List of films with unexposed contents

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Unexposed contents is a film device originally used primarily in Avant-garde film but that has penetrated into the mainstream during the 1980s and 1990s. A container is shown by the author/director, but the contents are intentionally never revealed. Alternatively, an important door may be shown but never opened. The technique is used to stir curiosity in the audience and to create ambiguity. Unlike a red herring or a MacGuffin, the contents may be important to the characters, the plot and possibly the audience, despite the fact that the viewer never finds out. Directors who commonly use unexposed contents include David Lynch and Luis Buñuel.

This is a list of films in which containers whose insides are never revealed appear.

• Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) Several times it is mentioned that Pedro de Ursua has his fist clenched around an object that he never lets go of. Even when he is hanged, his fist remains shut.
• Barton Fink (1991) Charlie gives Barton a small paper package to look after, but later admits that it doesn't belong to him. Although Barton holds onto the package until the end of the film, he never opens it.
• Belle de jour (1967) A large Asian client at the brothel carries a box that emits a strange clicking noise. The protagonist gets a glimpse but not the audience. The implication seems sexual. There is also a strange box in Luis Buñuel's earlier Un chien andalou.
• Cast Away (2000) After the plane crash, Chuck opens all FedEx packages except for one that has a distinct logo on it. Chuck delivers the package, still unopened, to its intended destination at the end of the film. This is an unusual instance of unexposed contents in that the audience knows the contents of the package (having seen the artist create it and package it at the beginning of the film), but the protagonist who has access to the box chooses not to open it and therefore is unaware of its contents.
• Kiss Me Deadly (1955) The plot surrounds a large box that emits bright light and heat when its lid is partially lifted. It is implied to be some radioactive material, but that is never explicitly stated. It bursts into flame or explodes during the ending.
• Last Tango in Paris (1972) There is a secret compartment hidden in the floor of Paul's apartment. Although Jeanne wants to peek inside, they never open it.
• Millennium Actress (2001) Chiyoko Fujiwara is given a key when she meets a thief and rebel in her youth. She keeps the key her whole life (losing it for several years), but she never discovers what it was meant to unlock.
• Mission Impossible III (2006) It is never revealed exactly what the Rabbit's foot is, but it is mentioned in the movie as an "Anti-God".
• Mulholland Dr. (2001) A blue key and box are brought up in the film within a fairly abstract structure. It is unclear what the impossibly deep darkness inside the blue box actually contains.
• Pulp Fiction (1994) Jules and Vincent are sent to retrieve a case that was stolen. We never see the contents, but they glow.
• Repo Man (1984) The trunk of a 1964 Chevy Malibu contains some sort of glowing alien item (as in Leila's photo). It is never shown, but it vaporizes anyone who sees it.
• The Return (2003) The father digs up a box near the end of the film and places it under the seat of the rowboat. The boat sinks without the box ever being opened for the audience.
• Ronin (1998) The plot surrounds an extremely valuable brushed aluminum case whose contents are never revealed.
• The Spanish Prisoner (1997) The plot revolves around the inventor of something called The Process, the details of which are never divulged.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus - The 'Killer Joke'. In this sketch set during World War II, the British develop a 'killer joke' to be deployed against the Nazis. The joke kills anyone who hears or reads it. The joke itself is obviously never revealed, since doing so would kill the viewer.