17. Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a discomforting character study about a man who is trying to mend his broken psyche through any means necessary. Travis Bickle is an insomniac who can't find the ability to properly understand the nature of human interaction and companionship even though this is what he so desperately craves. Perhaps the most haunting thing about Taxi Driver is the fact that it focuses on the meaning of loneliness. Loneliness is something that everyone, young or old, is afraid of and Travis Bickle is a perfect surrogate for the viewer here. He lashes out at the world by engaging in an act of brutal violence at the climax of the film because he doesn't fully understand what he's supposed to do with his life. His uncertainty is a remnant from his days in Vietnam during the war and the damage that the war has done to him is evident in every frame of Martin Scorsese's depiction of New York City in the 70s.
16. The Elephant Man
While Mulholland Dr. is David Lynch's creepiest and most unsettling film The Elephant Man has its own way of unnerving the viewer. It remains true that Lynch has always been interested in portraying the dark underbelly of life but he has never come as close to the truth as he did here. What is so amazing about his accomplishment with this film is that he was able to perfectly marry the more fantastic elements of his filmmaking with a twisted depiction of reality. He takes a real condition and uses the true story of Joseph Merrick to explore what it means to be human through the eyes of someone who has trouble with that very question. The thing that keeps The Elephant Man in your mind is the heartbreaking nature of Merrick's dilemma and the way that Lynch is able to always keep the human elements of the story in line with the surreal ones.