The fantasy genre can be a pretty straightforward one, some of the time, especially when it comes to fairy-tale adaptations (with direct messages) or more family-friendly affairs, that younger audiences can still grasp. And some of these simpler or more kid-friendly fantasy movies are indeed classics, as is plain to see from the likes of Shrek, The Princess Bride, and Beauty and the Beast.
But if you’re after more ambitious or complex fantasy films, then there are plenty of those if you know where to look. One such place to look is right below, as it turns out, because these films all fit within the realm of the fantasy genre (some admittedly more than others), all are high-quality, and all tell their stories in unusual ways, or otherwise are ambitious with how much ground they cover within the bounds of a single film… well, a couple of examples here were released in more than one part, but still.
10
‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999)
Directed by Spike Jonze
While it’s probably more of a psychological dramedy than an outright fantasy movie, Being John Malkovich does still have a fantastical premise, given it involves the discovery of a portal that allows people into the head of the titular John Malkovich. It’s absurd, and is indeed funny at points, but there are also serious things explored through this premise, and it’s all pretty existential, too.
It takes a weird idea and just relishes the opportunity to make it weirder and more thought-provoking with pretty much every scene. But, at the same time, Being John Malkovich is instantly interesting and nonetheless rewarding, even if you don’t end up wading in too deep. There’s a lot here, and so naturally, multiple viewings are helpful, which can be said about tons of films with complex storytelling for hopefully obvious reasons.
9
‘Holy Motors’ (2012)
Directed by Leos Carax
So, Holy Motors is confusing, but it’s also pretty straightforward if you just want to treat it like a trip, because it is trippy and kind of hypnotic. But breaking down what’s going on is harder, since it’s about… uh… there’s a guy, and he’s being driven around, and he has to take on a bunch of strange tasks, and every task has him adopting a new persona or appearance.
And it’s not really a comedy, but it’s also absurd at times to the point where you might break out in bewildered laughter. And then at other times, it’s quite shocking, and then near the end, it gets really unsettling. Holy Motors is both a lot and also maybe not that much, but it’s probably more the former than the latter. Things feel purposeful here, like they should in any good art film, but it’s up to the viewer to figure most of those things out (also, arguably, like any good art film should do).
8
‘Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack’ (2001)
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko
Sure, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack does involve Godzilla having to fight a bunch of other giant monsters, which is par for the course for the series, but also, this is very much a different beast to other Godzilla movies. The big reason is why it’s even here, in this ranking, in the first place: it’s a fantastical/supernatural spin on Godzilla, rather than the more expected sci-fi approach.
Here, Godzilla is possessed by the spirits of those who died during World War II and are seeking vengeance, and the other titular monsters are legendary guardians, rather than creatures from outer space or with some kind of other sci-fi origin. And Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack lays out these differing origins in a way that makes sense, balancing a bunch of monsters at once while also telling a surprisingly compelling human story alongside the more expected action set pieces.
7
‘Die Nibelungen’ (1924)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Told in two parts that were both released in 1924 (the first called Siegfried, and the second titled Kriemhild’s Revenge), Fritz Lang‘s Die Nibelungen is absolutely massive, and not just by the standards of silent cinema. The first part runs for nearly 2.5 hours, and the second part exceeds two hours, all the while one story gets told across what’ll end up being five hours if you watch them back-to-back and take 20-ish minutes for an intermission.
It’s a big fantasy tale that (obviously) doesn’t need dialogue to work, and that makes it all the more surprising that it’s still watchable and compelling today. Silent comedies tend to hold up because a lot of physical humor is timeless, and they’re also pretty breezy/short watches, but Die Nibelungen is big, bold, epic, long, and still immensely watchable/compelling, even if you’re not big on silent movies.
6
‘Mind Game’ (2004)
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
Mind Game is unlike anything else out there, and would be a total nightmare to watch if it also wasn’t very funny, endearing, and visually stunning. Maybe it’s still a bit of a nightmare, owing to how untamed it is and how it’s impossible to entirely grasp what’s going on, but if you go along for the ride and merely absorb about 20% of what it’s about, then that’s still going to be a lot.
It’s about a young man who loves a young woman, and they get wrapped up with the yakuza and also spend a good chunk of the movie inside a whale. And then it goes to some other places both thematically and physically, and it also cycles between a range of emotions just as recklessly. Call it a fever dream rom-com if you want, or something else, but it’s psychedelic and fantastical in a very singular way.
5
‘All of Us Strangers’ (2023)
Directed by Andrew Haigh
There aren’t all that many characters in All of Us Strangers, but it certainly finds other ways to be complex while uniquely exploring a fantastical/supernatural premise (albeit not in a horror way). It’s about a man who finds his parents seemingly alive, even though they died when he was a kid, and he now happens to be about the same age they were at that time.
All of Us Strangers is a hard-hitting film that – again – is not a horror movie, but does prove to be distinctly haunting.
He interacts with them, confused about the whole experience, all the while also connecting with a mysterious young man who he eventually develops a relationship with. And then everything in All of Us Strangers starts to collapse and become emotionally devastating. It’s a hard-hitting film that – again – is not a horror movie, but does prove to be distinctly haunting, and also effortlessly heartbreaking.
4
‘The Boy and the Heron’ (2023)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
If The Boy and the Heron ends up being the final feature film Hayao Miyazaki ever directs, then it’ll be possible to say that he saved his most complex story for last. It is a work of fantasy, like many other Miyazaki movies, and involves some kind of adventure in a uniquely strange world, but also, describing it in terms that simple is underselling the whole thing.
This is a film with an almost overwhelming number of things on its mind, and the way it comments on legacy while subtly having things that are reminiscent of past Miyazaki films makes its personal and introspective nature all the more apparent. The Boy and the Heron is deservedly considered not just one of the best animated movies in recent memory, but perhaps even an all-timer as far as anime is concerned, and it really does function as a great summation of Miyazaki’s work (again, if this does end up being his final movie).
3
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Since it’s also a war movie, Pan’s Labyrinth has quite a bit of juggling to do, as a fantasy film, since the war and fantasy genres don’t usually go together. But you have to have faith that someone like Guillermo del Toro will be able to pull it off, and he really does here, making the two worlds (if the fantasy one does indeed exist) feel so different and yet occasionally eerily similar at the same time.
It’s a very dark fairy-tale kind of story about what one young girl will do to escape the horrors around her. That might sound depressing, and to be fair, Pan’s Labyrinth sometimes is, but it’s also a beautiful-looking film that feels like so much passion was put into each and every aspect of it. There’s nothing else quite like it, and there probably never will be, but that’s okay and understandable when talking about a movie this good.
2
‘Fanny and Alexander’ (1982)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Like the aforementioned Being John Malkovich and All of Us Strangers, Fanny and Alexander is only mildly fantastical, and not a fantasy movie in the expected sense either (no questing through otherworldly lands or anything like that). Instead, it’s got a mild supernatural element with ghostly figures having some bearing on the story, though that story is mostly a family drama.
But it’s also an amazingly well-put-together family drama, with a huge cast, plus a long runtime that it more than earns. Fanny and Alexander explores grief, hardships, and, ultimately, the way family can get you out of the roughest of situations, doing the last of those in a way that’s genuinely not cheesy. It represented Ingmar Bergman at the height of his powers, and it’s a remarkable filmmaking and storytelling achievement, however you might choose to define it genre-wise.
1
‘The Lord of the Rings’ (2001-2003)
Directed by Peter Jackson
The cinematic achievement in fantasy that’s always hard to ignore, pretty much regardless of the topic, is The Lord of the Rings. This is pretty much one massive movie, and was even filmed as such, but the length of the story made splitting it into three parts sensible. There is a lot of ground to cover, and the approach meant that, as an adaptation, it was able to include quite a lot.
Still, The Lord of the Rings had a whole bunch of cut scenes that can be seen in the even longer extended editions, and then there are also sequences from the original novel that didn’t make it onto the big screen. But what else needs to be said? It’s The Lord of the Rings, a pretty much perfect fantasy trilogy that’ll probably never be topped, even if those who own the rights to the story keep on trying to make follow-ups.