Running Man (1987)
Based on a Steven King/Richard Bachman novel of the same name, The Running Man is set in the year 2017 and imagines that America has become a brutal police state where violent, televised gameshows are the only thing that keep an otherwise unruly public in check. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as an average Joe who is framed for murder and then forced to go on “The Running Man,” one of the aforementioned battle royales. The show is moderated by a ruthless host who enjoys toying with the players. Bloodshed and pyrotechnics ensue.
We can all agree that 2017 was bad but it definitely wasn’t that bad. At least we were not forced to watch a sadistic reality show where matters of life and death were dictated by the whims of a raging narcissist…well, unless you count Donald Trump’s first year in office.
