Top 10 Movie Mazes

Script written by Derick Mcduff.

Top 10 Movie Mazes

Finding your way through these mazes is easier said than done. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 movie mazes and labyrinths.

For this list, we’re choosing memorable and/or iconic mazes and labyrinths, featuring complex passages or creations that people must find their way out of, from the big screen.

#10: “Time Bandits” (1981)

Terry Gilliam directs this quirky classic that follows an eleven-year-old boy and a group of greedy dwarves as they make their way through various time periods in search of treasure. Like any good treasure hunt, this one is filled with many twists and turns, in this case - literally. After hopping across time, the bandits eventually encounter a large maze with the ultimate prize at its end. Of course, “the most fabulous object in the world” is located in The Fortress of Ultimate Darkness, which is just as creepy as it sounds.

#9: “Enter the Dragon” (1973)

At the conclusion of this Kung Fu masterpiece, Bruce Lee must fight one of his deadliest foes ever - but of course, there is a catch. Lee is drawn into a maze comprised of mirrors and is unable to tell where he is going or where his adversary is waiting. Our hero is overwhelmed at first, as both he and the audience struggle to tell what is going on in some of the coolest visuals ever seen in a martial arts flick. Ultimately, Lee turns the tide of the battle by simply breaking every mirror in sight.

#8: “Dark City” (1998)

Quite possibly the creepiest entry on this list, this maze exists in a city trapped in eternal night. John Murdoch, played by the versatile Rufus Sewell, must find his way through the perilous city, designed as a labyrinth, while being pursued by a group of men with bizarre powers. Known as Strangers, these men change the layout of the city and brainwash those around him. When Murdoch discovers he possesses the same powers, he must use them to unravel the dark secrets of the city.

#7: “The Maze Runner” (2014)

This film follows a group of teenage boys who are trapped in an area called “The Glade,” where the only way out is through an ominous maze. The most athletic boys are anointed as runners, and are allowed to enter the horror-filled maze in order to escape. The only catch is that the maze can only be entered during the daytime, as the enormous walls shut every night. As the characters make their way through the maze, they must gather clues as to what brought them there and happened to the outside world.

#6: “Alice in Wonderland” (1951)

In this nonsensical fantasy world, “all the ways about here belong” to the Queen, and that includes a large hedge maze that the Cheshire Cat leads Alice to near the end of the film. This maze is less about trying to get through it than it is about dealing with what’s inside. Of course, things here are not quite what they seem, with anthropomorphic playing cards and a tyrannical queen that makes demands for heads to roll for transgressions that include beating her in a game of croquet and painting the roses red.

#5: “The Shining” (1980)

This Stanley Kubrick horror masterpiece features a very different hedge maze than the one seen in “Alice in Wonderland.” The maze itself is located behind a hotel where writer Jack Torrance stays with his family. Over the next few months, things in the hotel become strange and as Jack’s mental state deteriorates, his family begins to explore the cryptic maze. Once things really get crazy, the family must flee into the maze during a harsh and life-threatening winter.

#4: “Cube” (1997)

In this psychological horror film, a group of strangers wakes up trapped in a complex structure of connected cubes each filled with their own deadly traps. The characters must navigate the deadly maze, trying to figure out the mystery of each new horror they encounter. Each different room is color-coded based on what activates the trap, and as the prisoners make their way further through the maze, they begin to turn on each other one by one.

#3: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005)

The “Harry Potter” franchise puts a new spin on a classic hedge maze in the series’ fourth installment. Acting as the final challenge of the incredibly dangerous TriWizard tournament, the maze shifts and attacks those making their way through it. At its center lies the TriWizard Cup, and whoever reaches it first becomes the champion of the tournament. However, dark forces are present, and the Cup may hold dark secrets of its own.

#2: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006)

Guillermo del Toro takes the audience into a frightening and fantastic maze in his dark fairy tale. Set during the Spanish Francoist period, the film follows Ofelia, who enters a mysterious underground labyrinth, filled with the beautiful yet fighting creatures that del Toro is known for. This includes her guide through the maze, the mysterious and very creepy faun. Ofelia must overcome various trials to pass through the maze while rebel forces hover near in a plot nearly as complex as the maze itself.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- “Thir13en Ghosts” (2001)
- “Wrath of the Titans” (2012)
- “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” (1988)
- “Tales from the Crypt” (1972)
- “Your Highness” (2011)

#1: “Labyrinth” (1986)

This cult classic from Jim Henson features his signature puppets produced by his famous Creature Shop, and is in a dark fantasy world. This world serves as a backdrop for creepy twists and turns of one of the coolest mazes ever imagined. This sprawling labyrinth is filled with secret passages, dark corridors, fantastic creatures, and of course, David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King. It’s up to the teenage Jennifer Connelly, who plays Sarah, to navigate this treacherous and fantastic maze in order to save her brother who has been kidnapped by the creepy king himself.

Do you agree with our list? Which movie mazes do you wish we had found our way into? For more twisted top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.