Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop is one of the most important dystopian sci-fi films of the '80s. Part satire, part hardcore action flick, RoboCop is set in an alternate, near-future Detroit where major corporations are capitalizing off a rise in crime by privatizing police forces. One company, Omni, develops the titular creature, a half-man, half-machine crime-fighter designed to take out Detroit's worst criminals.
When a police officer named Alex Murphy dies on the job, his remains are used to create a RoboCop prototype. As Murphy's past memories merge with his automated body, RoboCop comes to discover Omni may have set Murphy up on purpose. Soon, the puppet turns on his puppet masters. While unique in many ways, the plot of RoboCop echoes many cross-genre films that came before it.
Escape From New York (1981)
John Carpenter teams up with frequent collaborator Kurt Russell for this apocalyptic thriller. In Escape From New York, Russell plays a former soldier turned convict named Snake Plissken who is forced to save the US President after the commander-in-chief crash-lands in Manhattan — which has been cordoned off and turned into a maximum-security prison where the worst offenders are dumped.
Snake must navigate both the police state and the cronies of the self-proclaimed Duke of New York in order to complete the mission. Donald Pleasance, Isaac Hayes, and Harry Dean Stanton co-star.
THX 1138 (1971)
George Lucas tried his luck with dystopian sci-fi before developing the most successful deep space saga of all time in Star Wars. THX 1138 is a much different film, and it stars Robert Duvall as the titular character, a resident of a society controlled by android police.
In the film, reproduction and sex have been banned; instead, humans are forced into laborious work through mind control and drugs. Duvall's THX 1138 decides he's had enough and formulates a dangerous plan of escape.
Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam's comedic masterpiece about a low-level bureaucrat barely surviving in a world dominated by technocrats and capitalists is rife with potent social commentary. Brazil is also rife with laughs, thanks in large part to Jonathan Pryce's performance as protagonist Sam Lowry.
Lowry gets through the mundanity of his drab existence by living in an elaborate fantasy world, one where he is a heroic and charming libertine who saves the world from doom. The fantasy becomes reality when Lowry crosses paths with vigilantes working to overthrow their corrupt government.
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott's classic adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel is set in 2019 Los Angeles. Harrison Ford plays Deckard, a jaded police officer tasked with assassinating replicants, synthetic humans who have escaped their space colony. These replicants pose a major threat to the status quo as they seek to overthrow their makers.
Dark and foreboding, Blade Runner establishes many of the tones, characterizations, and settings used in later dystopian films. The rainy and crowded LA featured in the film looks very similar to the grimy Detroit depicted in RoboCop.
La Jetée (1962)
Technically a short film, La Jetée is the inspiration for Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys. Directed by Chris Marker, this experimental movie's narrative, which transpires in a post-apocalyptic Paris, evolves through a series of still images.
A prisoner of World War III is forced by scientists to travel back and forth through time in search of a cure for the world's dismal fate. The prisoner makes it to the pre-war period, where he falls in love with a woman, knowing a grim fate waits for him whenever he completes his mission and returns to the present.
Death Race 2000 (1975)
Campy yet poignant, Death Race 2000 is a cult car racing movie with a twist. In a brutal future America, the fascist government hosts the yearly Transcontinental Road Race, a televised event where contestants rack up points based on the amount of carnage they cause.
David Carradine plays Frankenstein, the returning champion whose sidekick turns out to be part of the underground resistance. The film also stars Sylvester Stallone as one of Frankenstein's competitors.
The Terminator (1984)
Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg assassin in James Cameron's The Terminator is a great analogue of RoboCop. Sent by nefarious superintelligence system Skynet to 1984 Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger's titular robot must kill Sarah Connor, the future mother of John Connor, who will lead the resistance against Skynet.
Linda Hamilton plays Sarah, and Michael Biehn co-stars as a human resistance fighter who also travels to the past to protect Sarah from the Terminator. Past, future, and present combine with explosive results in this heady action movie, which launched a very successful franchise.
Mad Max (1979)
Lawlessness and cruelty reign supreme in the dystopian Australia George Miller brings to life in Mad Max. Mel Gibson plays the eponymous Max, a highway patrolman who tries to bring some semblance of justice to the Outback.
Max is targeted by a violent motorcycle gang while making his rounds, launching him into an all-out war. Replete with fast cars and leather-clad characters, Mad Max is visually unique and entertaining.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick's infamous adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel features Malcolm McDowell as the leader of a violent young gang who undergoes experimental treatments to curb his impulses. More like torture than therapy, this questionable procedure called the Ludovico Technique supposedly strips Alex of his deadly fantasies.
A Clockwork Orange features brutal depictions of assault set in a dystopian England. As with other Kubrick movies, the film ends on an uneasy note that leaves more questions than answers about the roots of cruelty and evil in contemporary societies.
Videodrome (1983)
Sexuality and violence merge in Videodrome, David Cronenberg's sci-fi morality tale. James Woods stars as Max, a sleazy TV producer who stumbles upon a transmission called "Videodrome," which showcases torture and hardcore savagery.
Max decides to broadcast the homicidal program, he becomes implicit in a plot to target TV viewers obsessed with twisted, smutty offerings like "Videodrome." The film remains one of Cronenberg's best, known for its use of body horror and surrealistic circumstances.