The
concept of dystopian worlds is one that has always been popular in
cinema, but seems to have captured film-goers imagination more so
than ever in recent years. With massive franchises taking on the
subject matter, the notion of a future in which something is very,
very wrong has transferred from cult sci-fi to the mainstream. To
celebrate the release of sci-fi romance FREQUENCIES,
arriving on digital platforms from April 13, 2015 and on DVD from
April 20, 2015 courtesy
of Signature
Entertainment, we
take a look at some of the best, most imaginative dystopian universes
to be brought to the big screen...
Frequencies
(2015)
In this
dystopian future, children’s ability to succeed in life is
determined based on their own personal ‘frequency’ which dictates
how lucky they will be. In the process of testing one particular
group, it transpires that Marie (Lily Laight)
has an impossibly high frequency, making her the luckiest girl in the
world. At the same testing, Zak (Charlie
Rixon) is discovered to have a frequency so
low it measures as a negative number. As they reach adolescence, Zak
(Daniel Fraser)
becomes desperate to alter their frequencies so that he and Marie
(Eleanor Wyld) can be
together, and with the help of his friend, Theo (Owen
Pugh), devotes his life to finding a way.
However, when he finally makes a huge breakthrough, the repercussions
stretch further than he could possibly imagine, causing everyone he
once trusted to turn on him...
Divergent
(2014)
The first
in the trilogy based on Veronica Roth’s YA series stars Shailene
Woodley, Kate Winslet and Theo
James , and is set in a futuristic Chicago,
where society has been divided into 5 factions. The factions are
based on people’s predominant virtue- Abnegation for the selfless,
Dauntless for the brave, Erudite for the intellectual, Candor for the
honest, and Amity for the peaceful. When teenagers reach the age of
16, they must choose to either stay in the faction of their birth, or
transfer into another faction. Beatrice Prior, or ‘Tris’
(Woodley) is forced to
decide between staying with her family in Abnegation, where she
doesn’t feel she fits, or to transfer into another faction leaving
her family behind. She undergoes a highly competitive initiation
process to join the Dauntless faction, but has a secret- she is
Divergent, which means she doesn't fit into any one group. If anyone
knew, it would mean death- and soon she and Four (James)
discover a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly
peaceful society, and destroy everything she holds dear...
The
Hunger Games (2012)
This hit
franchise based on Suzanne Collin’s
bestselling YA novels stars Jennifer Lawrence
as protagonist Katniss Everdeen, alongside Liam
Hemsworth and Josh
Hutcherson. The series takes place in the
post-apocalyptic nation of Panem (previously North America). The
nation is made up of the wealthy Capitol and twelve poorer districts.
Katniss lives in District 12, the poorest region of Panem- and as
punishment for a past rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and girl
from each district, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are
selected to participate in the Hunger Games on an annual basis. The
Games are a televised event with the "tributes" being
forced to fight to the death in a public arena. The winning tribute
is then rewarded with food, supplies and riches. The purpose of the
Hunger Games is to provide entertainment and to serve as a reminder
of the consequences of rebellion- but little known to the Capitol
another one may already be stirring...
Never
Let Me Go (2010)
This
haunting, heartbreaking drama based on Kazuo
Ishiguru’s novel recounts the lives of Ruth
(Keira Knightley),
Kathy (Carey Mulligan)
and Tommy (Andrew
Garfield), three
friends who grow up together in an idyllic English boarding school.
Following a medical breakthrough in 1952 the human lifespan has been
extended beyond 100 years. Whilst at school, the young Kathy (Izzy
Meikle-Small), along with Tommy (Charlie
Rowe) and Ruth (Ella
Purnell) discover, by the revelations from
new teacher Miss Lucy (Sally Hawkins),
their true nature: they exist only as organ donors for transplants,
and will die – referred to as "completing" - in their
early adulthood. The trio leave school with the horrific truth of
their fate hanging over them, as they are forced to confront the
inevitable, while dealing with the ever-present love triangle hanging
over them.
Franklyn
(2008)
This
2008 British film written and directed by Gerald
McMorrow as
his debut feature stars Ryan
Phillippe, Eva Green
and Sam
Riley.
The film is split between the parallel
worlds of contemporary London and the futuristic metropolis of
Meanwhile City. It follows the stories of masked vigilante Jonathan
Preest (Phillippe),
troubled, rebellious art student Emilia (Green),
the heartbroken Milo (Riley)
who is still longing for his first love, and deeply religious Peter
(Bernard Hill), who is
searching desperately for his missing son amongst London's homeless.
Switching between the two worlds, the characters' storylines
eventually intersect and combine, in a carefully constructed,
brilliantly executed finale.
Battle
Royale (2000)
This cult
classic takes place in a dystopian future where the economy of Japan
is nearing complete collapse, with high rates of unemployment and the
education system in ruins. The government passes the Battle Royale
Act- which means one class is selected to be sent to an island, each
with random
weapons and a few rations of food and water. And so begins a game in
which the students are instructed to kill each other –they have
three days to do so until one survives- or they all die. While some
decide to play the game, Shuya (Tatsuya
Fujiwara),
Noriko (Aki
Maeda),
and Kawada (Tarô
Yamamoto)
desperately try to find a way to get off the Island without violence.
However, as the numbers dwindle, it becomes apparent that the chance
of survival is slim to none...
12
Monkeys (1995)
Terry
Gilliam's
nightmarish vision of the future takes place in 1997, after a fatal
virus has killed 99% of the human population--forcing the survivors
to flee underground. The scientists select James Cole (Bruce
Willis),
a sociopathic convict, to return to the past and gather information
useful in the defence against this infection. Once back his task is
to investigate the mysterious 'Army of the Twelve Monkeys' and report
back on what he discovers. However, the reluctant Cole is mistakenly
sent back six years earlier to 1990, arrested and locked up in a
mental institution, where he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly
(Madeleine
Lowe)
and patient Jeffrey Goines (Brad
Pitt)
- the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.
The
Stand (1994)
This TV
mini-series based on Stephen King’s novel won two Emmy’s and
starred Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan
and Gary Sinise.
Following an accident at a government-run lab, a deadly virus is
inadvertently released, wiping out 99% of the population in less than
two months. The survivors of the outbreak are then plagued by dreams
about one of two figures- a mystical elderly woman, or a foreboding
man. It soon becomes apparent that these two figures represent the
basic forces of good or evil- and that the supporters of each will be
forced to face each other in a final confrontation before long...
Nineteen
Eighty Four (1984)
George
Orwell’s
classic novel has ingrained itself in popular culture, and is
responsible for the concepts of ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Room 101’.
This film based on the classic stars John
Hurt
as anti-establishment hero Winston Smith, living in a totalitarian
society and in permanent war, presently against Eurasia. People from
the upper classes follow the "Ingsoc" philosophy and are
under permanent surveillance of Big Brother through the telescreen -
a monitor that spies on each and every individual. Bureaucrat Smith
rewrites history to control the future of the party and inadvertently
uncovers proof that the ruling Party is lying, in the process
becoming a ‘thought-criminal’. When Winston meets Julia (Suzanna
Hamilton),
they commit the crime of falling in love – and their affair
ultimately leads to his capture and interrogation by the ‘Thought
Police’...
Blade
Runner (1982)
In Ridley
Scott’s cyberpunk, sci-fi thriller vision
of the future, man has created the technology needed to create
‘replicants’ - human clones to serve in colonies outside of Earth
but with fixed life spans. In 2019 Los Angeles, Deckard (Harrison
Ford) is a Blade Runner- a member of the LAPD
who specialises in terminating replicants. When four replicants
escape from a colony and re-enter earth, he is forced to come out of
retirement in order to track them down. Lead by Roy Batty (Rutger
Hauer), the most advanced replicant of the
group, Zhora (Joanna Cassidy),
Pris (Darryl Hannah)
and Leon (Brion James),
go on the run, determined to find their creator. Deckard’s job is
only made harder when he discovers that these particular replicants
are believed to be advanced enough to have developed emotions, which
will make them harder to detect via the usual methods of testing.
FREQUENCIES,
arrives on digital platforms from April 13, 2015 and on DVD from
April 20, 2015 courtesy of Signature Entertainment.
