Conspiracy theory enthusiasts are already predicting that the present pandemic might lead to dystopia. Dystopian themes remain a favourite with Hollywood filmmakers who seem to be obsessed with portraying a rather bleak, anarchy-filled future for humanity. Presenting a list of recent science fiction films from Hollywood to help you navigate the ennui created by the lockdown brought in to contain the COVID-19 virus.

Doomsday

Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Alexander Siddig

In 2008, Scotland was struck by the uncontrollable and utterly devastating Reaper Virus, which claimed thousands of innocent lives. The lethal virus manages to reappear almost three decades later, in 2037, with the land still under quarantine. As a result, the Prime Minister calls together a hand-picked team of disposable heroes under the command of Major Eden Sinclair to search for potential survivors and, ideally, a radical cure. Nobody truly knows, though, what horrors are still concealed within the scorched and unstable quarantine zone in this nightmare land. Is there a way to prevent doomsday?

Hunger Games

Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth

The 12 districts and the Capitol make up the totalitarian state of Panem in a dystopian future. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which two young representatives from each district are chosen by lottery. The televised games are broadcast across Panem and serve as both entertainment and brutal retaliation for a previous uprising. While the people of Panem must observe, the 24 competitors are forced to eliminate their rivals. Katniss, 16, offers to step in for her younger sister, Prim, who has been chosen to represent District 12 as its female representative. She and Peeta, the male counterpart, are competing against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have spent their entire lives training for this.

A Scanner Darkly

Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr.

An undercover drug agent in Orange County, California, is only known to his fellow officers by his code name, Fred, in the not-too-distant future. The scanning suit he dons conceals his true identity, allowing him to maintain his anonymity inside. He is actually Bob Arctor. In order to locate the drug's source, his assignment is to infiltrate a drug cartel that deals in the hallucinogen known as Substance D. Arctor are losing his true identity, which includes a family life with two young daughters, as a result of his own use of substance D and his movement within this drug-related world. Since one of Arctor's drug associates, James Barris, has come forward to the authorities to report Arctor's drug dealings, he is also given the responsibility of monitoring his own movements under the guise of Fred, even though Fred's superior, code-named Hank, is aware that Fred in his true identity is one of the members of the drug ring being watched. But in order to find the source of substance D, Hank and Hank's colleagues are willing to do anything, even sacrifice Fred/Arctor.

Daybreakers

Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill

In ten years, only five percent of the human race will be left, and the majority of people will be vampires. This poses particular difficulties because human blood, the vampires' main source of nutrition, is running low and rationing is now the norm. There is mounting evidence that vampires without sufficient blood supplies are turning into vile, untamed creatures that prey on anyone or anything to survive. Only five percent of the original human population will remain in ten years, and the vast majority of people will be vampires. This presents particular challenges because human blood, the vampires' primary food source, is becoming scarce and rationing is now the norm. There is growing evidence that vampires who don't consume enough blood develop into repulsive animals that will harm anyone or anything in order to survive.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Casper Van Dien, Jackie Earle Haley, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Ed Skrein

Alita: Battle Angel is based on the Japanese manga series Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro. Incidentally, its protagonist shares the same concerns as that of another Japanese export to Hollywood, Ghost In The Shell. And like the Ghost In The Shell, this film too has been accused of ‘whitewashing’ its origins. Rosa Salzar plays Alita, an amnesiac cyborg who sets out to learn about her origins after she awakens in a new body with no past memory of who she is. The heroine goes through several tests to fully understand her powers and gains both physical and emotional maturity through her experiences. Salazar, playing a big-eyed, motion-captured version of herself is the soul of the film. Despite having a mental body, her human qualities show through and the actor makes the viewer root for Alita as she faces various hurdles.

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Kunichi Nomura, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Harvey Keitel, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton

Dogs have been our best friends since time immemorial. And though there are some cat lovers as well, dogs still remain on top of the pet hierarchy. And this cats vs dogs conflict is the heart of this many-layered story set in futuristic Japan. Thanks to outbreaks of snout fever and canine flu, cat lover Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) gets a chance to do away with dogs once and for all. He gets the dogs of Megasaki dumped on Trash Island, which is a glorified dumping ground, and later has plans to have them terminated. He doesn't know that his ward Atari (Koyu Rankin) has flown to the island on a small plane to search for his dog Spots (Liev Schreiber). He meets a colourful mix of dogs there -- like Duke (Jeff Goldblum), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), Rex (Edward Norton) and stray Chief (Bryan Cranston), who help him on his mission. The film took years to make as Wes Anderson utilised stop-motion animation technology to bring this tale to life.

Mortal Engines (2018)

Director: Christian Rivers
Cast: Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, Stephen Lang

The film, based on the first installment of Philip Reeve’s fantasy quartet, is set in a dystopian world several centuries into the future. A “Sixty Minute War” has turned the planet into a wasteland. Giant “predator cities” roam around, like huge dinosaurs, gulping down smaller towns and villages, extracting what’s good and assigning the captured citizens to low-level menial jobs, a term referred to as “Municipal Darwinism” in the film. The film resembles the Star Wars narrative -- an evil empire hell-bent on subverting others to its will, a secret weapon that can destroy whole cities, a resistance made up of rogue pilots, young heroes willing to lay down their lives for the cause -- you start thinking George Lucas has perhaps commissioned producer Peter Jackson to make a Steampunk version of his films.

Ready Player One (2018)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance

In the year 2045, much of humanity uses the virtual reality software OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) to escape the desolation brought in by overpopulation, pollution, corruption, and climate change. An orphaned teenager attempts to win Anorak's Game, created by the recently deceased creator of the OASIS, James Halliday. After passing different levels, the winner would be granted an Easter Egg, which would entitle him/ her to not only Halliday’s 240 billion dollars but also full ownership of the OASIS. Wade takes the help of several of his friends to win the game, while the corporate giant Innovative Online Industries (IOI) employs a number of players to win it before everyone else and seize control of OASIS. The film pays homage to popular culture from various time periods, and dedicated fans have identified over a hundred references to films, television shows, music, toys, video games, anime, and comics that are present in the film.

Chappie (2015)

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman

Director Neill Blomkamp created an entertaining new variation on the Robocop theme. Alarmed by the ever-growing crime rate, the South African government purchases a squadron of high-tech, autonomous robots and uses them as a police force. While Deon (Dev Patel) is working on a secret project that’ll give human feelings to these robots, a rival engineer Vincent (Hugh Jackman) is developing something called the Moose, which will be just a mechanised assault robot. Chappie gets stolen by three wannabe criminals who want Deon to reprogram it to help them commit robberies. Chappie’s development is slow and he behaves like a child most of the time. Later, enraged, he goes on a rampage, destroying his enemies. Before dying, he transfers both his and a fatally wounded Deon’s memories into empty shells. They may continue life as fully aware mechanised beings and the director denotes that it might be humanity's future one day.

More on: top hollywood dystopian scifi films, hollywood scifi films, hollywood scifi movies, Alita Battle AngeI, Isle of Dogs, Mortal Engines, Ready Player One, Chappie

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