15 bizarre movie plots that actually worked 

Coming up with a unique idea for a movie usually requires a lot of thinking and hard work from the screenwriter. The majority of the time, these ideas are well-thought-out concepts rooted in realistic notions, but more often than not, plots turn out to be bizarre stories so full of fiction and senseless ideas that the audience is left puzzled.

Surprisingly, there are some rare occurrences of these offbeat and outlandish ideas turning out to be quite bankable. Here is a list of 15 bizarre movie plots that actually worked.

15) Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2

Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2 is as bizarre as it gets for a movie plot. Can you believe the notion of highly intellectual toddlers trying to fight an evil villain? These babies not only talk like adults but also perform stunts and tricks. If this wasn’t weird enough, the villain, defying all conventional notions, plans to control the world through TV programs. It's as senseless as it gets, but the humor made it a fan favorite.

14) Dave Made a Maze

Dave Made a Maze is another movie with a quirky plot. Dave, an artist, builds a cardboard maze in his living room, and much to everyone’s surprise, it turns out to be a fully functioning fort inside. It is filled with traps and monsters, and things take an even weirder turn when Dave gets trapped inside it, and his girlfriend sets out on a mission to rescue him.

13) Jaws: The Revenge

While Jaws was a critically acclaimed series, its final installment, Jaws: The Revenge, couldn’t be any more bizarre. The screenwriter seems to have run out of ideas and settled on the plot where a family is convinced that a shark is particularly targeting their family. Now, no shark has the intelligence to have a personal grudge against someone, but this shark famously does. The movie makes no sense, but it did well as a mindless watch.

12) Snakes on a Plane

Snakes on a Plane has become a cult classic, but its plot makes no sense. An FBI agent is transporting a witness of a crucial case against a mob boss. In order to stop the testimony the boss has the plane filled with thousands of snakes. The movie develops into a bizarre sequence filled with chaos and panic as the passengers try and fight off these snakes.

11) The Lobster

The Lobster is another movie with a peculiar plot. The movie is about a hotel where guests must find a partner within a deadline of 45 days. Otherwise, they will be transformed into animals. It includes the main character turning into a lobster and the guests collectively revolting against the notion of love. It's safe to say that the plot is simply absurd, but had managed to win an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.

10) Swiss Army Man

If the other plots weren’t bizarre enough, Swiss Army Man, for sure, will exceed all expectations. A man is stranded on an island but finds himself in the company of a corpse. Yes, a corpse. Portrayed by none other than Daniel Radcliffe, this corpse has some magical abilities like - speaking, water filtering, acting as a compass, and a weapon.

9) Time Bandits

The plot of Time Bandits is filled with absurdities. It's about a boy, Kevin, traveling with six draws who go to different timelines to steal treasures. They meet notable historical figures like - Napoleon, Robin Hood, King Agamemnon, and others. Despite the weak plot, this movie did wonderfully commercially.

8) Star Trek: The Voyage Home

The Star Trek Franchise has gone on to become a classic in this history of cinema. But its 4th installment - The Voyage Home, stands out for its offbeat humor and outlandish plot. Humanity is on a mission to save Earth from an Alien Invasion, but turns out what these Aliens were actually interested in were humpback whales. These whales are extinct presently, so the task is to return to the past and bring them to the future.

7) Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko, released in 1988, is about a mentally disturbed boy who meets a person in a rabbit costume. This mysterious figure informs him that the world will end in 28 days. From this point starts a series of chaotic and senseless events about saving the earth. Although the movie deals with some deep and complex philosophical issues together, the plot points don’t add up. Yet the movie managed to become quite successful.

6) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that finds its name amongst some of the most famous romantic movies. But the plot, although emotional and deeply resonating, is quite bizarre. It's about a couple who embarks on a mission to erase memories of each other but midway decides they don’t want to. Despite a lot of oddities, the movie has managed to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

5) Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a movie released in 2022 that, much like its name, makes no sense. It's about a Chinese-American Woman who runs a laundry business. Throw in a tax auditor, a multiverse ,and black holes combined with kung-fu action and whatnot - the movie is an amalgamation of all things bizarre.

4) Total Recall

Starring none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall follows the life of a construction worker in the future who has dreams about a woman on Mars. Disturbed by his visions, he goes to a company that offers to implant fake memories in his brain, and during the procedure, he finds out his whole life is a fake memory. If you thought the movie couldn’t go any more bizarre from here, it actually does with mutant rebellions and buried alien reactors.

3) Ratatouille

Ratatouille, released in 2007, has become a very popular animated movie. Loved by both children and adults, it is a highly successful film. But if you think about it, the plot is quite absurd. A chef rat with great cooking skills partners with a garbage boy and forms a partnership to start a restaurant.Yes, definitely weird.

2) Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is another classic with a very eccentric plot. A group of Colombia University Scientists leave their jobs to start a ghost-catching service. They have a marshmallow chasing them in New York, and their ghost-catching gear is nothing short of a vacuum cleaner.

1) Shrek

Shrek has become one of the most loved animated movies of all time. But along with its humor and heartfelt scenes, it is also filled with some bizarre plot points. The movie is about Shrek, an ogre who lives in a swamp. He is on a mission to rescue a Princess who turns into an ogre at night. The princess is captured in a tower protected by a dragon, and the dragon falls in love with a donkey. A lot of stuff in the movie makes no sense, but still, it has become a classic.