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The fantasy genre as a whole is often associated with feel-good, magical adventures that can be experienced by audiences of all ages. Even the films that veer into more widely-appealing blockbuster filmmaking like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have inherent strengths to younger audiences. However, while many of the most popular fantasy movies may be for audiences of all ages, that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from creating some striking fantasy experiences tailor-made for adult audiences.
Whether it be through overwhelming blood content, overt sexual content, or difficult and uncomfortable themes, these fantasy films bring the magic of the genre to its brink in bringing to life films that are the complete tonal opposite of their family-friendly brothers. These films have managed to be celebrated as masterpieces of the genre through their blending of high-concept fantasy elements with a more mature execution that is required of filmmaking that can’t be appreciated by kids.
10
‘The Northman’ (2022)
While not a horror film like his other cinematic masterpieces, Robert Eggers‘s The Northman is still one of the most ruthless and blood-soaked fantasy films to have ever been released. The film follows the young prince of a Nordic kingdom having his path to glory cut short after his uncle betrays his family, murdering his father and kidnapping his mother. After escaping and spending years honing his craft as a Viking warrior, the prince returns on a path of vengeance against his uncle.
The magnitude and scale of this Viking epic helps make it one of the most explosive fantasy action films out there, feeling both grounded in its style and visuals while also bombastic in its execution. The film also doesn’t hold back in terms of the gruesome nature of Vikings as a whole, with the first act pillaging scene especially going all out, not just in terms of ruthless action, but top-notch violence and gore. This entertaining Viking film has cemented its status as the go-to cinematic outing of the historical fantasy icons.
9
‘Mind Game’ (2004)
Japanese animation has been a source of exceptional family-oriented fantasy masterpieces for generations now, with the likes of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro being among the most acclaimed animated fantasy movies of all time. Conversely, Mind Game is a premier example of how Japanese anime is also capable of creating wild, unrestrained adult stories within the fantasy genre. However, the film’s adult content never gets in the way of the overwhelming fantastical energy that it overwhelms the audience with.
The film follows an awkward loser who, after an encounter with the Japanese mafia, ends up losing his life in the most embarrassing way possible. However, this only proves to send him on a journey to heaven in back, unexpectedly having a second lease on life that he decides to live to the absolute fullest, not held back by any sense of danger or embarrassment. It makes the absolute most out of the creativity of the fantasy genre while also filling itself to the brim with lots of violence and sexual content.
8
‘Flesh + Blood’ (1985)
While Paul Verhoeven is often celebrated for his various sci-fi masterpieces with the likes of directing Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers, Flesh + Blood predates all of these films as a wildly underrated 80s fantasy film. The film follows a band of medieval mercenaries taking revenge upon a Lord by kidnapping the woman his son is engaged to. As plague and warfare are laying waste to the kingdom, the mercenaries decide to bunker down in a castle and await the impending counterattack from the Lord.
Flesh + Blood goes all out in terms of showing off the brutality and gruesome nature of the fantasy medieval period, not sugar-coating the ruthless nature of its mercenary characters or their actions. While Verhoeven’s signature sense of wild spirituality and satire makes the film a fun watch, this doesn’t take away from the deeply mature nature of its content, including an overwhelming amount of gore and sexual violence.
7
‘All of Us Strangers’ (2023)
While many of the most adult-oriented fantasy films will go about their adult content with an overwhelming amount of gore or sexual content, All of Us Strangers is more squarely focused on grounded, mature themes and symbolism designed for an adult audience. The fantasy drama follows a lonesome man who, after a chance encounter with his mysterious neighbor, finds the rhythm of his everyday life forever altered. As he takes a visit to his childhood home to recollect his mind, he ends up making an unlikely connection with his parents despite them dying when he was a child.
While the fantasy elements are certainly more subdued compared to the types of wild, high-concept fantasy worlds that normally find success in the genre, they are present enough to amplify the emotional weight and thematic resonance of the film as a whole. All of Us Strangers certainly has its fair share of sex scenes and on-screen drug use that make it not worth watching for kids, but young audiences wouldn’t connect with the film’s more philosophical filmmaking anyway.
6
‘Excalibur’ (1981)
Standing as the gold standard for many R-rated fantasy masterpieces for generations, Excalibur has the exact right mixture of classic fantasy storytelling with wild, R-rated action and violence that made the film a massive hit and an icon of 80s fantasy. The film chronicles the life and death of King Arthur (Nigel Terry), following his quest to bring together the Knights of the Round Table and various other quests across the medieval era.
Excalibur continues to have a substantial legacy in the decades following its release, often being considered one of the first true examples of a great R-rated fantasy film and one of the go-to adaptations of the quests of King Arthur. While the Arthurian tales have been adapted to more family-oriented experiences over the years, Excalibur has a sense of brutality and weight to its action and setpieces that do justice to the dark, medieval energy of the film.
5
‘The Witch’ (2016)
One of the absolute simplest yet most effective ways to create a striking, memorable fantasy movie experience that shouldn’t be viewed by children is to mix the fantasy elements with the horror genre. In terms of sheer craft and execution of utilizing fantasy and magical elements to create a bone-chilling horror experience, nothing comes close to the masterfully woven brilliance of Robert Eggers’ debut film, The Witch. A film that helped catapult the very notions of elevated horror that persist in modern horror, The Witch is a masterclass of tension and slow-creeping dread.
The film is as much about the haunting witchcraft elements looming over the family as it is about the aggressive infighting and distrust that breaks the family apart in the wake of pain, loss, and overall confusion as to how and why these things are occurring to them. It proves to be one of the most grounded and gritty takes on a witchcraft story to date, tactfully utilizing its fantasy elements for maximum emotional impact.
4
‘The Green Knight’ (2021)
While it may seem a bit backward to tell a gritty, adult take on a classic Arthurian tale that is often taught to young children, The Green Knight massively excels thanks to its evolution and growth of this tried-and-true classic fantasy story to the modern era. The film largely follows the classic tales of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) most notably his daring quest and game against the Green Knight, with his looming fate being held over him for the majority of the film.
It would be one thing for the film to simply retell the original Arthurian stories exactly as they were originally told, yet with a mixture of dynamic visuals and storytelling craft from director David Lowery, this medival classic becomes a modern-day fantasy masterpiece. A major part of this upgrade comes in its adoption of more adult themes and visuals, most notably in more visceral violence and sexually charged moments. It’s also probably the only medieval film to feature literal ejaculate on-screen, so that has to count for something.
3
‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)
In terms of fantasy horror filmmaking that holds nothing back in terms of not only gore content but electrifying screen-presence and entertainment, Sam Raimi is in an absolute league of his own, with no singular film exemplifying this quite like Evil Dead II. It builds and improves upon the original film in just about every conceivable way, not only in terms of technical craft but in terms of overall filmmaking and stylish execution. It’s one of the most bombastic horror comedies ever made, reveling in its madness and blood-soaked glory every step of the way.
While Evil Dead II may ironically have the same wild, goofy nature of a cartoon that children would absolutely love to watch, the overwhelming abundance of gore and violence easily makes this a difficult watch for any child. Still it’s this frankly over-the-top usage of blood that has made the Evil Dead franchise as a whole so iconic among horror fantasy films, with this initial sequel still being the absolute height of the franchise.
2
‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999)
One of many strange and otherworldly concepts brought to life by legendary screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Being John Malkovich takes its fantasy premise to its absolute extremes in terms of psychological examination and reflection upon human nature as a whole. The film follows the consequences of the discovery of a mysterious portal that allows people to enter the mind of acclaimed actor John Malkovich, as people find themselves becoming obsessed with experiencing the world through Malkovich’s eyes.
The initial fantasy premise is already wild enough as is, yet the film takes so many strange twists and turns that it becomes an intricate work of art, with each moving piece building off of each other to create a striking and highly memorable portrait. It’s already well too complicated for many children to experience, and that’s before considering the fair amount of sex scenes featured in the film. This perfectly written fantasy movie continues to be some of the absolute best that the genre has to offer in a contemporary setting.
1
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
No singular filmmaker has so distinctly cemented himself as one of the head visionaries of gothic, dark fantasy filmmaking made for adults like Guillermo del Toro. It would be incredibly easy to fill this entire list with masterful adult-oriented fantasy films that the visionary has directed, yet for the purposes of this list, nothing comes close to his timeless dark fantasy masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth. It stands as the absolute pinnacle of what an adult-oriented fantasy film can be, unrestrained by having to appeal to young children and creating a stylish, otherworldly exploration of madness and thematic perfection.
Pan’s Labyrinth has grown to be so beloved and acclaimed in the two decades since its release that it is often considered the definitive height of dark fantasy as a subgenre of traditional fantasy storytelling. The visuals still hold up tremendously to this day, as its beautiful original world building is second-to-none and exemplifies the very best that fantasy filmmaking is capable of.
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Robert Lee III
Almontather Rassoul
