Dark Movies to Inspire Creativity

If you want a movie that is completely unlike anything else you've ever seen - The City of Lost Children should definitely be on your list. The City of Lost Children is quirky, dark, and seductive all at the same time.

A dystopian French film set in gritty streets with stunning imagery, The City of Lost Children comes from Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Jeunet is known for stylistically similar films such as Amelie and Delicatessen.

Krank, a foul old man, has discovered a way to steal the dreams of children. This is important to him because he feels he needs the dreams to make his emotional being more pleasant. He begins to kidnap children to steal their dreams. The story follows "One", Krank's brother, and Miette, a spirited little girl who is wise beyond her years, as they set out on a mission to rescue the children.

A woman narrowly misses being shot when her limosene impacts another car. The woman is left with a head wound and no memory of who or where she is. Mulholland Drive follows the woman, who eventually adopts the name "Rita," as she struggles to regain her memory.

This avent-garde David Lynch masterpiece about Hollywood deception is full of inspiration. Between the artistic vagueness that Lynch is famous for and the spiraling plot that has more twists than the largest roller coaster you've ever ridden - this one just hooks you in.

Be warned though - if you are new to David Lynch's work, you should know that his brand of cinema is, like opera, an acquired taste. Either you love it or you hate it. Personally, I love it.

The Cell follows child psychiatrist, Catherine Deane, who has managed to do the unthinkable - travel through the minds of her patients in order to help them through their subconscious. When a serial killer falls into a coma, she is comissioned by the FBI to enter a mind that is just too disturbing for words.

The Cell got terrible ratings for the bad acting and the terrible storyline. Personally, I didn't think either were that sub-average. But perhaps I was just too swayed by the stunning scenery. It was unlike anything I had seen at the time when it came out. Even the soundtrack was deeply moving.

Perhaps this is just something you have to be an artist to appreciate. Albeit a dark and disturbed type of artist - but this is the dark list of movies. Isn't it?

Siesta is probably the most obscure film on this list. It is pretty difficult to get a hold of these days. I liked it so much that I even ordered an out of print copy of the book on Amazon and wrote a short story based on the film.

Clare awakens to find herself covered with blood on an airport runway in Spain with no explanation as to what happened or how she ended up there. Having left her husband to find her former lover, she begins to believe that she may have murdered someone.

The story follows her along her strange journey as she tries to find out the truth. Along the way she meets some interesting characters and gets into some bizarre predicaments.

Fight Club is my favorite movie of all time. There is so much to love; the great beats of The Dust Brothers, the amazingly witty quotes of Palahniuk, and the humor, drama, and - well - insanity of this beautiful film.

Well, he had me at "this is your life and it's ending one minute at a time."

How much moodier could you possibly get? Fight Club rebels against society from every possible angle.

Edward Norton plays the narrator of Fight Club, a depressed young man who suffers from insomnia. He hates his mundane life that has come down to designing the perfect apartment and staying up late at night watching infomercials. His job is demeaning and his love life is non-existent. A doctor suggests to him that he go take a look at the support group for men with testicular cancer to see what real pain is.

He becomes hooked and begins to seek out support groups. His insomnia is cured for a time, until he realizes there is another "faker" in the midst - a woman named "Marla." When he meets "Tyler Durden" on a business flight, his life takes a dramatic turn and all of the circumstances up to that point play a part in the insanity that transpires.