10 Most Frightening Dystopian Societies In Fiction, Ranked

Dystopian societies in any sort of fiction media have been a popular theme for more than a century. With classic novels such as Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm, dystopian societies have become a thing of nightmares, encouraging the growing fear that one day, our society might become dystopian as well.

Dystopian societies are often confused with the aggressive and equally horrifying post-apocalyptic societies. The key difference between the two is what the main character(s) struggle with. If it is against the society itself, than it is dystopian, but if it is against another character or against the nature of the world, it is post-apocalyptic. Societies in dystopian worlds are usually horrifying and will make the character feel incredibly small when combating against the “bigger picture.”

10 Gurren Lagann

Hit anime series, Gurren Lagann begins by displaying yet another perfect example of a dystopian society. In fact, the first eight episodes of the series are vastly different in setting to the rest. Pretty much all of society lives in underground civilizations after the sun’s rays became too hot for the surface to handle. They are constantly warned that they are not allowed outside at any point, even though the main characters dream of seeing the stars again.

9 The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a perfect example of a truly horrifying dystopian society. This society comprises of different, smaller societies that are all led by the Capitol. The issue is, the Capitol takes more than it gives and it forces each of the other districts to solely focus on some kind of needed goods, such as coal mining or fishing. The people in the further districts are near starving and constantly have police throughout their homes to keep the order in line. On top of all of this, the Capitol hosts the yearly Hunger Games, where they have volunteers or randomly select two teens from each district, a male and female, to compete in the games. The game is a fight to the death and the victor gets their district a hefty sum of food supplies for the upcoming year. These kids kill one another and fight to survive every year all as a stunt from the Capitol to show the districts that they have all the power, and to discourage any form of rebellion.

8 The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is another dystopian movie and book series that focuses on teens being sent to horrifying conditions. This society is a lot more vague than that of The Hunger Games, in which audiences are immediately introduced to the state of the world. In Maze Runner, readers and viewers are just as confused as the main character is when he first enters his new residency. The only thing Thomas can remember is his name and the basic functions and knowledge needed to survive. He doesn’t remember a single piece of personal information nor does he remember how the world outside was. He is sent to a Homestead with a bunch of other teens who all take on different jobs, the most notable are the “runners,” those who run the massive attached maze during the day to try and find a way out.

7 Mad Max: Fury Road

While the majority of the Mad Max film series can definitely be classified more so as a post-apocalyptic story, Fury Road seems to fit that of the dystopian archetype a bit better. This movie focuses a lot on the society of the post-apocalyptic factions made in the world.

Furiosa and Max join together to try and save five wives from the tyrannical Immortan Joe, who chases them across the Wasteland to try and get his girls back. The women are forced to marry him and live a life of servitude, a life that none of them want. There is a lot more to this movie than just crazy guys on crazy cars, and as a dystopian society, Immortan Joe and his colony are utterly horrifying.

6 In Time

While In Time definitely didn’t seem like it did so well in the box office, it is a truly terrifying premise and perfect example of a horrifying dystopian society. When money becomes non-existent and is no longer relevant, society comes up with a new way to exchange goods, human life. Everyone has a timer on their wrist that counts down their life span. To buy anything, people need to exchange seconds, minutes, and even days.

At the beginning of the film, the main character comments that a cup of coffee now costs four minutes. This joke feels silly, but when viewers think about the fact that a cup of coffee, something people have daily, costs the payer four minutes of their life time, it is pretty wild.

5 Alita: Battle Angel

Alita: Battle Angel is a movie based on the popular manga series of the 1990s. This story is yet another dystopian society in which the government manages to control the people of Iron City like puppets on strings with the promise of a “better tomorrow.” This movie definitely feels like a “part 1” to a grander story as little is actually revealed of the sky city, Zolem, nor the society within. All that is mentioned is that everyone is extremely wealthy and it is a much better place to live than in Iron City. Many of the characters constantly struggle, doing odd jobs in order to try and gain access to the mysterious sky city that may not even truly exist as they claim it does.

4 Snowpiercer

Bong-Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer is another great example of a horrifying dystopian society. After the second Ice Age, the remaining population of the world is squeezed into a massive train that constantly circles the earth with no real end goal in sight. The train is broken up into different “carts” that represent the different social classes of their residents. The poorest residents live in the back of the train and are often treated worse that dirt. The poor decide to try to make their life better, to make everyone in the train equal by taking over the engine room at the front of the train. But there are a great many hurdles along the way from the back to the front.

3 Battle Royale

This cult classic Japanese film was The Hunger Games eight years before the first book was even released (when comparing the two, it seems a bit fishy). This movie takes a whole class of Japanese students and drops them off on a weapon-filled island to fight to the death.

The plot mixes The Hunger Games and The Purge, where the government decided to enact the BR ACT in order to try and curb the national rate of juvenile delinquency. Every year a different class is unknowingly subjected to the island where there can only be one or zero victors to make it out alive.

2 The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale is probably the most popular dystopian society right now thanks to the hit series on Hulu based on the original novel. The totalitarian society known as Gilead suffers from an alarmingly low birthrate as infertility is at an all time high. In order to try and nullify this, women have become property of the state and those who are fertile are forced into sexual servitude to raise the birthrate and repopulate. The society is truly horrifying and when the main character gets separated from her daughter and husband, she decides she will do anything to survive and find them.

1 The Purge

The Purge takes dystopian societies and amplifies them for the sake of horror. But in all reality, 2020 felt closer to The Purge than it did to real life. This horrifying society gives off the idea of peace and serenity all year long, save for the one night a year, Purge night, when all crime becomes legal. They do this in the effort to let people “be free” and drop crime rate during normal times. Purge night is horrifying, and though it only happens once a year, the normal citizens who just wish to have a quiet night are plagued with the fear that maybe they will be targeted.

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