Image credit: Universal Pictures, DEG, Hemdale, Apollo Pictures, Atlantic Releasing Corporation, Trimark Pictures, Springvale Productions, Skouras Pictures, New World Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Muse Productions, Hollywood Films, Fulvia Film, Immagine S.r.l., Santa Fe, Cannon Film Distributors, Deaf Internacional Film, New World Pictures, Golan-Globus Productions, Les Films du Griffon, NF Geria II Filmgesellschaft, Orion Pictures
The 80s, a decade often remembered for its flamboyant fashion and synth-pop, was also a hotbed for some eerily prescient dystopian films. These 25 dystopian movies might not have topped the box office charts, but they sure got a thing or two right about our present.
From the gritty, industrial landscapes that mirror today's urban sprawls to the themes of surveillance and technology run amok echoing our digital age dilemmas, these movies were ahead of their time.
1. "Brazil" (1985) Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
In a bureaucratic and dystopian future, a low-level government employee tries to correct an administrative error and becomes an enemy of the state, leading to a nightmarish journey.
After answering a random phone call, a man learns that nuclear war is imminent and races against time to reunite with his girlfriend and escape Los Angeles.
3. "Videodrome" (1983) Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%
A small-time cable TV operator discovers a broadcast signal featuring extreme violence and torture, leading him into a surreal conspiracy and reality distortion.
4. "Night of the Comet" (1984) Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
After a comet wipes out most of humanity, two sisters in Los Angeles navigate a post-apocalyptic world where zombies and a sinister group threaten their survival.
5. "The Quiet Earth" (1985) Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%
A scientist wakes up to find himself seemingly the only person left alive on Earth, leading to a journey of discovery and the realization he might not be alone.
6. "The Running Man" (1987) Rotten Tomatoes score: 67%
A wrongly convicted man is forced to compete in a deadly televised game show, running for his life against professional killers in a dystopian America.
7. "2019: After the Fall of New York" (1983) Rotten Tomatoes score: 59%
In a post-apocalyptic 2019, a mercenary enters the ruins of New York City to find the last fertile woman on Earth as humanity faces extinction.
After a nuclear war, two teenagers emerge from a bunker and find themselves in a post-apocalyptic world, becoming relic hunters and encountering bizarre factions.
11. "Dead End Drive-In" (1986) Rotten Tomatoes score: 43%
In a dystopian future, a drive-in becomes a prison for societal rejects, where a young man and his girlfriend are trapped and must find a way to escape.
12. "Neon City" (1991) Rotten Tomatoes score: 41%
In a post-apocalyptic future, a group of people travels through a dangerous landscape to reach the safety of Neon City, facing various threats along the way.
In a future where water is scarce, a group of survivors in a desert village must defend themselves against a band of marauders who want their water supply.
In a future where real women are a rarity, a man goes on a dangerous journey to replace his malfunctioning android lover.
15. "The Bronx Warriors" (1982) Rotten Tomatoes score: 35%
In a dystopian future, the Bronx is a no-man's-land where gangs rule, and a girl from Manhattan seeks refuge there, only to become the target of a gang leader.
16. "The New Barbarians" (also known as "Warriors of the Wasteland") (1983) Rotten Tomatoes score: 30%
In a post-nuclear holocaust world, a group of survivors fights against a gang of ruthless marauders who seek to annihilate everyone.
17. "The Apple" (1980) Rotten Tomatoes score: 27%
In a futuristic 1994, a young couple enters the music industry but soon discovers its dark underbelly controlled by a sinister record producer.
Set in a post-nuclear future, the film follows a rebellion against a matriarchal society led by a man who discovers remnants of past civilization.
19. "Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn" (1983) Rotten Tomatoes score: 23%
A space ranger chases a villain across the galaxy to a desert planet, where he faces various dangers and uncovers a plan to enslave the universe.
20. "Cyborg" (1989) Rotten Tomatoes score: 22%
In a post-apocalyptic future, a mercenary protects a cyborg whose brain holds a cure for a deadly plague ravaging the remnants of humanity.
21. "Def-Con 4" (1985) Rotten Tomatoes score: 20%
Three astronauts in a space station survive a nuclear war only to crash-land on a ravaged Earth, facing a struggle for survival against hostile survivors.
22. "The Final Executioner" (1984) Rotten Tomatoes score: 0%
In a post-apocalyptic world, a man seeks revenge against a gang that killed his girlfriend, leading him through a lawless and dangerous landscape.
23. "The Sisterhood" (1988) Rotten Tomatoes score: 0%
In a post-apocalyptic world, a group of women with psychic powers fights against male oppressors and seeks to restore balance and peace.
24. "Escape from the Bronx" (1983) Rotten Tomatoes score: 0%
A ruthless corporation attempts to forcibly relocate the residents of the Bronx to make way for luxury developments, leading to a violent rebellion.
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