Born in Europe after World War I, Surrealism is an avant-garde cultural movement in art and literature that seeks to allow the unconscious mind to roam freely through methods like the irrational juxtaposition of images. Throughout the years, this movement (or elements of it) has been present in cinema on multiple occasions. It's an artistic system that lends itself perfectly to the magic of moving pictures, which many filmmakers have proved over the years.

Masters of cinematic surrealism like David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky have been able to depict a dreamlike, hard-to-grasp atmosphere in their movies, which often leave audiences scratching their heads and craving to make sense of what they just watched. Some of cinematic history's best movies are exquisitely bizarre surrealist spectacles, from Eraserhead to The Holy Mountain.

15 'Inland Empire' (2006)

Directed by David Lynch

A woman wearing a robe sits in a chair with a group of other women posing behind her
Image via 518 Media

David Lynch's most recent feature film follows an actor (Laura Dern) whose environment crumbles around her as she tries to adopt a character's personality for her movie. Full of Lynch's typical idiosyncrasies and knack for the dreamlike, the sensual, and the outright mind-boggling, it's perhaps his movie that features the largest number of motifs that are present throughout his whole filmography.

Inland Empire is perhaps the closest a movie has ever come to translating a nightmare into reality. It not only doesn't follow narrative conventions, it pretends they don't exist at all, resulting in an experience that's hard to judge because of how impossible it is to pin down. While the central theme of most Lynch films can semi-satisfyingly be boiled down to one sentence, what Inland Empire is actually about is much harder to define, making it a delightful experience for fans of cinematic surrealism.

Inland Empire
R
Where to Watch

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Release Date
September 6, 2006
Director
David Lynch
Cast
Laura Dern , Jeremy Irons , Justin Theroux , Karolina Gruszka , Jan Hencz , Krzysztof Majchrzak
Runtime
180
Main Genre
Drama

14 'Beau Is Afraid' (2023)

Directed by Ari Aster

Joaquin Phoenix sitting on a cruise ship in Beau is Afraid
Image via A24

Ari Aster, one of the most exciting new voices in cinema, is no stranger to bizarre movies. But now that Beau Is Afraid has come out, all that came before retrospectively feels like a warm-up for the delightfully weird quasi-mythical tale that the director has put out into the world. Borrowing as much from Freud as it does from the Odyssey, Aster's twisted creation is one of the best psychological comedies in recent years.

It's very easy to hate the movie, an unapologetically weird exercise of artistic self-indulgence. But those willing to look past its challenging atmosphere are bound to find one of the boldest, most risk-taking films of the decade, with a powerhouse performance by Joaquin Phoenix and no shortage of thought-provoking themes bolstering an enthralling story.

Beau Is Afraid
R
Drama
Comedy
Horror
Where to Watch

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Release Date
April 21, 2023
Director
Ari Aster
Runtime
179 minutes

13 'Mad God' (2021)

Directed by Phil Tippett

mad god image shudder
Image via Shudder

Legendary puppeteer and visual effects expert Phil Tippett, who participated in films as visually staggering as Jurassic Park and the Star Wars original trilogy, is the brilliant mind behind the virtually plotless Mad God. While its story (if it even can be called that) is hard to describe, it's essentially about an assassin traveling through a nightmare world of tortured souls and wretched monsters forged from the primordial horrors of Tippett's unconscious mind.

Even then, it's nearly impossible to more faithfully describe the film's narrative since it's so loose and impenetrable. Like all great surrealist films, all of Mad God's symbolism is up to interpretation, meaning that each viewer will see something different in this gory, vulgar, but incredibly fascinating celebration of the grotesque, which will definitely leave horror addicts craving more.

Mad God
Not Rated
Animation
Fantasy
Horror
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Release Date
June 16, 2022
Director
Phil Tippett
Cast
Alex Cox , Niketa Roman , Satish Ratakonda , Harper Taylor
Runtime
83 minutes

12 'Paprika' (2006)

Directed by Satoshi Kon

paprika, anime, red, mirrors
Image via Sony Pictures

The great Satoshi Kon was a master of his craft, a paragon of Japanese animated filmmaking, and the creator of some of the most surreal movies of their kind out there. Paprika, one of his most acclaimed works, is the very definition of the word "dreamlike." Considering that it's literally a movie about people entering others' dreams (a concept that inspired Christopher Nolan's Inception), that seems only fitting.

Paprika is absolutely wild, and jam-packed with cerebral themes and plot points, memorable characters, overwhelmingly excessive visuals, and narrative elements that viewers will be struggling to piece together. It's an unforgettable experience that demands at least a couple of rewatches to be properly appreciated – and even then, it can never truly be fully understood.

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11 'House' (1977)

Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi

House, hausu, head, well,
Image via Toho

House is one of the most underrated Japanese movies ever, offering the perfect mixture of horror and camp. Like all the best surrealist movies, this is one that's practically impossible to box into any one category, and that makes it even better. Its weirdness makes it challenging, but it never ceases to be fun to try and decipher all that it has to say.

Gleefully offbeat and delighted to upset the status quo in every way it can, House hooks one's attention from its very first frame and doesn't let go until the credits start rolling. It's the kind of surrealism that one can only find in Japanese cinema, amped up to eleven. It won't be for everyone, but that's by design, as it's specifically for those who enjoy the kind of boundless surrealism only the greatest in the genre can offer.

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10 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' (1972)

Directed by Luis Buñuel

a group dining in a stage in front of a crowd
Image via 20th Century Studios

This bizarre comedy is one of the best films of the Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel, one of the first artists to bring surrealism to the silver screen. It's about an upper-class sextet whose efforts to have dinner are thwarted by a mysterious series of events. Its lavish production design and terrific performances make it such an absorbing experience, and it's Buñuel's exquisite direction and writing that make it one of the best surreal movies.

Characterized by Buñuel's modern satirical style, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie mocks and hilariously critiques the upper class the way only this director knew how. Buñuel uses the nature of dreams to insert the audience into the deepest corners of human nature and does so in such a genius way that the film won a Best Foreign Film award at the Oscars.

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9 'Videodrome' (1983)

Directed by David Cronenberg

James Woods looking at Debbie Harry on TV in Videodrome
Image via Universal Pictures

David Cronenberg, particularly earlier in his career, was always happy to make a mind-bending film full of his signature style of surrealism. Videodrome is no exception, and it's perhaps the director's best use of body horror (a subgenre that he's remembered as the main representative of). It's an outstanding sci-fi horror thriller about a programmer at a Toronto TV station who specializes in adult entertainment, as he searches for the producers of a bizarre and elusive broadcast.

While it explores complex (and growingly timely) themes such as the control of the media over its consumers and the dark sides of technology, Videodrome is no chore to sit through. It's incredibly entertaining and audacious, and it constantly seems to be making a conscious effort to be as perplexingly odd as it possibly can. Making a bold statement on how technology directly affects the human body, it's the perfect manifesto of the themes that have plagued Cronenberg's whole body of work.

Videodrome
R
Horror
Mystery
Sci-Fi
Where to Watch

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Release Date
February 4, 1983
Director
David Cronenberg
Cast
James Woods , Sonja Smits , Deborah Harry , Peter Dvorsky , Leslie Carlson , Jack Creley
Runtime
87

8 'The Holy Mountain' (1973)

Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky

The Holy Mountain
Image via ABKCO Films

Chilean artist Alejandro Jodorowsky has a uniquely weird filmography, and The Holy Mountain might be his most idiosyncratic movie. In this Mexican adventure drama, an alchemist leads a prophet and seven materialistic men to a Holy Mountain, where they hope to gain enlightenment. While not the most welcoming introduction to Jodorowsky's style, it's certainly a perfect fit for those who have already gotten started with surrealistic movies and want to dive deeper.

Visually impressive and stylistically delightful, The Holy Mountain displays everything that makes this unique auteur so acclaimed. However, it certainly becomes much more enjoyable if you give yourself up to its magic and don't try to find any literal meaning. In fact, that may be the case with any Jodorowsky film.

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7 'Mulholland Drive' (2001)

Directed by David Lynch

mulholland-drive-feature
Image via Universal Pictures

Perhaps the most popular (and arguably the best) film by David Lynch, one of the biggest authorities in surrealist cinema nowadays, Mulholland Drive is about a woman who has just arrived in Hollywood to become a star when she meets an enigmatic amnesiac who shakes up her world. While certainly not an easy watch, it rewards viewers' patience and attention with some of the most powerful scenes of Lynch's filmography.

Having watched only the first half of Mulholland Drive, it would be easy to dismiss it as the cheesy work of an amateur. But once the third act comes rolling in, all the pieces begin to fall into place and it just clicks. Everyone has theories about the movie's meaning, and each one is as intriguing as the last.

Mulholland Drive
R

Release Date
June 6, 2001
Director
David Lynch
Cast
Naomi Watts , Laura Harring , Ann Miller , Dan Hedaya , Justin Theroux , Brent Briscoe
Runtime
147
Main Genre
Crime

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6 'Daisies' (1966)

Directed by Vera Chytilová

daisies vera chytilova feature
Image via Ústřední Půjčovna Filmů

The Czech masterpiece Daisies is about two teenage girls who decide to act as spoiled as they deem the world to be. It's the weirdest possible celebration of womanhood and a smart examination of what society considers offputting or unacceptable, offering some really potent social commentary that remains as timely today as it was back in the mid-'60s.

Daisies is the embodiment of a contradiction. It's revolting yet impossible to look away from, funny yet head-scratching, hard to recommend yet an absolute must-see. It's profound, incredibly powerful, and has a real gut punch of an ending. It may be hard to get into at first, but it's absolutely worth the extra effort once the final shot comes and it all makes total sense.

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5 'Woman in the Dunes' (1964)

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara

Eiji Okada screaming in quicksand in Woman in the Dunes
Image via Toho

Japan's film industry has a lot more to offer than just the movies of its most notable directors. It has proved on repeated occasions to be one of the world's best sources of cinematic surrealism, and Woman in the Dunes underscores that. It's a phenomenal character drama as much as it is a spine-tingling thriller, with a beautiful screenplay and exceptional directing by Hiroshi Teshigahara.

The movie employs a very distinct flavor of surrealism, which makes its enveloping atmosphere all the more emotionally compelling. The way Woman in the Dunes explores its themes of obsession and power is fascinating but undeniably weird, making it a disturbing experience that's guaranteed to challenge anyone's taste, even if they typically enjoy bizarre films.

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4 'Persona' (1966)

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

image in black and white of two women looking in a mirror
Image via AB Svensk Filmindustri

Perhaps the most prolific and popular filmmaker to ever come out of Sweden, Ingmar Bergman is known for sprinkling some elements of surrealism in a few of his movies; but Persona, about a young nurse who's put in charge of a seemingly healthy actress who refuses to talk, is undoubtedly his most out-and-out surrealist film, which also happens to be one of Ingmar Bergman's best works.

Challenging and absorbing, Persona beautifully blurs the line between dreams and reality, offering a meditation on themes of identity and duality that perfectly connect to the very nature of the performing arts. The two lead performances by Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann are top-notch, and the fascinating story functions as a great introduction to surrealist movies.

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3 'Mirror' (1975)

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Margarita Terkhova as Natalya standing in a field with Oleg Yankovskiy as The Father in Mirror
Image via Mosfilm

Andrei Tarkovsky was cinema's greatest poet, making most of his movies beautifully contemplative and meditative. This means that, for the most part, they require one's full attention and involvement in order to keep up with their complex narratives. In the case of Mirror, though, this requirement of full compromise is particularly large. Loosely autobiographical, it's about a man on his deathbed remembering his past.

Unconventionally structured, Mirror flows more like a poem than a traditional movie. The powerful symbols Tarkovsky uses in the movie are beautiful, and the story is one of the most engaging and meaningful of the filmmaker's tragically short-lived career. Those patient enough to let its emotional power seep through them will be sure to find one of the most gorgeously intimate films ever made.

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2 'Eraserhead' (1977)

Directed by David Lynch

eraserhead-lady-in-the-radiator
Image via Libra Films

Yet another Lynch masterpiece, Eraserhead is his most spiritual film. It's about Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), a young man trying to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unsettling screams of his newborn mutant child. At its core, the film is a paranoid drama about the fears and anxieties of being a father, but it's also oh so much more.

It may be the eerie sound design, the unconventional performances, the stunning black-and-white cinematography, or the riveting yet incomprehensible narrative, but the fact of the matter is that Eraserhead is one of the most absorbing and atmospheric surrealist films ever made, which has earned it its much-deserved cult status.

Eraserhead
Not Rated
Horror
Fantasy
Where to Watch

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Release Date
February 3, 1978
Director
David Lynch
Cast
Jack Nance , Laurel Near , Charlotte Stewart , Allen Joseph
Runtime
89 minutes

1 'Un Chien Andalou' (1929)

Directed by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí

Un-Chien-Andalou-1
Image via Les Grands Films Classiques

Un Chien Andalou reigns supreme among surreal films. It's actually a short film, but it would be a crime not to call it one of the best, weirdest movies of all time. It's a series of strange and seemingly unconnected surrealist vignettes and was the first widely popular surrealist film. Its influence on the genre – and filmmaking in general – can still be seen today.

Made by Luis Buñuel and the renowned artist Salvador Dalí, Un Chien Andalou is impossible to interpret and all the more brilliant because of it. With it, the directors wanted to make a defiant critique of tradition and a representation of the human subconscious as pure as possible, making it as invulnerable to any kind of rational interpretation as they possibly could. And yet, it's incredibly fun to try and make sense of all the weird things happening on the screen. It's only human nature.

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