fever dream movies

[Shostakovich]

By fever dream, I mean movies with weird and wonderful plots that stray dangerously close to non-sequiturs but still manage to remain barely coherent. In other words, "I don't know what I just watched".





Downright hilarious satire of Bush era politics during late stage capitalism. Very 00s. Without a doubt, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's best role in any movie ever. Chapo Trap House approved.






Adaptation of a Philip K. Dick book. All-star cast, although it got panned by critics. I never knew how badly I wanted to see Robert Downy Jr., Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Alex Jones rotoscoped into a 2 hour paranoid drug trip. Robert Downy Jr. in particular is at his wackiest. Opening sequence is also legendary for me.






Scorcese flick. "I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" Guy tries to hook up with a nice girl all the way across town and ends up getting chased all over New York getting himself in crazier and crazier situations.






Thank you TVC, Joe, Wrath, and others for talking about this over and over again. Cinephile's delight. Perpetual slacker gets obsessed with a mysterious girl and hauls ass all over LA to uncover a deeper conspiracy about the secret messages in the media all around us.

[ToxicAdam]

Get really high and watch Heartbeeps. It was supposed to be Andy Kaufman's big leading actor movie and it's a spectacular mess.

[toku]

After Hours one of the perfect depictions of a wild night out that won't end while you're also completely out of your depth.




Dellamorte Dellamore is pretty normal for what it's going for until the last 20-30 minute where it and the main character go off the deep. One of my favorites:

[agrajag]

don't laugh, but this movie is very underrated and has a very fever dream-y quality to it

[toku]

don't laugh, but this movie is very underrated and has a very fever dream-y quality to it

(Image removed from quote.)

"No, we’re kind of like the same…sort of thing…but maybe they made you better."

[Great Rumbler]

Just about all of Satoshi Kon's movies:

[TVC15]

[agrajag]

I guess every Croenenberg and Lynch movie ever counts.

[Kara]

don't laugh, but this movie is very underrated and has a very fever dream-y quality to it

(Image removed from quote.)

Pretty sure I've only seen this movie when sick with an actual fever.

[agrajag]

don't laugh, but this movie is very underrated and has a very fever dream-y quality to it

(Image removed from quote.)

Pretty sure I've only seen this movie when sick with an actual fever.

it has JCVD in mime makeup fighting in slow mo

[Tasty]

mother! by Aronofky might qualify.

[Great Rumbler]

don't laugh, but this movie is very underrated and has a very fever dream-y quality to it

(Image removed from quote.)

I didn't like it quite as much as the one that came directly before this [Regeneration], but it was more of a straight action movie than its infinitely weirder followup.

[agrajag]

[toku]

You used to be able to find the scene on there where giant centipede julian sands forces himself on some young boy but yt censors got to it I guess

[TVC15]

Carnival of Souls

[Yeti]

Sucker Punch

[Kara]

The Fall



Tarsem da god

[Joe Molotov]

Zardoz

Sean Connery gets huge after playing James Bond, and this is the role he chooses to follow that up with.

[agrajag]

The Cell

spoiler (click to show/hide)

except it sucks

[close]

[VomKriege]

Point Blank by Boorman.
Japanese horror flick House. A lot of exploitation movies from the 60-70 can reach those at point (S.Suzuki films or classic Girl Gang / Softcore films).
Fulci horror films from the 80's.
Repo Man.
Wong Jing Future Cops.
Maybe Araki's stuff.
Kenneth Anger stuff probably but I'm not too familiar.
The show must go on
Quentin Dupieux and Gaspard Noé's films.
That fucking phone from Once upon a time in America

[Kara]

That fucking phone from Once upon a time in America

Such a haunting movie, good pick.

[toku]

any movie with bai ling in it has an extremely high chance of inducing fever dreams tbh

[TEEEPO]

neon demon, under the skin, open your eyes, doom generation and muholland drive? maybe last year at marienbad and eyes wide shut?

i might be stretching it but holy motor and lovers on the bridge? a central theme of both films is the bridge between reality and dreams, though it's been awhile since i've seen either

[Tasty]

The Animatrix, specifically the segments "Beyond," "World Record," and my favorite, "Matriculated."

[TEEEPO]

oh yea, guy maddin's the forbidden room is feverish as all hell

[team filler]

lolita

[Thirty-Ought-Six]

[VomKriege]

His first movie after Diamonds Are Forever was a Sidney Lumet movie, which was an adaptation of a play.

I guess that's The Offence ? That's a good film but it's not a surprise coming from Lumet.
It makes do much sense that Zardoz costume was meant for Burt Reynolds

Two more horror picks : X Tro and Forbidden World. From Beyond has pretty weird logic.
La Grande Belezza has that feel too.
Waltz with Bashir
The Aeon Flux TV series.
Symbol and R100 by H.Matsumoto.

[agrajag]

Jacob's Ladder

[nudemacusers]

Really need to see under the silver lake

[Great Rumbler]

[Great Rumbler]

Oh, nearly forgot about Beyond the Black Rainbow:



Mandy [from the same director] is actually straightforward and easy to follow by comparison.

[agrajag]

[jakefromstatefarm]

Kagemusha is the first thing that came to mind

[CatsCatsCats]

Joe Versus the Volcano

[HardcoreRetro]

People mention Jodorowsky's movies yet?

I love Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville.

[recursivelyenumerable]

Inferno, Dario Argento's sorta-sequel to Suspiria. A movie that feels like an NES ROM hack.

[naff]

don't laugh, but this movie is very underrated and has a very fever dream-y quality to it

(Image removed from quote.)

Absolutely. It's my favourite UniSol, but the original and regeneration are also preeetty good, but day of a reckoning went off reservation and nailed it.

Little Otik/any of Jan Svankmajers surrealist work is pretty cool



Herzog  prob 'cause I'm philistine, but I prefer this to Ferreras original. I love the more absurd flavour Herzog gave it over the depressing realism of the original.


Terrifying, with some really funny notes (ymmv)

[nudemacusers]

This movie (border) is weird and uncomfortable in a way I cannot articulate properly. Reminds me of little otik a bit It’s on Hulu atm.



Edit: just saw the little otik post above me 

[nudemacusers]

Tetsuo the iron man... I got this as a joke once for a college dorm movie night cuz the dvd description sounded weird and offputting; a bunch of us watched it and most left within 20 minutes or so and I was banned from picking movies... however a friend and I were hooked; total cyberpunk erotic guerrilla filmmaking here with a $20 budget but is legitimately one of the best movies I’ve ever seen and rewards a thoughtful analysis/watch.

Won’t bother linking the trailer it’s right here ready for consumption

[TEEEPO]

totally forgot about herzog

aguirre wrath of god and the aforementioned bad lieutenant   

[TEEEPO]

will need to check that out

[curly]

First movie to come to mind was Zama. It's basically exactly like the trailer.



Also a couple of silentish horror films: A Page of Madness - Japanese film set in an insane asylum with lots of experimental elements, the opening montage sequence is , unfortunately I can't find a non potato quality version with a decent score online, but this can give you an idea



And Vampyr, which is actually an early sound film but is formally a lot like a silent. The plot recedes to a whisper in the background to make room for mood.

[Tasty]

Just finished Starry Eyes on Shudder, great movie, I'd say what it's a cross between but that would be a semi spoiler... I guess it's a slightly more grounded Neon Demon? But with a clearer horror focus.

[agrajag]

Zardos 

Sean Connery outdid himself

[agrajag]

what a piece of garbage