FilmsPerfect BlueLike this

Films like Perfect Blue.

Perfect Blue (1998) reads as Neutral, breathless, extreme animation / thriller, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

The Frighteners (1996) poster
1. The Frighteners1996

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a dense, packed storytelling.

The Box (2009) poster
2. The Box2009

Keeps the documentary-plain realism and the dense, packed storytelling; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Swordsman II (1992) poster
3. Swordsman II1992

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Enthiran (2010) poster
4. Enthiran2010

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a world-sized stakes.

A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990) poster
5. A Chinese Ghost Story II1990

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a dense, packed storytelling.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) poster
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2005

Keeps the documentary-plain realism and the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a world-sized stakes.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) poster
7. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm1993

Keeps the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a documentary-plain realism.

Treasure Planet (2002) poster
8. Treasure Planet2002

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a dense, packed storytelling.

Jumanji (1995) poster
9. Jumanji1995

Keeps the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a dense, packed storytelling.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) poster
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest2006

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) poster
11. A Chinese Ghost Story1987

Keeps the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a dense, packed storytelling.

Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers (2009) poster
12. Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers2009

Keeps the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

These are Perfect Blue’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

Find my film for tonight — 60 sec →