Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That’s why we’ve rated them 1-5 on the patented “crunchy goodness” scale.
Title: Handmaid’s Tale
Date: 1990
Vitals: Set in a post-apocalyptic future clearly inspired by the Reagan Era, the Christian Right has taken over the US government and instituted a system of concubinage borrowed from the Old Testament. So many women are infertile that the government gives powerful men “handmaids” to bear the children their wives cannot. Trapped in a world where women are chattel, one handmaid forges alliances with a rebel underground and dares to revolt.
Famous names: Aidan Quinn, Robert Duvall, Natasha Richardson, Volder Schlondorff, Faye Dunaway
Crunchy goodness: 4
Sight you’ll never unsee: The antisex sex scene between Robert Duvall, Natasha Richardson, and Faye Dunaway.
The shit: This is a genuinely smart, disturbing movie about how the United States is essentially one disaster away from turning into a militaristic, Christian Patriarchy.
Copycats: The link between apocalypse and infertility is a common one. Children of Men imagines a future world where infertility begets fascism, and underground hit Hell Comes to Frogtown depicts a post-nuclear war world where men with live sperm are held captive by roving bands of baby-hungry ladies.
