Surreal movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant surreal movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out surreal, mind bending, weird, cult classic, psychedelic and mindfuck films and TV shows about / with surrealism, trippy, magic realism, dream, moving, death, alternate reality, existentialism, parallel universe and kiss plots mostly in Drama, Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres shot in USA, France, UK and other countries.
surreal
 4450
surreal movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as surreal: The Bothersome Man (2006), Vivarium (2019), The Lobster (2015), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Donnie Darko (2001), The Science of Sleep (2006), Fantastic Planet (1973), The Fall (2006), Mulholland Drive (2001), Being John Malkovich (1999).

List of surreal movies

Type:
Year:
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The Bothersome Man (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Norway, Iceland
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Forty-year-old Andreas arrives in a strange city with no memory of how he got there. He is presented with a job, an apartment - even a wife. But before long, Andreas notices that something is wrong. Andreas makes an attempt to escape the city, but ...
Style: surreal, enigmatic, psychological, psychedelic, mindfuck ...
Plot: dystopia, suicide attempt, parallel universe, exile, accountant, nightmare, emotionless, new job, isolation, confined, captivity, confusion ...
Time: distant future
Is relevant ?
 5.9
 73K
Vivarium (2019)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Ireland, Belgium, Denmark
Duration: 97 min.
Story: A young woman and her fiancé are in search of the perfect starter home. After following a mysterious real estate agent to a new housing development, the couple finds themselves trapped in a maze of identical houses and forced to raise an ...
Style: surreal, suspense, disturbing, suspenseful, mind blowing ...
Plot: trapped, psychological torture, paradox, human experiment, young couple, evil child, buying a house, suburbs, evil wins, unhappy ending, real estate agent, mysterious man ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 291K
The Lobster (2015)
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Ireland, UK, Greece, France, Netherlands, USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story: In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Style: surreal, art house, absurd, ironic, allegory ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: dystopia, society, blindness, distopia, absurdism, manhunt, love, solitude, suicide attempt, hotel, relationships, woods ...
Time: 2010s, year 2015, year 2016, near future, future
Place: ireland, greece, hellas
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 700K
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, War
Country: Mexico, Spain
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Living with her tyrannical stepfather in a new home with her pregnant mother, 10-year-old Ofelia feels alone until she explores a decaying labyrinth guarded by a mysterious faun who claims to know her destiny. If she wishes to return to her real ...
Style: fairy tale, surreal, dark fantasy, atmospheric, gothic ...
Audience: kids, date night, teen fantasy, adult, teen drama
Plot: monster, mythology, fantasy world, macabre, creature, imagination, magical, legends and myths, good versus evil, maze, young heroes, imaginary ...
Time: year 2006, 2000s, 1940s, 20th century, year 1944
Place: spain, europe
Is relevant ?
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 8.0
 845K
Donnie Darko (2001)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Style: psychological, surreal, mind bending, atmospheric, independent film ...
Audience: teens, date night, adult, teen drama
Plot: mental illness, time travel, psychology, imaginary friend, insanity, schizophrenia, parallel universe, surrealism, suburbs, time loop, social misfits, youth ...
Time: year 2001, 80s, 2000s, future, 20th century ...
Place: virginia, america, los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
The Science of Sleep (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 105 min.
Story: A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.
Style: surreal, psychedelic, psychological, philosophical, meditative ...
Audience: girls' night, date night
Plot: dream, surrealism, magic, daydreamer, artist, escape from reality, existentialism, insanity, magic realism, imagination, love story, friendship ...
Time: year 2006, 2000s, 21st century
Place: paris france, mexico, france, europe, latin america ...
Is relevant ?
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi
Country: France, Czechoslovakia
Duration: 72 min.
Story: Fantastic Planet tells the story of “Oms”, human-like creatures, kept as domesticated pets by an alien race of blue giants called “Draags”. The story takes place on the Draags’ planet Ygam, where we follow our narrator, an Om called Terr, ...
Style: surreal, psychedelic, adult animation, art house, stylized ...
Audience: kids, adult
Plot: trippy, surrealism, giant, dystopia, alien, slave, distopia, alien life-form, alien species, meditation, baby, utopia ...
Time: distant future, year 1973, future
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 116K
The Fall (2006)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, South Africa, India
Duration: 117 min.
Story: In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, ...
Style: surreal, offbeat, fairy tale, visually appealing, visual ...
Audience: kids, date night, adult
Plot: hospital, surrealism, suicide attempt, escape from reality, magic realism, imagination, storytelling, suicide, imaginary kingdom, friendship, stuntman, child ...
Time: 1920s, year 2006, 2000s, 20th century, 1910s
Place: india, los angeles, california, cambodia, taj mahal ...
Is relevant ?
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story: After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Style: surreal, psychological, art house, neo noir, atmospheric ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: surrealism, twists and turns, lesbian, amnesia, obsession, hollywood, nightmare, hallucination, doppelganger, alternate reality, filmmaking, dream ...
Time: 2000s, year 2001, future, 20th century, 21st century
Place: los angeles, persia, usa, california
Is relevant ?
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Sweden, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark
Duration: 101 min.
Story: An absurdist, surrealistic and shocking pitch-black comedy, which moves freely from nightmare to fantasy to hilariously deadpan humour as it muses on man’s perpetual inhumanity to man.
Style: surreal, realistic, talky, lyrical, dark comedy ...
Plot: power relations, society, odd couple, teaching the ways of the world, absurdism, partner, misfit, on the road, dark humor, surrealism, existentialism, humanity ...
Time: 90s, 21st century
Place: eastern europe
Is relevant ?
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: Spike Jonze’s debut feature film is a love story mix of comedy and fantasy. The story is about an unsuccessful puppeteer named Craig, who one day at work finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for ...
Style: surreal, cerebral, mind bending, psychological, offbeat ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, adult
Plot: surrealism, puppeteer, subconscious, psychology, philosophy, existentialism, satire, lesbianism, insanity, body swapping, mind control, magic realism ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1999
Place: new york, new jersey, usa, manhattan new york city
Is relevant ?
 6.3
 157K
Under the Skin (2013)
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, Switzerland, USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: A seductive alien prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.
Style: surreal, disturbing, bleak, atmospheric, dark ...
Audience: adult
Plot: alien, femme fatale, extraterrestrial, human prey, nudity, disguise, female nudity, desire, nightclub, seduction, deformity, male nudity ...
Time: future, 2010s, year 2013, year 2014, 21st century
Place: scotland, glasgow scotland, europe
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.2
 248K
The Fountain (2006)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world.
Style: surreal, melancholic, artsy, philosophical, atmospheric ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: metaphysics, spirituality, afterlife, cancer, buddhism, immortality, surrealism, multiple storylines, obsession, loneliness, love, death ...
Time: future, 2000s, year 2006, 16th century, 21st century
Place: spain, tibet, latin america, europe, central america ...
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 245K
Mr. Nobody (2009)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Belgium, Germany, Canada, France, UK, Luxembourg, USA
Duration: 141 min.
Story: Nemo Nobody leads an ordinary existence with his wife and 3 children; one day, he wakes up as a mortal centenarian in the year 2092.
Style: psychological, surreal, philosophical, mind bending, thought provoking ...
Audience: date night, teens, adult
Plot: time, philosophy, destiny, alternate reality, surrealism, butterfly effect, depression, choice, utopia, twists and turns, multiple outcomes, parallel world ...
Time: future, year 2009, year 2011, distant future, 2010s ...
Place: canada
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 14K
Alice (1988)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Country: Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, UK, West Germany
Duration: 86 min.
Story: A quiet young English girl named Alice finds herself in an alternate version of her own reality after chasing a white rabbit. She becomes surrounded by living inanimate objects and stuffed dead animals, and must find a way out of this nightmare- no ...
Style: surreal, disturbing, art house, atmospheric, mindfuck ...
Audience: teens, kids
Plot: surrealism, alice in wonderland, stop motion, little girl, mushroom, trippy, absurdism, female protagonist, child protagonist, wonderland, anthropomorphic animal, fantasy world ...
Time: 1800s, year 1988, 80s, 20th century, 19th century ...
Place: czech republic, czechoslovakia, central europe
Is relevant ?
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, France, Canada
Duration: 123 min.
Story: A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.
Style: surreal, dark fantasy, fairy tale, offbeat, stylized ...
Audience: teens, kids, date night
Plot: surrealism, imaginary kingdom, deal with the devil, mysterious character, imagination, transformation, bet, steampunk, insanity, trippy, immortality, eccentricity ...
Time: year 2009, 2000s, year 2010
Place: britain, london
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 96K
Paprika (2006)
Genre: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min.
Story: When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it: Paprika.
Style: surreal, psychological, psychedelic, anime, philosophical ...
Audience: teens, kids, adult
Plot: dream, surveillance, virtual reality, lucid dream, surrealism, villain, trippy, scientist, mental illness, hallucination, psychiatrist, introspection ...
Time: future, year 2006, 2000s
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
Is relevant ?
The Zero Theorem (2013)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, Romania, France, USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
Style: surreal, thought provoking, philosophical, psychedelic, cerebral ...
Plot: computers and web, computer, computer system, virtual reality, loneliness, escape from reality, distopia, society, computer genius, hacker, dystopian future, existentialism ...
Time: future, distant future, year 2013, 2010s
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.0
 43K
The One I Love (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: On the brink of separation, Ethan and Sophie escape to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an attempt to save their marriage. What begins as a romantic and fun retreat soon becomes surreal, when an unexpected discovery forces the two ...
Style: surreal, tricky, emotional, suspenseful, suspense ...
Plot: couples, husband wife relationship, marriage, infidelity, betrayal, love, twists and turns, family problems, moral dilemma, self discovery, magic realism, crumbling marriage ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 152K
Lost Highway (1997)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 134 min.
Story: A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgangers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Style: surreal, neo noir, mind bending, atmospheric, confusing ...
Plot: insanity, surrealism, murder, doppelganger, parallel universe, transformation, graphic violence, hallucination, dream, time loop, erotica, art ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1997, near future
Place: los angeles, persia, north america
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 210K
Brazil (1985)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story: Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent ...
Style: surreal, futuristic, psychological, dark comedy, cerebral ...
Audience: adult
Plot: dystopia, dream, fighting the system, distopia, surrealism, cyberpunk, christmas, bureaucracy, imagination, mistaken identity, alternate reality, dystopian future ...
Time: future, year 1985, year 1984
Place: england, london, britain, europe
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 126K
Eraserhead (1977)
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Style: surreal, avant garde, art house, psychological, experimental ...
Plot: surrealism, nightmare, insanity, existentialism, baby, psychology, art, dream, psychosis, eccentricity, factory, electricity ...
Time: 70s, year 1977, 20th century
Place: america
Is relevant ?
What Dreams May Come (1998)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, New Zealand
Duration: 113 min.
Story: Chris Neilson dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he dies, his wife, Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chris decides to risk eternity in hades for the ...
Style: surreal, philosophical, touching, inspirational, tear jerker ...
Audience: family friendly, teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: afterlife, heaven and hell, life & death, life philosophy, heaven, redemption, reincarnation, spirituality, love, hell, metaphysics, life after death ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: cuba
Is relevant ?
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stylized movies
8695
art house movies
2775
mentor movies
9688
 7.2
 102K
Videodrome (1983)
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 87 min.
Story: A sleazy cable-TV programmer begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station.
Style: surreal, psychedelic, disturbing, psychological, cerebral ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cyberpunk, body horror, hallucination, surrealism, television, mind control, virtual reality, insanity, suicide, brainwashing, dystopia, mind game ...
Time: 80s, year 1983, 20th century
Place: pittsburgh, toronto ontario canada, usa, malaysia, canada ...
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 147K
9 (2009)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada, Luxembourg
Duration: 79 min.
Story: When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their ...
Style: adult animation, surreal, suspenseful, serious, futuristic ...
Audience: kids, family outing, teens, family friendly, pre-teens ...
Plot: steampunk, apocalypse, post apocalypse, dystopia, survival, danger, technology gone awry, life is a bitch, vestiges of humanity, distopia, fate of humanity, robot ...
Time: future, 1940s, year 2009
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 109K
The Cell (2000)
Genre: Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A psychotherapist journeys inside a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Style: psychological, surreal, psychedelic, scary, mind bending ...
Plot: serial killer, surrealism, psychopath, race against time, coma, psychiatrist, virtual reality, mind game, fbi, investigation, schizophrenia, dream ...
Time: year 2000, y2k, 90s
Place: california
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 457K
Big Fish (2003)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true ...
Style: surreal, sentimental, feel good, touching, fairy tale ...
Audience: date night, kids, chick flick, teens, girls' night ...
Plot: fish, journey, surrealism, father son relationship, fantasy world, storytelling, childhood, loneliness, mermaid, magic realism, magic, parents and children ...
Time: 60s, 70s, 20th century, 1940s, year 2003 ...
Place: texas, usa, alabama, paris france, russia ...
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 36K
Interstate 60 (2002)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story: An aspiring painter meets various characters and learns valuable lessons while traveling across America.
Style: road movie, surreal, witty, enigmatic, offbeat ...
Audience: teens, date night
Plot: road trip, self discovery, on the road, alternate reality, life philosophy, dream girl, choice, self fulfillment, wish come true, surrealism, twists and turns, highway ...
Time: year 2002, 21st century
Place: st. louis missouri
Is relevant ?
The Holy Mountain (1973)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Mexico
Duration: 114 min.
Story: A Mexican master leads a Christ figure and other disciples to a mountain of immortal wise men. The scandal of the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, writer/director Alejandro Jodorowsky's flood of sacrilegious imagery and existential symbolism in The ...
Style: surreal, psychedelic, avant garde, disturbing, art house ...
Plot: alchemist, enlightenment, male nudity, hermaphrodite, trippy, surrealism, crucifix, symbolism, bird, mountain, spiritual journey, castration ...
Time: year 1973, 20th century, 70s
Place: mexico, latin america, peru
Is relevant ?
 6.3
 35K
Tideland (2005)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Because of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.
Style: disturbing, surreal, psychedelic, bleak, dark fantasy ...
Audience: teens
Plot: heroin, isolation, imagination, mental illness, surrealism, child neglect, mentally challenged, imaginary friend, addiction, insanity, drug addiction, girl ...
Time: year 2005, 2000s, 21st century
Place: austin texas, denmark, texas, usa
Is relevant ?
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