Top Five Urban Fantasy Movies – 2016
iGeekOut
While it may be difficult for some people to define exactly what urban fantasy is, pretty much everyone knows it when they see it. Urban fantasy is one of those rare genre’s that seem to have a little bit of everything for those who like to delve into it. Action? Check. Comedy? Sure, you’ll find some here. How about a bit of horror? Why not? Want some romance, better through that in as well. Simply put, this genre definitely has a little bit of something for everyone. But if you are new to the genre, where should you start? The answer is with these five movies. Here is iGeekOut’s list of the Top Five Urban Fantasy Movies, 2016 edition.
5. – Lord of Illusions
This list starts off on a rather interesting (and slightly surreal) note with Clive Barker’s Lord of Illusions In many ways this movie takes could be said to almost be a modern adaptation of classic H.P. Lovecraft stories, mixed with a little romance, and set in 1995 Los Angeles, California. Lord of Illusions starts off by having hardboiled detective Harry D’Amour (played by Scott Bakula) who is hired by the single most famous illusionist of the day, (Phillip Swann, played by Kevin J. O’Connor) to investigate the murder of an old friend named Caspar Quaid (played by Joseph Latimore). As the story progresses Harry finds himself looking into the apparent murder of Swann, falling in love with Swann’s wife (played by the amazing Famke Jansen), having a murderous cult after him, and questioning his very sanity as fantasy and reality become interchangeable. While it wasn’t very well received when it first came out, this is definitely a movie that you need to see.
4. – The Prophecy
Once again, this movie is set in 1995 America, where angels who are in the midst of a second War in Heaven are walking the earth. According to most versions of Judeo-Christian scripture the last time that this happened lead to Lucifer becoming the Devil and being cast out of Heaven, taking 1/3 of the Angelic Host with him. But, who’s the angel leading the charge this time? That would be the Archangel Gabriel (played to perfection by the amazing Christopher Walken). Since one of the key premises of urban fantasy is where the fantastic takes place in an urban setting, and that is, without a doubt, what takes place in the Christopher Walken driven cult classic The Prophecy. After all, what could be more fantastic than Angels and Demons physically fighting it out on the Earth?
3. – Labyrinth
No list of urban fantasy movies would ever truly be complete without the addition of the 1986, Jim Henson classic Labyrinth. This movie starts with the young (and very angsty) teen Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly) being left home to watch her baby half-brother Toby while her parents go out. Frustrated and driven to distraction, the drama loving teen inadvertently says the magic words which cause the Goblin King Jareth (played by the legendary David Bowie) to take the baby to his castle. Jareth, who is infatuated with Sarah, gives her 13 hours to travel to his castle in order to win back her brother. Only one problem…the castle is located in the center of a very magical (and very dangerous) maze. Will Sarah make it in time? Watch the movie, and find out.
2. – Constantine
Constantine is a movie based off the classic DC Comics comic book Hellblazer, which chronicles the adventures of private detective John Constantine (played by Keanu Reeves). Set in 2005, during a “routine” exorcism that goes slightly wrong, Constantine sees something that makes him believe that something major is in the works in the eternal battle between Heaven and Hell. Shortly afterwards, the twin sister of police Detective Angela Dodson (played by Rachel Weisz) commits suicide, and Angela wants to find out why. Between the two of them, John and Angela find out that the Anti-Christ is coming, and most of Hell is coming with him. Only John Constantine has the knowledge and the guts to stop the coming storm. Constantine, while not Keanu Reeves or Rachel Weisz’s best work, is definitely a fun movie to watch.
1. – An American Werewolf in London
Having been originally released in 1981, An American Werewolf in London is perhaps the oldest movie on this list, though it is the only one on the list to have won an Oscar (for Best Makeup). John Landis wrote and directed this fantastic movie, and tells the story of two American college students, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) who are backpacking through the English countryside. While traveling at night, the two friends are attacked by what appears to be a large dog or wolf. Unfortunately, Jack dies and David is severely injured. Shortly after being released from the hospital, David finds out that he was in fact attacked by a werewolf and has now become subject to the curse himself. This means that he will be turned into a werewolf himself during the next full moon if he doesn’t take the appropriate steps.
So, this is our list for the Top Five Urban Fantasy Movies – 2016. How close did we come to your list? Did we miss something that should have been listed, but wasn’t? Do you disagree with something that we have on this list? Don’t be shy and share with everyone your point of view in the comments below. Who knows, it may just be added into next year’s list. So be sure to let it rip!
