There are many forms of entertainment that actively compete for the audience’s attention, but there’s a certain magic behind movies and the experience of losing oneself in the cinema. Typically, the movies that make the biggest impact at the box office and turn into massive blockbusters are the stories that are the most mainstream and palatable, yet some of the most fascinating films are the more surreal examples that take ambitious swings with the medium.
There are certain filmmakers that have filmographies that may come across as impenetrable due to the avant-garde nature of their movies. However, even some of the most surreal directors have a movie or two that makes for an accessible entry point for newcomers.
10 Surrealist Master David Lynch’s The Straight Story Is A Calm Disney Film
There are plenty of filmmakers that create obtuse and confusing movies that seem to be strange for the sake of strange, with little substance to fall back on. David Lynch is often responsible for challenging, frightening movies that are often terrifying, but it always feels like he has a complete understanding of these bizarre stories.
The Straight Story is an extremely atypical effort from Lynch that functions as an exercise in simplicity and restraint. The movie chronicles a man’s trip across the U.S., via tractor, to reunite with his brother. It loses all of Lynch’s typical tricks, except for one jarring sequence.
9 Terry Gilliam’s Endless Imagination Gets Stifled In The Brothers Grimm
Terry Gilliam is responsible for some iconic pieces of cinema, such as Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and Time Bandits. Gilliam’s career has hit some rough patches, but his movies remain visual masterpieces that at least have something creative to focus on. Many of Gilliam’s movies create rich worlds that are expertly defined and operate like absurdist fairy tales in many respects.
The Brothers Grimm features Heath Ledger and Matt Damon as the iconic storytellers. The movie is one of Gilliam’s more middling results, yet it functions as a good template for the themes and ideas that fascinate the creative director.
8 Guillermo Del Toro’s Genre Passions Blend Together In The Explosive Pacific Rim
Guillermo Del Toro is an extremely rare example of a niche genre filmmaker that’s managed to reach mainstream success. The fact that Del Toro’s creature feature love story, The Shape of Water, can sweep the Oscars is a testament to how far he’s come and his ability to toe the line between extremes.
Some of Del Toro’s wilder efforts may overwhelm audiences, but Pacific Rim is a strong starting place for the completely uninitiated. Pacific Rim shows off Del Toro’s visual flair as well as his geeky passion for genre, but delivers it through mainstream robot action.
7 Takashi Miike’s Risky Ultra Violence Takes A Break In Video Game Adaptation, Ace Attorney
Somehow Japan’s Takashi Miike has directed over 100 movies and they’re wildly consistent as well as incredibly diverse. Most audiences know Miike as one of Japan’s most extreme filmmakers and many of his movies are drenched in blood. Miike has also handled a number of anime and video game adaptations and can handle silly and kid-friendly franchises.
Ace Attorney adapts the popular video game series and the absurdist courtroom drama is hard to ignore. Some of Miike’s other broader efforts like Ninja Kids!! or First Love are also decent gateway films, but still more insular than Ace Attorney.
6 Brian De Palma Plays By The Book When He Kicks Off Mission: Impossible
Brian De Palma is one of the biggest names from the 1970s and ‘80s when it comes to tense thrillers that push boundaries pertaining to visuals and filmmaking. De Palma regularly engages in stylistic devices like split-screen sequences and lengthy uninterrupted shots.
Admittedly, some of De Palma’s more mainstream movies like The Untouchables, The Black Dahlia, or even Carrie, could be good ways to first experience the director, but he’s also responsible for the first Mission: Impossible movie, which is not only an excellent ‘90s action movie but still full of De Palma’s usual cinematic tricks.
5 Stoker Is Chan-Wook Park’s English Debut & The Right Kind Of Strange
Chan-Wook Park is one of the most exciting filmmakers to emerge out of the past few decades and he’s proven himself to be one of South Korea’s most ambitious and exciting voices in the film industry. Practically every single one of Park’s movies is a stunning work of art, whether it’s Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, or Thirst, but they’re typically heady and intense experiences.
Stoker is the director’s English-language debut and the moody character piece that stars Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, and Nicole Kidman is an excellent primer on what Park brings to the table with his movies.
4 The Freefloating Dread Of Yorgos Lanthimos Is Absent In The Favourite
Yorgos Lanthimos only has a handful of movies under his belt, but he’s set to be a major player when it comes to avant-garde filmmakers for the foreseeable future. Lanthimos is able to cultivate a heavy sense of uneasiness and tension through movies like Dogtooth and The Killing of a Sacred Deer that is honestly too much for many audiences to handle.
Alternatively, his Oscar-winning The Favourite still features the director’s dark sense of humor, but it’s filtering through a surprisingly relatable revenge story. It’s a great way to get a sense of Lanthimos’ style without getting too deep.
3 Gaspar Noé’s Blunt Narratives & Mind-Bending Visuals Come Together Through Dance In Climax
French filmmaker Gaspar Noé is an incredibly precise filmmaker that isn’t afraid to tell raw, uncomfortable stories that force the audience to grapple with sensitive subject matter. Movies like Irreversible, Enter the Void, and his wildly ambitious 3D movie, Love, don’t just shock the senses with their material, but are also visually challenging and turn chronology on its ear.
Noé’s most recent movie, Climax, is still a lot to take in and it revolves around a dance troupe who unintentionally ends up on a sprawling drug trip. However, Noé’s brutal nature becomes more beautiful when expressed through synchronized dance.
2 Christopher Nolan Is At His Most Mainstream With Batman Sequel, The Dark Knight
It’s very rare for filmmakers like Christopher Nolan to acquire such a blank check when it comes to making mainstream blockbusters that are also highly avant-garde art films. Christopher Nolan makes must-see movies, but he’s also a director that’s told films through reverse and often leaves the audience’s perception of reality in flux.
Nolan takes some huge swings, most recently with Tenet, but he’s also turned out a successful trilogy of superhero films. Nolan’s middle chapter, The Dark Knight, is both the most visually and thematically interesting, as well as a worthy indicator of Nolan’s voice.
1 David Cronenberg Trades Uncomfortable Body Horror For A Mystery In The Dead Zone
Some of the stranger filmmakers of the horror genre’s heyday struggle to remain relevant in the modern film landscape, but David Cronenberg is someone who still pushes boundaries with the stories that he tells. Cronenberg has a legendary reputation for being a master of body horror, practical effects, and surreal storytelling.
The Dead Zone is a fairly restrained Stephen King adaptation from Cronenberg that stars a powerful Christopher Walken. Cronenberg’s more recent films, like Maps to the Stars or Cosmopolis, might come across as conventional, but they’re still steeped in high concepts and alienating ideas.