“A young man is swallowed by a whale while searching for his father’s remains deep in the ocean.”

That is the elevator pitch for Whalefall, starring Austin Abrams (Resident Evil) and co-written by Daniel Kraus and director Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You). Set for release on October 16, the film is based on Kraus’ 2023 novel, inspired by a viral video of kayakers seemingly being swallowed by a whale. Whalefall’s central conceit is one writers and directors are challenged by, and often dream of, because it raises the questions: Can I pull this off? And how can I make this work? In other words, the absolutely bonkers premise is fertile ground for real creative risk and opportunity.

Of course, Whalefall isn’t the first or only film to take a big leap. Throughout cinema history, bold filmmakers have swung for the fences and connected. Too many for just one list, in fact. Children of Men, Groundhog Day, Parasite, The Truman Show, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Spirited Away, The City of Lost Children, The Stepford Wives, Inside Out, Poor Things, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and many more could easily have made this list. The following is a small sample of films that successfully stepped out of standard storytelling boxes.

Positive that communists are poisoning the “precious bodily fluids” of the American populace, General Jack D. , triggering an increasingly farcical crisis which culminates in a dunce's doomsday, an apocalypse driven by insane idiots and a Nazi.

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