6. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
The age-old saying that ‘they just don’t make ‘em like they used to’ gets tossed around gratuitously these days, and, for the most part, it is completely unfounded (seriously, anyone who believes sequels, reboots and studio cash-grabs weren’t a thing of the past ought to take a closer look at the top-grossing films from thirty years ago). But take our word for it: The only way this overstuffed 1980s pulp sci-fi extravaganza could have possibly been greenlit was during a time where every studio exec was on copious amounts of cocaine and LSD.
Trying to break down the plot is a fool’s errand, but here are a few pointers for the uninitiated: Buckaroo Banzai — brilliant neurosurgeon, pilot, scientist, rock star and all-around genius — is testing his latest invention, the oscillation overthruster, a device which allows him to drive through solid matter. As it turns out, inter-dimensional aliens known as the Red Lectroids have secretly infiltrated Earth and want to steal the device to travel back home, while the madman Dr. Emilio Lizardo (a deliciously hammy John Lithgow) has his own sinister plans for it.
The film crams about 3-4 TV seasons’ worth of exposition into 103 minutes, and some of the performances are so straightfaced it’s not entirely clear whether the cast was in on the joke or not. Peter Wells gets to save the day, ace guitar solos, and drop iconic lines like “No matter where you go, there you are” without an ounce of irony, the aliens inexplicably speak with Jamaican accents, and a perpetually bewildered Jeff Goldblum shows up wearing a full-on cowboy outfit. What more could one ask for? We’re still mad that “Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League” never happened.
7. Gandahar (1987)
Science fiction fans had plenty to feast on in 1987 — this was the year that gave us “RoboCop”, “Predator”, “Spaceballs”, “The Running Man”, “Bad Taste”, and “The Hidden”. But there’s a good chance that they forget to mention the most surreal, cerebral, and imaginative movie of the bunch in this criminally overlooked gem by French animator René Laloux.
If you’ve seen his 1973 breakout hit, “Fantastic Planet” you might think you know what to expect — utopian alien civilizations, surreal landscapes and creatures, inscrutable narratives, groovy soundtracks, and social commentary that touches on colonialism and totalitarianism. “Gandahar” largely follows that blueprint.
This animated mindwarp instantly immerses you in its titular world, Gandahar, now under siege by time-travelling invaders from the future known as the Men of Metal who fire lasers from their fingers and instantly turn their victims into stone. The protagonist, Sylvian, embarks on a journey to uncover the mastermind behind the attack, encountering a group of mutant outcasts known as the Deformed, as well as a massive, brain-shaped entity called Metamorphosis. Pro tip: Sit back, go with the flow and enjoy the trippy visuals, don’t try too hard to wrap your head around the time-travel paradoxes.
8. Santa Sangre (1989)
Many Alejandro Jodorowsky movies were considered for this list (Shout out to “El Topo”, and “Endless Poetry”, among others). If you haven’t dipped your toes into his work and want to get a sense of his irreverent style and trademark obsessions, the 1973 cult hit “The Holy Mountain” still makes for the most accessible entry point into the avant-garde director’s catalog. But once that film gives you a taste of what you’re in for, you might want to try this 1989 classic — like a Fellini and Buñuel mash-up by way of Italian Giallo — that clears all others in sheer shock value and WTF-is-happening insanity.
An Oedipal fever dream that makes the likes of “Psycho” and “Oldboy” look like Lifetime movies, “Santa Sangre” stars Jodorowsky’s own son as Fenix, a mentally unstable and emotionally crippled son of circus performers who spent most of his childhood in a mental institution after a traumatic incident involving his parents. Early into the film, he escapes from the asylum to reunite with his domineering mother, who forces him to do her bidding—courting “blasphemous” women and brutally murdering them once they let their guard down. Just so you don’t say we didn’t warn you, you also get a heavy dose of mutilation, grotesque deaths, unhinged cult rituals, and even a bizarre elephant funeral thrown in for good measure, so proceed with caution.
9. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)
The iron grip that Marvel Studios has held on pop culture for the past 15 years or so seems to have finally loosened a bit. But if the recent superhero craze has left you feeling burnt out indefinitely, we don’t blame you. If you’ve started to lose faith in the comic-book genre altogether and are willing to venture slightly off the beaten path, though, feel encouraged to fire up this completely off-the-wall, R-rated manga adaptation by Lam Nai-Choi whenever you get the chance.
Let me tell you — None of your big budget blockbusters could ever feel half as rad as a single minute of “Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky”. If, like us, you’re a person of simple pleasures who gets a real kick out of watching a tough-as-nails, beefed-up prison inmate punch through walls, tear limbs and poke eyeballs out with his bare hands, chew on razor blades (!), and beat a bunch of baddies to a pulp — all while defying the laws of physics and human endurance — “Riki-Oh” is the right film for you.
The plot is thin, the villains are comically sadistic, and the acting is so campy it verges on parody — especially if you’re watching the English dub, which somehow adds an extra layer of uncanniness. But the fight scenes are so preposterous and cartoonishly over-the-top — think live-action Mortal Kombat fatalities — that you almost can’t help but stay glued to the screen from start to finish. And whoever came up with the scene where a guy tries to strangle Ricky with his own intestines? They deserve an honorary Oscar.
10. Dogtooth (2009)
Contrary to what his new status as a critical darling and perennial Oscar contender might suggest, Yorgos Lanthimos is truly one of the most transgressive and singular voices in world cinema. Sure, the neatly packaged, crowd-pleasing “Poor Things” may have softened his rougher edges for the mainstream, but many of us saw in “Kinds of Kindness” a return to roots by the button-pushing rabble rouser behind “Dogtooth”.
Stick to the latter if you want to get the full Yorgos experience and see the Greek-born provocateur at his most challenging, absurdist, and unorthodox. In the word-of-mouth Cannes sleeper hit that put Lanthimos on everyone’s radar right before Hollywood came knocking on his doorstep, three adult children who’ve never set foot outside their country house are constantly brainwashed and fed lies by their manipulative parents in a thinly veiled metaphor to Greece’s isolationist politics. The startling finale grabbed all the headlines and cemented the film as an instant classic in the feel-bad cinema canon, but it’s the creeping sense of dread and absurdist humor that Lanthimos manages to sustain that gets under your skin.