# What was the last movie you saw that made you say "WTF?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 13, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516 "2022-09-13T20:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/102 "2022-09-20T13:08:18Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I think my first WTF moment was a scene where all the consumer products were just white with big block letters reading chips, beer, or whatever was supposed to be inside it. **They Live** must’ve really given you WTF vibes. > **[Review: They Live - Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/they-live/)** > > The trick at the center of the film, of course, is that its message doesn’t seem subversive or challenging at all. > Of course, that movie arguably belongs in this thread on its own merita. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/103 "2022-09-20T13:12:01Z")
I’ll check it out! I like “weird”. LOL ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/104 "2022-09-20T13:19:58Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I’ll nominate _Repo Man_ from 1984 Not long after that came out, I met up with my sister who had been out of the country for a year. The first thing that she said to me was, “mcgato. Repo Man. See it.” I’m like “OK…” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/105 "2022-09-20T13:30:31Z")
We still, to this day, make plate o shrimp references. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/106 "2022-09-20T13:49:36Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Generic packaging was real, you know. They didn’t invent it for the movie. I was born in '76, and just don’t recall ever seeing anything that resembled the products in the movie. According to the site you linked, they reached their peak in 1983-84 and disappeared entirely by 1988. I was in Germany from 1982-1985 so I missed them at their peak and I just can’t remember seeing them in the grocery stores when we returned to the states. But I wasn’t the one buying the groceries and that might explain why I don’t remember them. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/107 "2022-09-20T13:56:59Z")
I worked in a grocery store during those years(79-89), and we did have generic products with those labels, but nobody bought them….the one I remember in particular was a kind of Velveeta cheese. I guess people like familiar packaging. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/108 "2022-09-20T14:02:05Z")
I remember them. Short-lived fad. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/109 "2022-09-20T14:31:52Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > According to the site you linked, they reached their peak in 1983-84 and disappeared entirely by 1988. Jewel had generics until at least the early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/110 "2022-09-20T14:56:58Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I remember them. Short-lived fad. My favorite ones were the Generic Novels. They had a science fiction, a western, a romance, and a generic mystery. Here’s the cover of the Generic Science Fiction novel [[Album] Generic Science Fiction ![](https://i.imgur.com/XrDMAje.jpeg?fb "Generic Science Fiction") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/NmmR7) Here are all four > **[The strange "No Frills" series of totally generic genre fiction books from...](https://boingboing.net/2019/06/10/the-strange-no-frills-seri.html)** > > The "No Frills" series was a collection of genre fiction paperbacks published by Jove Publishing in 1981 with plain covers, no author names, and maximally pulp plots. From Weird Universe:… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/111 "2022-09-20T16:30:47Z")
Marvel published a Generic Comic Book ( I didn’t know til now why they published it). I recommend it. RE They Live Minor spoiler- We never find out just what They are or where They come from. While ‘aliens from another planet’ seems the most likely, the film never says. We know They live, and that They live among us. But that is really all we know. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/112 "2022-09-20T16:36:15Z")
**Excision** (Prime, 2012) - Stands out for me. I watch weird stuff with the lady all the time, but I saw this almost a year ago and can’t forget it. It has since replaced _Gummo_ as seriously produced film strange as all get out. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/113 "2022-09-20T16:44:08Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > > > _Hold the Dark_ (2018). > > > > It seems like it should be making sense, but it doesn’t. It reminded me of _Donnie Darko_ in that the viewer really needed to know things (from the book on which it was based) that the film didn’t make clear. After the credits started, my wife and I literally turned to each other and simultaneously said, “WTF?” > > Had you read the book before seeing it? I did, and I was baffled that the director was squeamish enough to remove almost all hints about the thing that made the book controversial. I did a thread at [moviechat.org](http://moviechat.org) and none of non-book readers who responded had any idea why the kid died. Because the mom wanted to get her husband back and killing the kid would do that? Why did he kill those cops looking for his boy though? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/114 "2022-09-20T16:54:28Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Marvel published a Generic Comic Book ( I didn’t know til now why they published it). I recommend it. I missed that somehow. Here it is > **[Generic Comic Vol 1 1](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Generic_Comic_Vol_1_1)** > > Featured Characters: Unnamed Super-Hero (First appearance) Supporting Characters: Unnamed Super-Hero's girlfriend (First appearance) Unnamed Super-Hero's boss (First appearance) Bobby (Unnamed Super-Hero's brother) (First appearance) Unnamed... > **[When Marvel Intentionally Released the Most Generic Comic Book Around!](https://www.cbr.com/marvel-comics-generic-comic/)** > > In their spotlight on bizarrely awesome comics, CSBG examines the time Marvel released an intentionally generic comic book! By the way – it sells on comic book vendor sites for about $6. It came out in 1984 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/115 "2022-09-20T17:03:50Z")
“Couldn’t enjoy it any more, Mom. Mmm mmm mmm.” ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/116 "2022-09-20T17:08:01Z")
Blast! So much for my retirment plans. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/117 "2022-09-20T17:20:54Z")
[Mad God](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_God) was really WTF for me. I watched it and still have no idea of what happened in it. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/118 "2022-09-20T17:21:15Z")
“The Night Comes for Us”, a Chinese movie, actually has a good plot and some truly moving moments, but it is one of the most violent movies I’ve ever seen. The fight scene in a meat packing facility employs every tool meat packers use, so I’ll let you use your own imaginations to fill in the rest. Virtually everyone in the movie, outside of the extras, dies a violent death outside of the child around whom the conflict revolved and the one adult who spirited her away to safety. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/119 "2022-09-20T17:56:59Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Minor spoiler- We never find out just what They are or where They come from. While ‘aliens from another planet’ seems the most likely, the film never says. We know They live, and that They live among us. But that is really all we know. Really doesn’t matter at all. I don’t know if it’s weird to say or not, but _Repo Man_ is one of the few movies I’ve seen that really captures the zeitgeist of L.A. Most movies set in L.A. show what they think people **not** from L.A. think of L.A. On the other side, _L.A. Story_ seemed really fake and off the mark. A few nuggets of truth, but they were tiny and swamped by the not reality. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/120 "2022-09-20T18:42:34Z")
Well this was fascinating. From the comments section of a linked blog post, Terry Bisson says… > A little more BG for literary history: > > I was editor and copy chief with Berkley /Jove. I thought of the idea > and sold it to Jove. I wrote the copy. The writers got $750 for all rights. > The books got LOTS of reviews in papers all over the country > including the NYTBR > (reviewers loved the idea) but almost no sales. My agent, Susan Ann Protter > and I formed “No Frills Associates” (along with Lou) and briefly > trademarked the generic logo. WGBH in Boston > wanted the No-Frills Movie to produce in video but > Ansen and I turned them down, since we thought digital > was too lo-tech, more the fools us. We coulda been contenders. > > Nothing was cannibalized and no one wants to do it anymore; the time has past. > Thanks for your interest though! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516/121 "2022-09-20T18:51:28Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > The weirdest thing about that movie IMHO is that it was a parody of a movie that it beat to the cinemas. Wong Kar-Wai was making his arthouse wuxia epic _Ashes of Time_, and it was going over schedule and over budget. During some downtime, this parody version (based on the same novel) was banged together and released, starring basically the entire cast plus Joey Wong for some reason, and _Ashes of Time_ was still to be completed. A sort of similar story: the Coen brothers were working on _Miller’s Crossing_ and were having major writer’s block figuring out the plot. So they took a break to make _Barton Fink_, a story about a writer having major writer’s block. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-movie-you-saw-that-made-you-say-wtf/971516.md?page=7)