Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time

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Massive dehumanization, totalitarian government, rampant disease, post-apocalyptic terrains, cyber-genetic technologies, societal chaos and widespread urban violence are some of the common themes in dystopian films which bravely examine the ominous shadow cast by future.

A dystopia is a fictional society that is the antithesis or complete opposite of a utopia, an ideal world with a perfect social, political and technological infrastructure. A world without chaos, strife or hunger. A world where the individual potential and freedom is celebrated and brought to the forefront.

In contrast, the dystopian world is undesirable with poverty and unequal domination by specific individuals over others. Dystopian films often construct a fictional universe and set it in a background which features scenarios such as dehumanizing technological advancements, man-made disasters or class-based revolutions.

Ranking the List

We thought it would be interesting if we could coagulate the most commonly cited dystopian movies and rank them not to preference, but to an average score made up of both Rotten Tomatoes (RT) and IMDB ratings.

As you all will probably know, the Internet Movie Database allows movie fans and registered users to rate each movie from 1 to 10 and the final score is said to reflect the general audience’s view of the movie. In contrast, Rotten Tomatoes rates their movies by collecting and tabulating the reviews given by professional film critics.

We’ve taken both ratings, added them together and found an average score for each film. Each of the films are then ranked according to this average score. We’ve also included links to the IMDB and RT profile for each movie so you can learn more about the movie.

50. Equilibrium (2002)

In the nation of Libria, there is always peace among men. The rules of the Librian system are simple. If you are happy, you will be arrested. If you cry, the law will hunt you down. If you read a contraband book or so much as look at a smuggled painting, you’ve committed a crime. To keep the peace, citizens must take their daily doses Prozium, a powerful designer drug that stops feelings dead and keeps everyone on an even keel. Refuse to take the drug and special police will find you. (Directed by Kurt Wimmer)

IMDB: 7.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 4.7 | Average: 6.2

49. One Point O (2004)

Set in the near future, this is the story of a computer programmer, Simon J., who discovers that his employer intends to use him as a test subject in a dangerous experiment testing a new advertising technique which causes Simon to be plagued by mysteriously empty brown packages, a sense of paranoia and a craving to drink lots and lots of milk. (Directed by Jeff Renfroe and Marteinn Thorsson)

IMDB: 5.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.5 | Average: 6.2

48. Starship Troopers (1997)

In the distant future high school kids are encouraged to become citizens by joining the military. What they don’t know is that they’ll soon be engaged in a full scale war against a planet of alien insects. The fight is on to ensure the safety of humanity. (Directed by Paul Verhoeven)

IMDB: 6.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 5.7 | Average: 6.25

47. Rollerball (1975)

In the year 2018, Jonathan E is a superstar of a sport called Rollerball, which is a combination of rugby, roller derby, hockey and motorcycle racing. Rollerball is a sport run by the Energy Corporation, one of many such conglomerates running the planet in a time when countries and individual governments are obsolete. The corporations provide the population with everything that they need–food, a crime-free environment, mood-altering drugs–as long as they don’t rock the boat and don’t ask too many questions. (Directed by Norman Jewison)

IMDB: 6.4 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.1 | Average: 6.25

46. Death Race 2000 (1975)

In a boorish future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians–with bonus points for the elderly! Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. (Directed by Paul Bartel)

IMDB: 5.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.6 | Average: 6.25

45. Idiocracy (2006)

Joe Bauers, an Army librarian, is judged to be absolutely average in every regard, has no relatives, has no future, so he’s chosen to be one of the two test subjects in a top-secret hibernation program. He and hooker Rita were to awaken in one year, but things go wrong and they wake up instead in 2505. By this time, stupid people have outbred intelligent people; the world is (barely) run by morons–and Joe and Rita are the smartest people in America. (Directed by Mike Judge)

IMDB: 6.4 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.3 | Average: 6.35

44. Strange Days (1995)

Lenny Nero sells dreams and hustles nightmares, dealing in real-life experiences through a new technology that makes every sensation immediate. But on the eve of the new millennium, Lenny and his street-savvy friend and conscience, Mace, are suddenly caught in a deadly fantasy of conspiracy, murder and betrayal–plunging them into the bleak heart of the nightworld he has always inhabited. (Directed by Kathryn Bigelow)

IMDB: 6.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.0 | Average: 6.45

43. Logan’s Run (1976)

In a 23rd-century world of pleasure and perfection, Logan’s job is to kill anyone past the age of 30. But when his turn for sacrifice comes (at age 30), he decides to flee the bubble-domed paradise and find a mythical “sanctuary” that lies outside. (Directed by Michael Anderson)

IMDB: 6.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.2 | Average: 6.45

42. I Robot (2004)

It’s 2035 A.D., where robots are everyday objects and are programmed to live alongside humans. Detective Del Spooner is called out to investigate the apparent suicide of the scientist behind these robots, Dr. Alfred Lanning. Spooner suspects that the death might not be a suicide, but the result of one of the robots. All robots are programmed by three laws, but Spooner starts to wonder if a robot can in fact feel emotions, and possibly murder. But if Spooner’s suspicions are true, he is going to have a hard time convincing everyone. (Directed by Alex Proyas)

IMDB: 7.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.0 | Average: 6.5

41. Soylent Green (1973)

New York City in the year 2022 the population is over 40 million. Without enough food to feed the masses–most of it must be manufactured in local factories. The dinner choices are between Soylent Blue, Soylent Yellow, or Soylent Green. When William Simonson an executive in the Soylent Company, is found murdered, police detective Thorn is sent in to investigate the case. (Directed by Richard Fleischer)

IMDB: 7.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.0 | Average: 6.5

40. A Boy and His Dog (1975)

A post-apocalyptic tale based on a novella by Harlan Ellison. A boy communicates telepathically with his dog as they scavenge for food and sex, and they stumble into an underground society where the old society is preserved. The daughter of one of the leaders of the community seduces and lures him below, where the citizens have become unable to reproduce because of being underground so long. They use him for impregnation purposes, and then plan to be rid of him. (Directed by L.Q. Jones)

IMDB: 6.5 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.6 | Average: 6.55

39. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

A fine and stunning screen adaptation of George Orwell’s prophetic 1948 novel about a world in which the government completely controls the masses by controlling their thoughts, altering history and even changing the meaning of words to suit its needs. (Directed by Michael Radford)

IMDB: 7.1 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.3 | Average: 6.7

38. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)

Sometime in the distant future, after the polar icecaps have melted, major flooding has devastated most major cities. Technology has advanced to the point where people depend for many tasks on robots with highly sophisticated artificial intelligence; including companion robots which replace friends, lovers or children. n this futuristic fairy tale, “David”, a highly-advanced robotic boy, hopes to become a real boy so that he can win back the affection of the human mother who abandoned him. (Directed by Steven Spielberg)

IMDB: 6.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.6 | Average: 6.7

37. Silent Running (1972)

A botanist has spent eight years aboard the space freighter “Valley Forge” preserving the only botanical specimens left from Earth under huge geodesic domes. When he receives orders to destroy the project and return home, he rebels and hijacks the freighter, killing his fellow crewmen, injuring himself, and plunging the craft into the gaseous rings of Saturn. (Directed by Douglas Trumbull)

IMDB: 6.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.7 | Average: 6.7

36. A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Set in a future world where America has lost the war on drugs, an undercover cop, Fred, is one of many agents hooked on the popular drug Substance D, which causes its users to develop split personalities. Fred, for instance, is also Bob, a notorious drug dealer. Along with his superior officers, Fred sets up an elaborate scheme to catch Bob and tear down his operation. (Directed by Richard Linklater)

IMDB: 7.2 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.5 | Average: 6.85

35. Escape from New York (1981)

The island of Manhattan has been turned into the world’s largest maximum security prison, a place where the worst of humanity is sent to rot. The U.S. Government finds itself in a major crisis when the president’s plane crash lands in New York only days before a vital peace summit between major warring nations is to take place. Only war hero turned felon Snake Plissken can save the day, and he is offered a simple deal for his work: save the president and live, fail to save him and die. (Directed by John Carpenter)

IMDB: 6.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.8 | Average: 6.85

34. THX 1138 (1971)

THX 1138 is a chilling look at a 25th-century totalitarian state where mankind is stripped of any individuality. People are numbered drones, and a government-enforced program of sedating drugs controls the populace. The story’s title character, THX, is a factory worker whose life is irrevocably changed when he stops taking his mind-numbing drugs. (Directed by George Lucas)

IMDB: 6.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.0 | Average: 6.85

33. They Live (1988)

Set in the future, a drifter discovers that alien beings are controlling the minds of the masses by use of subliminal messages urging apathy and obedience. Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker, discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded by media and government with messages like “Stay Asleep”, “No Imagination”, “Submit to Authority”. (Directed by John Carpenter)

IMDB: 6.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1 | Average: 6.9

32. District 13 (2004)

In 2010, the dangerous districts in the periphery of Paris are surrounded by walls, and the dwellers do not have school, hospital and even police in the area, which are ruled by drug lords. In the 13th District, Leito is a honest man that lives in a clean building and does not permit drug dealers nearby his neighborhood. When he destroys one million Euros in heroin of Taha Bemamud, the criminal abducts Leito’s sister Lola and the corrupt police arrests Leito. (Directed by Pierre Morel)

IMDB: 7.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.0 | Average: 7.0

31. War Of the Worlds (1953)

H.G. Well’s classic novel is brought to life is this tale of alien invasion. The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills. Their joy is tempered somewhat when they discover it has passengers who are not very friendly. The movie itself is understood better when you consider it was made at the height of the Cold War - just replace Martian with Russian. (Directed by Byron Haskin)

IMDB: 7.2 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1 | Average: 7.15

30. Dark City (1998)

A cop tries to help an amnesiac fugitive, suspected of being a serial killer, to discover the truth about his past. He finds that his memories and his reality as he knows it are, in fact, artificial creations controlled by a fiendish underworld of ominous beings knows as The Strangers. (Directed by Alex Proyas)

IMDB: 7.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.7 | Average: 7.2

29. Total Recall (1990)

What is reality when you can’t trust your memory? Set in the year 2084, an Earthbound construction worker keeps having dreams about Mars. A trip to a false memory transplant service for an imaginary trip to Mars goes terribly wrong and another personality surfaces. When his old self returns, he finds groups of his friends and several strangers seem to have orders to kill him. He finds records his other self left him that tell him to get to Mars to join up with the underground. The reality of the situation is constantly in question. Who is he? Which personality is correct? Which version of reality is true? (Directed by Paul Verhoeven)

IMDB: 7.3 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1 | Average: 7.2

28. Mad Max (1979)

George Miller’s vision of an apocalyptic future set in the wastelands of Australia. Total social decay is just around the corner in this spectacular cheap budget gang orientated road movie. Where the cops do their best to lay down the law and the outlaw gangs try their hardest to defy the system. Leather clad Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) husband, father and cop turns judge, juror and executioner after his best friend, wife and baby are killed. Here we see the final days of normality of a man who had everything to live for, and his slip into the abyss of madness. With its astounding car stunts, unbelievable bike chases and constant ultra violence Mad Max is the antihero on the road to vengeance and oblivion. (Directed by George Miller)

IMDB: 6.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.6 | Average: 7.2

27. On The Beach (1959)

After a mysterious nuclear war, most of the world has been wiped out save for Australia. A US submarine, commandeered by Peck, surfaces only to be shocked by the apocalypse. With a black radioactive cloud fast approaching the only surviving continent, the survivors make serious introspection into their lives as they await their fates. (Directed by Stanley Kramer)

IMDB: 7.5 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1 | Average: 7.3

26. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

In a dark futuristic world, literature, reading, and independent thought have been outlawed. The government has gone so far as to employ a special league of firemen to burn all books on sight. But when one otherwise obedient fireman (Oskar Werner) meets an intriguing revolutionary (Julie Christie), she provokes him to question the legitimacy of his actions. Tensions mount when he blatantly transgresses the very laws he’s employed to enforce. (Directed by François Truffaut)

IMDB: 7.1 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5 | Average: 7.3

25. Gattaca (1997)

In the near future, where corporations screen their employees based on their genetic makeup, a man with a congenital heart condition tries to assume the identity of a former athlete with perfect genes in order to fulfill his dream of traveling in space. (Directed by Andrew Niccol)

IMDB: 7.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.9 | Average: 7.3

24. Metropolis (2001)

Set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the co-habitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Kenichi are searching for rebel scientist, Dr. Laughton, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, a beautiful young girl named Tima. When they locate them, Shunsaku quickly comes to realize that the eccentric scientist is beyond their reach, protected by a powerful man and his fierce desire to reclaim a tragic figure from his past. (Directed by Rintaro)

IMDB: 7.3 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5 | Average: 7.4

23. V for Vendetta (2005)

Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked vigilante known only as “V.” Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he detonates two London landmarks and takes over the government-controlled airwaves, urging his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself - and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plot to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption. (Directed by James McTeigue)

IMDB: 8.2 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.8 | Average: 7.5

22. Planet of the Apes (1968)

When Colonel George Taylor (Charlton Heston) crash lands his spacecraft on what seems to be an unfamiliar planet, he is captured and held prisoner by a dominant race of hyperrational, articulate apes. However, the ape community is riven with internal dissention, centered in no small part on its policy toward humans, who, on this planet, are treated as mindless animals. Befriended and ultimately assisted by the more liberal simians, Taylor escapes - only to find a more terrifying obstacle confronting his return home. (Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner)

IMDB: 7.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1 | Average: 7.5

21. The City of Lost Children (1995)

Just off the coast of a dank, teeming harbor town, a horrible scientist named Krank lives on a mist-shrouded rig. He is aging prematurely because he lacks one vital function: the ability to dream. Krank’s henchmen, a community of Cyclops, kidnap children from town and bring them to Krank so that he can harvest their dreams, invade them, and make them his own. (Directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

IMDB: 7.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.2 | Average: 7.5

20. Akira (1988)

On July 16, 1988, Tokyo was destroyed by what was believed to be a new type of bomb, triggering World War III. Thirty-one years later, in 2019, Neo-Tokyo has arisen from ashes under Japan’s new political system; but the glittering city is built on foundations of poverty, ignorance and despair. Kaneda is a bike gang leader whose close friend Tetsuo gets involved in a government secret project known as Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader. (Directed by Katsuhiro Ôtomo)

IMDB: 7.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.2 | Average: 7.5

19. RoboCop (1987)

In the not-to-distant-future, a newly transfered Detroit police officer is remade into an indistructable cybornetic cop after being dismembered by a gang of thungs in an abandoned warehouse. Reborn as Robocop he is programed to serve and protect the citizens of Detroit and eliminate the rampant crime in the city streets so that a massive city-wide reconstruction project can get underway. But once he has completed his task, he sets his sites on the corruption inside Securities Concepts Inc.- the corporation that created him. (Directed by Paul Verhoeven)

IMDB: 7.4 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.6 | Average: 7.5

18. Battle Royale (2000)

Japan at the start of the new millennium. The country is in a state of chaos, violence by rebellious teenagers in schools is completely out of control. The government hits back with a new law: every year a school class picked at random will be cast away on a desert island to fight it out among themselves. The rules are simple: it lasts three days, everyone gets water, food and a weapon and only one may survive. (Directed by Kinji Fukasaku)

IMDB: 8.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1 | Average: 7.55

17. Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Set in the year 2029 and following World Wars III and IV, a Japanese-led Asian block dominates world affairs. The alliance maintains its international supremacy through its elite security force whose cybernetically enhanced operatives tackle an array of hi-tech terrorists and other threats to international security. Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cybernetically augmented female agent, has been tracking a virtual entity known as the Puppet Master with her crack squad of security agents. (Directed by Mamoru Oshii)

IMDB: 7.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.3 | Average: 7.55

16. Pleasantville (1998)

Pleasantville is a 1950s sitcom enjoying cult status on a contemporary cable channel. David loves it, but his sister Jennifer is too hip. When a mysterious TV repairman gives them a new remote control, the pair are transported into the world of Pleasantville like it or not. They find themselves trapped in an alternate reality where the town exists in black and white–in a white bread world without passion or violence. (Directed by Gary Ross)

IMDB: 7.5 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.6 | Average: 7.55

15. Serenity (2005)

In the future, mankind has consumed planet Earth, called “Earth-that-was”, and moved to other planets and satellites. A new order is established with the totalitarian government of the Alliance, which fights and wins a war against their opponents, the independents. When Dr. Simon rescues his teenager telepathic sister River Tam from the claws of the Alliance, they are sheltered by a group of mercenaries and smugglers in the spacecraft Serenity, led by the former war hero Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds. (Directed by Joss Whedon)

IMDB: 8.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.2 | Average: 7.6

14. Twelve Monkeys (1995)

The year is 2035 and humankind subsists in a desolate netherworld following the eradication of 99% of the Earth’s population, a holocaust that makes the planet’s surface uninhabitable, and mankind’s destiny uncertain. A desperate group of scientists secure a reluctant volunteer, Cole, to embark on a dangerous mission back to the year 1996, where they hope he can help unravel this apocalyptic nightmare. (Directed by Terry Gilliam)

IMDB: 8.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.2 | Average: 7.6

13. Alphaville (1965)

An American private-eye is rocketed through space into a city run by a dictator scientist. Lemmy Caution arrives in Alphaville, a futuristic city on another planet and finds his very American character is at odds with the city’s ruler, an evil scientist named Von Braun, who has outlawed love and self-expression. (Directed by Jean-Luc Godard)

IMDB: 7.2 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.0 | Average: 7.6

12. The Trial (1962)

Josef K wakes up in the morning and finds the police in his room. They tell him that he is on trial but nobody tells him what he is accused of. In order to find out about the reason of this accusation and to protest his innocence, he tries to look behind the facade of the judicial system. But since this remains fruitless, there seems to be no chance for him to escape from this nightmare. Based on a novel by Franz Kafka. (Directed by Orson Welles)

IMDB: 7.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.4 | Average: 7.65

11. Sleeper (1973)

In 1973, health food store owner Miles Munroe enters the hospital for a routine gall bladder operation. When he expires on the operating table, Miles’ sister requests permission to cryogenically freeze her brother’s body. After 200 years, Miles is unwrapped by a group of scientists and awakens to a Brave New World of deadening conformity, ruled with an iron fist by a never-seen Leader. (Directed by Woody Allen)

IMDB: 7.2 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.1 | Average: 7.65

10. Delicatessen (1991)

Set in the indeterminate future, a landlord who happens to be a butcher starts slaughtering humans to feed his starving tenants, a practice which outrages a guerilla group living in the sewers beneath the city streets. (Directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

IMDB: 7.9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.7 | Average: 7.8

9. Minority Report (2002)

In Washington, D.C., in the year 2054, murder has been eliminated. The future is seen and the guilty punished before the crime has ever been committed. From a nexus deep within the Justice Department’s elite Pre-Crime unit, all the evidence to convict–from imagery alluding to the time, place and other details–is seen by “Pre-Cogs,” three psychic beings whose visions of murders have never been wrong. (Directed by Steven Spielberg)

IMDB: 7.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.0 | Average: 7.85

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

The first sequel to Mad Max takes place after nuclear war has destroyed Australia. Max lends his aid and protection to a small band of survivors who are losing their struggle to protect an oil refinery under siege by a band of savage, mohawked marauders. (Directed by George Miller)

IMDB: 7.5 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.3 | Average: 7.9

7. The Matrix (1999)

Neo is a young software engineer and part-time hacker who is singled out by some mysterious figures who want to introduce him into the secret of ‘the matrix’. The cops also seem to be after him, and he takes a chance on discovering what he has always suspected: that the world is not quite what it seems to be and a sinister conspiracy is at work. (Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski)

IMDB: 8.6 | Rotten Tomatoes: 7.4 | Average: 8.0

6. Children of Men (2006)

A futuristic society faces extinction when no children are born and the human race has lost the ability to reproduce. England has descended into chaos, until an iron-handed warden is brought in to institute martial law. The warden’s ability to keep order is threatened when a woman finds that she is pregnant with what would be the first child born in 27 years. (Directed by Alfonso Cuarón)

IMDB: 8.2 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.0 | Average: 8.1

5. Blade Runner (1982)

In a cyberpunk vision of the future, man has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specialises in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when five replicants escape from an offworld colony to Earth. (Directed by Ridley Scott)

IMDB: 8.3 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.2 | Average: 8.25

4. Wings of Desire (1987)

Two angels wander in a mixture of post-war and modern Berlin. Invisible to humans, they nevertheless give their help and comfort to all the lonely and depressed souls they meet. Finally, after many centuries, one of the angels becomes unhappy with his immortal state and wishes to become human in order to experience the joys of everyday life. He meets a circus acrobat and finds in her the fufillment of all his mortal desires. He also discovers that he is not alone in making this cross over, and that a purely spiritual experience is not enough to satisfy anyone. (Directed by Wim Wenders)

IMDB: 8.1 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.4 | Average: 8.25

3. Brazil (1985)

In an Orwellian vision of the future, the populace are completely controlled by the state, but technology remains almost as it was in the 1970’s. Sam Lowry is a civil servant who one day spots a mistake in one of the pieces of paperwork passing through his office. The mistake leads to the arrest of an entirely innocent man, and although Lowry attempts to correct the error, it just gets bigger and bigger, sucking him in with it. (Directed by Terry Gilliam)

IMDB: 8.0 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.5 | Average: 8.25

2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Based on Anthony Burgess’s disturbing novel about England in a totalitarian future. The film follows Alex, a Beethoven-loving, head-bashing punk who leads his gang of “droogs” on ultra-violent assaults until he is captured by authorities and subjected to nasty behavior-modification therapy. (Directed by Stanley Kubrick)

IMDB: 8.5 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.3 | Average: 8.4

1. Metropolis (1927)

A futuristic look at the schism created in mankind as industrialization and technological advancement serves to alienate the humans from one another. People are divided into two groups: the thinkers–who make plans, yet don’t know how to operate machinery, and the workers–who forward production without having any overview vision. Completely separate, neither group is complete; however, together they make a whole. When one man, a “thinker,” dares to journey to the underground, where the workers ’slave away,’ he’s surprised at what he sees. (Directed by Fritz Lang)

IMDB: 8.4 | Rotten Tomatoes: 8.8 | Average: 8.6

Here are some films outside of the Top 50, which we think deserve a mention. We’re quite sure that we’ve omitted some excellent films, some of which were intentional. The final list is a result of discussions on how well the films we examined meet the criteria of a dystopia.

Code 46 (2003)

A love story set in an eerily possible near-future, where cities are heavily controlled and only accessible through checkpoints. People cannot travel unless they have “papelles,” a special travel insurance. Outside of the cities, the desert has taken over and shanty towns are jammed with non-citizens - people without papelles whose lives are severely restricted. (Directed by Michael Winterbottom)

IMDB: 6.3 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.0 | Average: 6.15

The Omega Man (1971)

Due to an experimental vaccine, Doctor Robert Neville is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war, with the exception of a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people who are also homicidal maniacs. They blame science and technology for their condition and they see Neville as the last symbol of science, therefore he must die. Neville uses everything at his disposal in an attempt to survive. (Directed by Boris Sagal)

IMDB: 6.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 5.4 | Average: 6.1

The Running Man (1987)

Set in 2019, an ex-cop framed and convicted of mass slaughter, becomes a contestant on the most popular game show in which convicted felons race for their lives in decimated L.A. in hopes of a pardon. Adapted from a Stephen King novel. (Directed by Paul Michael Glaser)

IMDB: 6.3 | Rotten Tomatoes: 5.5 | Average: 5.9

Le Dernier Combat (1983)

In the post-apocalyptic future, only a few humans are left. No one is able to speak and people communicate non-verbally. A determined loner befriends a reclusive older man and these two battle against vicious thugs for food, shelter and life itself. (Directed by Luc Besson)

IMDB: 6.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: NA | Average: NA

Avalon (2001)

In a dark future, bored young citizens entertain themselves playing violent, illegal virtual reality games. In this realm, beautiful loner Ash is unrivaled as the champion of one computer fantasy game. But when Ash’s former lover becomes lost in the game, she makes the dangerous decision to follow him into a secret level, from which no player has ever returned. (Directed by Mamoru Oshii)

IMDB: 6.7 | Rotten Tomatoes: NA | Average: NA

No Blade of Grass (1970)

A strange new virus has appeared, which only attacks strains of grasses such as wheat and rice, and the world is descending into famine and chaos. Architect John, along with his family and friends, is making his way from London to his brother’s farm in northern England where there will hopefully be food and safety for all of them. Along the way, they encounter hostile soldiers, biker gangs, and all manner of people who are all too willing to take advantage of travelers for a mouthful of food. (Directed by Cornel Wilde)

IMDB: 5.8 | Rotten Tomatoes: NA | Average: NA

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