Entertainment
10 Greatest Dark Fantasy Movies of the Last 25 Years, Ranked
The fantasy genre is perhaps the oldest and most diverse genre of storytelling, able to bring to life fantastical worlds full of heroes and monsters limited only by the imagination of the storyteller. One of its more popular subgenres is dark fantasy, which focuses more on the nitty-gritty parts of the fantasy world. Morality is complex, heroes don’t always come home alive, and the themes explored are aimed at a more mature audience.
The 21st century has seen more than its fair share of dark fantasy movies. Be it live action or animation, they’re sure to leave an impression thanks to their visuals and storytelling, which makes use of the more mature settings to tell stories that really stick with you after viewing. These are the best dark fantasy movies of the last 25 years, proving that fantasy can handle remarkably dark settings and premises without losing its distinct essence.
10
‘Constantine’ (2005)
John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a cynical master of the occult who travels the world to stop the plans of demons and other supernatural beings. Unfortunately, he has terminal lung cancer and, due to an attempted suicide, is condemned to Hell when he dies. He uses the time he has to help detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) investigate the death of her sister, which leads the two to learn of a plot by the Devil’s (Peter Stormare) son, Mammon, to usurp his father and rule the Earth.
Constantine takes a lot of liberties in adapting the Hellblazer comics, but for what it is, it’s a fun time. It does a good job building a surreal and dark atmosphere with the demon incursions, and while Reeves is far from a perfect match for John Constantine, he delivers a solid performance that captures just how fed up with everything his character is. The best performances, though, come from Stormare, whose brief appearance as Lucifer steals the entire show, and Tilda Swinton, who perfectly melds into her role as the angel Gabriel.
9
‘Hellboy’ (2004)
Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is a demon who was summoned into the world by Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden) during the closing days of World War II and was raised by a scientist named Trevor Bruttenholm (Sir John Hurt). In the modern day, Hellboy works for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence to protect the world from occult horrors, alongside his partner, a psychic fish-man named Abraham Sapien (Doug Jones). Unfortunately, Rasputin returns to bring about the apocalypse, and Hellboy is integral to his plans.
Hellboy is a match made in heaven, combining the vivid world of Mike Mignola‘s comics with the vision of the king of dark fantasy films, Guillermo del Toro. The result is a blast of a film that has plenty of action and pathos, especially when Hellboy struggles between his dark destiny and his desire to do good. It also looks gorgeous for an early 2000s film, with some pretty good CGI that still holds up, and phenomenal practical effects, especially on Perlman to turn him into the titular demon.
8
‘Corpse Bride’ (2005)
Victor van Dort (Johnny Depp) is arranged to marry Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) so that her impoverished family can regain their wealth, and his newly rich family can gain social status. While Victor and Victoria do like one another, Victor is too nervous to memorize his vows, so he goes into the woods to practice. There, he unknowingly pledges his love to Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), a young woman who was killed on her wedding night and takes Victor with her to the Underworld.
Corpse Bride‘s macabre aesthetic and rather morbid style might at first seem depressing, but the film balances it out with a rather interesting choice to portray death. Instead of something to be feared, death is portrayed as liberating—though still not something one should seek out before their time—with the denizens of the Underworld being free to cut loose and have fun. It’s also a beautiful love story with plenty of twists and turns, and a strong emphasis on the sacrifices required to make a relationship work.
7
‘The Green Knight’ (2021)
On Christmas Day, the court of King Arthur (Sean Harris) is visited by a mysterious Green Knight (Ralph Ineson), who proposes a game: he will offer his axe to any knight who strikes a blow on him, provided that, in one year, the knight will seek him at the Green Chapel and receive the same blow. Arthur’s nephew, Gawain (Dev Patel), accepts the challenge and cuts off the Green Knight’s head, but he just picks it up and rides off. A year goes by, and Gawain chooses to uphold his promise, but the journey to do so is fraught with more dangers than he first realized.
The Green Knight plays out like a lucid dream. The movie is full of strange events and characters that make you question what is real and what is not, from mist walking giants to loyal foxes. The story is a solid coming-of-age tale, with Gawain forced to grow from an impetuous youth who doesn’t know his way through the world to a knight who values the importance of honor and chivalry, but still has the same flaws as any man.
6
‘A Monster Calls’ (2018)
Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is a young boy who is struggling to accept the fact that his terminally ill mother (Felicity Jones) will die soon, and he will have to live with his strict grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). One night, he sees a yew tree transform into a giant monster (Liam Neeson) who seeks him out. The monster will tell Conor three stories, after which the boy must tell a fourth that is linked to a recurring nightmare.
A Monster Calls is minimal in its use of fantasy elements, which makes their inclusion all the more potent. They are used to highlighting the film’s major themes of grief, loss, and the complexity of the human experience, with the monster’s stories having similarities to the struggles Conor is experiencing. Speaking of the two main leads, they are fantastic: Neeson gives the right level of comfort and fury that makes you question the monster’s intentions for Conor, while MacDougall goes all out in portraying Conor’s grief, especially during the climax.
5
‘ParaNorman’ (2012)
Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a young boy who possesses the ability to speak to the dead, which makes him a social outcast. One day, he is approached by his deranged uncle, Mr. Prenderghast (John Goodman), who tells Norman he must take up a yearly ritual to keep the community safe from a witch’s ghost. Norman initially ignores him, but strange things begin happening around town, from cryptic visions to the dead walking.
ParaNorman uses its dark aesthetic to tell a beautiful story about fear. It’s explored from multiple angles, such as how fear can prevent us from achieving our full potential, or how our fear of the unknown can lead to terrible actions with long-reaching consequences. Combined with how relatable Norman’s attempts to find belonging are, and you have a movie that balances images usually reserved for horror films with heartfelt storytelling that really sticks with you.
4
‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ (2022)
Griefstricken over the loss of his son, a woodcarver named Geppetto (David Bradley) chops down a pine tree that grew over his grave to carve into a puppet in his likeness. A passing wood sprite (Tilda Swinton) takes pity on the grieving father and uses her magic to bring the puppet to life, naming him Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) and assigning a cricket who lived in the tree named Sebastian (Ewan McGregor) to be his conscience. Unfortunately, Pinocchio’s lack of self-control leads him into trouble, and various factions seek to exploit him, especially when it’s made apparent that he cannot die.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is the darkest and most creative adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s story, partially because of its themes of death and the price of immortality. Del Toro explores such complex issues through Pinocchio’s talks with the wood sprite’s sister, Death (Tilda Swinton), who argues that Pinocchio’s immortality is more of a curse than a blessing. Del Toro also decided to change the idea of Pinocchio having to turn human to be considered a real boy, and instead emphasizes Geppetto coming to love him as much as his real son.
3
‘The Shape of Water’ (2017)
Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) is a mute woman who works as a janitor at a secret government research facility during the Cold War. One day, soldiers bring in an Amphibian Man (Doug Jones) captured in South America, which they plan to vivisect in the hopes that his biology can give them an edge over the Soviet Union in the space race. Elisa bonds with the creature in secret and recruits her friends to both smuggle him out of the facility and help him escape into the wild.
The Shape of Water is the second fantasy movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and it’s more than deserving of such praise. Taking inspiration from Creature From the Black Lagoon, del Toro instead uses the idea of a fish-man to explore themes of “the other,” namely, in how we, as humans, tend to ostracize, fear, or even destroy that which we do not understand. Yet its story remains a hopeful one, as while there are wicked people who will do just that, others are willing to embrace and try to understand the unknown, leading to beautiful discoveries, such as romance.
2
‘Coraline’ (2009)
With her parents too busy to give her attention, young Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) explores the Pink Palace Apartments they have moved into, meeting all sorts of eccentric neighbors and the landlady’s grandson, Wyborne “Wybie” Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). During her explorations, Coraline finds a door in the wall that leads to an alternate world where everyone has black buttons for eyes, and everything caters to Coraline’s every whim. Her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) offers to let her stay forever if she sews buttons onto her eyes, but a black cat (Keith David) who can travel between both worlds warns Coraline that all is not as it seems.
Coraline was the first film to come from Laika Studios, and is by far one of the best stop-motion films ever made. The puppets are constructed and move with incredible attention to detail, resulting in life-like interactions and designs that give the film a unique identity, even when compared to director Henry Selick‘s other stop-motion films. Where it truly shines is its story, which is a cautionary tale about being careful of what you wish for and appreciating what you have, and it is not afraid to scare kids as the mask of beauty is pulled away to reveal how rotten and fake the Other World is.
1
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is a young girl living in Francoist Spain, and is moving with her pregnant mother to live with her Falangist stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López). One day, she follows some fairies down into a labyrinth, where she meets a faun (Doug Jones), who tells her that she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna of the Underworld. To reclaim her throne and memories, Ofelia must perform three dangerous tasks, all while trying to care for her mother as her health declines, while Vidal hunts down rebels.
Pan’s Labyrinth is frequently cited as possibly the greatest fairy tale film ever made, and it’s by far del Toro’s masterpiece. The film uses the fantastical world to mirror the real-world dangers that Ofelia is navigating, making the monsters all the more terrifying, and harkening back to how classic fairy tales were quite dark in order to impart important life lessons to children. This approach leads to a beautifully bittersweet ending that makes you question how much of the magic was real or not.
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