Are We Living In Them? 5 Movies Set In 2022

Sometimes, reality manages to align with fiction, especially when it comes to film productions. Predicting the future or giving a vision of what could happen in a few years is a formula that directors have used for a long time, with the intention of drawing people’s attention to certain events. 

With a new year underway that promises to give us millions of interesting stories, we cannot fail to mention those omens that the cinema has been making about the year 2022. That is why this time we bring you 5 films that were set in 2022 and that you should take a look at to find out how close they are to materializing.

Soylent Green (1973)

In this 2022, we travel to a New York which is inhabited by more than 40 million people and who, furthermore, are separated into a small elite that maintains control of politics and economics. Here we will follow a detective who seeks to solve the murder of a businessman in the midst of a future plagued by pollution and poverty.

The vision of director Richard Fleischer walks between the brilliant and the grotesque, tackling various problems such as the climate crisis, overpopulation, or the inconvenience of the food supply chain. Based on the novel “Make Room! Make Room!” From 1966, this film became a cult work and a true classic of cinema.

No Escape (1994)

This American film, also titled “Escape from Absolom” in some countries, was directed by Martin Campbell and starred Ray Liotta. Although it did not do well at the box office (it grossed just over 15 million dollars on a budget of 20 million), the plot and certain action elements are reminiscent of great films like “Mad Max” or “Demolition Man “.

Set in a dystopian 2022, the plot imagines a future in which the for-profit prison system has been supercharged.  The plot revolves around an ex-marine serving a life sentence on Absolom Island, a place where the worst inmates are sent and which is more feared than the prisons themselves. Although not much is glimpsed of the outside world, the narrative leans more towards fiction than reality.

Also read: These are the 7 most anticipated movies of 2022

Death Wave (2009)

How close are we to deadly typhoons wiping out the lives of Pacific Island Nations? Under this premise, this story follows a desperate scientist who tries to warn the Thai government that an imminent typhoon is about to devastate everything in its path. On April 13, 2022, a tsunami of great proportions ends up hitting Bangkok.

Written, produced and directed by Toranong Srichua, this Thai film has a clear message: humanity is not ready to tackle climate change. Despite the fact that the special effects were not up to Hollywood standards, it is worth seeing it to confirm how realistic it can become.

Geostorm (2017)

Disaster movies stand out in the film industry, although that does not always mean success at the box office. Director Dean Devlin proposed a plot somewhat different from others, but centered on natural catastrophes. This is how he put together a cast with figures such as Gerard Butler, Ed Harris, Andy García, and the Mexican Eugenio Derbez.

The prologue shows us a 2019 full of catastrophic changes in the climate that endanger survival on Earth, for which the nations of the world come together to carry out a project that consists of a global network of satellites that surround the planet and are able to avoid natural disasters with advanced technology. However, three years later, a satellite failure causes a geostorm never seen before.

Safer at Home (2021)

It is the year 2022 and Covid has mutated to such a dimension that it has ended the lives of 31 million Americans, causing some cities to be subjected to martial law. With people still sheltered at home, some friends meet by video call, but an unfortunate situation will force one of them to flee his home and avoid being captured by the police.

Director Will Wernick’s vision goes a little further than reality, because although there are several strains of Covid none is as deadly as the one that has led the country to a state of emergency in the film. Surely it will not be the only film that touches on this subject, but it is inevitable to wonder how close we are to something like this happening.