Is reality unstable or unhinged?
Browse movies, tv shows, books and more where reality is unstable or unhinged.
Media that blurs the distinction between reality and dream or altered states is incredibly triggering for those of us with dissociative disorders. If we as the viewer do not know when we are seeing a dream state, psychotic state, altered state, or stable reality, it can trigger our own dissociative states (which we will likely not recover from after the film / show is over).
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Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
200
No
5
16
Capybara_Love
There is sort of two different realitys
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
102
No
3
17
Mkosmorama
A character has recurring dreams about a traumatic event, which are influenced by the missing children's spirits later in the film
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
72
No
0
4
dippyegg
A main part of the plot is that the main character begins to not be able to tell what’s real.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
62
No
5
11
kawara
A character has frequent bouts of auditory and visual hallucinations and the timeline of the film jumps around. It is difficult to watch at times.
TV Show • 2023 Report
Yes
49
No
3
3
bonkersbinch
Hallucinations are a very big theme in this show, if you struggle with distinguishing reality vs unreality, this could be a difficult show to watch
Movie • 2019 Report
Yes
44
No
1
4
KamiSteele
Drug use, with varying levels of consent, happens throughout. The screen mildly distorts and sways while the characters are under the influence of drugs. There are also various hallucinations, such as Dani seeing grass grow out of her body, a bad trip where she hears a group laughing at her upon which she enters an outhouse only to see her sister in the mirror, Dani spotting her deceased parents in a crowd, her sister's corpse appearing in the trees in the background, plants moving and 'breathing', and Dani having a 'conversation' in Swedish despite not being fluent (it's actually gibberish). Additionally, Dani appears to dissociate in some scenes which is implied through the editing. The infamous Attestupa scene has muffled audio and slowed visuals, and an early scene depicts a time skip through Dani walking out of the room of her apartment and into the plane's bathroom. It's confirmed by the director that Dani tends to dissociate. Dani also has a nightmare sequence where she sees the others driving away without her, and when she opens her mouth to scream smoke comes out. This is followed by shots of the Attestupa, as well as her family's corpses at the cliffs where it took place. In short, this movie may be a trigger if you have a history of traumatic drug experiences and/or depersonalization/derealization.
Video Game • 2017 Report
Yes
32
No
0
3
While the game starts off fairly normal, (SPOILERS) once you reach sayori's suicide the game starts (intentionally) glitching out, which is carried over into Acts 2 and 3. Monika mentioned in those acts that the game’s code is broken, so it could be seen as the girls’ reality becoming unstable.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
31
No
6
3
The whole film is honestly just unhinged. The film's universe is different to our own and the severity of this changes throughout but there is a constant "unhinged"/"weird' feeling to the film
TV Show • 2004 Report
Yes
26
No
6
1
alexishughes221
There are multiple episodes with hallucinations (some rather graphic) and, to be honest, watching this show makes you feel like you’re high. It’s very trippy. I wouldn’t recommend it if you experience delusions and derealisation.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
26
No
0
3
goblinbrodie
Lots of instability after they enter the other world.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
25
No
0
Video Game • 2020 Report
Yes
24
No
0
4
JayR
The game is partially set in the "dream world", a place that follows dream logic such as talking animals, breathing in space and under water, and other dream-like storytelling. The "real world" includes hallucinations from Sunny's point of view, such as characters from the dream world that disappear when interacted with, or hallucinations tied to past trauma. It is often hard to tell what is real and what is fake.
Movie • 1998 Report
Yes
24
No
0
4
Very much so
YouTube • 2023 Report
Yes
23
No
2
4
alright
Part of the storyline/theory hinges on reality not being "real" a la the Matrix.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
23
No
0
5
cha0ticneutralsystem
They are in a sort of limbo where Pomni feels like something is off and reality starts breaking and things clip into other objects and glitch, Jax also mentions Cane makes NPCs for the others to play with regularly. Pomni mentions she put on a headset and was teleported to limbo. Everything is presented and mentioned that they are living inside a computer game or simulation of some sort, in a “digital plane” cane also tells pomni she is having “digital hallucinations” but he seems to be lying. There is also cartoon logic (hammer space) and a weird infinitely respecting reality where pomni reenters the same room repeatedly. Pomni gets thrown into the void and seemingly has an existential crisis. They mention that food has no affect on them and they don’t need to eat, it just replicates the sensation of food
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
22
No
0
10
just_here_for_the_cake
Most of the action is part of a play, and we are constantly jumping back and forth between the play reality and actual reality.
Movie • 2022 Report
Yes
22
No
0
4
TheCassandraComplex
Kinda? The main character perceives things no one else can perceive.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
22
No
0
6
Whole uiverses are shown to eradicated
Movie • 2018 Report
Yes
22
No
1
TV Show • 2016 Report
Yes
21
No
0
0
RisingMoon
S3
E3
major plot in the entire series, any charecters travel too and from the upside down
Movie • 2000 Report
Yes
20
No
0
2
AvalonPlemel
A major theme later on is the main character questioning who he is and if events he remembers taking place are even real
Movie • 2022 Report
Yes
20
No
1
2
pedanther
In addition to the points already noted, at one point the movie creates a deliberate confusion about which events are 'actually' happening and which are fictional within the story (part of a movie some of the characters are watching).
TV Show • 2011 Report
Yes
20
No
4
Video Game Report
Yes
19
No
1
3
Violet111
Ranboo's story involves a lot of derealization and hallucinations. Fundy also had some streams late in the story with derealization-inducing dreams, easily avoidable
Movie • 1997 Report
Yes
19
No
0
5
DeenGray
The line between fiction and reality gets blurred repeatedly
TV Show • 2005 Report
Yes
19
No
7
3
andyping24
S2
E2
The protagonist wakes up in an alternate reality and can't decide if it's real. Sensations from reality like dead bodies randomly appear and cause jumpscares. The characters in the other reality admit they aren't real. The protagonist kills himself hoping his death won't be real and it will bring him back to reality. The audience doesn't know which is reality during the episode or whether suicide will just kill the protagonist.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
19
No
0
1
BDavy
Particularly in the last third of the film.
TV Show • 2022 Report
Yes
18
No
11
3
Izaa
Yes, sees a "ghost" of a person he saw die which is a manifestation of his guilt.
A character might see tentacle murdering someone he killed or we the audience just see it because he's lying it's not clear.
A character is in "purgatory" where he sees a person he hates who turns out to be himself, he also sees his ex as a mermaid.
A character might see tentacle murdering someone he killed or we the audience just see it because he's lying it's not clear.
A character is in "purgatory" where he sees a person he hates who turns out to be himself, he also sees his ex as a mermaid.
Movie Report
Yes
18
No
0
1
verilymissvx
One of main characters is unaware of their actions that occur when they sleepwalk and the audience is not clued in until the course of several episodes
TV Show • 2014 Report
Yes
18
No
1
1
forufourfour
S4
E4
Some scenes show events from the past and present occurring simultaneously - it's used as a storytelling technique and there are no actual changes to reality or timelines.