Introspecting more to the grim side of our being, some movies can really take you places. As we pop the ecstasy of cinema, we groove over the films that push us over the edge. Films that induce a trance that emits a scent not easy to forget. Here are 5 trippy films on Netflix that went over the edges in being trippy. Trippy films that will make you uncomfortable.
Circle (2015)
Director: Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione
Runtime: 1h 27min.
After a blackout, everyone awakens to find themselves in a circle in a dark room, facing each other. They quickly learn not to move too much or try to step off the red spots under their feet for fear of electrocuting themselves by a machine in the centre of the room. The machine also randomly murders one person every two minutes. They can’t halt the death, but they may pick the next victim by public voting. They discover more rules and intricacies along the way, all of which factor into their tense debate about who should be the next to die and whether or not “winning” this cruel game is really possible.
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Director: Lana Wachowski , Lilly Wachowski
Runtime: 2h 52min.
Lana and Lilly Wachowski (Run Lola Run) and Tom Tykwer (Cloud Atlas) adapted David Mitchell’s time-spanning novel Cloud Atlas with a stellar ensemble that switches genders, races, and species across the six storylines. Firstly, It’s an inconsistent compilation that, despite its flaws, demonstrates more ambition, optimism, and originality than anything else released in the previous eight years. Cloud Atlas is a symphony of feeling that plays the synapses and the spine, a picture that absorbs into the neurological system and shocks the spectator out of the usual for three quick, visceral hours, far from being a block that fits nicely into any type of planned agenda.
Snowpiercer (2014)
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Runtime: 2h 5min.
Humans inject a new chemical into the atmosphere, which backfires and freezes the whole planet. The last of humanity’s survivors are crammed into a self sustaining train. It is meant to go around the world in an unending circle. The survivors are separated into haves and have-nots, with the latter living in concentration camp-like circumstances at the rear of the train under the thumb of a mysterious, “benevolent” dictator known only as Wilford. In a bold attempt to seize control of the train, the civilians mutiny against the troops. As they are unable to travel into the harsh world beyond, they must battle for their freedom in the tiny aisles, or perish trying.
White Chamber (2018)
Director: Paul Raschid
Runtime: 1h 29min.
To summarize this film in one sentence, the film is all about torture, but in a pristinely white chamber. The juxtaposition of the victim’s anguish and the clean chamber is precisely what makes the film so strange. After all, when Dr. Elle Chrysler wakes up, she discovers that she has been imprisoned in a tiny chamber, where her kidnappers torture her with technology from behind closed doors. ‘White Chamber’ is a film that messes with your brain in a subtle and understated way.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Director: Spike Jonze
Runtime: 1h 52min.
John Malkovich was believed to be one of those performers that put a lot of stock in themselves back in 1998. He began his career in theatre, starring opposite Dustin Hoffman in Death of a Salesman on Broadway. However, we see him in a very different light in Spike Jonze’s 1999 film Being John Malkovich. Craig Schwartz is an unemployed puppeteer who is married to animal rights activist Lotte. Craig falls for one of his new coworkers, Maxine, after landing a low-level admin position. She, on the other hand, is completely uninterested in him. Everything changes when he discovers a gateway inside John Malkovich’s head in his workplace one day.
