Welcome to dystopia: 7 sci-fi movies that feel close to home

If the future seems bleak, there’s hell on Earth and you’re in a world of suffering and oppression... there’s a good chance you’re living in a nightmare… or in a word, dystopia. For science fiction, a society marred by misery and injustice just seems like a great starting point for a hero to rise up and overcome the odds. 

This post-apocalyptic or totalitarian state is where imagination takes root, empowering us in the hope of a better tomorrow. Watching an individual or team face adversity in the most trying of times renews our belief in the irrepressible power of the human spirit. Here are 7 dystopian sci-fi films to whisk you away on a transporter to another world - often, a world that's not totally unrecognisable.

1. Civil War

Alex Garland is a beacon on the moonlit horizon when it comes to contemporary and visionary directors. Artful and thoughtful in execution, the auteur is the name behind Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men and now Civil War. Holding up a mirror to society, his films immerse us in alternate worlds with powerful imagery and an unsettling atmosphere. 

The same is true for the dystopian action adventure thriller Civil War, a gritty road movie where journalists document both sides of a civil war in the United States. Equal parts Zombieland and Children of Men, this raw, visceral and violent journey captures the carnage and unrest of a fictional conflict as Kirsten Dunst leads the charge. 

2. The Fix

The ripple effect of the pandemic is still being felt, making The Fix a strange echo of the past and a timely vision of the future. In this sleek dystopian nightmare, the air is no longer safe to breathe, making masks necessary to sustain human life. When a model ingests a drug and begins a transformation, she begins to realise her mutation could save the human race. 

The beautiful yet gritty Grace van Dien stars as Ella, who headlines this visually striking sci-fi actioner from writer-director Kelsey Egan. Supported by Keenan Arrison and Clancy Brown, The Fix transports audiences to a jaded future where a young woman’s slow-creeping disfigurement brings with it superpowers in the key of the X-Men. 

3. The End We Start From 

The End We Start From is a visually striking drama about a flooded United Kingdom during an environmental crisis. The hauntingly beautiful film deals with motherhood, survival and resilience as it tracks a young mother who must protect her newborn baby from the harsh reality that confronts them. 

A post-apocalyptic vision, this suspenseful and thought-provoking survival tale wrestles with the notion of maintaining hope and love alive in the face of adversity. Led by a compelling performance from Jodie Comer as the unnamed protagonist, it offers a unique perspective on the breakdown of society in the aftermath of life-altering catastrophe. 

4. Edge of Tomorrow

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are an odd couple but make perfect sense in the sci-fi action adventure Edge of Tomorrow. The same can be said for its conceptual mix, a surprisingly effective blend of the time loop from Groundhog Day and surviving an invasion in Saving Private Ryan. Edge of Tomorrow is a blistering and visceral epic that lives through the many deaths of a soldier who respawns to live the same day again and again. 

Tom Cruise is very Tom Cruise here, taking his star power to new heights in a charismatic lead role opposite the equally yoked Emily Blunt as an elite mentor and warrior. Vivid action sequences serve up a blast of alien carnage that recalls Starship Troopers as this eye-popping, funny and thought-provoking sci-fi actioner delivers air punch entertainment. 

5. District 9

 Nominated for a Best Picture at the Oscars, District 9 is an absolute phenomenon, taking the world by storm with its vivid story of a divergent Johannesburg of the future. A star-maker for Sharlto Copley, this alien invasion epic journeys with an offhandedly charming government agent who is banished to a refugee camp turned remote ghetto reserved for aliens after being exposed to an alien chemical. 

Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is a blast of entertainment that begins in mockumentary style and ratchets up sci-fi suspense as our unlikely hero becomes embroiled in a dangerous plot involving an evil munitions corporation. Going from funny to full-blown, the world of District 9 comes alive in its exploration of perception, prejudice and propaganda.  

6. I Am Legend

New York City is an epicentre for many Hollywood movies with its bustling depiction of inner city life. In a place of high stakes love, mayhem and money, I Am Legend inverts the romance of The Big Apple by gutting it, leaving it devoid of human life. With empty streets and unnerving silence, this dystopian sci-fi thriller’s haunting vision of a virus-riddled future now seems like a premonition in light of recent events. 

Will Smith plays sole survivor Robert Neville in a strong performance as a man contemplating that he may be the last man on the planet. An exploration of isolation, loneliness and the resilience of the human spirit, I Am Legend presents an epic and provocative story of survival. 

7. Resident Evil: Extinction 

Milla Jovovich stars as Alice in Resident Evil: Extinction, the third instalment in the popular video game series. A survivor in the wake of a viral outbreak, Alice leads survivors out of Nevada in a bid to reach the safety of Alaska as the nefarious Umbrella Corporation tries to track down the original Alice. 

Jovovich describes the famed character as “Dirty Harriet”, taking full-throttle action sequences to the next level in this explosive and spectacular sequel. A fun sci-fi action movie with zombie hordes and apocalyptic peril, journey with Alice as she fights to save the world from extinction.