The Scariest Yet Most Realistic Films About The Future Ever Made
Reddit user beefgulash asked: 'What is the scariest yet most realistic future film ever made?'
I've always enjoyed a good scare on film and my Mother indulged my preferences as she also loved a good horror film.
While we thoroughly enjoyed a good Disney movie together, I was also allowed to watch Jaws, The Exorcist and The Omen before I was 10 years old.
Slashers and sci-fi frights were good, but to me the most effective scares involved nightmarish scenarios that might easily happen in the not so distant future.
For me, growing up Roman Catholic meant demonic possession and the AntiChrist were on the list of plausible fears.
But what films offered possible Hellscapes for others?
Reddit user beefgulash asked:
"What is the scariest—yet most realistic—future film ever made?"
Threads
"I thought that BBC’s nuclear holocaust Threads was much more terrifying and depressing than United States TV movie The Day After."
~No-Distance425
"Threads might genuinely be the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen."
~ ThorCoolguy
Her
"Her. Everyone is so online that they lost the ability to make human connections, to the point where it's a business for the main character to write personal letters on behalf of others."
"So lonely, he easily falls in love with an AI and the only one who still feels real emotions, his ex wife (Rooney Mara), is treated like a crazy person."
"With everyone too online and severely lonely, we are practically living in that emotional dystopia now."
~ grandmofftalkin
Children of Men
"Children of Men. You want to know what makes it so scarily realistic?"
"Alfonso Cuaron deliberately shot scenes in East London and asked the production designers to make it 'more Mexican'—in other words, make it look even more run-down than it already was."
"Cuaron leaned in on his own experiences in growing up in Mexico and seeing everyday poverty to bring that to look and feel to a futuristic London. The future-London isn't a gleaming metropolis—it's a metropolis on the verge of collapse and giving up."
"The battle scenes weren't fantastical as so many sci-fi dystopian films often are: they're based on real, real conflicts. Cuaron was smart to include imagery from the then-current Iraq invasion and the atrocities committed in Abu Ghraib to jar the viewer's thoughts and attentions just long enough to make them feel queasy."
"The shots of illegal immigrants in cages were disturbing then—well, they should be f*cking frightening now. Cuaron and the production designers saturated that film with little visual snippets of then-current events and fictional future atrocities to make it a highly believable—and scary—world."
~ PureDeidBrilliant
Contagion
"Contagion—a movie about a coronavirus outbreak, that pre-dated COVID-19."
~ glrd1
"When I saw that movie in theaters, there was someone coughing a few rows behind. Like, big, wet, juicy coughs..."
"I hated that immersive movie experience."
~ only_bubble_sort
"The fast killing virus that spreads around the world was a bit unrealistic but man was it a trip watching this during lockdowns."
"I'd never heard of 'social distancing' until the pandemic and it and other pandemic facts of life coming out in the movie hit home."
~ Dmzm
A Scanner Darkly
"A Scanner Darkly. A large amount of the population have become drug addicts, the government enacts a total police state, and the addicts slowly descend into insanity, and eventually are put into rehab once their brains are fried.
"Once they are 'rehabed' (they are basically lobotomized, or brainwashed) they are sent to work on large corporate farms."
"The same corporations that own the rehabs, also own the farms, and they are also the ones growing the illicit drugs that cause the whole problem."
~ CmTrumpet
The Road
"The Road. I remember seeing the premiere of it at a film festival and the director and cast were there and all smiles and jokes and so happy to be there…and then the movie plunged all of us into pure despair for 2 hours."
~ Other-Marketing-6167
"I read the book multiple times before the movie came out."
"The movie makes your heart break, but the book destroys your soul and will to live for like a week after reading."
~ Some-Philly-Dude
WALL-E
"WALL-E. The fact that Pixar showed everyone a very real future Earth if we continue down the path we're on and nobody did anything about it speaks volumes. Everyone knows sh*t's f*cked."
"I'm rooting for the roomba with solar panels who gets outside after we've annihilated ourselves, enjoy fulfilling your set purpose lil' dude."
~ Shes_dead_Jim
Gattaca
"Gattaca. If you ever watch it again listen to how they talk about him and his 'condition'."
"It’s all 'could” and 'might' and 'possibly' and similar caveats."
"His only 'condition' was being a natural birth and not a designer baby."
~ pocket-friends
RoboCop
"RoboCop. Dude dies at work. Gets resurrected to continue working."
"Also the whole bit about corporations privatizing public services."
"Feels like we're gonna be there in a few years."
~ Gentleman_Jack90
Elysium
"Elysium strikes me as the most realistic, as far as the social structure."
"You have an ultra rich class, a mercenary type 'middle' class, and everyone else is fighting for the scraps."
~ Maliluma
"Sure seems like the logic extension of the widening global gap between a few ultra-wealthy and the rest of the population."
"The ultra-wealthy already are invested in space travel, colonizing Mars, island compounds and extreme longevity."
~ RichardBonham
Logan's Run
"Logan's Run, it's a bit of a cult classic."
"In the future, there are limited places for humans to live, so everyone has an 'expiration date' regardless of how healthy they are."
"Everyone has to die before a certain age. I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to see it."
"It's an old school sci-fi movie that I have loved since I was a kid."
~ macmac360
12 Monkeys
"No one mentioned 12 Monkeys yet?"
"Found it super realistic and scary."
~ mrs_anouk
Soylent Green
"Soylent Green solves both problems of overpopulation and food scarcity.... so, maybe it will happen."
"I just hope they think of 3rd Degree Burn Scorchin' Habanero Soylent Green when they do it."
~ ketchuptheclown
Metropolis
"Metropolis. Complete masterpiece in my opinion."
~ CaptianOfCows
Idiocracy
"Idiocracy."
~ BrilliantlyClueless
"I like to believe that somewhere in that world a pocket of smart people retreated to someplace isolated like New Zealand and persisted."
~ notapunk
Zombies! 🧟♂️🧟♀️🧟
Personally, I love zombie movies based on the concept from George A. Romero's classic Night Of The Living Dead.
Zombies existed in myths and legends before Romero's film, but not in the way they do now in popular culture.
Romero's movies also always included social commentary on economic inequality, racism and the ills of unbridled capitalism.
To me zombie films show how people would react in a viral health crisis and our recent pandemic made them all the more real.
So what movies do you think are scary because they're too real?
With the war in Ukraine raging, you might have heard that Ukraine is responsible for much of the world's grain and wheat production. And you might have heard experts warning that much of the world could feel the impact of food shortages as the war continues to disrupt supply chains.
In fact, many countries in Africa are already feeling the crunch and it remains to be seen what other consequences the war will have for the world at large. If you haven't been following this stuff, then it may come as a surprise to you. You might want to read up on it... and mention it to others you know, too.
Could such a future be nearer than we think? Well, it's not the only crisis we have to think about.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor TheRed_Knight asked the online community,
"What crisis is coming in the next 10-15 years that no one seems to be talking about?"
"Experts know..."
"Fertilizer shortage. Experts know about it. The public not."
Goukaruma
We are truly going to feel it in the coming months for sure.
"People who are reaching retirement age..."
"People who are reaching retirement age without sufficient savings and only having social security income to survive. A person retiring today would need at least $2K/month from savings, investments and pensions for the next 20-25 years in addition to their social security to cover expenses."
carelessopinions
What a sad state of affairs to think you save and save and it still won't be enough.
"The decline in krill..."
"The decline in krill and phytoplankton in our oceans. If you've never heard of either, just think krill and phytoplankton = bottom of the food chain that ultimately everything else in the ocean connects to."
DenseIndependent66
70% of the earth's oxygen comes from these, that's the real issue. They die, all oxygen based life on the planet dies.
"Water rights."
"Water rights and the migration associated with not having access to water."
iamdrinking
Phoenix and Las Vegas are in for a bad time.
"There is some talk..."
"Insects dying. There is some talk about it, but it's not a hot topic."
LeroyBadBrown
It wasn't until very long ago, that just driving around, your windshield would constantly be covered in bug guts. Now...not so much.
"Healthcare issues..."
"Healthcare issues due to plastic pollution. Plasticologists might emerge."
Zrakoplovvliegtuig
Microplastics are in the damn rain at this point, and I wish I was exaggerating.
"A critical shortage..."
"A critical shortage of certain professions. Mainly healthcare and teachers."
MrWizard11
It's almost as if people don't want to do such taxing work for pennies.
"The nursing shortage..."
"The nursing shortage began many years ago. Covid just exposed what was coming. It’s about to get so much worse."
[deleted]
Nursing has devolved to paperwork and less nurse to patient contact while also adding more liability. It’s very sad.
"Hedge funds..."
"Hedge funds buying up so much of the housing stock. Crisis in affordable housing is going to be on steroids."
Phil330
Most people will rent. It will be the new normal. "New" of course meaning old if you take into account feudalism.
"The latest projection..."
"The latest projection is that the Social Security Trust Fund will run out around 2034, after which benefits will be cut by 20-25%. Not only will this cause a huge and painful disruption for seniors who depend on SS, it will cause a crisis on confidence among all Americans who paid into this system and won't get back anywhere near what they put into it."
LetsPlayCanasta
Can’t wait for the day the American people wake up from the crap the government has been feeding us for a very, very, very long time!
Should be fun!
Sorry to give you an existential crisis with your morning coffee. In our defense, these are just the times we live in.
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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The current state of the world is anything but pretty.
Climate change threatens our very existence.
A pandemic is raging through humankind, stopping to give those with already poor quality of life even more reason to fear.
On top of that, worldwide, there is political turmoil as the world attempts to pick up the pieces and move forward.
Things remain uncertain everywhere as the reality of a new world comes flying in.
Redditor wehosh asked:
"How do you stop stressing about the state of the world?"
Here were some of those answers.
The Doomscrolling Patrol
"Lately I've been going through my social media, including Reddit and paring way down on what I'm following. I don't need or want to get rid of it entirely, but curating my feeds has been really good for me."
"Even just to cut down on the cacophony of information being thrown at me that I could never keep up with is nice, let alone getting rid of things that are upsetting or don't serve me in some way."
"Being just connected enough to not be ignorant, without being on the front lines of whatever new perceived crisis is happening in some obscure corner of the internet is nice. Highly recommend it."-caffieneandsarcasm
It Really Is All About Tech
"Remove r/all, delete the Twitter app. Turn off notifications from any news source."
"Go to the outdoors, relax unconnected to the web. Withdrawal from checking your phone every 2 minutes should subside after a few days."
"Don't forget to remove vibrate mode, too."-I-Play-To-Win
One Small Cause
"Choose one cause for helping make it better, and research how you can realistically begin to help. You can't solve everything, but you can help in one area. Then relax, because you are already doing what you can."-MahStonks
These moments provide much needed relief from a world that seems determined to put us all on edge at every single moment.
The Turn Of A Tide
"Early 2000s, there was a big Anti-Gay push. People were fighting any hope for gay marriage, we had elected a president whose campaign emphases how he was against it and you just couldn't convince those on the other side that gay people getting married wouldn't hurt their hetro Mirages."
"At the time I felt the fight for equal rights had been pushed back decades. June 26, 2015, The Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage."
"Just today I saw two teen boys holding hands as they walked home from school. We still have a long way to go but I count this as a big win. I never thought we would get to this point in my life time."
"When I start to feel overwhelm I remember that this happened. Sometimes it can feel we are going backwards before real change happens."-Mable-Syrup
Interesting Times Are A Curse
"Some might say ignore it while others obsess about it so much they feel hopeless and helpless. One way or another, don't put your head in the sand."
"The times we're in will mold the.future for centuries to come. I don't have the answers, but I do know something wicked this way comes and the more we know, the more likely we are to fix it."-invalidpassword
How To: Cope
"Truth be told I am not sure I do. But more so cope with the reality of the time I live in. The world is persistently in turmoil and always has been."
"And just reminding myself the my parents lived through the Cold War. My grandparents through world wars. My great grandparents through famine."
"I remember that in the end we don't know what will be the end, but if it is tomorrow make sure that today was worth the last 24 hours I had."-jaaareder
But Can't One Person Change It All?
"By simply accepting that there's nothing I can do about the state of the world. I'm just one man. I can improve my own little piece of the world but I can't fix everyone else's."
"Change what is in your power to change. Accept what is beyond your power to change. And please have the decency to be humble about which is which. We have enough people around who can't. They're called politicians and they're a**holes."
"Also the world is getting better. We're a decade away from solving hunger for good and CO2 emissions in the US are down 22% in the last decade thanks to fracking of all things."
"Look for the good things happening in the world. You have to actively search for them because there's a lot of sh*tty people whose livelihoods are derived from you being scared and miserable. Politicians love fear, it gives them power."-Joescout187
Just when it feels like the world has won, it's your job to take back control of your life.
Kids Really Do Be Like This
"The unbridled optimism of children is an excellent remedy for depression."
"My friend's two year old son is one of the reasons I haven't considered murder suicide as a solution to my issues with my ex."
"The rest is having good friends and family to begin with and of course not being a murderous psychopath."-Joescout187
Ain't Humans Something
"I realized that the world has been in a constant state of near disaster since humanity first evolved. We'll never have a utopia and you'll likely only see a few things get better in your lifetime."
"So I figure I'm going to be here for about 80 years give or take. Might as well enjoy it while I can."-Playingpokerwithgod
Stay Present, Not In The Clouds
"I recently watched a run of Silent Hill 2. My gamer senses has gotten better that I can think of the map, the world, and even how the creators could have created the game."
"I noticed it and let myself get immersed in the world and story. I did it by keeping my mind 'only in the room' that the character was in."
"If he was outside, act like he can't see the rest of the world because of the fog. Like the game, the actual world is scary... And i make sure i keep my presence in the room I'm in."-SenorCerv
Did any of these give you a little jolt of inspiration for how to avoid all the bad stuff the next time it comes up?
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I've seen enough end-of-the-world movies to know that when the end does come that The Rock will not be there to save my lazy self from impending doom.
Life isn't like the movies, sad to say. The relationship humans have to the world is remarkably unhealthy, and as we continue to reckon with the consequences of big business running the world, exploiting resources, and pushing us ever further toward climate catastrophe—
*takes a deep breath*
Sorry, got a bit carried away there... the anxiety is real.
I promise there are some more humorous answers sprinkled in this article, thanks to the efforts of Redditor User34884, who asked the online community:
"What will cause the fall of Western civilization?"
"As someone raised..."
"Not just Facebook. The whole internet has a role to play, from social media to hacker access points to constant entertainment to the collapse of locally owned businesses to such dependence on google that we no longer know how to do anything or deal with uncertainty or even read a map.
As someone raised before the internet was a thing, who had a front-row seat during the radical changes of the last 35 years, I truly believe the internet is the most amazing thing humanity has ever created and it will be our downfall."
Seeing the power big tech companies have over our discourse is remarkably unsettling.
"A lot of us..."
"Getting too comfortable. A lot of us don't know how good we've got it already, and fail to realize how bad it can really get."
This is true. If quality of life dips, a lot of people will not know how to handle it.
"A rogue nation..."
"A rogue nation + A bunch of nukes.
Haven't seen this one on here yet, it has some potential."
"If artificial intelligence..."
"If artificial intelligence doesn't wake up and destroy the species, I think western civilization will fall because it will stop doing all the things that made it rise."
After watching Westworld, I can see it.
"I doubt..."
"I think we might just be seeing it. Mass migration for climate and poverty issues. Rising prices and supply problems causing civil unrest. Increasing political division.
I doubt it will be a collapse, but I think there will be a major world-changing 'event' building up."
We are already seeing it, and it's exacerbating tensions worldwide.
"Making sweeping decisions..."
"Post-truth politics. Making sweeping decisions of global impact based on emotion and 'doing your own research' rather than paying mind to experts and specialists."
"The most likely thing..."
"The most likely thing... climate change. Climate change making fresh water and arable land very scarce. This will cause violent migration of billions of people, particularly those who live in deserts or places that get destroyed by pollution or natural disaster. This will of course lead to war, as the places with arable land and fresh water will want to defend their resource for their own population, but migrants will face certain death if they don't move, so they'll fight to the death for their survival."
This is the big one for me. Now we just wait.
We have already passed some irreversible tipping points.
"Influencer culture..."
"Inability for most people to differentiate truth from fiction.
News overload means we just read headlines.
Influencer culture means everyone is writing from a platform. Even those who lack insight or perspective.
Data illiteracy means statistics can be abused to mislead us.
And social media is like a collective consciousness that failed because each node can adulterate what it sends to the collective. And nodes can lie."
"Which is of course..."
"Ignorance. Which is of course ironic since we have a lot of excellent schools and sources of information, but too many people sticking to believing BS that suits them instead."
"As a result..."
"Western Civilisation.
The downside of freedom, capitalism, and democracy etc. is that it can be very easily turned against a nation from the outside as by its nature there is a lack of control on the general population.
As a result, we have very little to offer to stop enemy activity. As long you are following the rules you can entirely destroy the west. While groups that don't put high stakes in freedom can just block any group they don't like to defend themselves like that.
Ultimately this will be a game the west won't win from nations like China. Which have already mastered it."
Sorry to depress you.
I think we just all might be tired of living through such major historical events. These are truly interesting times.
Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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57-year-old Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin recently made headlines when he attacked teenage climate change activist Greta Thurnberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Many took notice, including Mnuchin's wife, actress Louise Linton.
When asked about Thurnberg, Mnuchin responded mockingly:
"Is she the chief economist or who is she? I'm confused. After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us."
Thurnberg responded quickly on Twitter, making it obvious a college degree wasn't needed to see we're headed in the wrong direction.
My gap year ends in August, but it doesn’t take a college degree in economics to realise that our remaining 1,5° ca… https://t.co/OIvIZompij— Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg) 1579790380.0
So either you tell us how to achieve this mitigation or explain to future generations and those already affected by… https://t.co/eF654sWl7g— Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg) 1579790417.0
Graph from @CarbonBrief by @hausfath and @robbie_andrew based on United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) emissions gap report. 3/3— Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg) 1579790523.0
Many expected that to be the end of the drama, but then Louise Linton, Mnuchin's wife, spoke out on Instagram.
She wrote:
"I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don't have a degree in economics either) We have to drastically reduce our use of fossil fuels. Keep up the fight @gretathunberg."
Steve Mnuchin's own wife Louise Linton comes out against him https://t.co/vuGymS9KaY— Palmer Report (@Palmer Report) 1579993737.0
steven mnuchin’s wife, the actress Louise Linton, posted this on Instagram after his comments on Greta Thunberg. https://t.co/1T1a38LzFQ— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@andrew kaczynski🤔) 1579986598.0
Twitter was happily surprised by Linton's post.
🚨Louise Linton comes out against her own husband, Steve Mnuchin, to side with Greta Thunberg🚨 Earlier this week, M… https://t.co/DtYpr1Tf7J— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivia Nuzzi) 1579986787.0
The best part is she tagged both of them!! I love her! Wow https://t.co/noAFBOcEgp— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivia Nuzzi) 1579986846.0
About 30 minutes later, however, the post disappeared.
UPDATE: Louise Linton appears to have already deleted the post. Altogether it was up for about 30 minutes.… https://t.co/4meVQup6bU— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivia Nuzzi) 1579987415.0
louise linton welcome to the resis - oh never mind https://t.co/LqmFdhDf7Z— my pal andy (@my pal andy) 1579989288.0
Of course, who knows what might happen next in such wild political times?
Louise Linton Suddenly polling a strong second in Iowa— Sam Stein (@Sam Stein) 1579990497.0
@Olivianuzzi @maggieNYT Oh yeah, if there's one thing I associate Linton with, it's being a champion in the fight a… https://t.co/c8ezX9Eaet— The Unreal Tonald Drump (@The Unreal Tonald Drump) 1579987972.0
More than a couple people aimed jokes at Linton for her temporary step out of line.
After she posted and then deleted support for Greta Thunberg I am really worried about Steve Mnuchin's wife Louise… https://t.co/WU0guzGhE3— Jeremy Newberger (@Jeremy Newberger) 1580010445.0
Louise Linton entering Resistance HQ before deleting her post saying she sides with Greta Thunberg over her husband… https://t.co/0WYKv0wVsR— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1579988635.0
@DavisOliverR Breaking: Louise Linton stands with Greta Thunberg for over half-hour.— John Hobbs (@John Hobbs) 1579996557.0
Ultimately, it seems Linton's heart is in the right place even if her actions are not.
Mnuchin on Greta Thunberg: “After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to… https://t.co/tcWc09XgkX— Betsy Klein (@Betsy Klein) 1579985640.0
Sorry, Steve, it looks like the ladies are all against you on this one.
Maybe try not to make fun of high schoolers the next time you're on the global stage?