10 Greatest Dystopian Movie Masterpieces of All Time, Ranked

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Jeremy has more than 2200 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
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Until things improve substantially (if that ever happens at all), dystopian movies will continue to feel relevant, upsetting, and important. Such films tend to imagine societies that have fallen apart to a greater extent than they may have already fallen apart in real life at the time of their creation. If something falls apart further, to the point where there’s nothing by way of order at all anymore, and society has 100% broken down, you're probably looking at a post-apocalyptic setting.

The difference between a dystopian film and a post-apocalyptic one is important to note. Mad Max (1979) might be dystopian, while its sequels are post-apocalyptic. The Road is realistic, and dystopian movies tend to be a bit more realistic than post-apocalyptic ones, but that film is also post-apocalyptic. Threads… okay, that one is a bit dystopian at the start, but it shows the progression into something apocalyptic. Anyway, those are some noteworthy titles that aren’t here, since they're more post-apocalyptic than dystopian. The following movies, though, can be counted as dystopian ones, and are all among the greatest ever made within that particular kind of science fiction sub-genre.

10 'Escape from New York' (1981)

Snake Plissken looking intently off-camera with his head tilted to the left In 'Escape From New York'.

This one comes close to feeling post-apocalyptic, but that’s largely because it’s set in a particularly rough part of what seems to be a dystopian world. The movie is Escape from New York, and the premise involves the U.S. President being stranded in Manhattan, which is now basically just one giant prison that lets all sorts of dangerous criminals roam free, and a reluctant antihero is tasked with rescuing said President.

Escape from New York is technically dystopian, and it’s also technically pretty awesome for a down-and-dirty sci-fi/thriller/action movie.

At least there is a President, so maybe that’s a sign there are still traces of law and order in the world outside. Anyway, Escape from New York is technically dystopian, and it’s also technically pretty awesome for a down-and-dirty sci-fi/thriller/action movie, with it getting a pretty lackluster (but sometimes amusing) sequel, and hopefully there won’t be any more, nor any kind of remake. Some may want such things, but they're not needed. Just let this entertaining hellhole of a movie setting be.

9 'Logan' (2017)

Aged superhero Logan aka The Wolverine stand in the rain in 'Logan'.

Logan is a comic book movie, but it’s also one of the gnarlier and darker ones out there, not to mention one of the few films that did the whole “gritty and somber” thing post-The Dark Knight in a way that actually worked. The dystopian setting helps here, with things taking place seemingly much later in time than most of the other X-Men movies, since things have really fallen apart and the world seems to be on its way to ending.

Just how much it lines up with the other films, and now the MCU ones… eh, it’s a bit confusing to think about. But as a standalone movie that works as a sometimes action-packed superhero movie and a dystopian film all at once, Logan is effective and rather striking. The balance here feels right, and it does remain one of the stronger comic book movies of its decade, without a doubt.

8 'Brazil' (1985)

Jonathan Pryce standing in a long hallway holding a present and a piece of paper in Brazil.

For a movie that’s oftentimes quite comedic, it’s pretty wild how dark Brazil also gets in its exploration of a surreal and nightmarish kind of dystopian society. It’s one that seems most defined by senseless rules and bureaucracy over anything else, though maybe such things are one and the same. Nothing makes much sense, though everyone’s fearful because of the consequences that come about from breaking all sorts of nonsensical rules.

There’s a protagonist here, in Brazil, who seems unluckier than most people, and he gets pulled into a whole series of events that feel like the most Kafkaesque thing not actually written by Franz Kafka. So, all in all, it’s a good time and a bad time all at once, proving entertaining and quite dazzling on a visual/stylistic front while also being very much anxiety-inducing and, ultimately, unapologetically downbeat, too.

7 'Akira' (1988)

Akira is the go-to dystopian anime film, being about Neo-Tokyo in 2019, and all sorts of wild things going on there. Young people are shown rampaging around on bikes, and then there are other various criminals and gangs, all the while those people get impacted by more powerful groups in society who are doing experiments and messing around with psychic powers, which, you might guess, isn't likely to end well for anyone.

By the time Akira starts to wrap up, it’s probably feeling closer to post-apocalyptic than dystopian, yet it’s another one of those interesting stories that has a progression into something darker, harsher, and more out-of-control. And then the manga series goes even further with the apocalyptic imagery and situations, if you have time to kill and came away from the film version of the story feeling like things could’ve stood to get a little wilder and more explosive.

6 'RoboCop' (1987)

Peter Weller as RoboCop standing in a store in 'RoboCop'.

One of the defining “we have to fight terrible crime in terrible ways” stories, RoboCop critiques police violence while also depicting a horrible society that’s gone to hell, suggesting, to some extent, why desperate measures were resorted to during desperate times. The main character is a police officer basically killed, but then brought back to life as a robot with only a little of his humanity left.

He goes around like a cyborg Dirty Harry, but cut loose in a dirtier and more despondent world than that character of Clint Eastwood’s ever had to deal with. There’s fun to be had with RoboCop, since some of it’s darkly hilarious, and it also works as a satire, which means there are genuinely important things to think about here, alongside all the carnage, over-the-top stuff, and bizarre/oftentimes memorable humorous scenes.

5 'WALL·E' (2008)

Just because it’s optimistic, heartwarming, and family-friendly doesn’t stop WALL·E from technically being a dystopian movie; it’s just a dystopian movie that’s all those nice, positive things. The premise does involve an abandoned world, post-apocalyptic in feeling on Earth, at least, but there are remnants of a society on board a large ship in space, housing survivors, and that functions like a mini-dystopia, in a way, seeing as how everyone’s controlled by forces and technology above them.

And then since the world isn't entirely doomed, WALL·E is also about reclaiming and regrowing what has once fallen apart, so in terms of being a story about fighting back against a dystopia or a post-apocalyptic world, it’s pretty great. Undeniably, it’s up there among the finest animated movies ever made, too, and time’s already been quite kind to it, with there being every indication that’ll continue to be the case going forward.

4 'Children of Men' (2006)

Clive Owen holding Clare-Hope Ahitey as they walk through a crowd in Children of Men

On a directorial front, Children of Men is hard to fault. It is impeccably well-shot, thought-out, and assembled editing-wise, making for a relentless watch that’s effortlessly intense for just about the whole movie. The world here is right on the brink of being a dystopia no more, and falling into something worse, since infertility is a global problem and the planet is essentially running out of human beings, owing to no new babies being born.

And then one is, by a miracle, but then that kicks off all sorts of other problems in terms of getting the young (and somehow pregnant) woman to safety, wherever that might be. Children of Men is a very immersive film, even if it paints a portrait of a society you might not want to be all that immersed in. It’s astoundingly visceral and lived-in, and just an all-around excellently helmed sci-fi/dystopian film.

3 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971)

Alex (Malcolm McDowell) chats up two women at the record shop in 'A Clockwork Orange'

In A Clockwork Orange, criminals are more ruthless than they might be – and more out of control, generally speaking – in real life, and those in power are also more prone to corruption and using aggressive tactics to police the people. That makes it a dystopian film, as do some other things, and it also stands out for being one of the more grounded and realistic dystopian movies of all time, since the science fiction elements are underplayed here.

All that serves to make A Clockwork Orange more confronting and harder to shake, as an experience, since it refuses to leave your mind once seen, for better or worse. Like the best dystopian films, A Clockwork Orange felt ahead of its time for when it was released… and, in all honesty, it still feels weirdly ahead of its time, or out of time entirely. It’s just impressive, is the main thing. It has gotten better and more powerful as the years have marched along, too, somehow.

2 'Metropolis' (1927)

Metropolis isn't just here because it was one of the original and genre-defining dystopian movies, but that does help. It’s also one of the flat-out best dystopian movies, though it does explore a society that’s dystopian for most people, but a utopia for some. Those at the top, literally and figuratively, benefit from the work of those at the bottom, with class conflict building and eventually erupting into a revolution.

It was made a century ago, yet lots of what Metropolis is going for narratively and thematically still feels relevant, which is equal parts impressive (in terms of how the film was able to look ahead to the future) and depressing (for those living in said future). Of all the movies made in the 1920s, it may well be the one that holds up the best, or at least feels the most impressive as far as the direction is concerned.

1 'Blade Runner' (1982)

If you want to look at the influence Metropolis had on science fiction in general, look no further than Blade Runner. No, wait – do look a bit further than Blade Runner. You can see the influence beyond Blade Runner. But you can really see some of the visuals and ideas present in Metropolis utilized, referenced, and even expanded upon in Blade Runner, which could well be the only superior dystopian movie to that aforementioned silent classic.

The basic narrative of Blade Runner involves hunting down replicants who've apparently gone rogue, though that’s really just the start, and what’s more interesting is the world that the film builds, and the questions it asks about humanity, technology, and the future; all that good old sci-fi stuff. It’s brilliantly shot, acted, and scored, being an all-around winner of a film, and beyond classic, as far as science fiction cinema is concerned.