Dystopian stories are, at their very core, about the social order collapsing and how humanity copes in a world that is becoming increasingly more chaotic. However, most dystopian films are not set in the future, but in an alternate version of the present. This allows filmmakers to use real-life events as inspiration for their end-of-the-world scenarios.
In the 1980s, there was a rise in films that looked at the darker side of the future, and what happened to humanity after things went wrong. They were often set in countries most people had never heard of, but they were all set in a world that was becoming increasingly aware of how close we were to destroy ourselves.
Many of these movies used the Cold War as their basis for the downfall of humanity, and they were all very popular with the public. Some of them are still some of the best-known dystopia stories ever created. Here are the top 1980s Dystopian Movies That You (Probably) Forgot About:
Vamp (1986)
Vamp is a satire about vampires taking over Los Angeles, but it is also one of the best female empowerment movies from the 1980s. The movie begins with an introduction to four women who live together in a large house that was once owned by Charlie Chaplin. They are all in their mid-to-late 20s and have nothing better to do with their lives than to party and find men all day long. This changes one night when they meet Peter Vincent, who is a professional vampire hunter (played by David Bowie). He tells them that vampires have taken over Los Angeles, and the group must find a way to stop them, or they will be forced to leave the city.
Vamp is a comedy that is also a satire of the horror genre. It was one of the very first vampire movies to make fun of the movies that came before it, and it is a cult classic for those who remember seeing it in theaters. The movie featured great performances from Grace Jones and Susan Sarandon, though it was made primarily for teenagers who wanted something fun to watch. Vamp is one of those 1980s dystopia films that you probably forgot about, but you should definitely go back and watch again if you get the chance.
Explorers (1985)
Explorers follow three teenage boys who find an alien ship after playing around with their new computer system. They decide to take their new computer with them when they break into the ship, but then they discover that they are not alone on board, and they have no way out. Explorers star Ethan Hawke as one of the boys who finds himself in a situation where he must make some difficult decisions when he realizes what has happened. He eventually decides to help their new alien friend (played by River Phoenix) by taking him to an observatory so that he can go home.
Explorers is a science fiction movie that was made during the golden age of science fiction movies, and it was one of the best ones to come out in 1985. The movie has a lot of elements that made it much more than just another science fiction movie, and it also gave audiences a chance to see some of the brightest young stars in Hollywood at the time. Explorers are one of those 1980s dystopian films that you’ve probably forgotten about, but it is worth going back and watching again if you get the chance.
The Manhattan Project (1986)
The Manhattan Project tells the story of a group of scientists who are looking for a way to create energy from uranium, but their experiments have turned into something more when they discover that they can create nuclear weapons instead. The US government starts to take an interest in what they are doing, and soon they begin funding them so that they can create weapons for use by the military in World War II. However, once their work becomes known to other countries around the world, they start to worry about how dangerous these weapons might be if they fall into the wrong hands.
The Manhattan Project is a science fiction movie that is set in the mid-20th century. It is a story about how dangerous nuclear weapons can be when they fall into the wrong hands and are used for terrorist purposes. The movie was created during the height of tensions between the US and Russia, and it was one of the first movies to address what might happen if someone used a nuclear weapon to attack an American city. The movie featured great performances from Steve Guttenberg and Christopher Collet, but it never got the attention it deserved when it was released.
RoboCop (1987)
The original RoboCop is one of the most well-known dystopian movies from the 1980s, and it remains one of the best action films to ever come out in Hollywood. The film follows Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer who is killed on duty during a violent drug bust gone wrong. He is then brought back to life as RoboCop by Omni Consumer Products (OCP), who wants him to be their corporate symbol for law enforcement in Detroit. However, even though RoboCop has all of Alex’s memories, he soon begins to realize that he has been turned into something much less than human by OCP.
RoboCop is a science fiction movie that is set in Detroit, and it was one of the first movies to feature a futuristic city that has been overrun by crime. RoboCop was directed by Paul Verhoeven, who is famous for directing some of the greatest action films of all time. This one was one of his best, and it was also controversial when it came out. It was criticized for its violence and its dark depiction of the future, but it also became iconic when it came out in theaters. The movie spawned two sequels: RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3 (both were not as good as the original). The original film spawned a remake in 2014 that starred Joel Kinnaman.
