12 Sci-Fi Movies That Purposefully Mess With Your Head

Hated upon its release in 2003 for tackling heavy, disturbing themes with a less-than-subtle stylistic palette more reminiscent of MTV than art cinema, The Butterfly Effect has since gone on to be reconsidered by critics in the decades since. The film follows troubled student Evan as he attempts to undo the many tragedies and traumas which plagued his childhood and ruined the lives of his friends, as well as leaving Evan himself burdened with frequent blackouts.

Does sound like pretty heavy material for That 70’s Show era Ashton Kutcher, doesn’t it?

However, following the logic of the eponymous theory, each attempt only leaves Evan’s friends in worse stead than before. The film illustrates the untraceable effect we have on one another’s live in both its theatrical and (vastly superior) alternate endings, both of which see Evan remove himself from the lives of his friends entirely, thus saving them from their hopeless fates.