Dystopian Sci-Fi backdrop

Dystopian Sci-Fi movies

Oppressive systems and surveillance power the story, driven by compliance pressure, resistance, and control.

Elysium

1. Elysium

Science Fiction Action Drama Thriller Dystopian Sci-Fi
6.6
20131h 49min

Overview

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

Themes

Health inequality through care access, Late stage capitalism, Class inequality under capitalism, Corporate power over governance, Wealth inequality as leverage

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Snowpiercer

2. Snowpiercer

Action Science Fiction Drama Dystopian Sci-Fi Epic Action
7.1
20132h 7min

Overview

In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.

Themes

Class inequality, Manipulated revolt, Population control, Indoctrination in education, Engineered social order, Perpetual winter

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Frequencies

3. Frequencies

Romance Science Fiction Mystery Passionate Romance Dystopian Sci-Fi
6.7
20131h 45min

Overview

The story of the forbidden relationship between a 'low born' boy and a 'high born' girl in an alternate reality where every person's relationships and life worth are determined by their innate 'frequencies'.

Themes

Class inequality, Forbidden romance, Fate and choice, Mind control ethics, Predestined relationships, Technological intervention

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

After the Dark

4. After the Dark

Drama Fantasy Science Fiction Thriller Dystopian Sci-Fi
5.6
20131h 47min

Overview

At an international school in Jakarta, a philosophy teacher challenges his class of twenty graduating seniors to choose which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear apocalypse.

Themes

Authority under pressure, Family cohesion under threat, Ethical dilemma under extinction risk, Fear of unknown intrusion, Agency in the face of abductors, Protective parental instincts

Available on

Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Overview

Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.

Themes

Class inequality, Wealth and security, Social allegory, Neighborhood hostility, Economic collapse implications, Security dependence, Mob rule versus order

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Dredd

6. Dredd

Action Science Fiction Epic Action Dystopian Sci-Fi
7.1
20121h 36min

Overview

In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police called Judges, who combine the duties of judge, jury and executioner to deliver a brutal brand of swift justice. But even the top-ranking Judge, Dredd, discovers that taking down Ma-Ma isn’t as easy as it seems in this explosive adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.

Themes

Post-apocalyptic future, Crime fighter duty, Drug lord influence, Based on comic origins, Cyberpunk aesthetics, Police integrity under pressure

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
HBO Max
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Hunger Games

7. The Hunger Games

Science Fiction Adventure Action Thriller Dystopian Sci-Fi
7.2
20122h 22min

Overview

In a dystopian society where the Capitol forces each district to send two young tributes to fight to the death in a televised spectacle, a girl volunteers to take her sister’s place, setting the stage for a struggle of survival and defiance.

Themes

Survival under scarcity, Oppressive regime, Televised violence, Sponsor influence, Resistance and unrest, Alliance dynamics

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

In Time

8. In Time

Action Thriller Science Fiction Dystopian Sci-Fi Epic Action
6.7
20111h 49min

Overview

In the not-too-distant future, the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest struggle to negotiate for their immortality. A poor young man who suddenly comes into a fortune of time finds himself on the run from a corrupt police force known as the "time keepers".

Themes

Class inequality, Time as currency, Wealth and immortality, Scarcity and desperation, Redistribution of time, Corrupt policing

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Overview

In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.

Themes

Secret identity tension, Mistrust of authority, Conspiracy and manipulation, Doomsday clock anxiety, Military political brinkmanship, Cynical vigilante culture, Retirement and disillusionment

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
HBO Max
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Blindness

10. Blindness

Drama Mystery Science Fiction Thriller Dystopian Sci-Fi
6.5
20082h 1min

Overview

When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.

Themes

Quarantine ethics, Epidemic-induced isolation, Resource scarcity conflict, Power dynamics within wards, Public neglect and aid refusal, Survival through solidarity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.