Halloween 2024: What Halloween movies do fans consider the most confusing to watch this time of year?

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Maybe avoid some of these films this Halloween if you’re looking for something straightforward 👻
  • Have you ever scratched your head after watching a movie for the first time?
  • A recent survey asked people what they considered the most confusing film with Halloween themes.
  • But who came out on top, and were you left confused also by this film?

I’m sure plenty of you are preparing yourselves for Halloween by jotting down a list of films you intend to watch over the spookiest night of the year. 

You might be finding yourself dipping into one of those video nasties that caused a moral panic back in the 1980s, or a number of sublime works by the likes of Ari Aster or the late, great Wes Craven.

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But there’s always that one movie that elicits debate among many and begs the question: “what on earth was that all about?”

What Halloween-themed film has left those surveyed both scratching the heads and also grabbing the phone to search on Google?What Halloween-themed film has left those surveyed both scratching the heads and also grabbing the phone to search on Google?
What Halloween-themed film has left those surveyed both scratching the heads and also grabbing the phone to search on Google? | Canva/A24/New Line/Pandora Cinema

CasinoAus aimed to identify Halloween-themed movies with the most confusing endings by compiling a list of popular titles based on reputable sources up to October 2024. 

Using the search analytics tool Ahrefs, they analysed global yearly search volumes, employing specific keyword variations related to movie endings and explanations to ensure accurate results. 

Each movie was then ranked in descending order according to these search volumes to reveal the films audiences find most confusing - and for some, the winner might not come as too much of a surprise. 

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What Halloween movie do fans think is the most confusing? 

It would appear that despite being over 20 years old, Donnie Dark is still confusing newer viewers to this day.It would appear that despite being over 20 years old, Donnie Dark is still confusing newer viewers to this day.
It would appear that despite being over 20 years old, Donnie Dark is still confusing newer viewers to this day. | Canva

Coming in first by quite the margin, it would seem that the classic Donnie Darko still leaves people confused, owing to the ideas behind time-travel in the film. The study showed that an average of 204,000 search for the film annually to understand what exactly happened after the first (or second) watch.

That's followed by The Shining, with an average annual search of 120,000, though part of that might suggest some “Second Screaming” going on also. 

Coming in third is Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning feature film Get Out, with 67,000 searches on average each year, while Ari Aster’s harrowing Hereditary came fourth with 55,080 average searches per year.

What movies have left you scratching your head upon first watch, and were any of the movies on the study on your list? Let us know the movies that left you scratching your head by leaving a comment down below

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