With each passing film, the Nightmare on Elm Street series made use of its increasing budget with exuberant dream sequences featuring everyone’s favourite bogey man, Freddy Kruger, slicing through a succession of teen victims. Yet the most effective nightmare is perhaps the simplest, and features a young Johnny Depp, a bed, a sinkhole to hell, and a never ending upward stream of crimson.  

Cameron Crowe’s teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, features a sexual fantasy that inspired a legion of horny teens to indulge in their own “me time”. Phoebe Cates became the dream girl of a generation, with her submergence from a backyard swimming pool, and subsequent disrobing of swimsuit to the sounds of “Moving in Stereo” by The Cars a sequence branded into the subconscious of its male viewers.

While many would point to the stunning opening dream sequence in Federico Fellini’s surreal masterpiece 8 ½, there is no denying the playful humour found in a fanciful daydream, where protagonist Guido Aneslmi (Marcello Mastroianni) fantasises all of the women in his life living together in a state of domestic bliss, with mother, mistress, muse, and others bowing to his every whim and fancy.  

Granted it is a very recent release, yet such is the impact of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi mind bender that a list of dream sequences without a mention of Inception would equate to cinematic sacrilege. Standing tall amongst its gigantic in scope dream sequences is a walk through the streets of Paris, where Leonardo DiCaprio’s extractor teaches Ellen Page’s architect the rules of the dream game. Streets explode, buildings rise, bridges are built, mouths are a-gap.  

The misadventures of The Dude (Jeff Bridges) brought with it many memorable moments. A scene which stood out the most was a dream sequence which saw the Coen brothers in top form, and featured Saddam Hussein renting bowling shoes, Julianne Moore in Viking attire, and Jeff Bridges trapped in a bowling pin while on the run from nihilists who want to chop off his penis, all to the groovy sounds of Kenny Rogers.  

What does a moron dream? That question was answered in the Farelly Brothers’ comedy “classic” Dumb & Dumber, which featured Jim Carrey catching a snooze behind the wheel, and indulging in a bit of sexual fantasy / ski lodge entertaining / kung fu fighting dreamscape. Carrey brings the funny the only way he can, and provides comedy gold in the process.

Technically, you could say that the first half of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. qualifies as a dream sequence (or, at least that is the popular opinion). But chosen for this list is something of a dream within a dream, set in an inconspicuous coffee shop, with a dread so palpable that the tension is almost unbearable, the final reveal a shocking conclusion to a torrid nightmare.

John Landis’ horror/comedy mash up An American Werewolf in London won plaudits and a loyal following thanks to its groundbreaking effects work. Also relevant to its success are innovative dream sequences which combine the insane with the horrific, the most memorable a home invasion by demonic Nazi’s who slaughter the Jewish American protagonists family, as he is forced to watch in horror.  

Has the consequence of nuclear war ever felt as horrifyingly real as depicted in Terminator 2? With the help of James Cameron’s filmmaking wizardry, it is a frightening nightmare that feels disturbingly real, Cameron making a strong social political point as much as a damn fine dream sequence.   

Short and enigmatic, yet powerful in its emotional and visual prowess, this dream sequence from The Exorcist represents Father Karras (Jason Miller) guilt over the death of his mother, his struggle with faith, and a prophecy of the evil which will haunt his soul, with a blink and you’ll miss it glimpse at the demon whose possession of a young girl (Linda Blair) features as the epicentre in this story of good vs evil, and humanities faith in God in a world so cruel.