Movies are made with the intention of impressing the audience and grabbing their attention from beginning to end. Filmmaking is storytelling, and stories are meant to keep you engaged. Whether a film has you laughing uncontrollably or racking your brain to figure out what is happening, movies are meant to have you hooked from start to finish. It is true that some movies do not require their viewers to pay close attention to every detail, because the narrative is straightforward enough. If you are truly enjoying a film, it is assumed you would want to pay attention anyway. Some movies, however, absolutely demand their viewers' attention from beginning to end.
These movies are filled with imperative details and intertwined plot points that need to be focused on in order to understand what's going on. You will need to pause and rewind if the viewer looks away for even a minute. Luckily, these movies are also intriguing enough that not paying attention won't even seem like an option. Without further ado, here are 20 movies that require your full attention from start to finish.
The following list may contain spoilers.
30 The Game (1997)
- Release Date
- September 12, 1997
- Runtime
- 2hr 9min
- Writers
- John Brancato , Michael Ferris
- Studio
- Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films, A&B Producoes, Lda.
Long considered David Fincher's most underrated film, The Game is a thrilling mystery told with stylish flourishes, and you need to pay attention throughout for it all to make sense. Michael Douglas stars as an apathetic rich investment banker who is the kind of man you can't really buy gifts for — he's done everything and could buy anything. His brother, though, attempts the impossible and gets him a birthday gift unlike any other. Soon, Douglas is involved in a 'game' that infiltrates every part of his life and becomes more and more dangerous.
29 Shutter Island (2010)
- Release Date
- February 14, 2010
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island messes with its audience members' minds for its entire runtime. Taking place in the mid-50s, the film follows US Marshal Teddy Daniels as he is assigned to investigate a case at Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital with his partner. But after they spend some time investigating, Teddy begins to question his reality and even his own sanity.
A Complicated and Beautiful Genre Exercise
Scorsese's gloomy thriller is a slick whodunit with an impressive cast and a truly mesmerizing plot twist. Looking away from this film for even a second will leave you utterly confused as the plot moves fast and there is so much to be revealed. It's Scorsese's best approach to horror.
28 Perfect Blue (1997)
- Release Date
- February 28, 1998
- Director
- Satoshi Kon
- Cast
- Junko Iwao , Rica Matsumoto , Shinpachi Tsuji , Masaaki Ôkura
- Runtime
- 1hr 21min
- Writers
- Sadayuki Murai , Yoshikazu Takeuchi , Lia Sargent
- Studio
- Rex Entertainment, Kotobuki Seihan Printing, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
The brilliant Satoshi Kon only made a handful of films in his life, and Perfect Blue is the most notorious. A psychological horror interlaced with a complicated mystery, the film follows a pop star who chooses to leave her J-pop idol group and pursue acting, a decision which soon blurs her reality when an obsessive fan starts to stalk her. It's best to go in blind in this one.
27 Inception (2010)
- Release Date
- July 15, 2010
Inception centers around Dom Cobb, an expert thief who specializes in the art of self-extraction. He steals valuable secrets from deep within subconscious minds during the dream state, where the mind is the most vulnerable. His profession has made him a wanted fugitive, so when he is offered a chance at redemption, he jumps at it. This requires him not to steal an idea from someone's dream, but rather plant one.
A Mindbending Film Like No Other
Similar to Shutter Island, Christopher Nolan's Inception is another mind-bender that will leave the viewer helplessly confused if their attention doesn't remain on the screen for the entire runtime. The film is meant to mess with your perception of reality, just as it does with the characters. So, if you don't devote your attention to the film, you're going to come back to the story with no idea where you last left off.
26 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
- Release Date
- October 20, 2017
- Director
- Yorgos Lanthimos
The Killing of a Sacred Deer follows a surgeon named Steven Murphy who's going through an awkward situation with patient Martin Lang. Martin is obsessed with Dr. Murphy, and even convinces his mother to seduce him. Murphy rejects everything from Martin, until the 16-year-old reveals his plan: Because of Steven's inability to save his father, he must kill someone in his family. Otherwise, they will all die.
A Clever Mashup of Horror and Drama
Yorgos Lanthimos' near-perfect exercise in horror requires a suspension of disbelief from the audience from the very beginning. There's no way that Martin's influence can be lethal, but when things start happening to the Murphys, you know you're in the hands of a very sick individual. It doesn't matter how much you look for it, Martin's "attack" is merely psychological and not physical.
25 Predestination (2014)
- Release Date
- January 9, 2015
- Cast
- Ethan Hawke , Sarah Snook , Noah Taylor , Christopher Kirby , Madeleine West , Jim Knobeloch , Freya Stafford , Elise Jansen , Tyler Coppin , Christopher Stollery , Christopher Sommers , Kuni Hashimoto , Sara El-Yafi , Paul Moder , Grant Piro , Christopher Bunworth , Jamie Gleeson , Christina Tan , Dennis Coard , Milla Simmonds , Ruby Simmonds , Cate Wolfe , Ben Prendergast , Carmen Warrington , Sharon Kershaw
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
The Spierig Brothers' Predestination follows a skilled temporal agent, simply called The Barkeep, on his final assignment through time to pursue the one criminal who has eluded him for decades. His assignment leads him to meet with and team up with a mysterious figure who uses the pen name The Unmarried Mother. Without giving too much away, The Barkeep and The Unmarried Mother slowly reveal important information about themselves through conversation at a bar in 1970 New York City that also reveals connections between the two.
Time Travel as a Concept is an Understatement
This film throws twists and turns at you like it's nothing and expects you to move right along with them, so your absolute full attention must be given at all times because things get really complicated at some point. Be prepared for the film's impressive plot twist in the ending. You will be shocked. You can rent Predestination on Prime Video.
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We like to have fun and relax at the movies, right? But in the case of these gritty thrillers, you will probably have a hard time with their endings.
24 Triangle (2009)
- Release Date
- October 16, 2009
When Jess drops her son off at school and sets sail on her friend's yacht for the afternoon, she cannot shake the feeling that something is off about their trip. When the boat is damaged after a terrible storm, the group is left with no choice but to board a passing ocean liner for safety. Once on board, Jess can't shake the feeling that she's been there before and that someone is aboard and intent on hunting them down.
An Underrated and Clever Thriller
Triangle purposefully messes with your head from the very beginning. There is always something a bit off about the decisions that characters make, especially Jess, and every situation feels wrong. You spend the entire movie feeling like you are missing information, and even as the plot twists reveal themselves, you will still be left feeling like you are missing something. The entire film is a trip, but the third act in particular will make you completely forget about everything else.
23 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Release Date
- March 19, 2004
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind follows Joel, a lonely man whose girlfriend has decided to erase him from her memory after they break up. Joel decides to seek the same treatment, and after the ragtag team of scientists wire up Joel's brain, the audience enters a chaotic mind of a man whose connection with his former partner is much too strong.
What Does a Chaotic Mind Express?
A story told by the unique filmmaker Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a brilliant take on the theme of dreams, memory and the limits of imagination. While its story seems simple, Gondry complicates things by treating Charlie Kaufman's script (which won an Academy Award) with an oneiric approach that doesn't let the audience rest for one second.
22 Upstream Color (2013)
The second and possibly final movie from disgraced filmmaker Shane Carruth, Upstream Color is nonetheless a masterpiece of cinema that's even more complicated than his first film, Primer. The enigmatic film follows a man and a woman who may have been infected by a very specific parasite that a strange man has been creating, and chronicles the three-stage life cycle of the parasite (which may or may not turn people into pigs). It may seem completely impenetrable, but if you watch the film very carefully, everything comes together in a poignant, intensely sad but brilliant way.
21 Donnie Darko (2001)
- Release Date
- October 26, 2001
Donnie Darko follows social outcast Donnie, a teenager who doesn't get along well with his classmates, teachers, or parents. He has one friend, Gretchen, who understands him and agrees to date him. His only other friend is a freakish, human-sized bunny named Frank that only Donnie can see. When an engine falls off a plane and lands in Donnie's bedroom while he's not there, it appears that both the event and Donnie's escape were caused by supernatural events.
The Best Cult Teen Horror Film
It's an engrossing film from the very beginning. Not that you would want to, because this energetic, hypnotic, mind meld of a movie will have you locked in from the moment you press play to the moment the credits end. It blends all the best aspects of mysteries, thrillers, and sci-fi movies together to make a film that is completely mindbending and gripping.
20 Coherence (2013)
Coherence (2013)
The words "trippy" and "mystifying" come to mind when thinking of ways to describe Coherence. The sci-fi thriller takes place over the course of one night when a group of friends gets together for a dinner party on a night when a comet passes over Earth. The dinner starts out normally with conversation and reminiscing until the power suddenly goes out. The group loses track of time and each other, and things get complicated when they see doppelgängers of themselves outside.
One of the Best Indie Modern Films
Coherence unquestionably requires the viewer's full attention in order to grasp the events that unfold. Each individual's perception of reality is skewed as the night goes on, and even the characters that refuse to accept what is happening to them struggle with what's real and what's not. The last act teases an explanation and a guide between fiction and non-fiction, but shatters that completely by the final moments.
19 Black Bear (2020)
- Release Date
- December 4, 2020
Black Bear centers around Allison, a filmmaker who stays with a young couple in their remote lakeside cabin with the hope of finding inspiration for her next film there. The dynamic between the three is good at first, but Alison soon realizes that something about the woods brings out her inner demons and soon the group is thrown into a calculated game of desire, jealousy, and manipulation.
A Cryptic But Compelling Movie
The film is both darkly comedic and surprisingly thought-provoking, and completely worthy of your unbroken attention. There is a stark tonal and narrative shift in the middle of the film that you will absolutely want to devote your eyes and ears to, as it only gets more interesting from there. Just don't try to make too much sense of it. You can rent Black Bear on Prime Video.
18 Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
A Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world.
- Release Date
- March 25, 2022
The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once follows an aging Chinese immigrant named Evelyn who is struggling to keep her failing laundromat business afloat while dealing with a husband who wants a divorce and an adult daughter she can't relate to. She gets swept up in an insane adventure when a multiverse rift occurs during her meeting with an IRS auditor. She is then shown multiple parallel universes where she could have been a dozen different things and lead a dozen different lives.
Unlike Anything Else You Will Ever See
The movie took audiences by storm in 2022 and was an awards season darling following its successful release. It puts a unique spin on multiverse storytelling, and there is not a second of this 139-minute eccentric film that does not demand your dedicated attention. There are so many hidden details and Easter eggs scattered throughout the multiverse that one can only catch if remaining completely focused on the film. Or if you rewatch it a second time.
17 Memento (2000)
- Release Date
- May 25, 2001
Christopher Nolan's breakthrough film, Memento, completely ignores a typical narrative structure by using two different timelines. One moves forward in time while the other moves backward in time. It revolves around a man named Leonard who can no longer build new memories, therefore forcing him to use sticky notes, polaroids, and tattoos to remember everything he wants or needs to remember. He is convinced that two men murdered his wife, and so he embarks on a quest to find and kill her attackers.
Nolan Starts Playing With Time
Since there are two simultaneous timelines that move opposite of each other, it can be tough to discern which events have already happened, which are currently happening, and which will happen. Leonard is also an unreliable narrator given his memory issues, so some events may not have happened the way he told himself to remember them, and some may not have happened at all. It's a movie that not only requires your full attention, but simply will not make a lick of sense if your mind is not thoroughly focused on it.
16 Infinity Pool (2023)
- Release Date
- January 27, 2023
Infinity Pool follows a married couple, James and Em, who are staying at an isolated beach resort on the fictional island of La Tolqa to enjoy an idyllic vacation filled with exceptional service and beautiful views. When they meet the mysterious Gabi and her husband, James and Em venture off the resort grounds with the couple and find themselves involved in a culture of violence and hedonism.
The Dark and Twisted Side of the Human Soul
Coming from the mind of David Cronenberg's son, Brandon Cronenberg, it should be no surprise that Infinity Pool is a hallucinogenic nightmare that you simply can't look away from. The film is deeply unsettling from the start, but after they venture off the resort property, it becomes a deranged and unnerving thrill ride. It is so beyond strange and more than convoluted yet utterly entrancing that not paying attention is simply not an option.
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15 Triangle of Sadness (2022)
- Release Date
- September 22, 2022
- Director
- Ruben Östlund
- Cast
- Thobias Thorwid , Harris Dickinson , Charlbi Dean , Vicki Berlin , Woody Harrelson
Ruben Östlund's darkly comedic Palme d'Or winning dramedy is a deliciously entertaining tale of the ultrarich and the people who serve them. The film follows an internet-famous celebrity couple, Instagram influencer Yaya and male model Carl, who are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-wealthy that is led by an exceptional staff and a rather unstable captain. The guests are wined and dined while the crew thanklessly answers their every beck and call, but what starts out as a vlogable vacation quickly takes a turn for the worse.
A Multilayered Nightmare
Triangle of Sadness has such an unpredictable, disgusting, over-the-top hilarious change in direction that if you stop paying attention for even a second, you will probably question if the same movie is still playing. If you are a fan of movies that tell their story through multiple parts or take a drastic turn in direction but also include a wicked sense of humor, then this one is for you.
14 Inherent Vice (2014)
- Release Date
- December 12, 2014
- Runtime
- 148
- Studio
- Warner Bros.
Based on the equally complicated book by the frequently loopy literary genius Thomas Pynchon, Paul Thomas Anderson's film Inherent Vice is a deconstruction of the typical detective story, a film noir on acid and thrust into the '70s. It follows a hippie private investigator played by Jaoquin Phoenix (the lead of a stacked all-star cast) whose new case gets him in over his head with a complicated scheme involving the LAPD, the FBI, the psychiatric industry, countercultural revolutionaries, and much more. Part of the point of the film is to make you just as confused as the main character, and it works.
13 Titane (2021)
Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for 10 years. Titane: A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys.
- Release Date
- October 1, 2021
- Cast
- Vincent Lindon , Agathe Rousselle , Garance Marillier , Laïs Salameh , Dominique Frot , Myriem Akeddiou
Julia Ducournau has only directed two feature-length films, but both have been beautifully weird cinematic achievements. Her second film, Titane, follows a woman named Alexia who has been living with a medical-grade titanium alloy firmly planted in her skull after a horrific car accident when she was a child. Ten years after the cranioplasty, Alexia is now a quietly violent go-go dancer at underground car shows, where she has developed an off-putting fetish for cars.
If You Follow the Story, You Will Connect With Alexia
Besides being completely deranged and peculiar, the plot is wildly convoluted. It deliberately takes its time to answer the viewer's questions, if it does at all. Simply put, it is so incredibly strange and unsettling that you must give the film your full attention, otherwise you will have no clue what is happening.
12 The Call (2020)
The Call is a near-perfect horror thriller from South Korea. It follows two 28-year-old women living in the countryside outside of Seoul who correspond with each other via a landline telephone. Seo-yeon is visiting her mother's house in 2019, while Young-sook lives with her step-mother in the same house, but in 1999. The two women talk every day on the phone despite living in two different decades, and become friends. They start to wonder if the past can be changed, but Seo-yeon soon realizes it may be better left alone.
A Solid Asian Thriller Not Many People Have Seen
This film is as entertaining as it is unsettling, and it is quite plot-twist heavy. The discoveries that Seo-yeon makes that uncovers why she is able to talk to someone 20 years in the past and Young-sook's increasingly concerning behaviors make this a captivating thriller to watch, but balancing the timelines and twists certainly require your in-depth attention. You can stream The Call on Netflix.
11 I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
I'm Thinking of Ending Things follows a young woman as she takes a snowy road trip to New York to meet her boyfriend's parents at their farmhouse, despite having second thoughts about their relationship. The couple ends up stuck at the farmhouse due to the raging blizzard outside, which causes the young woman to question everything about herself, her boyfriend, and the world.
Charlie Kaufman at His Best
The film doesn't necessarily tell its audience whether what they are watching is fake or reality for the young woman, and it does an excellent job of making fact and fiction nearly indiscernible. Not only do you undoubtedly need to give this film your full attention, you may need to pause and do some research as well. In true Charlie Kaufman fashion, his drama/thriller I'm Thinking of Ending Things is disorienting and mind-altering from start to finish.
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