When you hear the phrase “10 common things” that can scramble your sanity, you might picture genetics or catastrophic trauma. Yet the truth is far more ordinary: everyday situations—some you’ll encounter once, others repeatedly—can nudge your brain toward distress or downright delirium. Below we dive into a quirky, science‑backed tour of the ten most unsuspecting culprits that can turn your mental equilibrium upside down.

10 Sales Frenzy

Big sales can lead to anxiety

Ever heard the wild tales of shoppers going berserk during massive discount events, trampling fellow buyers or even brandishing pepper spray? Researchers actually surveyed participants at a huge sale and discovered a subset displayed genuine “crazy” symptoms. These individuals reported spikes in anxiety, a detached feeling from other shoppers, and described the experience as dream‑like. So if you ever find yourself wielding a George Foreman grill to snatch the last half‑price TV, you could arguably claim temporary insanity when the courtroom asks why you turned the aisle into a battlefield.

9 Long Winter Nights

Long Winter nights can cause depression

Do you reside somewhere where the sun seems to take an extended vacation? A prolonged absence of daylight can wreak havoc on mood, sometimes spiraling into clinical depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Folks living in places like Alaska during the polar night often report low energy, irritability, and a pervasive sense of gloom. Light‑therapy boxes that mimic natural sunlight can help alleviate symptoms, offering a bright spot when the sky stays stubbornly dark.

8 Living Alone

Living alone can cause depression – and weirdness

A Finnish study of nearly 3,500 participants revealed that solitary dwellers were more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than their cohabiting peers. While the research cautioned that many variables influence depression, the correlation suggests that living solo can increase risk. Beyond the clinical side, some solo residents report eccentric habits—conversing with themselves in French while cooking, jogging in place during TV time, or sipping wine in the shower at dawn.

7 Cat Parasite Trouble

Cat parasites can mess with your brain

Pregnant women are warned to avoid cat litter, but the rationale goes deeper than hygiene. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which reproduces only in felines, can alter the behavior of its intermediate hosts—rodents—making them reckless and more likely to be devoured. When humans become accidental hosts, emerging research hints at links to schizophrenia and other mood disturbances. So if you find yourself inexplicably drawn to danger after adopting a feline, a tiny parasite might be pulling the strings.

6 Bed Bug Nightmares

Bed bugs can cause symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety

Entomologists have been tracking the psychological fallout of bed‑bug infestations, and the findings are unsettling. Even individuals without prior mental‑health diagnoses can develop anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts after learning about or encountering these pests. One documented case involved a man who, convinced he was overrun by bed bugs, began scrubbing his home with bleach daily—an elaborate delusion sparked solely by the bug’s reputation.

5 Post‑Partum Blues

Having a baby can lead to postpartum depression

The arrival of a newborn is typically painted as pure joy, yet for some mothers it triggers postpartum depression—a serious condition marked by persistent sadness, hopelessness, and in extreme cases, thoughts of self‑harm or harming the infant. While hormonal shifts play a role, the relentless sleepless nights, constant caregiving demands, and feelings of isolation can compound the risk. Early detection and support are crucial to help new parents navigate this challenging period.

4 Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Secondhand smoke can double the likelihood of psychological distress

Non‑smokers who frequently inhale tobacco fumes from nearby smokers face more than just respiratory irritation. A recent study linked regular exposure to secondhand smoke with a 50 % increase in psychological distress, and for active smokers the odds of psychiatric hospitalization rose fourfold. While the legal battles over smoke‑free zones continue, the mental‑health ramifications add another layer to the public‑health argument.

3 Traumatic Brain Injury

Concussions can have long lasting psychological effects

Beyond the immediate dizziness and headaches, head trauma can unleash a cascade of psychiatric issues. Research indicates that up to 48.3 % of individuals who suffer a concussion later develop mood disorders, anxiety, or personality changes. The brain’s delicate chemistry can be thrown off balance, leading to erratic emotional swings—laughing one moment, weeping the next. Protecting your noggin isn’t just about avoiding physical injury; it’s a safeguard for mental stability too.

2 Bad Car Accident

A car crash can lead to PTSD

When most people think of post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), combat veterans spring to mind. Yet a severe automobile collision can shatter the sense of safety that most of us take for granted, triggering the same hyper‑vigilance, flashbacks, and avoidance behaviors seen in war‑zone survivors. Even a seemingly minor fender‑bender can leave lingering anxiety, especially if the incident involved chaotic elements—like a drunk clown causing a pile‑up.

1 Excessive Childhood Praise

Praising your child too much can cause serious personality disorders

Parents often shower kids with gold stars and high‑fives, hoping to boost confidence. However, psychologists warn that constant, unearned praise can inflate narcissistic tendencies and impede the development of resilience. Studies link over‑praise to personality disorders and social difficulties later in life, suggesting that balanced feedback—recognizing effort without over‑inflating ego—is the healthier route.

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Even the most straightforward moments can trip up our brains. The top 10 simple quirks we explore show how biology, perception, and everyday situations can make us see the wrong colors, over‑eat, or struggle to appear sincere in conversation.

Why the Top 10 Simple Tricks Matter

10 The Food Variety Effect

Holiday feasts bring cheer, glittering lights, and, inevitably, extra padding. While we all know we eat more during the festive season, many are shocked by the sudden weight gain that greets them in January. This surprise is largely driven by the “variety effect,” where an abundance of different foods prompts us to eat more without even noticing.

Nature, however, has its own appetite‑regulating tricks. The longer our tongue encounters the same texture or flavor, the less hungry we feel. In other words, repeated exposure to a single taste quickly curtails our desire to keep munching.

But this natural brake fails spectacularly at buffets, Thanksgiving spreads, or Christmas lunches. Jumping from one dish to another keeps flavors and textures constantly shifting, which delays the brain’s signal to stop. Consequently, a multi‑course meal can easily deceive guests into consuming far more than they intended.

9 Eye Contact Freaks Out The Brain

Body‑language guides often warn that avoiding eye contact marks a person as untrustworthy. Yet recent research shows there’s a deeper, neurological reason behind the discomfort of staring while chatting.

When we try to maintain eye contact during a lively conversation, the same brain regions are tasked with speaking, thinking, and focusing on a face. This multitasking can create a mental traffic jam, making the brain struggle to keep everything running smoothly.

A modest Japanese study found that participants experienced heightened difficulty when they combined eye contact with novel or complex phrasing. To ease the overload, the brain may instinctively urge us to look away, turning the avoidance of eye contact into a coping mechanism.

8 Crossed Arms Can Bring Pain Relief

Pain relief doesn’t always require pills or fancy gadgets. A 2011 pilot study suggests that a simple pose—crossing the arms—might trick the brain into feeling less pain.

In the experiment, twenty volunteers received a brief laser burn on their hands. After the burn, they crossed their arms, placing each hand on the opposite side of the body. Participants reported noticeably less pain, and EEG recordings confirmed a reduction in pain‑related brain activity.

The theory is that the brain expects each hand to correspond with its own side of space. By swapping sides, the brain’s mapping gets confused, dampening the pain signal. While still early‑stage research, the findings hint at a promising, low‑cost avenue for pain management.

7 Left And Right

Mix‑ups between left and right are more common than we’d like to admit. In extreme cases, such confusion has led surgeons to remove the wrong kidney, and medical staff have repeatedly identified the incorrect eye for surgery.

The problem amplifies under pressure. A passenger shouting directions to a speeding driver is more likely to say “turn that way” and inadvertently send the car the wrong direction. The brain’s handling of spatial cues appears more intricate than simply labeling sides.

Scientists remain puzzled about why the brain sometimes trips up on such a basic distinction. One hypothesis suggests that processing left‑right information involves multiple, overlapping neural pathways, making it vulnerable to error when we’re rushed or distracted.

6 The Good Looks Bias

It’s uncomfortable to admit, but physical attractiveness can sway judgments. Studies show that attractive individuals receive more votes, enjoy shorter criminal sentences, and are perceived as more honest, trustworthy, kind, and intelligent.

This isn’t just social bias; the brain itself plays a role. The same neural circuitry that evaluates facial beauty also rates perceived moral character. When we see an appealing face, the brain automatically assigns positive traits, even if there’s no factual basis.

The effect works both ways. People deemed less conventionally attractive can be judged more favorably if they display a warm personality, illustrating the brain’s flexible, yet sometimes misleading, shortcut. 10 Fascinating Ways Our Brains Can Be Manipulated

5 Kids Think Birthday Parties Cause Aging

Children love cake, presents, and the spotlight on their special day. Some youngsters go a step further, believing that the birthday celebration itself magically adds a year to their age.

Researchers interviewing kids aged four to nine discovered that many said they would never grow older without a party. A few even imagined that an elderly person could become younger by celebrating their birthday in reverse—like an 80‑year‑old holding a “79th birthday.”

Kids naturally seek meaning in personal milestones. Since the party is the most obvious event surrounding the age change, younger children often mistakenly attribute the passage of time to the celebration itself.

4 Motion Sickness Is Mistaken For Poison

Scientists propose that the brain harbors a deep‑seated fear of poisoning. When sensory signals clash, the brain resorts to the ancient defense of vomiting to expel perceived toxins.

Modern transportation outpaces evolution. While we sit motionless, our inner ear detects fluid movement, signaling that the body is in motion. This mismatch—stillness versus motion—confuses the brain, which interprets the discord as a sign of ingested poison.

The resulting nausea can be severe enough to force a driver to pull over. Curiously, not everyone experiences motion sickness, and researchers are still unraveling why only certain individuals are vulnerable to this sensory conflict.

3 Color Changes When The Brain Bumbles Light

Remember the 2015 internet frenzy over a seemingly simple dress? One camp swore it was blue and black; the other shouted white and gold. Neither side was “wrong”—the disagreement stemmed from how each brain interpreted light.

When light hits our retinas, the visual cortex processes both the object’s wavelengths and the surrounding illumination. Some brains successfully filter out the ambient light, focusing on the dress’s true colors (blue‑black). Others give more weight to the lighting conditions, leading them to see white‑gold.

This phenomenon illustrates that perception isn’t just about the object; it’s a dynamic dance between the brain, the item, and the environment. Here’s the science behind that goddamn dress.

2 Trading Personal Information For A Cookie

Most of us guard our personal data fiercely. Yet a 2014 art‑festival experiment showed that a simple, Instagram‑decorated cookie could coax people into handing over sensitive details.

Artist Risa Puno set up a stall where visitors could “buy” a cookie by providing information such as phone numbers, driver’s‑license data, maiden names, fingerprints, or the last four digits of their Social Security number. In total, 380 participants surrendered some piece of their private identity.

The allure of a sweet treat, combined with the friendly presence of an artist, overrode the usual caution. Even a clear notice stating that the data could be shared with third parties was ignored. The experiment highlighted how easily people can be nudged into giving up privacy when the incentive feels harmless.

1 The God Helmet

In 2018, researchers handed out skate‑style helmets at a Dutch music festival, dubbing them the “God Helmet.” Participants were told that the wires attached to the helmets would deliver electrical currents capable of inducing spiritual experiences.

In reality, the wires were only connected to a light box—no current flowed. The study aimed to see whether alcohol or the mere suggestion of a mystical device could convince attendees of a transcendent encounter. A total of 193 volunteers, both sober and tipsy, wore the helmet for fifteen minutes while blindfolded and surrounded by white noise.

Even without real stimulation, many reported odd sensations: a sense of floating, time distortion, hallucinations, or hearing voices. Those who identified as spiritual—though not necessarily religious—were especially susceptible, suggesting that belief can amplify suggestibility. 10 Mysterious Soundscapes That Rocked The Ancient World

When it comes to wildlife, there are ten creatures you really, really don’t want to tangle with. From the metal‑minded hairy frog to the surprisingly hostile sloth, each of these animals has a reason to stay on the far side of the fence. Keep reading for a fun, fact‑packed rundown of the 10 animals you definitely shouldn’t mess with.

1 Sloths

We’ve already examined some truly terrifying beasts and a few adorable ones, but sloths sit squarely in the middle of that divide. Some folks adore their lazy charm, while others find them downright eerie. Either way, you certainly don’t want to provoke a wild sloth. It’s not about a hidden blade in their fur – that’s a myth – but about the hidden ecosystem of pests that lives on them.

A veritable zoo of moths, mites, algae, and even a staggering 980 scarab beetles can call a sloth’s coat home. Add to that the fact that when a sloth takes a bathroom break it empties roughly a third of its own body weight, and you’ve got a creature that could easily claim the title of the world’s most disgusting animal.

On the upside, some of that green algae may harbor a fungus with potential cancer‑fighting properties. So while you probably shouldn’t get too close, scientists are certainly keeping an eye on these slow‑moving tree‑hangers.

2 Assassin Bugs

The name says it all. Assassin bugs rank among the deadliest insects that cause human fatalities, though most of them are more of a nuisance than a lethal threat. Their bite is irritating, itchy, and can be downright painful.

One particularly infamous member of the family is the so‑called “Kissing Bug” (Rhodnius prolixus). Native to South America, this bug carries the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, affecting around seven million people. The disease can lead to serious heart complications, neurological disorders, and even premature death.

3 Giant Anteaters

At first glance they look like cuddly, long‑snouted mammals, but those massive claws tell a different story. When threatened, giant anteaters rear up, swing their forelimbs, and can deliver a swipe that would make any would‑be attacker think twice.

Two Brazilian hunters lost their lives to anteaters in 2010 and 2012, and a zookeeper in Argentina was killed in 2009 after a particularly aggressive individual attacked her inside its enclosure. Even ancient Aztecs saw the animal as a trickster figure, and surrealists like Dali were fascinated by its bizarre silhouette. Remember those claws.

4 Alligator Snapping Turtle

Don’t be fooled by the turtle’s seemingly placid demeanor. The alligator snapping turtle packs a bite force of roughly 1,000 psi, outmatching the great white shark’s 625 psi. While it doesn’t reach the jaw power of a jaguar (1,350 psi) or a crocodile (up to 3,700 psi), it’s still enough to crush bone and certainly enough to make you think twice before offering a handshake.

These hefty chelonians are not suited for most hobbyists, and experienced keepers report that even a brief encounter can result in serious finger injuries. So if you ever spot one, give it a wide berth and admire it from a safe distance.

5 Camel Spiders

These desert‑dwelling arachnids have inspired countless urban legends, and for good reason. They look like a cross between a giant scorpion and a spider, and their appearance alone can make most people scream for their mothers.

What really earns them a spot on this list is their speed. Clocking in at around 10 mph, camel spiders can zip across the sand faster than most humans can sprint, making a sudden bite or a frightening encounter all the more likely. While they’re not known to chase people, a swift bite can still be a nasty surprise.

6 Australian Magpies

In many parts of the world magpies are celebrated for their intelligence and shiny‑object‑collecting habits. Down under, however, they’ve earned a reputation as a menacing menace, especially during nesting season.

Australian magpies develop an almost pathological hostility toward anyone who wanders within a few metres of their nests. They’ll dive‑bomb cyclists, joggers, and unsuspecting pedestrians with alarming frequency. Recent statistics show over 3,000 recorded attacks in a single year, with nearly 400 people sustaining injuries.

7 Tiger Centipede

Swelling, redness, itching, possible anaphylaxis and tissue necrosis – that’s the standard symptom checklist after a bite from a tiger centipede, also known as the giant desert centipede. The real kicker, though, is the sheer intensity of the pain.

Naturalist Coyote Peterson, famous for his daring bug‑stinging exploits, ranks the tiger centipede’s sting as eclipsing even the infamous bullet ant and tarantula hawk wasp. The bite delivers a searing, almost electric shock that can leave a victim doubled over for minutes.

Peterson’s own words sum it up: “This just absolutely eclipses all the insect stings I’ve taken.” If you ever find yourself face‑to‑face with one of these creepy crawlers, you’ll quickly understand why.

8 Moray Eels

Moray eels are the ocean’s resident horror‑show, sporting a terrifying set of needle‑like teeth that face backwards, perfect for delivering a ripping bite. They lurk among reefs and rocky outcrops, ready to snap at any unsuspecting prey that wanders too close – even a diver’s hand can look like a tasty snack.

Beyond the fearsome dentition, morays secrete a mucus laced with two potent toxins. These toxins cause red blood cells to clump together and eventually burst, making a bite not just painful but potentially dangerous on a cellular level.

And let’s be honest – just looking at that gaping, dead‑eye face is enough to send shivers down any marine‑enthusiast’s spine.

9 Capercaillies

If you ever think about stealing a couple of eggs for a quick snack, you might eye a capercaillie – a stout grouse with a comically upward‑pointing head that looks like it’s constantly stargazing. Don’t let the goofy appearance fool you.

During the breeding season, male Western capercaillies become fiercely territorial, willing to charge any intruder, including unsuspecting bird‑watchers. Studies from southern Finland show these aggressive males have testosterone levels five times higher than the norm, suggesting a hormonal cocktail that fuels their violent behavior.

So while they might look like a harmless forest clown, a close encounter could quickly turn into a wild, feather‑filled melee.

10 Hairy Frogs

Meet the hairy frog, arguably the most metal amphibian on the planet. Its shaggy appearance makes it look ready to jump into a Slayer mosh‑pit, but its real claim to fame is a bizarre self‑defence trick: when threatened, it literally breaks its own leg.

In the dense Central African forests where it lives, an attacked frog will push a bony spur through the skin of its foot, shattering a protective nodule to create a sharp, claw‑like projection. Think of it as a living, amphibian Wolverine. While the frog isn’t actively dangerous to humans, the idea of a creature that can snap its own bones in fear is enough to keep most people at a safe distance.

10 Animals You Should Never Mess With

From venomous frogs and bite‑inducing centipedes to aggressive birds and deceptively dangerous turtles, these ten critters prove that nature’s toughest characters aren’t always the biggest. Keep your distance, respect their space, and you’ll stay safe while still marveling at the wild world’s most formidable residents.

10 optical illusions frequently go viral on the internet, sparking endless debates and meme wars. Is the dress beige or blue? Are the shoes turquoise or pink? Most of these visual tricks hinge on how our brains interpret color, but some require just the right circumstances to truly mess with your mind.

10 Optical Illusions to Blow Your Mind

10 The Size of the Moon

Ever notice how the moon seems to shrink as it climbs higher in the sky? It doesn’t – that’s a classic illusion. Whether the moon rests on the horizon or crowns the night, its actual size stays constant. You can even prove it yourself by snapping photos at both stages and comparing them side by side.

Those dramatic, oversized moon pictures you see online aren’t magic; they’re simply zoomed‑in shots. What isn’t an illusion, however, is the warm, orange‑tinted glow the moon adopts when it hugs the horizon. The longer journey through Earth’s atmosphere filters out the shorter blue wavelengths, leaving the longer, redder hues to tint the lunar disc.

9 Go Home, Carpet. You’re Drunk!

Ege Carpets turned their love for “The Big Bang Theory” into a mind‑bending floor covering that would make even Sheldon Cooper jealous.

A Twitter user spotted the rug in a shop and, after posting a photo, the post exploded with nearly 100,000 retweets in a single day. The design appears to dip in several spots, which would be a nightmare for anyone trying to walk across it while tipsy. In reality, the “potholes” are just a clever visual trick; the carpet is perfectly flat.

If you crave a quirky statement piece for your own space, consider the 3D Bottomless Hole Optical Illusion Area Rug. It gives the sensation of staring into a portal, guaranteeing endless conversation at your next house party.

8 An Unseen World

Sometimes nature pulls off the most extraordinary tricks. In 2019, researchers diving 2,000 meters (about 6,561 feet) beneath the Pacific Ocean uncovered a mesmerizing scene.

Using a remotely operated vehicle, lead scientist Mandy Joye and her crew explored a hydrothermal vent in the Guyamas depression. They discovered an overhanging rock whose underside was so level that the marine life in front of it reflected perfectly, creating a flawless mirror effect.

When the ROV shifted angle, the illusion shattered, revealing a vast, diamond‑sparkling cavern. The phenomenon arose because hot water from the vent rose and met colder seawater, becoming trapped against the rock. The temperature disparity slowed light, producing the astonishing mirror‑like image.

As for the glittering minerals that caught the scientists’ eyes, they suspect it was pyrite, though they couldn’t confirm the exact composition.

7 Look, Ma, the Giraffe’s Eating the Plane!

The 2017 Comedy Wildlife Photos contest delivered a treasure trove of hilarious shots, and one of the standouts featured a giraffe that looks like it’s chomping on a small aircraft.

Captured in Kenya’s Masai Mara, the angle makes it appear as though the giraffe is peering into—or even nibbling—the plane’s window. The image quickly became a viral favorite, delighting viewers worldwide.

Another mind‑bending animal photo features the famous staircase cat, which seems to be either climbing up or down depending on who you ask. Could it be Schrödinger’s cat, simultaneously ascending and descending?

6 UFO or Fata Morgana?

Imagine spotting a mysterious object hovering over the ocean and wondering if it’s an actual UFO. In 2021, a strange aerial sighting over Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park turned out to be a classic Fata Morgana mirage.

The phenomenon occurs when layers of air with different densities act like a giant lens, refracting light and creating the illusion of floating objects. This same atmospheric trick explains many “ghost ship” or “floating ship” reports and has even been linked to historic Flying Dutchman sightings.

5 Floating Ghost Ships

Speaking of phantom vessels, the world has witnessed several eerie sightings. In 2021, a British beachgoer named David Morris captured a photo of a massive tanker seemingly suspended in mid‑air above the sea.

His picture showed clear blue sky both above and below the ship, giving the impression it was hovering. Morris accepted the Fata Morgana explanation, dismissing supernatural causes. Two weeks later, another mirage off Dorset’s coast showed the cruise liner Jewel of the Seas appearing to float in a gray sky.

4 Is That a Painting?

Near Namibia’s famed Sossusvlei salt pan lies the eerie Deadvlei clay basin, where ancient camel‑thorn trees stand blackened by centuries of scorching sun.

From a typical viewpoint, Deadvlei resembles any desert landscape. However, when photographed from a low angle as the sun glides over distant dunes, the scene transforms into a surrealist painting, with the stark contrast and composition making it look entirely otherworldly.

3 Stairway to Heaven

In 2016, South African artist Strijdom Van Der Merwe unveiled a steel sculpture shaped like a staircase at the Hermanus Fine Arts Festival. Constructed from mild steel tubing, the piece resides in the Hemel and Aarde Valley at Creation Farm.

When viewed from the precise angle, the sculpture creates a jaw‑dropping illusion of stairs that seem to ascend straight into the heavens. The artwork garnered global attention, even inspiring a replica displayed in Taiwan in 2021.

2 Three Suns

If you’re not a fan of scorching heat, the idea of three suns blazing overhead might send you scrambling for shade—or perhaps the South Pole.

In reality, spotting three bright spots in the sky usually means you’ve encountered a sundog—a phenomenon caused by ice crystals refracting sunlight. In 2019, drivers and early risers in northern Russia were treated to a spectacular display of three suns.

Russia also offers another icy wonder: light pillars. These luminous columns, sometimes resembling UFO beams, form when artificial lights reflect off countless floating ice crystals, creating a stunning atmospheric illusion.

1 Negative to Color

The “negative lady” illusion presents a creepy photo negative of a woman that briefly bursts into color when you stare at a tiny dot on her nose for about 15 seconds. After focusing, glancing at the blank space beside her triggers a fleeting color image.

This effect works because you’re seeing a negative afterimage: the colors you perceive are inverted from the original. The same principle applies when you stare at a red image and then see a green afterimage.

Sometimes, it’s satisfying to take a break from formulaic movies. Don’t misunderstand, no film fan worth your time is above the pleasures of a kinetic action scene or a shameless romance. The appeal still remains for the novelty of a movie experience that makes you try to ponder its symbols, technique, and intricacies, and perhaps provide a memorable new perspective for a viewer to take with them.

Now, let’s also make it clear: This isn’t a list about arbitrary nonsense either. No art is needed for that. A computer algorithm can write a script where superficially artistic things happen. As it happened at least one was said to have written a commercial by now (although that turned out to likely not be true.) This is about movies that have structure and when the creators break film-making rules, it’s with a purpose in mind.

You can find all kinds of movies that mess with your mind on CHILI.com. Wait, you never heard of CHILI? Well, CHILI is a fully pay per view platform which provides a wide range of titles thanks to the agreements with the most important producers, local and independent distributors. CHILI is available on Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

10. Eraserhead

The most popular interpretation of David Lynch’s 1978 debut film is that it’s about a printing factory worker in a bleak town named Henry Spencer who accidentally impregnates his girlfriend Mary, and they have an inhumanly deformed baby. The reason that’s only the most popular interpretation is because Lynch has explicitly said in interviews that in the following decades no one came close to accurately interpreting his grim debut (he has said the true intended meaning has something to do with the Holy Bible, but that’s as revealing as he’s gotten.)

So what keeps compelling people to try? Because Lynch’s movie not only has the loose structure of a comprehensible if grim story, it also has teases for the audience that seem to play off how abstract certain surreal scenes are. For example, during a scene where Henry meets his girlfriend’s mother, there’s a loud, off-putting squeaking noise through much of the scene, leaving the viewer anxious about what that noise is and what it could mean… then revealing it’s a benign litter of puppies. Later, when Mary leaves Henry, there’s an extended scene where she’s messing with the end of the bed while Henry’s lying on it. It’s framed from Henry’s POV so we can’t see what she’s doing, and we’ve seen enough surreal imagery with ominous sounds that it could be anything. It goes on for a deliberately extended period of time. Then with a pop, she pulls her suitcase out from under the bed. In short, Lynch’s trick was to know that just showing harrowing tableaus would be off-putting, and that including some comedy and pleasant surprises would make the movie less predictable, one of the keys to its intrigue lasting for decades.

9. Van Diemen’s Land

This 2009 movie is based on true events and tries very hard to treat them with due respect. It follows a band of eight convicts sent to a penal colony on the island of Tasmania, the de facto leader Alexander Pearce having been sent from Ireland for stealing six pairs of shoes. In 1822 the group broke out for the settlements on the Eastern side of the island. In the harsh Tasmanian Wilderness, in desperation they had to resort to cannibalism. Despite the nightmarish situation, director Jonathan Auf Der Heide made sure to restrain the violence and gore to avoid making an exploitative movie. Yet during its premiere multiple audience members vomited and others fainted at the film. These were presumably people that by 2009 had seen far more graphic footage. How was Auf Der Heide’s film having such an extreme effect accidentally?

According to the director, the trick he sort of backed into was downplaying the violence. The lack of graphic, heightened imagery and special effects took away some of the distancing effect that some cinematic technique inevitably has. As he put it, “… when it becomes a reality, murder can be mundane and clumsy and ugly.” Not that directorial restraint in and of itself is the magic bullet for a movie to reach an audience on a visceral level, but it worked unintentional wonders here.

8. A Ghost Story

This 2017 movie written and directed by David Lowery may be the most polarizing film featured on this list, with a large gap between the critical and audience consensus on sites like Rotten Tomatoes for instance. The story is that Casey Affleck’s character known only as “C” dies, his ghost (which is literally rendered as the actor under a sheet) haunts the home of his significant other “M” played by Rooney Mara. “M” doesn’t know that “C” is there, tries to endure the grieving process, and eventually leaves their home, but “C” can not leave with her. Trapped at the home, it eventually crumbles around him. Then time loops around, and “C” finds himself not only haunting “M” for a time but himself.

The most memorable aspect of the movie is how it plays around with the passage of time. The movie will play events that are meant to carry particular emotional weight in real time, and moments where the characters feel numb or disconnected flow by much faster. By far the most noted example of this is a scene where M eats most of a whole pie. For four minutes in a single, darkly lit take where Mara is sitting on the floor. Instead of just showing a few seconds of binging to get the point across, Lowery lingers so that it by turns it becomes depressing, uncomfortable, then disgusting and harrowing. It turns the sadness of grief from something that can have some kind of aesthetic into essentially torture for everyone involved, including the audience. Seeing the actress eat the pie in real time lets the audience know that the actress actually did it instead of using editing to make the scene go down easier. No blaming audiences if they’d rather do just about anything with their time than watch that, but the creative choice clearly struck a chord with many.

7. Enter the Void

The plot for this film is essentially simplicity itself. A low-level drug dealer named Oscar is living in the wake of a severe childhood trauma. He goes to make a sale, the police raid the site of the transaction, he tries to scare them off by saying through a closed door that he has a gun, and consequently gets gunned down. The lives of his sister and colleagues spiral out of control as a result.

But what will make an impact on a viewer is very likely not its story or characters. It’s how Gaspar Noe tells his 2009 story so immersively from the perspective of Oscar, complete with showing what Oscar sees what he trips on DMT and his death visions. Almost all from literal first person POV, even as he drifts from his body into the neon-drenched Tokyo skyline. He drifts above scenes of his sister hooking up with a club manager (which results in an unwanted pregnancy) and one of his associates becoming a dumpster scrounging homeless person. He also travels into the past and sees the automobile accident that shaped his life as it ended his idyllic family life. There are several scenes that are simply flashing strobe lights in the audience’s eyes, as if to simulate the “light at the end of the tunnel” effect as the cerebral cortex shuts down. Noe himself unusually tried to take all ambiguity out of the ending, saying in an interview that all the events in the film after Oscar gets shot are hallucinations and that while he wrote the movie he was completely areligious. But whatever an audience member’s view of life, it provides a very convincing vision of entering the afterlife and reincarnation.

6. Blue

There are very, very few movies that are more minimalist than Derek Jarman’s 1993 film. That’s not to say nothing happens in it. The soundtrack is full of narration by the director, Nigel Terry, and Tilda Swinton where the protagonist speculates about the things to see, his life experiences, his medical treatment, rejecting all acts of shallow charity and pity that have been extended to him. But all there is to see throughout the entire movie is an unbroken blue screen. That’s because when he was making it, Derek Jarman was dying of AIDS and his vision would intermittently have flashes of blue light as he went blind from retinal damage.

The Washington Post said that the effect of watching it was “an unyielding bout of suffocation.” It also described how the effect was at time “nauseating,” and considering that at the time he was making it Jarman described himself as a “walking lab” from all the pills he was taking, including experimental ones, then that means he certainly got some viewers to relate. The Independentmentioned while watching it the “eyes play tricks on you,” indicating that it also imparted at least a little of his own hallucinatory headspace.

5. Sátántangó

Hungarian director Bela Tarr’s 1994 film sounds like the setup for a novel John Steinbeck would write. A farming community (a former collectivist farm, as it’s based on a 1985 novel written in the Soviet Union) has received a government subsidy. From hardened criminals to abusive older children, we see the various ways that the cunning take the shares of the cash from the unsuspecting. The movie stretches seven and a half hours with a much smaller cast than a film like that would usually involve (unless you count the cows in it as cast members) but since it’s conveniently divided into twelve parts watching it is more akin to watching a miniseries.

The time commitment isn’t the most daunting sounding aspect of Sátántangó to the uninitiated. This movie shows its various subplots mostly in very long takes that often amount to traveling from place to place on foot, or even walking around buildings. Additionally, certain scenes are replayed from different points of view. Sound boring? For many it will be. But it also has the effect of removing any sense of quaintness to the rundown rural setting. Even though the images are filmed in crisp black and white, they feature muddy, sloshing paths. The effect is that being inside the village can seem so oppressive and uncomfortable for the viewer that they become numb to the wickedness of the many thieves. Even such severe crimes as a girl who learns her peers tricked her into burying her money and responds by going home to abuse her cat become much more, if not exactly sympathetic, then at least more understandable. Viewers will likely come away from it completely disabused of any notions they had of pastoral rural life.

4. The Matrix

Oh, were you expecting this list to only include arthouse/cult movies? No way, commercial success is no barrier to effective technique. While surely many others have commented to death on its use of Hero’s Journey structure, color, etc. in 2017 vlogger Patrick Willems shared with the internet a novel observation. It was a simple but highly effective method that the Wachowskis used for keeping the audience unsure: Sound mixing during scene transitions.

For example, during the scene where protagonist Neo is interrogated by the villainous Agent Smith and a cybernetic tracking device modelled after a crayfish is put in his navel as Neo screams, the same sort of scream Neo makes as he wakes up in bed. This match of edit and sound mixing mimics an earlier scene where Trinity introduces Neo to the idea of entering a new world at a club, and immediately after he wakes up. But on the sound mix the musical score shifts in rhythm and pitch to resemble the buzzing of an alarm clock before transitioning in bed to the next scene, helping to sell the notion that the previous scene was a dream through connected sound and establishing a pattern in the movie. It’s a perfect illustration of how movies need to set up rules and frameworks if change in the flow of events is going to have an mean something to audiences and how even the subtlest filmmaking methods can be important.

3. The Shining

Since 1980 the mystique of Stanley Kubrick’s loose film adaptation of Stephen King’s horror story in the Overlook Hotel has only increased. Its trademark scenes of overt horror (the eerie twins, the door being axed open, the blood from the elevator, etc.) have been discussed at length and by this point parodied or patisched even more often, such as in the 2018 blockbuster Ready Player One. Lately, though, a belief has emerged that give credit for the movie’s effectiveness for something seemingly trivial. It’s the presence of continuity errors.

In the wake of Rodney Ascher’s 2013 documentary Room 237, these errors have become a relatively hot topic in film circles. One of the main errors is the physical impossibility of the Overlook Hotel as pointed out in videos by Rob Ager (who noticed because his friend was trying to create a fan level in the video game Duke Nukem to resemble the Overlook Hotel.) For example, for the interview at the beginning of the film, the office it takes place in has a window to the outside. Yet in the movie, when comparing the location of that office to the hallways protagonist Jack Torrance later walks through, it becomes clear that the office is completely enclosed by the building. The window is “impossible” as Ager put it. Another significant error is that Grady, the previous caretaker who killed his family in a murder suicide before the events of the film, is named Charles Grady at the beginning but is named Delbert Grady later on, which is a pretty bizarre mistake for everyone involved in the production to miss. It adds to a theme suggested by the final shot of the movie that somehow these characters have been reincarnated and will visit this hotel again and again over the years.

If all this was intentional, it wouldn’t have been the first time for Kubrick. In A Clockwork Orange, during the scene where protagonist Alex DeLarge is drugged, Kubrick intentionally futzed with the portions of the meal laid out in front of him to disorient the audience. To expand that notion out from a scene to a feature film would be pretty ambitious even by his standards.

2. Picnic at Hanging Rock

This 1975 film not only launched the career of future The Truman Show and Master and Commander director Peter Weir. It’s been credited with revolutionizing Australian cinema and effectively making films from down under an international force to be reckoned with. Little wonder that it was sufficiently beloved to be remade in 2018 as a TV series.

What helps hook Picnic at Hanging Rock is its seeming normalcy. It begins with the class of a finishing school in Adelaide of 1900 going on a day out. While they’re there, four of the girls vanish. Subsequent search parties can’t find a trace. One man tries going it alone, and goes blind. Hanging Rock refuses to even hint what caused the women to vanish or what made the subsequent investigation have such odd occurrences. Then one of the women returns, but she can’t remember anything that happened to her around Hanging Rock. Aside from the hypnotic score by pan flutist Zamfir, it’s also so mundanely, meticulously told that many believed the wholy fabricated story was based on a real unexplained mystery. Little wonder that when it was initially released, despite containing barely any onscreen violence, it was treated as a horror movie.

1. The Battery

No one would call this 2012 movie an art film and its makers didn’t aspire for it to be one. It’s a buddy zombie film, The Battery of the title refers to a duo in cricket who pitch and are at bat. One such battery is traveling through countryside with a few mates trying to find shelter. It was not a massive hit or a critical darling. Its budget was a paltry $6000. So what’s it doing in the #1 position on this list?

Because creators Jeremy Gardner and Adam Cronheim hit upon a brilliantly simple and cheap way to add a subconscious effect to their movie through infrasounds. Infrasounds are a type of white noise that’s usually outside the range of conscious human hearing. Such machines as air conditioners, generators, and anything else that produces a 19 hz or lower sound. Because they register subconsciously, they provide stimulus that often puts humans on edge without being aware why, which was exploited considerably for the sound mix of this movie. It just goes to show that for all the artistry and cleverness that many directors try to put into their movies. People are still people, and susceptible to the most basic tricks.