The Best Fantasy Movies You’ve Never Seen

The genre of fantasy cinema extends far beyond blockbuster franchises and famous wizarding worlds. This list explores hidden gems and cult classics that offer unique mythologies and stunning visual storytelling from around the globe. Viewers will find everything from dark fairy tales and surreal animations to modern magical realism. These films demonstrate the limitless potential of imagination when filmmakers step outside the boundaries of mainstream conventions.

‘The Fall’ (2006)

A stuntman named Roy Walker finds himself bedridden in a Los Angeles hospital during the 1920s after a jump goes terribly wrong. He befriends a young girl named Alexandria and begins telling her an epic tale about five heroes seeking revenge against a tyrannical governor. The narrative seamlessly weaves between the stark reality of the hospital ward and the vibrant landscapes of their shared imagination. Director Tarsem Singh shot the production in over twenty countries to capture breathtaking practical locations without relying on digital effects.

‘Tumbbad’ (2018)

Residents of a crumbling village in India deal with the consequences of worshipping a cursed deity named Hastar who offers unlimited gold. The protagonist Vinayak dedicates his life to extracting these coins from a womb-like chamber despite the terrible physical and spiritual costs. Rain falls incessantly throughout the entire runtime and creates a claustrophobic atmosphere of decay and greed. This mythological horror film utilizes practical effects and rich cinematography to explore the corrosive nature of avarice.

‘Tale of Tales’ (2015)

Three neighboring kingdoms face bizarre magical challenges involving sea monsters and giant fleas and strange transformations. Director Matteo Garrone adapts stories from the seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Giambattista Basile. The film embraces the grotesque and grim origins of folklore rather than the sanitized versions often seen in modern cinema. Salma Hayek leads an ensemble cast in this visually opulent exploration of obsession and desire.

‘Ink’ (2009)

Invisible beings fight a perpetual war over human souls while people sleep in their beds. A mercenary named Ink kidnaps a young girl in hopes of trading her spirit to join the ranks of the Incubi. The girl’s father must traverse the dream world to save his daughter before she is lost forever. This independent production overcomes a limited budget with inventive visual effects and a compelling emotional core.

‘Mirrormask’ (2005)

A young girl named Helena works at her family circus but dreams of running away to a normal life. She suddenly collapses and wakes up in a surreal landscape of giants and sphinxes and monkeybirds. Helena must find a magical charm to wake the Queen of Shadows and return home before she is trapped forever. Neil Gaiman wrote the screenplay while artist Dave McKean created the distinctive mixed-media visual style.

‘The City of Lost Children’ (1995)

A mad scientist named Krank kidnaps children to steal their dreams because he cannot dream himself. A carnival strongman teams up with a street-smart orphan girl to rescue his adopted little brother from Krank’s rig in the ocean. Directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro built an immersive steampunk world filled with clones and cyborgs and trained fleas. The film features a dark and whimsical aesthetic that defines French fantasy cinema of the era.

‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ (1988)

An eighteenth-century aristocrat interrupts a theater production to claim that he is the real Baron Munchausen. He embarks on a journey to find his old companions and save a city from a Turkish invasion. The adventure involves trips to the moon and the belly of a sea monster and the underworld. Director Terry Gilliam filled the screen with elaborate practical sets and fantastical creatures in this lavish production.

‘Return to Oz’ (1985)

Dorothy Gale returns to the magical land of Oz only to find the Emerald City in ruins and its inhabitants turned to stone. She encounters new friends like Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead while evading the terrifying Wheelers and the Nome King. This unofficial sequel presents a much darker and more ominous tone than the musical classic from 1939. The film is noted for its impressive claymation effects and slightly frightening imagery.

‘Troll Hunter’ (2010)

A group of college students in Norway sets out to film a documentary about a suspected bear poacher. They discover that the man is actually a government employee tasked with managing the troll population in the wilderness. The film adopts a found-footage style to present giant mythical creatures interacting with the modern world. It combines dry humor with tense action sequences involving massive beasts.

‘Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale’ (2010)

An archaeological dig in Finland unearths the original Santa Claus who is far from the jolly figure of popular culture. Local reindeer herders must defend their livelihood when children start disappearing from the village. The story twists holiday mythology into a dark fantasy thriller with horror elements. This film offers a subversively grim take on Christmas legends and childhood folklore.

‘Border’ (2018)

A customs officer with a unique facial structure and the ability to smell fear meets a mysterious traveler who shares her physical traits. She begins to uncover the truth about her heritage and her connection to Nordic folklore. The film uses a gritty and realistic aesthetic to ground its supernatural elements in a modern setting. It serves as a complex allegory for identity and outsider status in contemporary society.

‘November’ (2017)

Peasants in nineteenth-century Estonia use magic and dark pacts to survive the harsh winter. Farmers build wooden automatons called Kratts and sell their souls to the devil in exchange for labor. The film is shot in high-contrast black and white to enhance its dreamlike and ethereal quality. It weaves pagan folklore and Christian mythology into a romantic tragedy about unrequited love.

‘The Lure’ (2015)

Two mermaid sisters come ashore in Poland and become singers at a nightclub during the 1980s. One sister searches for love while the other succumbs to her bloodthirsty instincts to devour humans. The movie defies genre classification by blending musical numbers with horror and fairy tale tropes. It reinterprets the original Little Mermaid story as a dark coming-of-age fable.

‘Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil’ (2017)

A solitary blacksmith captures a demon and holds it hostage to keep his own soul safe. An orphan girl accidentally releases the creature and uncovers the tragic past of the blacksmith. The film draws heavily on Basque folklore and presents a unique vision of Hell and its bureaucracy. The production design creates a gothic atmosphere filled with fire and iron.

‘I Kill Giants’ (2017)

A middle school outcast named Barbara believes she is the only thing standing between her town and an invasion of giants. She constructs elaborate traps and studies magical lore while pushing away her concerned family and teachers. The story blurs the line between Barbara’s fantasy life and the reality of her coping mechanisms. This adaptation of a graphic novel explores themes of grief and denial through a magical lens.

‘A Monster Calls’ (2016)

A young boy struggles to cope with his mother’s terminal illness and the bullying he faces at school. He receives nightly visits from a massive tree monster that insists on telling him three stories. The tales help the boy process his complex emotions and accept the impending tragedy. The film mixes live-action drama with stunning animated sequences to depict the power of storytelling.

‘Dave Made a Maze’ (2017)

An artist builds a fort out of cardboard boxes in his living room and gets lost inside its impossibly vast interior. His girlfriend and friends enter the structure to rescue him and face booby traps and cardboard creatures. The production utilizes practical effects and papercraft to create a whimsical and dangerous dungeon. It is a creative indie comedy that plays with the concept of getting lost in one’s own work.

‘Colossal’ (2016)

An unemployed writer discovers that she shares a psychic connection with a giant monster attacking Seoul. She realizes that her physical movements in a playground manipulate the creature on the other side of the world. The film uses the kaiju genre as a metaphor for alcoholism and toxic relationships. It balances dark comedy with serious character study in an unexpected way.

‘Swiss Army Man’ (2016)

A man stranded on a deserted island finds a corpse that possesses supernatural abilities like water storage and flatulence-powered propulsion. He uses the body as a multi-purpose tool to survive the wilderness and find his way back to civilization. The film is a surreal exploration of friendship and shame and the human condition. Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert created a bizarre yet poignant buddy movie.

‘The Green Knight’ (2021)

Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious green giant and must journey to a green chapel one year later to receive a reciprocal blow. His quest leads him through a landscape filled with ghosts and giants and talking foxes. Director David Lowery deconstructs Arthurian legend to focus on the human fallibility of the protagonist. The film relies on atmosphere and symbolism rather than traditional action beats.

‘Lamb’ (2021)

A childless couple on a remote farm in Iceland discovers a strange newborn in their sheep barn. They decide to raise the hybrid creature as their own daughter despite the disturbing implications. The film creates a sense of dread and unease through its quiet pacing and stark Nordic scenery. It is a modern folk tale about the laws of nature and the grief of parenthood.

‘The Spine of Night’ (2021)

Characters from different eras navigate a brutal world where a magical blue flower grants immense power. A swamp witch recounts the history of the land and the corruption caused by the plant. The film utilizes rotoscope animation to pay homage to the adult fantasy cartoons of the late 1970s. It features extreme violence and cosmic horror in an epic anthology format.

‘Mad God’ (2021)

A mysterious figure known as the Assassin descends into a subterranean nightmare world of monsters and torture. Visual effects legend Phil Tippett spent thirty years crafting this stop-motion masterpiece. The film contains almost no dialogue and relies entirely on grotesque imagery to convey its narrative. It is a visceral descent into a hellish industrial landscape teeming with bizarre life forms.

‘Fire and Ice’ (1983)

Two opposing kingdoms representing the elements of ice and fire engage in a war for dominance. A young warrior teams up with a princess to stop the evil ice lord from freezing the world. Artist Frank Frazetta collaborated with director Ralph Bakshi to bring his iconic painting style to life through rotoscoping. The movie is a classic example of sword and sorcery adventure with high stakes and distinct character designs.

‘Son of the White Mare’ (1981)

Three brothers with superhuman strength embark on a quest to rescue three princesses from the underworld. They must defeat multi-headed dragons and navigate a psychedelic landscape of shifting colors. This Hungarian animated film draws from ancient steppe folklore and myths. The visual style is vibrant and abstract and unlike anything in Western animation.

‘Alice’ (1988)

A young girl follows a taxidermied rabbit into a surreal wonderland filled with animated household objects. Director Jan Švankmajer combines live-action footage with stop-motion animation to create an unsettling interpretation of the Lewis Carroll classic. The film emphasizes the physical and tactile aspects of the dream world. It portrays childhood curiosity as something both dangerous and grotesque.

‘Valerie and Her Week of Wonders’ (1970)

A young girl navigates a shifting reality involving vampires and weasels and her own grandmother. The narrative operates on dream logic where characters change roles and locations transform instantly. This Czech New Wave film combines gothic horror with surrealism and coming-of-age themes. The cinematography and choral score create a haunting and poetic atmosphere.

‘Donkey Skin’ (1970)

A king decides to marry his own daughter after promising his dying wife he would only wed someone more beautiful than her. The princess escapes by wearing the skin of a magic donkey and hiding in a neighboring kingdom. Director Jacques Demy directs this colorful musical adaptation of a Charles Perrault fairy tale. The film embraces artifice and whimsy with lavish costumes and painted sets.

‘Ugetsu’ (1953)

Two peasants in feudal Japan leave their families behind to pursue wealth and samurai glory during a civil war. One man falls under the spell of a noblewoman who is actually a spirit from the afterlife. The film blends historical drama with ghostly fantasy to deliver a moral lesson about ambition. Director Kenji Mizoguchi uses long takes and fluid camera movement to create a spectral atmosphere.

‘Kwaidan’ (1964)

This anthology film presents four ghost stories adapted from Japanese folklore involving snow spirits and blind musicians. The production was filmed entirely on massive hand-painted sets that resemble expressionist paintings. The vibrant use of color and sound design creates a deliberate sense of unreality. It stands as one of the most visually striking horror-fantasy films ever made.

‘Viy’ (1967)

A seminary student is forced to spend three nights praying over the body of a witch in an old wooden church. He must draw a chalk circle to protect himself as demons and monsters assault him until dawn. This was the first horror film produced in the Soviet Union and features practical effects that remain impressive. It captures the dark humor and superstition of Nikolai Gogol’s original story.

‘House’ (1977)

Seven schoolgirls travel to a country home where they are devoured one by one by the possessed house. The film utilizes every trick in the book including matte paintings and collage and animation. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi created the movie based on the fears and ideas of his young daughter. It is a psychedelic and experimental horror-comedy that defies all logic.

‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ (2009)

A traveling theatre troupe offers audience members a chance to enter a mirror and explore their own imaginations. The leader Dr Parnassus holds a wager with the devil over the soul of his daughter. The film had to be restructured after the death of lead actor Heath Ledger during production. Johnny Depp and Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to play variations of the character within the fantasy realms.

‘Mood Indigo’ (2013)

A wealthy inventor falls in love with a woman who develops a rare illness where a water lily grows in her lung. The world around them physically shrinks and darkens as her condition worsens. Director Michel Gondry fills every frame with mechanical inventions and stop-motion food and visual metaphors. The film is a whimsical and tragic romance that visualizes emotion through set design.

‘The Science of Sleep’ (2006)

A shy graphic designer moves back to Paris and struggles to distinguish his vivid dreams from reality. He builds a relationship with his neighbor while navigating a world made of cardboard and cellophane. The movie explores the creative process and the difficulty of communication through a handmade aesthetic. It captures the chaotic and nonsensical nature of the subconscious mind.

‘Undine’ (2020)

A historian working in Berlin must kill the man who betrayed her and return to the water according to an ancient myth. She meets an industrial diver and attempts to defy her fate through a new romance. The film grounds the elemental spirit legend in a modern architectural setting. Director Christian Petzold creates a melodrama that is both realistic and quietly magical.

‘Ondine’ (2009)

An Irish fisherman pulls a woman in his nets who seems to bring him good luck and miraculous catches. His daughter believes the woman is a selkie who has come from the sea to live on land. The film maintains ambiguity about whether the events are truly magical or just coincidental. It is a tender drama about hope and recovery with a fairy tale undercurrent.

‘Song of the Sea’ (2014)

A young boy discovers that his mute sister is a selkie who must find her voice to save the faerie creatures from turning to stone. They embark on a journey across a modern Ireland filled with ancient myths and gods. The animation style mimics watercolor paintings and traditional Celtic art. It is a moving story about family bonds and preserving cultural heritage.

‘The Secret of Kells’ (2009)

A young monk living in a medieval abbey meets a forest spirit while helping to complete a legendary illuminated manuscript. He must venture into the woods to find berries for ink while Vikings threaten to attack the monastery. The film visualizes the world through the flat perspective and intricate patterns of medieval art. It celebrates the preservation of knowledge and the beauty of nature.

‘Wolfwalkers’ (2020)

An apprentice hunter arrives in Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. She befriends a wild girl who transforms into a wolf when she sleeps and discovers the magic of the forest. The animation contrasts the rigid geometric lines of the town with the flowing scratchy lines of the wild. It completes a thematic trilogy of Irish folklore by the studio Cartoon Saloon.

‘Mary and the Witch’s Flower’ (2017)

A young girl finds a magical blue flower that grants her temporary powers and whisks her away to a prestigious magic school in the clouds. She uncovers dark experiments at the academy and must rescue a neighborhood boy. This was the first feature film from Studio Ponoc founded by former Studio Ghibli staff. It delivers high-flying adventure and lush background art.

‘Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms’ (2018)

An immortal girl is separated from her people and decides to raise a mortal human baby she finds in a destroyed village. The story spans decades as the boy grows old while his mother remains young forever. The film deals with themes of motherhood and legacy and the pain of outliving loved ones. It features high fantasy world-building and emotional storytelling.

‘Night Is Short, Walk on Girl’ (2018)

A college student navigates a surreal night in Kyoto involving book markets and god of used books and guerilla theater. She is pursued by a senior student who creates elaborate schemes to cross her path naturally. The animation style is fluid and colorful and bends the laws of physics. It is a celebration of youth and alcohol and the interconnectedness of life.

‘Mind Game’ (2004)

A loser named Nishi is killed by the Yakuza and escapes the afterlife to live life to the fullest. He ends up trapped in the belly of a whale with his crush and her sister and an old man. The film utilizes a mix of animation styles including photos and CGI and pencil sketches. It is a frenetic and philosophical journey about seizing the moment.

‘Angel’s Egg’ (1985)

A young girl wanders through a dark and abandoned gothic city while protecting a large egg under her dress. She meets a soldier carrying a cross-shaped weapon who questions what is inside the egg. The film contains very little dialogue and relies on symbolic imagery and atmosphere. It is a meditative and enigmatic work created by artist Yoshitaka Amano and director Mamoru Oshii.

Share your favorite hidden fantasy gem or let us know which of these movies you plan to watch in the comments.