Dan Trachtenberg's Prey, the latest installment in the Predator franchise, has taken the world by storm. A transformation of a franchise that had felt stale for decades, the movie about a fierce and skilled Comanche warrior protecting her people from a mysterious Predator functions as a coming-of-age film far from the usual tropes of the genre.
Cinema has seen a few non-traditional coming-of-age movies, and the world's all the better because of it. Whether because they belong to another genre not usually seen in these stories, like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, or because they put an unusually mature twist on the genre, like Raw, these movies are usually some of the most impactful coming-of-age stories.
France's Iconic But Ill-Fated Queen — 'Marie Antoinette' (2006)
Biopic coming-of-age movies aren't particularly common, but Sofia Coppola proved that this is a mistake with her film Marie Antoinette, about the eponymous French royal (played by Kirsten Dunst) from her marriage at 15 to her reign as queen at 19.
Much more than a faithful retelling of Marie Antoinette's life, the movie is a sort of parable with a modern feel, full of anachronisms and classical music followed by post-punk. It's a refreshingly unique twist not just on the period biopic genre but the coming-of-age as well.
The Title Says It All — 'Super Dark Times' (2017)
When audiences think of the coming-of-age genre, a grim tone and disturbing narrative are probably not the first things to come to mind, but Super Dark Times uses them to tell a story about a couple of teenage best friends who fall down a rabbit hole of paranoia and violence after a gruesome accident.
Destined to become a modern cult classic, the movie takes time to build its story, but it's all worth it thanks to the great cinematography, Kevin Phillips's fantastic direction, and the gripping third act.
A Movie Hungry for Controversy — 'Raw' (2016)
Julia Ducournau innovative horror film Raw follows Justine (Garance Marillier), a teen from a family where everyone is a vet and a vegetarian. But when she's forced to eat raw meat, Justine's true self begins to form.
One wouldn't expect a film about a vegetarian-turned-cannibal to be a relatable tale about adolescence, but Raw somehow manages to be that and more. Though it's hard to stomach, the way Ducournau uses body horror to explore femininity and pleasure is a spectacle that must be seen to be believed.
Swedish Horror at Its Finest — 'Let the Right One In' (2008)
In this Swedish fantasy/horror drama, lonely twelve-year-old Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) befriends his next-door neighbor Eli (Lina Leandersson), a mysterious girl whose arrival coincides with a series of equally mysterious deaths, which convinces Oskar that his new friend is a vampire.
Modern vampire movies don't have a great reputation but Let the Right One In might just be the very best. Poetic, profound, sympathetic, and surprisingly sweet, the film explores the importance of love in growing up with an awful lot of heart and personality.
Much More Than a Gimmick, A Unique Way to Make a Film — 'Boyhood' (2014)
Richard Linklater's Boyhood, one of his most acclaimed films, tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son, chronicling their relationship across a twelve-year timespan. The twist? The film was also twelve years in the making, so audiences get to see young Mason (Ellar Coltrane) grow up in front of their eyes.
Boyhood is more than a simple gimmicky film, though. It's a character-driven coming-of-age story focusing on the most human parts of growing up, feeling especially genuine thanks to the fact that the characters are actually getting older as the runtime goes on.
A Surreal Critique of Society and the Grotesque — 'Daisies' (1966)
This Czech surrealist masterpiece is extremely hard to describe and equally hard to recommend to friends. It's an intentionally grotesque story about two teenage girls who decide to act as spoiled as they think the world is, embarking on a series of destructive pranks. It's strange and unsettling, and its message is all the more powerful because of it.
Daisies has the courage to criticize modern society for what it does and doesn't treat it as twisted and off-putting. It's also the most bizarre celebration of young women's femininity and the absurdity of maturing.
More Than One Wears The Mask — 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018)
Spider-Man is the perfect character to explore the coming-of-age genre uniquely, as proven by fan-favorites No Way Home and Spider-Man 1 and 2. But perhaps no cinematic adaptation of the character is as widely beloved as Into the Spider-Verse, where teenager Miles Morales tries to balance being a high school student and being a superhero.
A rousing and inspiring love letter to the character of Spider-Man as much as it is an empowering coming-of-age tale about courage and heroism, Into the Spider-Verse is undoubtedly Sony Animation's best movie to date and worthy of its popularity.
One of the Most Disturbing WWII Films Ever Made — 'Come and See' (1985)
It's not only horror films that can be chilling and horrifying; this Soviet film about a boy who joins Resistance fighters against German forces proves it.
In all the senses of the word, Come and See, a true anti-war film, succeeds at depicting war as a true nightmare. The toughest part is that viewers see that hellscape through the initially innocent eyes of a child, played by Aleksey Kravchenko in one of the most disturbing and soul-scarring acting performances ever put to the screen.
Tarkovsky's Loosely Interconnected Memories — 'Mirror' (1975)
The semi-autobiographical masterpiece of cinema's greatest poet, Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror is a surrealist and loosely structured film about a man remembering his past while on his deathbed.
Mirror is a slow-burner and hard to follow, but it's worth the effort. It's so unique that it's hard to categorize it into any definitive genre. Still, it has enough coming-of-age elements to consider it one of the most beautiful, moving, and mystifying stories about growing up, aging, and the power of the memories created throughout those processes.
A Coming-of-Age With the del Toro Touch — 'Pan's Labyrinth' (2006)
One of the best Mexican films of the century thus far, Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is a dark fairy tale about Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a 10-year-old living with her tyrannical stepfather and pregnant mother, who feels alone until she explores a decaying labyrinth guarded by a mysterious faun.
Full of fascinating visuals, phenomenal performances, and the charm of del Toro's unique directing style, the film is an engrossing celebration of a child's innocence prevailing over the senselessness of violence and war.