Head Space: The 15 Best Movies Set In The Mind

Most people watch movies to get out of their heads, but sometimes the best movies are those that take you further inside the mind. Christopher Nolan's amazing new movie, Inception, is one such film. The plot follows a troubled idea thief (Leonario DiCaprio) who, along with a team that includes a dream architect (Ellen Page), is hired to infiltrate a businessman's mind and implant an idea in it. And given the sterling cast and director, it's no surprise that Inception is, without question, one of the best movies that takes place in a character's mind. There are many more marvelous mind-fuck specials, though, so Complex is running down the finest 15. We're spoiling some of these movies simply by putting them on the list, but if you haven't yet seen them, you should probably just go ahead and blow your shit loose now. Speaking of which, put on some headgear, because your head is about to be asploded by the 15 best movies set in the mind...

15. VANILLA SKY (2001)

Director: Cameron Crowe
Synopsis: After a jealous ex-lover (Cameron Diaz) disfigures his face, a wealthy bachelor (Tom Cruise) restores his good looks and his life with help from a beautiful jumpoff (Penelope Cruz). Or does he? It turns out doctors couldn't repair his face—and dude's depression (and fugliness) drove friends and fuck buddies away, so he had himself cryonically suspended and everything he's been seeing has been part of a 150-year "lucid dream" drawn from his subconscious.

Complex says: Crowe's remake of the Spanish movie Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) is like life for many dudes: If you think you're as good-looking as we are, or that your chicks are as bad as ours are, you're dreaming.

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14. AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DREAMS (1990)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Synopsis: The legendary Japanese director could title a film Akira Kurosawa's Dreams on some cock-stroking shit because he was a G, but it actually is a series of vignettes from dreams he had at various points during his life. Fox weddings, dancing dolls that embody fallen peach trees, and mutant humans with horns. Seems almost tame compared to the shit Japanese people think up with when they're awake.

Complex says: Don't all old Japanese men dream of sniffing schoolgirls' panties out of vending machines?

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13. THE FALL (2006)

Director: Tarsem Singh

Synopsis: A 1920s stuntman (Lee Pace), who may have paralyzed himself doing a stunt in his first movie, spins fantastic tales for a little girl in the hospital. Her vivid imagination brings the stories to life, casting people she encounters in real life as the heroes and villains. Sound sweet? We forgot to mention he's trying to win her trust so she'll get him a bottle of morphine pills to kill himself with. Sweet!

Complex says: Of all the awkward movies you could see about an borderline-creepy relationship between a grown man and a little girl, we guarantee this is the least likely to get you sent to prison and gang-raped.

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12. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (2009)

Director: Terry Gilliam

Synopsis: Theater owner Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who once promised to give his daughter (Lily Cole) to the Devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), on her 16th birthday in exchange for his own youth, tries to best him and save her by winning a soul-collecting contest. To do so, he uses a mirror that acts as a portal to his and other people's imaginations. Yeah, it baffles us too, but it makes a lot more sense if you sherm it out for the night. *singing* Looooove boooooooooat....

Complex says: Imagine Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" x the "Leave Me Alone" music video, only without the subtext of little boys sipping wine at a sleepover hosted by a grown man alien.

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11. SHUTTER ISLAND (2010)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Synopsis: A U.S. Marshal (Leonardo DiCaprio) investigates a disappearance at a hospital for the criminally insane and starts seeing visions of his dead wife and other strange shit that makes him question his own sanity. And he should, because he's actually a former Marshal who went temporarily insane and killed his manic-depressive wife after she murdered their children. The "investigation" is just a fantasy that helps him avoid dealing with his unfathomable pain, so, you know, it's really nice of the role-playing hospital staff to snap him back to reality.

Complex says: Like we needed to see a movie to know Leo's crazy. He didn't put a ring on this.

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