20. Total Recall
The idea of humanity living in domes fighting for oxygen and mutating from radiation while a wealthy elite lives in comfort and luxury within our lifetime seems plausible, but there’s no way we make it to Mars first.
19. Soylent Green
This movie paints a fairly relatable picture of late-stage capitalism except for the part where food is secretly made of people. When mass cannibalism really kicks off five or so years from now, they’ll find a way to market it more positively. “You are what you eat, so eat people.” Something like that. We can already hear Joe Rogan talking about how eating man makes you a “Super-Ultra predator” or something.
18. Brazil
The dehumanizing bureaucracy presented in Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” seems completely outlandish unless you have ever attempted to receive healthcare in any way.
17. Waterworld
Of the entire Kevin Cosner post-apocalypse oeuvre, this one is the most accurate. Never mind the fact that this movie sucks out loud, start growing some gills, Jack.
16. Omega Man
As the last scientist on Earth attempts to cure a pandemic, a hoard of pale, delusional zombies attempt to kill him at the behest of a media personality. It’s insane that they got this close to reality in the ‘70s.
15. Mad Max
Look around you. Look at the country you live in. Look at how many people are already cos-playing these movies full-time. Do not grow addicted to water.
14. Rollerball
Of all the movies on this list that involve some kind of barbaric future game, this one gets it the most right. Corporations have replaced world governments. A privileged few suits live lives of total luxury and microdose all day. Women are the property of the state and all of mankind’s collective knowledge is withering away. Watching a game as cool as Rollerball is the only thing we have to look forward to after the corporate wars.
13. The Lobster
If you don’t successfully find someone to marry, you get turned into an animal of your choosing. It’s a strong commentary on the growing enforcement of what the powers that be consider “relationship normalcy,” but the people leading us to the end times aren’t really in the business of making more animals.
12. Silent Running
A single space station greenhouse contains all remaining plant life. The one human on board is ordered to destroy the greenhouse so that it can be used for storing cargo. It’s a small price to pay for Amazon’s next-day shipping.
11. 12 Monkeys
We now know that “12 Monkeys” is a completely accurate depiction of how real-world governments handle a world-threatening pandemic — several years too late and ridiculously ineffective.
10. Ready Player One
A disenfranchised population is placated and controlled through video games and nostalgia. The only real difference, in reality, is we have access to better IP.
9. Demolition Man
Overall it doesn’t paint an accurate portrait of the future, but it got a lot of little things right. This movie predicted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political career, tablet computers, and self-driving cars to name a few. There are even allusions to Covid-19. While Taco Bell hasn’t won the franchise wars yet, you have to admit they’re in a strong position, especially now that they have breakfast.
8. 28 Days Later
All of the world-threatening disease movies have taken a credibility hit since Covid, but this one remains the most accurate because there was seemingly no serious attempt to stop the Rage virus from spreading. Think about it, did you see anyone wearing a bite mask in that movie?
7. Alphaville
In this Jean-Luc Godard classic it’s the future and everything pretty much looks the same but life sucks and a giant computer runs everything. Short of calling the computer “Chat GPT” this one is pretty dead on.
6. Metropolis
An elite few live lives of total luxury while the masses work themselves to the bone. Also, there’s a sex robot. For a movie that came out in 1927, pretty goddamn close.
5. Idiocracy
You know how you always see the smartest people you know posting to social media about their new babies? No? Exactly.
4. Stalker
This is an important film that smart people watch and is generally considered high cinema. It’s in the top 5 because we definitely watched it and stayed awake the entire time.
3. Zardoz
Zardoz is a pretty bonkers movie, and on the surface comparing it to our modern world seems outlandish, but think about it. A ruling elite seals themselves off and hides their existence from the rest of the world. They use religion to manipulate outsiders into a menial workforce, radicalize hordes of toxic men and give them guns to keep everyone in line via fascism. If Mark Zuckerberg wore a tunic and your uncle wore a red codpiece/bandelier, life would be exactly like Zardoz.
2. They Live
Late-stage capitalism hell at its finest. Economic disparity, class traitors, people en mass brainwashed by advertising and propaganda, this movie has it all. And by “has it all” we of course mean “Please God make it stop.”
1. 1984
We’ve been saying the book is exactly what’s going on today for years now without reading it, feels pretty safe to say the same about the movie we’ve never watched.