I like to be surprised and have a feeling of discovery when watching movies, so many times I try to read as little as possible about a film (beyond the general mood/concept) before watching. What are some good examples of this?
What are some movies that are best watched without knowing too much going in?
REQUESTINGThis! I HATE trailers! They just reveal so much information.
Yeah there's so many trailers I've seen that shows Act 1 (happy song), Act 2 (dramatic song), and then a montage of Act 3 (hopeful song), mixed in with clips of the climax and best parts of the movie. End with line that probably would have been way more effective if seen in context.
I don't end up seeing it because I feel like I just watched it.
I was whining about this being a new problem when I saw two trailers from 94 and 97 which spoiled the hell out of the movies. It's awful lol but it's also hard to see any modern promotional poster and be slightly clued in or even excited to me. The poster art feels pretty homogeneous to me.
Watch the teaser instead! Pretty much every major movie release has this version and they’re loads better.
I hear ya. I've felt same about trailers since similar time. Posters can't convey the essence of the movie...like judging a book by its cover. Half the time, buzz is based on which hot famous actors are in it. Something recent and noteworthy like EEAAO got my interest piqued ahead of awards season by some critic calling it an indie which did multiverse better than Marvel...
Trailers have become synoptic, no bueno
Judging how I'm seeing every movie in existence in the comments, that is the true answer
This is the answer.
This, seconded. I don't want to know anything going in. I don't want to talk about it, see images of any kind, speculate, nothing. I simply want it to unveil before me as intended.
The only caveat is if the movie is based on a story that cannot possibly be illuminated on the screen. Like Lord of the Rings, or Dune, or Game of Thrones. In that case my solution is "read the books", or read-read then, then watch the movie.
I don't ever remember being disappointed by a movie using this approach.
The first fight my wife and I had was at a Blockbuster because it drove her crazy that I wouldn’t read the back of the box.
The original Planet of the Apes.
I watched this in 2020 having never seen a single one and oh my god, I can't believe I never had it spoiled for me throughout my life. what an experience
I had the best experience with that movie. I turned the tv on and it had just begun, but I’d missed the title (this was before it just appeared on the screen). So I had no idea what movie I was watching, but I like sci-fi. I was floored when the apes showed up.
I feel like The Simpson Planet of the Apes musical spoiled it for a lot of us in the best way, lol.
Literally did that, like, two weeks ago. Thought I was in for a fun, brainless sci-fi movie from the sixties. Got an existential crisis instead.
Moon
Yes, enter from the dark side!
What an experience this movie is. I love it. I've seen it only twice, and a long time ago even, but I've listened to the soundtrack almost weekly, and every time is like watching the movie because it lives so completely rent free and welcome in my head!
This movie caught my attention in another r/MovieSuggestions thread that asked for movies similar to Donnie Darko (or maybe Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). That's all I know about it and am so stoked to watch it.
It’s one of my favorites, I hope you enjoy!
Memento
DON'T BELIEVE HIS LIES!
Watched this a couple weeks ago, going in blind. What a fantastic watch!!
Sorry, What movie?
I feel like I would've been dumb and not gotten it until halfway through if I didn't know about the structure beforehand, and been so confused
From Dusk Till Dawn.
From Dusk Till Dawn
It was the most unexpected "twist" I've ever experienced. This was in the age before the internet and I had seen Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. So for this movie I was expecting the exact same, but there's a little surprise there.
I've never had a more "WHAT??" experience in movies in my life, loved it. Really fun movie! And for people who haven't seen it: I highly recommend seeing Reservoir dogs and Pulp fiction first. And then watch this movie, but don't google it at all. I'm guessing any info at all gives all the fun stuff away, but going into it blind just makes it so much more fun.
I would want to watch! But is it full of mind boggling gore? I don’t want to not anticipate having to close my eyes because I suffer from stress from too much of that shit lol.
Yes, a LOT of gore.
I assume you're talking about the penis revolver?
Yep. Will never forget being a kid watching as a kid and my buddies and I just going WAIT, WHAT THE FUCK
I watched this one with no clue what it was. My uncle just had it on. Greatest flip of all time.
Oldboy
Swiss army man
Cabin in the woods
This is my answer. I had a friend who asked if I've heard of it. I hadn't. He said, "Don't look at anything about it, just watch it." So, I did. About half way in I thought it was just some generic homage to classic slashers...
Being John Malkovich
My name is warts?
Malkovich. Malkovich. Malkovich. Malkovich.
Malkovich. Malkovich?
Maaaaalkoviiich.
Not a movie, but Severance.
I can't wait for next season. Almost time another re-watch of the first season!
Yes, and the best is when you show it to people who've never heard of it before, and it just blows their minds!
I stumbled on it early and told everyone I know about it. Everyone I managed to talk into watching it loved it.
I'm not a fan of Stiller as an actor, but boy, he's a fantastic director.
The Menu
One Cut Of The Dead
Mandy
Hundreds Of Beavers
Hundreds of Beavers is a trip. I went in blind. What a thing.
One cut of the dead is my prime example of this for sure.
Barbarian
I went into this completely blind and it was sooooo good. Even better on a rewatch.
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Predestination (2014)
Lucky Number Slevin
I would say this works for most of the movies. But maybe just check the genre before going in. Because all depends on ur mood. U in mood for action movie and u will get bored in a drama movie. So just check the genre as per ur mood and u will be surprised. That's the reason , I avoid trailers as much as I can.
I’ll throw some horror in here:
Malignant (2021)
Ready or Not (2019)
Abigail (2024)
The Thing (1982)
These Last Hours (2013)
See No Evil (2022)
Coherence (2013)
A Wounded Fawn (2022)
Exhibit A (2007)
Kill List (2011)
Host (2020)
Glorious (2022)
I love Ready or Not. Criminally underrated movie. I show it to everyone I can.
It’s so good, isn’t it?! Samara Weaving is a wonder and absolutely entrancing.
Challenge accepted, never seen it, don't know shit about it and I needed something to watch. Here we go......
You just made me watch A wounded fawn. It was fucking awful and I demand an apology.
User deleted comment
1mo
I second the Malignant, absolutely amazing and surprising. It's on Netflix too!!
Good list id throw the Guest on there
I want to add The Killing Room (2009) to that decent list.
This is one on my extensive watch list I’ve yet to see. I’ll put it at the top and explore it soon.
Anything Shayamalanmalanmalan
The Usual Suspects
Identity
The Abyss
Event Horizon
Apollo 18
I remember when I first got Usual Suspects on DVD and the menu background showed a scene from the end of the movie that completely ruined the surprise. Lame.
Perfect choices.
Identity is a fantastic choice.
Dark City (1998)
Gone Girl (2014)
The Gift (2015)
Primal Fear (1996)
I See You (2019)
The Black Phone (2021)
I saw gone girl because of my wife and knew nothing and it was awesome. Highly recommend.
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, The Butterfly Effect, Identity, Shutter Island, Southland Tales.
"I've got soul but I'm not a soldier"
Memento
Parasite. Everything everywhere all at once. (And for comedic purposes, imagine going into the jackass movie without having any idea what it is...)
The sixth sense
The others
The Others is my favorite of its genre of all time. So clever and unique.
I went to a movie theater with a friend in 1994 not knowing the movie I was about to see. The only description my friend who chose the movie gave me was that John Travolta was in it, making a career comeback. 45 minutes into the movie I still wasn't sure if it was a drama or a comedy. By the second half of Pulp Fiction, it was more obvious but I'm glad I knew nothing going in as it made seeing the unique movie a more memorable experience.
Yeah my uncle took me to see it in theaters the day after he saw it. All I knew was his vague “dude it’s badass trust me.” I did and it was
Same, but it was a drive-in in the rain. SO GOOD
The Game
Best thing I’ve seen recently going in blind was barbarian…holy shit I did not expect that!!
The Cabin in The Woods
Donnie Darko & Orphan.
Snowpiercer (2013)
One of my favorite films and an excellent blind exposure movie.
The Usual Suspects. I had never heard of the movie when my friend took me to the theater to see it 🤯
District 9
Equilibrium
The Prestige
I'd say most movies.
Alien
Blade Runner
Fight Club
Se7en
Pulp Fiction
Jackie Browne
Memento
Inception
Interstellar
Shutter Island
The Departed
Gangs Of New York
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Matrix
Zodiac
Midsommar
Fresh (2022) totally blind is easily a top 5 movie watching experience for me.
The Empire Strikes Back
get out
Coherence
All of them.
Almost every movie. The story should unfold how the filmmakers intend the story to be told, NOT the marketing department! This is why I don’t watch trailers to movies I know I’m going to see.
See, this is why despite being a longtime subscriber I never read reviews in The New Yorker of anything I'm remotely interested in, because they think nothing of spoiling the entire plots of books, TV shows, and movies, up to and including the ending. Also, The Vast of Night.
Archive (2020) — I gave it a higher rating than it deserves simply because of its ending
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) — Movie that makes you think constantly about which words and motives are true and which are not. The ending is a cherry on top.
American Psycho Taxi Driver Se7en
Taxi Driver has Deniro who, IMHO, is the GOAT. American Psycho has Christian Bale, the next GOAT. Seven, the movie's premise is great. I, personally, hate and am repulsed by Kevin Spacey. I always thought he was a creep. He ruined the movie for me. Any movie or TV show he's in, ruined it for me.
In closing, great picks!
I’ll swap it out for One Hour Photo with Robin Williams in a dramatic role.
Touche. Great movie. Robin was very versatile as an actor. Must rewatch this gem.
6th Sense
Poor things. The gift 2015.
Sixth Sense
Psycho The big Lebowski Fight club
A Beautiful Mind and The Sixth Sense They both blew me away. Srsly
Arlington Road
12 Monkeys
Gone Girl
Oldboy (2003)
Arlington Road and Oldboy great choices.
Pink Flamingos. Bring a friend.
2001's The Hole with Thora Birch and Kiera Knightley.
Love Thora Birch. Underrated.
Triangle
Love this
A woman of culture 🤌🤌
The Usual Suspects
The Game
The Sixth Sense
The Crying Game
[How soon we forget]
Primer please don't even read the DVD box
Nocturnal animals
This movie is a 10/10
Yess indeed 🤭
❤️❤️❤️
Any movie, unless it's a sequel, or 'based on' historical events.
Surveillance (2008) directed by Jennifer Lynch. Don’t read anything about it other than which streamer it’s currently on.
Try Coherence. I watched it knowing nothing about it and had my mind blown. It’s now one of my top five favourite movies.
Usual Suspects Se7en Sixth Sense
There’s loads with a great twist. Those are just three off the top.
Anyone got recommendations of some unexpected turns and shockers with psychological thrillers? Unfortunately, horror movies bore me. I need something that can f with my mind.
Battle Royale
Parasite
Perfume
this applies to basically 50% of the films I watch on the plane.
My favorite example is by far Fighting with my Family. I have 0 interest in WWE, I didn't grow up watching it like some others, had no idea who any of the wrestlers were apart from the Rock yet I absolutely loved it. Also introduced me to Florence Pugh.
All of them. I hate knowing before watching.
Tenet
Every movie… trailers show way too much
The Skin I Live In
I'm going to cheat and add a couple of shows
Bodies
Dark Matter
SO much better if you don't know anything about them going in.
The Prestige
The Usual Suspects, Memento, Gone Girl, Identity, Inception, Source Code, Shutter Island, 12 Monkeys, Primal Fear, The Gift, Mulholland Drive, The Invitation and The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Yes! The original Manchurian Candidate.
Dear Zachary
Dude my friend had me watch this in uni with zero context or background and I was not okay by the end of it
Dear Zachary is a real dick ripper.
Saltburn
Definitely Saltburn
🎶🕺🍑🍆🕺🎶
Every movie. I can't think of a movie that's better knowing what's up when you go in.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Triangle of sadness. Knowing nothing for this film is unmatched
Blair witch
Wanda or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The thing
Tusk
The Village, The Usual Suspects, Dusk til Dawn, The Blair Witch Project
Another vote for the Village.
Fight club
If you don't know anything about the teen drama The Fallout (Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler) just watch for 10 minutes.
Vanilla Sky
I think I was one of the few people on the planet who didn’t know how “The Perfect Storm” ended … glad I didn’t know before going in, made the movie a bit more powerful for me
Fight Club
The Sixth Sense
Se7en
The Usual Suspects
Incendies
Dogtooth!
Tucker and dale vs evil .
City of God.
Watching that for the first time definitely felt like a discovery.
A clockwork orange
Narc. I watched the trailer after and I'm SO glad that I did.
If you like Training Day, it's kind of like that.
The village
Old boy
The original
Kin (2018)
Gone Girl
From Dusk till Dawn
10 Cloverfield Lane
Border (Swedish: Gräns) is a 2018 Swedish fantasy film directed by Ali Abbasi). Absolutely do not read up on it. Just start watching it. It is free on TUBI.
The boy in the striped pyjamas one of the funniest Comedies I have ever seen
Every single movie ever. Fuck movie trailers
Secondhand Lions
Enter the Void
Identity
Predestination
I watched Lost Highway in a movie theater by myself at midnight without ever watching a David Lynch movie beforehand
OLDBOY (original)
Handmaid
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) I didn’t even know the genre, haha.
could you tell me what genre it is? because I still don't know
The everything genre
I always add that you need to watch the entire movie, preferably in same sitting, because it's all connected and worth it. But you'd be forgiven for being confused at times because the title is really not that off, and some might take a break to pick it up later. But don't that. I did, and regretted it, and when I watched it a second time it was a much better experience, that I wish I had had at the first go. Although, a second watch really makes it matter also.
Triangle of Sadness
Triangle of Sadness (2022) - I tend to enjoy movies that are unpredictable, and this was that for sure!
A Matter of Life and Death (1946) I’d recommend knowing nothing at all about the movie
Man, I just watched this the other day after having it recommended to me for YEARS, so good 🥹🥹🥹
Blood In Blood Out.
Certified Copy
Almost all of them, I find
One Cut of the Dead
Every movie.