BLEAK FUTURE films

[Allhallowsday]

fine john. i'll wait for at least 2 more posters to put up movies before i post again. i never thought t was a contest,  simply thought of those 3  right off the bat and listed them. YOUR thread, YOUR rules.

Actually, you weren't the one that inspired my remark... I just happened to land right after you.  There's no "rules" but there is common courtesy. 

[RCMerchant]

Well, there are so many. After Alien and Blade Runner, a bleak future became more or less the default for movies. Even Star Trek, that most optimistic and shiny of franchises got grittier.

More on topic, does Robot Monster count? After all, humanity is all but extinct in that one.

Wasn't the whole plot of ROBOT MONSTER imagined by the kid? He was some crazy bastard.

Yeah- that's why the opening credits feature comic book covers (kid is having a nightmare because he's reading too many comics.)

[claws]

Red Dawn (1984)

bleak and depressing for sure.

[Alex]

The Bronx Warriors and Escape from New York both depict life in a rather dystopian New York. Although as a young child I remember people thinking that New York was everything that was portrayed in these sorts of films.

[Ted C]

Waterworld

Global warming apocalypse. Absolutely B grade, despite having an A budget. Amusing even though the premise is silly (there isn't THAT much water in the icecaps).  

Mad Max / The Road Warrior

Society breakdown. The original Mad Max was hurt by the overdubbing in the American release. Kind of an odd story that gets a little slow in the middle, but it sets the stage for The Road Warrior, which forgives a lot.  
The Road Warrior amps it up to an oil shortage apocalypse. Very stylish, even if it doesn't always make sense.  
The series goes downhill from there.

Escape from New York

Police state future. Stylish, but also a bit nonsensical. Sticks it to The Man, though.  
Crappy sequel.

The Terminator

Nuclear apocalypse future, but seen only in flashbacks. AI rebellion. Tense and nicely made Grade A suspense flick.  

[Ted C]

Red Dawn (1984)

bleak and depressing for sure.

Sort of a "what if the shoe were on the other foot" film, I think. Mostly a drama about what war does to civilians.

[Allhallowsday]

... i'll wait for at least 2 more posters to put up movies before i post again...

GO...! 

[Ted C]

I've never actually seen it, but I believe Gattaca involves a pretty bleak future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpzVFdDeWyo

One I really liked from the 80's was The Last Chase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9-9Bw9LSCc

[chefzombie]

... i'll wait for at least 2 more posters to put up movies before i post again...

GO...! 
[/quot

lol! okay, zardoz for sure.

[Alex]

Wall E. The earth is in such a mess we've had to abandon it while a robot attempts to clean it up. The remaining humans are clearly in no fit state to try and repopulate the planet, their space bred bodies no doubt ready to fall prey to all manner of medical conditions once they return to a planet.

[Allhallowsday]

 

THE TIME MACHINE (1960) 

[Ted C]

Soldier (1998)
Military dictatorship future. Presumably the government oppresses everyone. Soldiers are brainwashed to the point of being almost robots. The only "freedom" is falling through the cracks to live in abandoned places that the government ignores.

[RCMerchant]

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

[Allhallowsday]

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

Great movie.  DAWN OF THE DEAD is equally bleak. 

[Alex]

Soldier (1998)
Military dictatorship future. Presumably the government oppresses everyone. Soldiers are brainwashed to the point of being almost robots. The only "freedom" is falling through the cracks to live in abandoned places that the government ignores.

I heard somewhere that this is supposed to be set in the same universe as Blade Runner.