12 Sci-Fi Movies That NOBODY Understands

Ah, the ambitious second feature. Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly was the toast of Hollywood after his moody, ambitious teen sci-fi dramedy hit cinemas in 2002, and the world was watching to see his next move when his sophomore effort Southland Tales debuted in Cannes 2005.

Then came the feedback. Cluttered, impossible to understand, and over-stuffed, Kelly’s second film earned itself a place in bad film history as it brought together the Rock’s amnesiac movie star, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s porn star love interest, and Seann William Scott as two versions of the same future cop in a story depicting a post-WWIII LA as a bizarre wasteland.

Surreal, silly, and often surprisingly satirically sharp, this flick was nonetheless summarily dismissed by critics who—admittedly, accurately—complained it was quite literally impossible to make any sense of.