10 Recent Movies That Totally Trolled Audiences
These movies loved messing with viewers.
It's fair to say that most movies are made to entertain first and foremost, and of course, some are made to inform, to move emotionally, and open dialogues about the world around us.
And then there are films which seemingly exist solely to mess with the audience, to upend viewer anticipation and deliver something totally different from what they expected.
While movies can absolutely be pleasantly surprising and give audiences something they didn't even know they wanted, there are also times where filmmakers risk pissing off the very people paying to watch their work, such is the extent to which they've deviated from the expected style, tone, and form.
And that's 100% true of these 10 recent movies, each of which took it upon themselves to thoroughly mess with viewers one way or another.
From denying audiences the very thing they wanted to see, to going in a much, much weirder direction than the marketing implied, and perhaps even putting them through an intentionally uncomfortable, squirm-inducing experience, these movies mastered the "art" of trolling audiences, whether they liked it or not...
10. Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker: Folie à Deux was certainly anything but a safe and conventional sequel, evidenced by Todd Phillips' decision to filter Arthur Fleck's (Joaquin Phoenix) villainous odyssey through the prism of a jukebox musical.
It was a bold approach that absolutely could have worked with a heavyweight musical talent like Lady Gaga playing Harley Quinn, but Folie à Deux ultimately proved wildly polarising for another reason entirely - it seemed to harbour active disdain for anyone who enjoyed the first film.
Rather than continue Arthur Fleck's transition into the classic Joker DC fans know and love, Folie à Deux is basically a defiant rejection of all the fandom for the character, and the success of the first film in particular.
This sequel culminates in Arthur rescinding his Joker persona and then being murdered in prison by a criminal who appears to be the "real" Joker.
Many fans saw it as an intentional attempt to antagonise them, delivering an expectation-defying anti-sequel which violently closed the door on the prospect of any further Arthur Fleck stories.