Special Coverage American Idol'Lost' CoverageSex and the City MovieBox Office Game (win DVDs)
By Joshua Rich
Joshua Rich
Joshua Rich is a staff editor for EW.com

Our future is screwed, people! Robots run rampant, the sun don't shine, and quaint town gatherings resemble S&M conventions. Or that's how our favorite dystopian movies see it. With Children of Men giving us the willies, we honor the grim subgenre with 10 films whose not-so-distant worlds we'd least want to stick around for.

A Clockwork Orange
Released: 1971; set in the near future With a brain-washing government and gang-raping hooligans around, cat-crazy spinsters who get crushed by giant phalluses are the lucky ones.

Brazil
1985; 20th century. 8:49 p.m. Technology and bureaucracy have run amok in the ultimate Orwellian satire, where life's particularly crappy — and, well, short, if your name happens to be Buttle.

The Road Warrior
1982; postapocalypse Gasoline is scarce and vicious thugs traipse around the battered outback wearing hockey masks. Still, things aren't so bad if you're into leather.

Escape From New York
1981; 1997 The island of Manhattan has become an anarchy-ravaged urban prison where criminals have free rein. Although the cabbies are more helpful than ever. Go figure.

Logan's Run
1976; 23rd century Okay, so you won't live past age 30. Very sorry about that. But with a purdy leetle clock embedded in the palm of your hand, at least you'll never have to ask anybody for the time.

12 Monkeys
1995; 2035 Survivors of a viral plague must live under Philadelphia because scientists spend all their energy sending an amorous Bruce Willis back in time. Um, hello? How about a cure?

Metropolis
1927; 2026 The classes are at war. Rioting masses burn an exotic-dancing robot at the stake. Everyday existence sucks. But at least the surrounding real estate is breathtakingly beautiful.

The Matrix
1999; circa 2199 Since the real world is all about living in skeevy hovercrafts, dressing in dingy potato sacks, and eating bowls of goop, no wonder folks opt to spend their time in a latexy virtual universe.

Blade Runner
1982; 2019 Unrelenting acid rain, vicious acrobatic replicants, Daryl Hannah — they're but small prices to pay for all those pretty origami unicorns and an endless supply of ramen noodles.

Akira
1988; 2019 If you grew up in a neo-Tokyo beset by vicious cycle-punk gangs and an out-of-control military-industrial complex, you'd become a psychokinetic mutant and blow up the world too. Or maybe not.


Posted Jan 22, 2007 | Published in issue #917 Jan 26, 2007 | Order Article Reprints