Gothic fantasy is a particular fantasy subgenre that features some great hidden gems, very much worth watching despite their relative obscurity. In literature, “gothic” fantasy refers to stories with supernatural elements characterized by dark, dour, or macabre tones and ideas, befitting of the gloomy тιтle. Films that adapt the works of Edgar Allan Poe or Mary Shelley are classic examples of gothic fantasy stories anyone might recognize.

In practice, gothic fantasy can be identified by 12th–16th century settings featuring supernatural creatures and magic on the spookier side, with vampires, werewolves, and witches all being the norm. This means that gothic horror movies and gothic fantasy films overlap quite a bit, with the latter putting a greater focus on worldbuilding and fairy tale storytelling over straightforward scares. Many of these kinds of movies have fallen by the wayside of popularity over the years, no matter how compellign and captivating their gloomy, dour worlds might be.

10

Gretel & Hansel

A visual feast for the eyes with a dreary tone

Not to be confused with the abysmally-received Jeremy Renner star vehicle Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Gretel & Hansel is yet another retelling of one of the Brothers Grimm’s most famously macabre tall tales. For the most part, the story follows the familiar plot relatively faithfully, albeit with some disturbing new additions not fit for a child audience. The biggest change Gretel & Hansel makes is giving Gretel supernatural powers, poising her to choose between her family and taking up the tutelage of a witch to become one herself.

First and foremost, the visuals of Gretel & Hansel are richer than the icing of the witch Holda’s fine cakes, making the film worth watching for its warm aesthetics alone. Beyond that, choosing to emphasize Gretel as the protagonist allows the story to explore some interesting ideas about eldest daughter trauma, expanding on the plight of young girls everywhere. Eerie, intriguing, and oddly delightful at times, Gretel & Hansel has all the wonder and darkness of an original Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

9

The Brothers Grimm

A woefully underrated buddy adventure

Speaking of the Brothers Grimm, a bitterly underrated Gothic fantasy film centering around their exploits was actually released as far back as 2005. The movie stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the тιтle pair of storytellers who travel Napoleonic French-occupied Germany making a living as con men who trick witless villagers into believing in dangerous supernatural enтιтies so that they can charge them to be exorcised. Their smoke and mirrors get them into trouble when they’re commissioned to fight a very real supernatural threat, an immortal German queen preying on young girls to maintain her eternal beauty.

Like most Terry Gilliam movies, The Brothers Grimm was unfairly admonished by contemporary reviews for its meandering story and tonal whiplash. However, as a gothic fantasy film, it’s relentless good fun, a rare upbeat take on an undoubtedly macabre setting full of witches and ghouls, fake though most of them may be. An ingenious use of the famed brothers’ name, The Brothers Grim is a remarkably energetic, carried by the palpable chemistry of talent like Matt Damon and Heath Ledger.

8

Legend

Whimsical and frightening in equal measure

Though it stands to reason that Legend could very much be considered a straightforward high fantasy film, complete with dwarves, castles, and unicorns, there’s no denying that a certain gothic edge permeates its nastier elements. The film stars Tom Cruise as Jack, a pure being and chid of the forest who is tasked with stopping the demonic Lord of Darkness from casting eternal night over the land by murdering the last of the unicorns. Along the way, goblins, swamp hags, and ogres all stand between Jack and the triumph of good over evil.

Despite a simplistic story with obvious good guys and bad guys, Legend has some aduaciously spooky visuals and creature designs that set it apart as a particularly dark fantasy story. Ridley Scott’s incredible sensibilities for gorgeous fantasy sets shine through as Cruise munches on the gregarious scenery, embodying a supposed avatar of good with frightening wide-eyed zeal. The plot might not be anything ground breaking, but there’s truly nothing like Legend‘s flair for wonder and terror.

7

Brotherhood Of The Wolf

A criminally unknown gothic horror story

A little-known French-language gothic horror film, Brotherhood Of The Wolf is a uniquely gloomy fantasy tale that bears a closer look. Set in 18th-century France, the film centers on the courageous knight and explorer Grégoire de Fronsac and his Iroquois sidekick Mani in the wake of a series of mysterious bestial attacks on the French countryside. In the hunt for the perpetrating beast, the two soon find themselves embroiled in a deep conspiracy that goes further than imaginable.

Admittedly, Brotherhood of the Wolf‘s status as a fantasy film might be debatable depending on how one interprets its twists and turns. Regardless, its strange, exciting blend of horror and martial arts dropped into a gothic setting was striking enough to heavily inspire the critically-acclaimed video game Bloodborne. Forever changing the landscape of gothic horror, Brotherhood of the Wolf is as exciting as a fantasy movie can get while still staying true to the themes and tone of gothic sensibilities.

6

Van Helsing

Surprisingly overlooked despite its star power

Today, Van Helsing might only be vaguely half-remembered as a curious footnote in the lengthy cinematic career of Hugh Jackman. H๏τ off the back of his success in the X-Men superhero franchise, Van Helsing attempted to sow the seeds of another action series by having Jackman step into the buckled boots of fiction’s most famous vampire hunter. Set during Van Helsing’s younger years, the movie describes his encounters with all sorts of creatures of the night.

A true who’s who of gothic horror, Van Helsing indulges itself with Dracula, Frankenstein, and werewolves, though each inclusion finds its place in the busy action spectacle. Jackman is amazing as the dour monster killer, stalking his prey with a delightfully cheesy performance that makes the most out of the creative production design. Contemporaneous opinions of Van Helsing may have been quite bleak, but for those who can appreciate campy good fun and gothic fantasy worlds, it’s more than worth the time.

5

Solomon Kane

A great adaptation of an obscure gothic hero

A unique crossbreed of gothic horror and the sword-and-sorcery subgenre, Solomon Kane is a bitterly underrated action fantasy flick that simply oozes style. Adapting the pulp magazine character of the same name, first created by Robert E. Howard of Conan the Barbarian fame, the 2009 movie stars James Purefoy in an origin story for Kane. The story spans from his first encounter with demons at war to his latest adventure in trying to save the life of a young Puritan girl marked for death by a witch.

Solomon Kane is a striking figure as he carries out his war against the forces of darkness in the film, facing down dangerous criminals, ghouls, and profane warlocks. The action beats keep the tension high as the gloomy atmosphere stifles any doubt about the film’s gothic aspirations. It might suffer from obviously being intended to be the first of a trilogy that never came, but Solomon Kane still deserves the attention of anyone who can appreciate exciting tales of the supernatural.

4

Vampire Hunter D

A striking anime movie oozing with gothic charm

It’s astonishing just how well anime has managed to capture gothic fantasy over the years, with Eastern animation providing some of the most stylish interpretations of Western horror and gloom. Enter Vampire Hunter D, a classic feature-length anime movie based on the light novel series of the same name. The plot follows a haggard half-vampire mercenary roaming through a post-nuclear wasteland who is hired by a young girl to slay the vampire who bit her, thus preventing her own transformation.

Despite its post-apocalyptic future setting, Vampire Hunter D is the peak of gloomy gothic melodrama. D’s iconic silhouette roaming the lands with his wide-brimmed hat, flared collar, and sword make for a memorable image that is gorgeously rendered through the nostalgic 80s OVA art style. Violent, exciting, and almost hilariously morbid, Vampire Hunter D is a worthy watch for gothic fantasy and anime fans alike.

3

Angel’s Egg

Offers bizarre musings drowning in gloom

Vampire Hunter D is far from the only Japanese OVA movie of the 80s drowning in a gothic fantasy aesthetic. Angel’s Egg is an even more obscure anime offering that nevertheless is a prescient watch for those willing to engage with and chew on its open-ended visuals. The plot, as much as there can be said to be one, follows a young girl in a mysterious primordial world who cares for a delicate egg. Her mission is compromised when she runs into a boy who wants to break the egg, spurred on by his dreams of birds.

As could be easily suspected, Angel’s Egg is a movie that features very little dialogue, preferring to tease its viewers with sparse details about the bizarre metaphorical plane its characters inhabit. The Biblical allegory and epic weight of the two children grasping for meaning in a cold, foreboding world that is clearly a shadow of what it once was. Rich with simile to interpret, at a lean 71 minutes, gothic fantasy lovers have little to lose by giving Angel’s Egg a try.

2

Dark City

An astounding genre blend of gothic sci-fi

Gothic stories don’t necessarily always need to take place in 18th-century villages or ominous vampiric castles. A film effectively set in the modern day can pull double-duty as a gothic fantasy story if it plays its cards right, and Dark City is an amazing example of a film that captures the tone and visual language of a gothic fantasy film even if it is more of a mind-bending science fiction piece. Taking place in a mysterious unnamed city, the story revolves around an amnesiac man who finds himself suspected of murder, attempting to uncover the truth.

Over the course of his investigation, the man is harᴀssed by a mysterious group of beings simply known as the Strangers, and eventually makes a terrifying revelation about the world he inhabits. Slick with a brooding noir style, Dark City still has plenty of gothic elements to contend with the best of them while it unveils a masterpiece of misdirection and mystery. Deserving of so much more credit in the many genres it sticks its inky black tendrils into, Dark City has an appeal betrayed by its lower notoriety.

1

The Company Of Wolves

Equal parts dreamy and nightmarish

For films that can capture the dreamy melancholy often ᴀssociated with gothic fantasy, The Company of Wolves is a great choice. The British film essentially retells the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, dissecting the true terror of shapeshifting werewolves that might infiltrate a rural 18th-century society. Along the way, the overarching story manages to pull double-duty as an anthology film, relaying several other mini-plots woven within the framing device of the larger narrative.

One of the best werewolf movies ever made, it’s a shock that The Company of Wolves isn’t more widely known. Many other gothic fantasy films invoke the macabre dreaminess of the average European fairy tale, but none of them manage to function as a collection of short fables while also having a grim throughline plot quite like The Company of Wolves does. As far as gothic fantasy is concerned, it’s hard to do any better than this immersive and bone-chilling adaptation.