10 Most Immersive Movies Ever
Dinosaurs, aliens and planet-sized babies have never felt so real.
Watching so many movies can be both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, sitting down for two hours and doing absolutely nothing is one of the most relaxing ways to spend your time, but on the downside, the more films you consume on a regular basis, the more passable and middling they can start to feel.
Seeing a lot of the same plot lines, average fight scenes and generic horror movie jump scares can turn everything you watch into a giant blur, and it sucks when the only impression movies start to leave on you is a non-committal "eh, that was fun I guess".
But thankfully, this isn't always the case.
Despite lacking the interactivity of a video game or the intimacy of holding a book, movies can be incredibly involving experiences that completely take you over for a good couple of hours, fully immersing you in their narratives with state-of-the-art visual effects, unique storytelling methods or exciting and colourful worlds.
These are the films that grab you by the scruff of the neck, pull you into the screen and do not let go until the credits start to roll, leaving you with the feeling that you've witnessed something truly special - not just another notch on your Letterboxd account.
10. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was criminally overlooked when it first came out (it didn't even make back its budget), but has grown in appreciation ever since.
And to be fair, it’s easy to see why it didn’t click with the masses. It's far from conventional in just about everything it does, from its wacky humour ("Vegan police!") to its relentless use of video game/comic-book-inspired visuals, but its unique style is something that we've never really seen on film before, and it's executed with such confidence by director Edgar Wright that it's hard not to admire his bold approach.
The movie's real genius, though, lies in its combination of the familiar and the fantastical. Scott is such an awkward and ordinary dude with a modest goal - date the girl! - that he's someone we instantly "get", and that relatability sucks you in before the surreal visuals wash the whole thing in a crazy entertaining light show. It's like if your normal Tuesday afternoon was suddenly interrupted by a kitten barfing rainbows.
Frankly, this movie should be the opposite of immersive because it's so bizarre and out-there, but for people who grew up with boss fights, melee combos and extra lives as a part of their pop-culture vocabulary, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World will feel like the ultimate inside joke - and a bloody hilarious one at that.