movie, or it’s possible within the context of the movie that time travel is real and can affect the past, thereby changing the future. The timeline and ending of Donnie Darko can be understood in a few different ways, and it’s thought that Donnie’s experience of the twenty-eight days before the world ends takes place in a parallel universe that is created when he narrowly escapes death. However, it’s clear that no matter what, Donnie is not supposed to make it through the movie.

6 Mulholland Drive (2001)

Directed by David Lynch

Mulholland Drive

David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is a neo-noir mystery about aspiring actress Betty, who becomes involved with a woman suffering from amnesia and a mysterious blue box. Starring Naomi Watts and Laura Harring, the 2001 surrealist film explores themes of identity, memory, and Hollywood’s dark side.

Release Date

October 19, 2001

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Cast

Laura Elena Harring , Mark Pellegrino , Justin Theroux , Naomi Watts , Ann Miller

Runtime

147 minutes

Of all of David Lynch’s movies, Mulholland Drive is actually one of the most straightforward, but it won’t seem this way to audiences who aren’t familiar with his work. Lynch is known for incorporating surrealism into much of his work, and the subject matter of Mulholland Drive elevates this. Delving into the effects of Hollywood and the drive to achieve stardom on actors, as well as the fading studio system, Mulholland Drive tells two parallel stories. The first half is one of fantasy, and the other could be interpreted as reality or nightmare.

Most of the film is open to audience interpretation, as the story was conceived as a TV pilot. Lynch wanted to leave room for alternate endings and future episodes. However, Mulholland Drive works best as a film and is left for us to unravel. The end of the film sees Betty/Diane (Naomi Watts) plan the murder of her friend and then shoot herself, but the line between her imagination and the outside world is blurred. Which version of herself, Betty or Diane, is real, and what the truth of her relationship with Rita/Camilla (Laura Harring) is depends on the viewer.

5 Tenet (2020)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Tenet

Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a nameless Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

Release Date

September 3, 2020

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Runtime

150 minutes

It’s unsurprising that Tenet won’t be the only Christopher Nolan movie on this list, as his films have left me spellbound from a young age. Though it’s not his most popular movie, Tenet is inarguably a feat of filmmaking and requires quite a few watches to fully absorb. Most, if not all, the characters aren’t experiencing their timelines in the correct order, and this makes it difficult for the audience to piece together the order of events in a linear fashion. Much of Tenet‘s plot is posited on the fact that time can be reversed, making the film’s ending convoluted.

The final twist is that the Protagonist (John David Washington) has known Neil (Robert Pattinson) for far longer than he knows and has orchestrated his entire fate from the future. It’s difficult to wrap your head around and explain Tenet‘s ending and timeline without getting the flow of the story mixed up. Though it’s a concrete ending, on one hand, it begs a larger question about the nature of time travel and paradoxes. Though Tenet isn’t supposed to be based in real science, it left me wondering how the Protagonist could create his own fate with the timestream.

4 Annihilation (2018)

Directed by Alex Garland

Annihilation

Alex Garland’s Annihilation is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. It follows a group of explorers – comprised of biology professor Lena (Natalie Portman), psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson), geomorphologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Nvotny), and paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) – as they enter “the Shimmer”, a quarantined zone of mutated plants and animals caused by an unknown extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Lena agrees to enter the Shimmer in search of her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), who was sent in as part of a special forces operation.

Release Date

February 22, 2018

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures

Runtime

2hours

It’s difficult to say if the end of the 2017 movie adaptation of Annihilation or the 2014 novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer was more confusing. I’ve read the book and watched the movie, and it’s safe to say that the movie is slightly easier to follow overall because it has the advantage of not being told from a singular perspective. The protagonist, Lena (Natalie Portman), enters Area X with her team of scientists, and their journey into the altered reality of the environment is unlike anything they’ve ever seen.

Thematically, Annihilation discusses issues of climate change as well as humanity’s fear of evolution through the lens of an alien life form that learns through replication. Lena encounters the alien towards the end of the film and watches it slowly become her, leading to an incredible scene where she has to fight herself. However, it’s easy to lose track of who the real Lena is. When she returns to the base, the possibility emerges that she might not be the same person who went into Area X. If this is the case, it sets up a world being slowly invaded.

3 Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014)

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman is a dark comedy drama that stars Michael Keaton as washed-up actor Riggan Thomson, who’s famous for playing a bird-themed superhero and who attempts to stage a comeback by directing and starring in a Broadway play. Shot as one single long take and with Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Stone in its cast, the 2014 film won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu

Release Date

October 17, 2014

Studio(s)

Searchlight Pictures

Runtime

120 Minutes

Birdman is already a surrealist film that plays with our perception of what’s real and what’s projected from the mind of the unreliable narrator. This narrator is the titular Birdman or Riggan Thompson, played by Michael Keaton, who’s trying to make a comeback as a serious actor after he achieved stardom decades ago by portraying a comic book character in a movie series. This topic is as relevant today as it was in 2014, and the dark ending is unforgettable. As Riggan finishes the play, there are two instances in which the character seems to commit suicide but escapes death.

The most likely scenario is that Riggans does die on stage at the end of the play and that the final scene, when he jumps out of the window and is implied to have sprouted wings and flown away, is his mind’s final comfort before passing on. However, Riggan’s Birdman alter ego becomes increasingly real throughout the movie, and there’s always a chance that the world of the film really lets him fly away. Imagery and themes of flight recur throughout Birdman, and Riggan finally lifting off was possibly the only way that his story could end.

2 Inception (2010)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Inception

Christopher Nolan’s 2010 Sci-fi action film Inception follows a thief who enters the dreams of others to steal information and, after being caught, is given a chance to clean his slate by performing an untested concept – implanting an idea within another mind. An ensemble cast is brought together by former target Saito, who seeks to implant the idea of destroying his own company into his father’s mind. In a complex labyrinth of dreams and untested theories at the forefront, survival is not guaranteed in this psychological heist where the stakes are high, and nothing is what it seems.

Release Date

July 16, 2010

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Runtime

148 minutes

The biggest plot twists in Christopher Nolan’s movies are hard to keep track of, as the filmmaker is known for utilizing nonlinear storytelling and shocking reveals until his films’ conclusion. Inception is no exception and might be one of the director’s most iconic movies for how well it bends the viewer’s mind. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a man who enters people’s dreams to steal information. However, once he enters a dream, it becomes difficult to separate reality from the dream world, and the film’s last frame makes the viewer question if Cobb is awake.

There are many possible answers to what the final shot of Inception means, and each plays with the notion of there being one true reality. Perhaps Cobb is in another dream, but maybe he’s better off there. He is reunited with his children and puts the past behind him. Conversely, it’s possible that he never woke up, and he’s been trapped in a layer of his subconscious since he went in with Mal (Marion Cotillard). Though Inception tells us that it’s always better to be awake, Cobb is ready to accept his ideal life as reality, no matter what.

Related

10 Confusing Movie Endings That People Still Debate Today

Movies with ambiguous endings can spark fierce debates about their deeper meaning, and this can make people remember a movie for much longer.

1 American Psycho (2000)

Directed by Mary Harron

American Psycho

Based on the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) an investment banker in New York in 1987 who leads a double life as a serial killer. As investigators circle Bateman after the disappearance of a colleague, he finds himself trapped in a spiral of murder and excess, unable to stop himself from giving in to his increasingly dark urges. Also stars Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon. 

Director

Mary Harron

Release Date

April 13, 2000

Studio(s)

Lionsgate

Runtime

101 minutes

American Psycho may be one of the most misunderstood movies in terms of message and tone, and this isn’t helped by the fact that the conclusion seems to let Patrick Bateman off Scott-free. Though the audience witnesses Patrick, played by Christian Bale, at his most unsettling, murder many people throughout the narrative, at the end of the film, the bodies have disappeared. This raises questions of whether these violent acts were all inside Patrick’s mind and drives home the overarching metaphor that men in his position of power literally get away with murder.

The biggest mistake that audiences make in watching American Psycho is viewing Patrick as an aspirational character, and this was never my confusion over the film’s plot. Ultimately, I doubt it matters if Patrick was a murderer or not because American Psycho is far more interested in how the contemporary culture fosters violent and isolating tendencies in young men. Additionally, Patrick would never have been arrested or gone to prison, regardless of whether the bodies were found or even existed. It’s a classic example of a twist ending that doesn’t change the inevitable outcome.