One sci-fi subgenre that never goes out of style is the dystopian future film. The premise is always popular because it reflects the fears of the audience: the present is bad, but what if the future is worse? Bleak wastelands, gloomy metropolises and technological advances set to doom the world are popular themes that audiences have seen time and time again.
There is no shortage of dystopian sci-fifilms. Movies such asThe Hunger Games,Mad Max: Fury Road,andRise of The Planet of The Apesare just a few examples of the popular entries in the genre from the last few years. However, there are those movies that for whatever reason slip through the cracks and don’t quite create the stir they should have. This article looks at five dystopian films that flew under the radar, but deserve more recognition.
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What Happened To Monday?
Starring Noomi Rapace and Willem Dafoe, the 2017 Netflix movieWhat Happened To Monday?takes place in a future where overpopulation is threatening the world with destruction. To counter this, a one-child rule has been imposed across the globe, with the hope that the restriction will prevent the complete depletion of humanity’s resources. If a family has more than one child, only the eldest is allowed to live freely, while the others are put into cryo-sleep. Unbeknownst to anyone,Willem Dafoe’s Terrence Settmanis the grandfather and guardian of a veritable small army of female septuplets, all played by Noomi Rapace.
The girls are named after days of the week and live one life, all disguising themselves as one sister and only allowed out on the day they are named after. When sister Monday goes missing, the girls decide they can no longer stay hidden, and go out into the world to look for their missing sibling. The film tackles global conspiracy and family dynamics, and has Noomi Rapace turning in seven sterling performances.
Alphaville
Directed by French New Wave legend Jean-Luc Godard,Alphavillefollows secret agent Lemmy Caution on a mission from the Outlands to the heart of Alphaville,a city ruled by tyrannical A.Isystem Alpha 60. Lemmy has two missions: to find missing agent Henri Dickson and capture or kill Professor von Braun, the creator of the sentient computer now running the show. In a world where free thought and artistic endeavors are outlawed, Caution’s very presence in the city starts to upend the status quo.
With brainwashed citizens being sent through what is known as the Grand Omega Minus to other galaxies to cause trouble andspread the rule of Alpha 60, Caution is offered the chance to rule one of these galaxies by the computerized consciousness. The movie combines a very 1960s view of the future with little to no special effects, giving the film a strange air of realism.
Prospect
Starring Jay Duplass as Damon, Sophie Thatcher as Cee,and Pedro Pascal as Ezra,Prospectsees teenage Cee and her father Damon land on a planet to mine gems. The planet itself has an atmosphere laden with poisonous spores, and isn’t the most hospitable of environments. After a technical malfunction sees them touch down further away from the dig site, they are set upon by Ezra and his mute companion.
Without saying much more, Cee and Ezra end up traversing the planet trying to find the dig site called “the queen’s lair,” a supposed huge treasure trove of gems,dealing with locals and mercenaries alikeand dealing with the perils of a poisonous atmosphere. The movie itself is relatively understated, but the character work from Thatcher and Pascal shines.
Gattaca
1997’sGattacastars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law in a near future where eugenics is just a fact of life. People classed as “valids” are deemed genetically superior to those that are classed “invalids”, those born with a susceptibility to illnesses deformities.Ethan Hawke plays one such invalidnamed Vincent Freeman. As an invalid, only menial work is allowed for Vincent, but he dreams of the stars. Soon, Vincent obtains a chance at his dream by using donated genetic samples from former swimmer Jerome Morrow. By passing as Jerome, Vincent obtains work at Gattaca as a navigator for an upcoming mission to Saturn’s moon Titan.
Meanwhile, Vincent has to daily scrub all surfaces to remove his true genetics and evade detection when an administrator for Gattaca is murdered before the mission launch.Gattacais a complex story about self-worth and expectations.It’s about exceeding limitationsplaced upon onself, and the damage that can be done by the pressures of perfection.
Dark City
Cult classicDark Citystars Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and the late great William Hurt in a film that takes place in an extremely grim and obviously dark city. Sewell stars as John Murdoch, who wakes up in ahotel bathtub with amnesiaand has to figure out who he is while on the run from unknown pursuers. These men are The Strangers, and every night at midnight the inhabitants of the city fall asleep as one and The Strangers physically rearrange the city and alter the inhabitant’s memories and identities.
As Murdoch journeys to find his identity and his life, he comes up against The Strangers and the creepy Mr. Hand, learning along the way that he has strange psychokinetic powers and thathumanity is being experimented onby the strange, bald group of menacing Strangers.Dark Cityis recognized now as a cult classic, but still seems to be overlooked by wider audiences even though it is a visually fascinating and bleak look at human identity.
