5. Funny Games (1997)
I could just as well have selected any old Michael Haneke movie for inclusion on this list, but it's 1997's Funny Games that I believe best sums up the director's purposely manipulative style and darkly meta-sensibilities. Michael Haneke films are designed to make you think, and none so much as this one, which asks movie-goers why they go to the movies in the first place... and why do we expect the things that we expect from watching them? The story, which concerns a family who are held hostage by a couple of sadistic killers, is (in Haneke's own words) "pointless." What could have been a straight horror film, then, devolves into a series of intellectual discussions about the nature of violent movies and their underlying effects on society. The whole thing is creepy and disturbing to watch, especially when you realise that Haneke is testing and toying with your expectations. Funny Games is not a satisfying viewing experience, and nor was it supposed to be. You need only see it once.