Entertainment
The Best Foreign Fantasy Movies
List Rules
Vote up your favorite foreign fantasy films produced outside of the U.S.
If you're a fantasy junkie looking to expand your perspective, why not check out some of the best foreign fantasy films? Fantasies have the ability to transport viewers to another world, one filled with magic, the supernatural, and the make believe. Foreign language fantasy movies are unique in that - while creating an imaginary universe - they can simultaneously introducing you to the culture and customs of other countries. From Chinese, German, and Spanish animated classics to live action adventures, there are plenty of good foreign fantasy films that will delight any viewer.
What films will you find here? The Godzilla franchise found the monstrous title character wreaking havoc on the people of Japan. A futuristic city is the setting for the 1927 German classic Metropolis. Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro are iconic animated classics set in Japan. Other good movies featured on this top foreign fantasy films list include The City of Lost Children, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Stalker, and The Host.
Which foreign film deserves the top spot on this list? Give your favorite movies a thumbs up and add anything you feel is missing.
Ranked by
- 1Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
In 1944 Spain young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her ailing mother (Ariadna Gil) arrive at the post of her mother's new husband (Sergi López), a sadistic army officer who is trying to quell a guerrilla ...more - 2Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Yimou Zhang
In this visually arresting martial arts epic set in ancient China, an unnamed fighter (Jet Li) is being honored for defeating three of the king's most dangerous enemies. When Nameless recounts his ...more - 3Gerald McRaney, Limahl, Moses Gunn
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 West German epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ende, about a boy who reads a magical library book that tells a story of a young warrior ...more - 4Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
In this animated feature by noted Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, 10-year-old Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi) and her parents (Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi) stumble upon a seemingly abandoned amusement ...more - 5Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Yimou Zhang
The Tang Dynasty is fighting to keep control over China, a battle they are losing to several rebel groups. One such group is the House of Flying Daggers, who steal from the wealthy and give to the ...more - 6Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim
- Released: 1922
- Directed by: F.W. Murnau
In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie ...more - 7Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Dixie Egerickx
- Released: 2020
- Directed by: Marc Munden
Sent to live with her uncle, a young orphan discovers a magical garden of wonder in 1947 England. - 8Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Ang Lee
In 19th century Qing Dynasty China, a warrior (Chow Yun-Fat) gives his sword, Green Destiny, to his lover (Michelle Yeoh) to deliver to safe keeping, but it is stolen, and the chase is on to find it. ...more - 9Anna Semenovich, Jeanna Friske, Gosha Kutsenko
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Night Watch is a 2004 Russian urban fantasy supernatural thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov. It is loosely based on the novel The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, and is the first part of a ...more - 10Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab's classified ...more - 11Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Tim Daly
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
This acclaimed animated tale by director Hayao Miyazaki follows schoolgirl Satsuke and her younger sister, Mei, as they settle into an old country house with their father and wait for their mother to ...more - 12Manuela Velasco, Javier Botet, Ana Isabel Velásquez
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Paco Plaza, Jaume Balagueró
REC is a 2007 Spanish horror film, co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The film was shot in Barcelona, Spain and the title is an abbreviation of the word "record", as it ...more - 13Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson, Jada Pinkett Smith
- Released: 1997
- Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
A prince becomes involved in the struggle between a forest princess and the encroachment of mechanization. - 14Knut Nærum, Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: André Øvredal
Trollhunter is a 2010 Norwegian found footage and dark fantasy film directed by André Øvredal. A group of students investigates a series of strange bear killings and follows a mysterious hunter, only ...more - 15Manuela Velasco, Héctor Colomé, Emilio Buale Coka
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Jaume Balagueró
REC 4: Apocalypse is an upcoming 2014 Spanish horror film, and the fourth and final installment of the REC franchise. The film will be a direct sequel to the second film taking place immediately ...more - 16Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
- Released: 1927
- Directed by: Fritz Lang
This influential German science-fiction film presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the ...more - 17Manuela Velasco, Albert Grabuleda Capdevila, Javier Botet
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Paco Plaza, Jaume Balagueró
REC 2 is a 2009 Spanish horror film sequel to 2007's REC and the second installment of the REC series. The film was written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, both of whom returned from ...more - 18Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Old and decrepit Krank (Daniel Emilfork) has lost his capacity for dreaming and is attempting to fight death by stealing the dreams of children. Krank's cadre of cloned henchmen (Dominique Pinon) ...more - 19Takeshi Kusao, Mami Koyama, Tesshō Genda
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Katsuhiro Otomo
Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and featuring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, and Taro ...more - 20Eva Melander, Jorgen Thorsson, Ann Petrén
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Ali Abbasi
Border is a 2018 Swedish fantasy film directed by Ali Abbasi. A customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will ...more - 21Shia LaBeouf, Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Far in the future, after an apocalyptic conflict has devastated much of the world's ecosystem, the few surviving humans live in scattered semi-hospitable environments within what has become a "toxic ...more - 22Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Prabhas
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: S. S. Rajamouli
Baahubali: The Beginning, also known as BB1, is a 2015 Indian dramatic action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli. In ancient India, an adventurous and daring man becomes involved in a decades-old feud ...more - 23Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. ...more - 24Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély
- Released: 1946
- Directed by: Jean Cocteau
The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her ...more - 25Freddie Highmore, Madonna, David Bowie
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Luc Besson
Ten-year-old Arthur must find a way to keep the home of his beloved grandmother from being destroyed by a developer with other plans. Remembering his grandfather's story of a treasure, he enters the ...more
