10 Most Unpredictable Fantasy Movies, Ranked
Few genres are as capable of conjuring up enchanting thrills and absorbing adventures as prolifically as fantasy. The world of film alone has seen this time and time again, be it in the form of dazzling escapes to wonderful and wondrous magical realms, marvelous marriages of real-life intensity and otherworldly awe, or even subtle suggestions that, even in the shadows of our everyday lives, there is more than a little magic to be found.
It should come as no surprise, then, that so many of the most vibrant and vivacious fantasy films have matched their eye-popping splendor and their spellbinding imaginative gusto with stories that unfurl with plenty of shocks and surprises. From twisted fairy tales to dark dramas, surreal adventures, and even ambitious masterpieces of animation, these 10 fantasy flicks have a tendency to keep you guessing until the very end.
10
‘Return to Oz’ (1985)
Directed by Walter Murch
An unofficial sequel to The Wizard of Oz that substitutes its predecessor’s magic and musical charm for an unsettling sense of dark fantasy suspense, Return to Oz is an untamed beast of a film that is utterly impossible to predict. It opens in appropriately grim fashion, with young Dorothy Gale (Fairuza Balk in her big-screen debut) being sent to an asylum by her carers due to her ongoing obsession with the Land of Oz. Upon escaping the institution, Dorothy finds her way back to Oz, but it has changed drastically since she left. With the Emerald City in ruins, Dorothy sets out with a new band of friends to restore the beauty of the magical land she so loves.
While it was largely panned upon release as being too traumatizing for young children, Return to Oz is more aligned with L. Frank Baum’s novels, both in terms of its tone and its wild narrative swings. It is an entrancing, enticing, and daring departure from the original picture that proudly stands as the most unique picture in the Wizard of Oz franchise, and has slowly become a cult classic of dark fantasy adventure cinema.
9
‘The Fall’ (2006)
Directed by Tarsem
One of the most eccentric and elaborate fantasy pictures to be released this century, The Fall combines a spellbinding and, at times, jarring visual display with a story of unfiltered imagination to deliver one of the most perplexing fantasy pictures ever released. Roy Walker (Lee Pace) is a stuntman who, when admitted to hospital in a paralyzed state, befriends a young girl recovering from a broken arm and tells her a story of a bizarre gang of heroes seeking revenge on an evil tyrant. As the story runs rampant in young Alexandria’s (Catinca Untaru) imagination, she begins seeing its characters in the world around her.
While there are instances where The Fall’s visual magnificence detaches from its story, the film remains an engrossing and surprising tribute to the power of imagination, the wonder of storytellers, and even the transcending magic of cinema. Tarsem’s madcap splendor works as an aesthetic and immersive treat, a tantalizing embodiment of the endless dream-like possibilities that only a child can chase. Such is the film’s excellence in this regard, the fact that its story is tonally unbalanced and overly jumbled can be forgiven entirely.
- Release Date
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September 9, 2006
- Runtime
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117 minutes
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Catinca Untaru
Alexandria
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Roy Walker / Black Bandit
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Jeetu Verma
Indian / Orange Picker
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Marcus Wesley
Otta Benga / Ice Delivery Man
8
‘Enter the Void’ (2009)
Directed by Gaspar Noé
Surreal, seedy, and sensationally existential, Enter the Void is a stunning visual feat that illustrates master provocateur Gaspar Noé at his challenging and enigmatic best. It follows an American drug dealer in Japan in the aftermath of his death, depicting his bewildering passage to the underworld infused with the thumping, neon-infused nightlife of Tokyo’s nightclub scene. As the psychedelic adventure through the afterlife unfolds, Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) must confront the world he is leaving behind.
There’s an intoxicating and forbidden allure to the film’s presentation, the veneer of the bright lights and party atmosphere never quite drowning out the stick and the stink of the grime that abounds. As a fantasy film, Enter the Void is complex, confounding, and utterly unpredictable. As a hallucinogenic ride through life and death, however, it is a uniquely entrancing and hypnotic viewing experience, one that only Gaspar Noé could have conceived of.
7
‘Stardust'(2007)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Compared to some of the films that have already featured on this list, Matthew Vaughn’s quaint adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy-adventure novel may not seem entirely sporadic, but it does have a certain creative flourish that keeps viewers on their toes from beginning to end. It follows Tristan (Charlie Cox), a lovestruck boy who declares to his love that he will cross into a magical realm to retrieve for her a fallen star. When he discovers the star is a woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes), however, he finds his quest growing increasingly complex, not only because of his own conflicting feelings, but because of the litany of parties hunting down Yvaine to use her power to their advantage.
Granted, the story between Tristan and Yvaine has a certain comforting predictability to it, but Stardust‘s supporting characters fight and die constantly throughout, while the film’s strong inflections of humor and action give it a delightfully manic energy. It all culminates in a freewheeling and rollicking adventure of love and high-fantasy that, aided by its incredible ensemble cast, offers a ceaselessly fun viewing experience with more than a few shocks along the way.
6
‘Coraline’ (2009)
Directed by Henry Selick
One of the greatest contributors to fantasy cinema over the decades has been animation. From Disney’s pioneering classics to modern masterpieces from around the world, the endless possibilities the medium provides have married brilliantly with the eccentricity of fantasy storytelling to weave some of the most enchanting viewing experiences of all time. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that animated movies are well represented among the most unpredictable fantasy flicks of all time as well, with Henry Selick’s gothic horror dark fantasy Coraline among the best and most bewildering of them all.
It follows Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning), a curious little girl who discovers a mysterious doorway in her new home and unearths an idyllic parallel universe that mimics her own. The longer she stays, however, the more apparent it becomes that this alternate reality may house some sinister secrets. Known not only for its unpredictability, but for its eeriness and its unsettling tonal shifts as well, Coraline is a bold marvel of family entertainment that chills, thrills, and keeps audiences guessing what will happen next.
5
‘The City of Lost Children’ (1995)
Directed by Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet
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Just like how animation has been a haven for extravagant fantasy films, the realm of international cinema has plenty of genre offerings that enchant, excite, and ensure a perplexing viewing experience. Chief among them is The City of Lost Children, a twisted dark sci-fi fantasy set in a surrealist society where a rapidly aging mad scientist hopes to harness the power of children’s dreams to preserve his own life. When young Denrée (Joseph Lucien) is abducted to be used in the horrific process, the boy’s adopted father and friend set out to rescue him and bring about an end to Krank’s (Daniel Emilfork) devilish operation.
More than just unpredictable, the story is outright unruly at times, making for a picture that can be difficult to follow, and yet one that never loses its ensnaring grasp in the imagination of viewers. Bolstered by a collection of fine performances and a beautifully bizarre visual display, The City of Lost Children is an entrancing, enlightening, and often oddly disturbing movie that has a tendency to linger in the minds of viewers long after the credits roll.
4
‘The Fountain’ (2006)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
As polarizing as it is perplexing, Darren Aronofsky’s enrapturing, time-jumping fantasy adventure drama is certainly not for everyone, but audiences willing to go along for the ride can easily immerse themselves on an exquisite journey of love and mortality. The film explores three thematically interwoven journeys. In the modern day, Dr. Tommy Creo (Hugh Jackman) works tirelessly to find a miracle cure for his wife, Izzi’s (Rachel Weisz), terminal brain tumor. In the book Izzi writes, Spanish conquistador Tómas Creo (Jackman) is tasked by Queen Isabella (Weisz) to locate the Tree of Life. In the distant future, Tom nurtures the dying Tree of Life through an intergalactic journey to the heart of a supernova.
There are certainly flaws to The Fountain, and many critics took issue with its confusing narrative jumps, but there is a breathtaking glory in the sheer complexity of Aronofsky’s vision and the manner in which it provokes thought and contemplation. It may be baffling more so than unpredictable, but it boasts an unadulterated might that is impossible to get a read on when watching, and ultimately soars as a mesmerizing, albeit maddening, experience.
3
‘Spirited Away’ (2001)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Another divine fantasy offering from the realm of both animation and international cinema, Spirited Away is perhaps the defining masterpiece of Hayao Miyazaki’s career and, to an extent, of Studio Ghibli’s unbelievable filmography. While traveling to their new home, Chihiro (Daveigh Chase) and her parents stop at an abandoned amusement park despite Chihiro’s apprehension. When the park’s supernatural inhabitants spring to life at night, Chihiro finds herself having to work to avoid suspicion in the magical yet dangerous world all while trying to figure out how to rescue her parents, who have been turned into pigs.
Its animation is nothing short of pristine, an absorbing and enchanting delight that manages to dazzle with its beauty while maintaining an underlying eeriness that underscores Chihiro’s journey. Miyazaki’s comfort in the story world leads to a certain malaise in the fantasy realm, a lingering in the surreal that is content deviating from traditional storytelling conventions. The result is an unpredictable progression through an immersive world that is as intoxicating as it is haunting.
2
‘The Seventh Seal’ (1957)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
One of the defining pictures not only of Ingmar Bergman’s illustrious career, but of all international cinema, The Seventh Seal soars as a cerebral fantasy that serves as an interrogation of such themes as existentialism, faith, and human purpose. Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) is a knight returning to his homeland from the Crusades only to find his country has been ravaged by the plague. Greeted by Death (Bengt Ekerot), Block challenges him to a chess match to determine his fate. As he draws out the game, he ventures through what remains of Sweden and encounters people who restore his faith in the world.
Imbued with a rich sense of philosophy and contemplation, The Seventh Seal thrives as a challenging think piece more so than as a traditional narrative film. As such, its thematic queries become a central focus, and the unfurling answers to those queries create the drama that audiences become absorbed in. Still flaunting an engaging story, and bolstered by its striking visual display, The Seventh Seal manages to be unpredictable on multiple levels to be a uniquely engrossing film that has stood the test of time with aplomb.
- Release Date
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February 16, 1957
- Runtime
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96 minutes
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Max von Sydow
Antonius Block
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Gunnar Björnstrand
Jöns
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1
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Quite possibly the greatest fantasy movie of all time, Pan’s Labyrinth is an entrancing masterpiece from Guillermo del Toro that is at once a wondrous twisted fairy tale and a harrowing story of violence and war. It follows young Ofelia (Ivana Baquaro) as she, with her heavily pregnant mother, voyage into the hills of Spain at the behest of her sadistic stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), who is at war with the rebels fighting against the tyrannical government. When she is guided into a nearby labyrinth, Ofelia encounters a faun who tells her she is the princess of the Underworld, and she can be restored to her rightful throne if she completes three dangerous tasks.
The overarching plot progression may be familiar, but the juxtaposition between the mythical dangers and the brutality and cruelty of Vidal’s war against the rebels imbues Pan’s Labyrinth with a tension that keeps audiences anxious as to what will come next. It is an extraordinary fable of real-world terrors and dark fantasy adventure that soars not only for its narrative boldness, but with its astonishing technical brilliance as well.
