25 Movies That Are Like Fever Dreams, Ranked
25. Under the Silver Lake (2018)
This is a neo-noir mystery drenched in absolute paranoia. The film follows Andrew Garfield’s disillusioned loner on a bizarre quest across Los Angeles. Packed with cryptic codes, conspiracies, and surreal symbolism, Under the Silver Lake feels like a lucid dream…you know, the one where nothing makes sense, yet everything feels deliberate.
22. Mother! (2017)
Darren Aronofsky’s biblical allegory is a relentless fever pitch of chaos and symbolism. Jennifer Lawrence’s nightmare unfolds inside a house that breathes, bleeds, and collapses under spiritual and societal weight. It’s claustrophobic, maddening, and unforgettable—a cinematic panic attack that defies logic.
20. Midsommar (2019)
Ari Aster’s daylight horror is disorienting, yes, and it’s such precisely because it’s so bright. In a sun-drenched Swedish commune, grief turns to delirium as ancient rituals unfold. Every smile feels sinister, every flower breathes. Midsommar is in essence a slow, surreal unraveling of the psyche where horror is in full bloom.
9. The Lighthouse (2019)
Here, Robert Eggers traps Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson in a storm-battered lighthouse where sanity erodes by the minute. Myths, madness, and seagulls collide in black-and-white delirium. The film feels like an ancient sailor’s nightmare that is unflinchingly claustrophobic, hauntingly poetic, and completely deranged.
7. Suspiria (2018)
Luca Guadagnino’s remake transforms the cult horror classic into a surreal, artful hallucination. Set in a Berlin dance academy run by witches, Suspiria merges violence with hypnotic choreography. The result is intoxicating, and we see a feverish blend of beauty, blood, and dark ritual.
6. After Hours (1985)
Martin Scorsese’s underrated gem captures the anxiety of being trapped in a surreal urban maze. A man’s simple night out turns into a spiraling nightmare of bad luck and strange encounters. It’s darkly funny and disorienting. Think of this film as a yuppie fever dream come to life.
15. Under the Skin (2013)
Scarlett Johansson’s alien seductress roams Scotland in this haunting sci-fi art film. Jonathan Glazer crafts an eerie, minimalist nightmare about humanity, desire, and alienation. The combination of dissonant sound and stark visuals makes Under the Skin feel like watching a dream dissolve into static.
2. Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam’s dystopian satire is both absurd and nightmarish. Bureaucracy, fantasy, and rebellion intertwine in a chaotic world that looks like a malfunctioning dream on screen. Brazil is utterly funny, tragic, and visually overwhelming. Well, Orwell by way of a surrealist painter.
1. Mulholland Drive (2001)
David Lynch’s masterpiece is the definitive fever dream, and proves why he is celebrated as the master of uncanny filmmaking. What begins as a Hollywood mystery in Mulholland Drive dissolves into an emotional labyrinth of identity, love, and loss. Every scene is drenched in eerie beauty and hidden meaning. The film isn’t just watched, it demands to be experienced, much like a dream you can’t shake off. Unforgettable piece of cinema forever!
24. Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Ari Aster’s three-hour odyssey of anxiety is a descent into one man’s fractured psyche. We witness Joaquin Phoenix’s Beau wandering through a surreal world that constantly shifts between reality, nightmare, and absurd fantasy. Every frame oozes dread and confusion, making the film one of the most audacious fever dreams of recent cinema.
14. Holy Motors (2012)
Leos Carax’s surreal odyssey follows a man performing bizarre “roles” across Paris. From motion-capture intimate scenes to musical interludes, Holy Motors celebrates the absurdity of existence itself. It’s funny, tragic, and mesmerizing—a cinematic performance art piece that refuses to explain itself. A glorious fever dream, indeed!
13. Altered States (1980)
A scientist experiments with sensory deprivation and psychedelic drugs, only to regress into primal chaos. Ken Russell’s mind-bending visuals turn metaphysics into body horror. Altered States feels like a hallucination made tangible—the ultimate trip between science and madness.
10. Being John Malkovich (1999)
What if you could crawl inside someone else’s head? Spike Jonze answers this trippy question with absurd genius. A portal into actor John Malkovich’s mind becomes a metaphor for ego and obsession. It’s witty, unsettling, and gleefully bizarre, like a lucid dream of existential comedy.
12. Eraserhead (1977)
David Lynch’s debut remains the gold standard of cinematic nightmares. Industrial noise, surreal imagery, and a mutant baby form a haunting portrait of fear and isolation. Eraserhead doesn’t want to be understood, it wants to be felt, like a dream you can’t escape.
5. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Charlie Kaufman’s masterpiece turns one man’s life into an endlessly expanding play. Time folds in on itself, and identities blur. It’s melancholic, absurd, and deeply human. Here is a fever dream about existence, creation, and decay. Remember, watching it feels like living an entire lifetime in two hours.
