Double Feature Date: Two 80's Fantasy Movies So Weird They're Awesome

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Lately Matthew and I have been really into double features—finding two movies that compliment each other and watching them side by side, either on the same day or in the same week. It makes for interesting discussion and comparison because you view the movies differently than when you watch them as standalones.

It’s definitely the case with the two movies we’ve chosen here. Truth be told, I enjoyed both of these individual movies better in a double feature than watching them by themselves. Why? Probably because when watched together you realize there was an odd trend in the 80’s: fantasy puppet movies. It’s hilarious and nostalgic and brings back strange childhood memories. They are both children’s movies, and frightening ones at that, though I think they are much more interesting to watch as an adult.

That said, these two movies, for having so much in common on the outside, are also entirely different. The first is charmingly simple, surprising you at every turn with some new nightmarish peculiarity. The next is deceivingly complex, serving as an allegory about grief. Watch them both together for your next date night, talk about them, and see if you can keep them from invading your dreams.

(Also check out Two Movies that Will Get You Saying “There’s No Place Like Home”)

Labyrinth (1986)

Click to Watch! The original 1986 trailer for Labyrinth starring David Bowie. | Photo Credit: Columbia/Tristar / Fair Use.

Everything about Labyrinth (1986) feels odd. Even the producers are a bizarre mash-up: George Lucas, of Star Wars fame; Jim Henson, who created The Muppets; and David Bowie, the pop music icon. But something about it works. While it is creepy, silly, and often lacking-depth, it is also wild, funny, and pleasantly absurd.

The plot features an imaginative teenage girl, played by Jennifer Connelly, who offers her baby brother up to an evil Goblin King to get out of babysitting. Said Goblin King, played by David Bowie in surprisingly tight pants, offers to return her baby brother if she can find her way through his labyrinth leading to his castle. Along the way, she meets several unlikely friends, and together they dawdle all the way to the center of the fortress.

It’s hard to accept a David Bowie movie without music, so of course there are a few tunes in there to keep the movie flowing. One in particular will get stuck in your head for the rest of the week: “Magic Dance”, which is just as alluring as it sounds.

Buy or Rent Labyrinth on Amazon.

The Neverending Story (1984)

Click to watch! The Original 1984 Trailer for The NeverEnding Story. | Photo Credit: Warner Bros / Fair Use.

We partnered Labyrinth with another fantasy puppet movie that came out two years earlier, The NeverEnding Story (1984). While Labyrinth is spunky and light, The NeverEnding Story is harrowing and thoughtful.

The plot revolves around a young boy who recently lost his mother. While hiding from some school bullies, he steals a book from a crotchety bookseller, and the book helps him confront his grief.

So far so normal. But somehow The NeverEnding Story takes a lefthand turn into the meta and ends up weirder than Labyrinth. So weird, I wonder if anyone actually got it as a kid. But don’t worry, as an adult, there is no way you will miss the moral of the story. It really gets hammered home.

Buy or Rent The NeverEnding Story on Amazon.

(Want double the trouble? Check out our double feature date for The Parent Trap)

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