The Top 10 Best Urban Fantasy Movies
5. Hellboy
Another comic book adaptation makes it on this list. This one, though, probably has the most fantasy elements of all the entries. I mean, the main character is literally a demon from hell fighting the good fight on Earth. He certainly isn’t without his faults, but no good detective worth his salt is ever perfect. At least none of the interesting ones. Toss in the fact that he works for a Government Agency that monitors and intervenes in paranormal activities and that makes this a perfect example of fantasy elements adapting to modern times. If that’s not enough, he faces a bunch of Nazis (which you definitely won’t see in the Tolkien books), making Hellboy is harlequin of genres. The sequel takes things even farther into the realm of fantasy and while the chances aren’t looking great for a straight-up sequel, we can hope for the best with the remake in the works.
4. The Night Watch Series
It’s hard to choose between Night Watch, Day Watch, and Twilight Watch, so I’m going to just count them all as one big entry. If you haven’t seen this Russian franchise, it’s an incredible blockbuster that features a bunch of creatures of the night caught in a stalemate that prevents either side from making a move against the other. In order to keep the peace members from both sides are chosen to keep an eye on the other in order to make sure no one gets up to no good. Things get complicated though as a supposed “chosen one” appears that could tip the balance to one side or the other. To prevent an all-out war and the potential end of the world, this chosen one has to learn to control his powers and decide which side he will end up on. The films are pretty much everything you might want from a summer blockbuster with plenty of powers, jaw-dropping effects, and spectacular urban fantasy elements.
3. Ghostbusters
Honestly, this was a last minute addition to this list of urban fantasy films. However, even though everyone might remember it best as a comedy, Ghostbusters has plenty of fantasy elements set in modern time. After all, the premise is that a bunch of geniuses set about becoming ghosts exterminators. Its sci-fi meets fantasy set in the city that never sleeps and to me, that just screams urban fantasy. The characters soon find that ghosts are hardly myths and thanks to science discover a way to lay a smackdown and trap them before they can cause too much harm. Things escalate quickly as they find themselves taking on an ancient Sumerian god and one of the best giant monsters in movie history. When it comes to urban fantasy movies, Ghostbusters is probably the most mainstream entry on this list and there’s a reason it’s in the top 3.
2. Constantine
I promise this is the last comic book character you’ll see on this list. For me, this is a film that I happily watch every Halloween since it features an edgy sorcerer detective taking on the forces of hell to keep them at bay. The reason no one else knows about the things that go bump in the night is that John Constantine is bumping back when things get bad. Constantine is the spitting image of a hard-boiled detective, toss in the fact that he faces off against all kinds of demons and hell beasts using dark magic and he’s pretty much everything you could want from the hero of an urban fantasy movie (at least until we see Harry Dresden on the big screen). While Keanu Reeves might not look much like the comic hero he’s based on (and I’m a huge fan of Matt Ryan’s take on the character), I can’t help loving everything about this supernatural urban fantasy.
1. Big Trouble in Little China
John Carpenter has made some incredible movies over the years, but none are quite as insane as Big Trouble in Little China. The film tells the tale of a trucker who gets mixed up in some dirty dealings in San Francisco’s China Town and soon finds himself going toe to toe with an evil wizard. There are definitely more than a few vaguely racist overtones when it comes to this film, but it still has all the fixings of a great urban fantasy movie. Jack Burton is a man well out of his depth and just might be the worst possible choice as the hero of this film, but that doesn’t stop him from helping out a buddy when his fiance is kidnapped by David Lo Pan. It’s got sorcerors, magical creatures, ninjas, and, best of all, plenty of Kurt Russell. Let’s hope The Rock’s sequel manages to capture all the magic of the first one because Big Trouble in Little China is one hell of a movie.
Honorable Mention: Bright and Cast a Deadly Spell
Bright and Cast a Deadly Spell are some of the best urban fantasy movies I’ve ever seen. The thing is that they were both initially released on Netflix and HBO, which disqualified them from this list. That’s not going to stop me from giving a shoutout to them both. Honestly, both of those networks could stand from turning these films into series in the future. If you haven’t seen either of these, you’ll definitely want to check them out.
Those are just the best urban fantasy movies I’ve seen over the years. As always, I love hearing suggestions from you. So if there’s an urban fantasy movie you think should have been on this list, be sure to leave a comment below. I’ll be sure to update this list from time to time as newer and better movies coming to the big screen, which means you’ll want to be sure to check back from time to time to see if there are any changes.