"THX 1138", directed by George Lucas

Movie, 1971

Brutal, good looking dystopia from a student film re-shot by Lucas, covering similar ground to "1984", though doing so by stripping even humanity out of the nightmare world he's created. What this gives us is a film it's hard to engage with or immerse in, which isn't helped by the slow narrative pushing along a rather opaque, threadbare script. Undeniably a visual stunner with an equally bleak soundtrack. A film to admire and ponder rather than enjoy.

"One", by David Karp

Novel, 1953

A solid, powerful novel with a hugely Cold War feel, centring around a minor official and state informer who's called to talk over a report he's written. In looking at the fragility of the individual and the individual's place in society, this book tells an effective story. Yes, the settings and action feel claustrophobic, but this adds to the overall atmosphere of estrangement and helplessness. Very much of its time, and if not the most hard hitting dystopian novel, then one which seems to reflect a number of  social truths.

"High Rise", directed Ben Wheatley

Movie, 2015

If setting this dystopian drama in the 1970s is slightly puzzling, then it's a detail in a film which builds effectively before snapping and ratcheting the tension and the incidents. By no means a comfortable watch, this is a blatant and not-so-subtle piece, but one which really gets its hooks in and lays on an effective moral story. Some comic moments and some which are stark, though overall, this is a hugely effective, watchable movie.

Image by Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42833418

"The Lobster", directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Movie, 2015

Relentless, surreal film in which single people have forty-five days, under a strict regime in a strange hotel, to find a loving relationship or be turned into an animal. Events unfold and are, at turns, striking and brutal, with a few jaw dropping moments, but more often , an uneasy sense of a fil trying to be too odd and profound. The mood, throughout, is despairing and yes, there are laughs, but they're often dragged out of set-ups that are a little too brutal.

"Watchmen", directed Zack Snyder

Movie, 2009

Clever but disjointed alternative history film, which probably needs some previous knowledge of the characters to appreciate exactly what's going on. This is a super hero film where the superheroes are anything but, and are being picked off by forces unknown. This pathos and the lack of over-CGI'd sequences and crashing soundtrack work in the film's favour, although the muttered dialogue (especially from Rorschach) and the cod-spiritual transportation scenes in Mars don't do as much for the movie as they do, presumably, for the comic series.

"Chalcot Crescent", by Fay Weldon

Novel, 2009

A novel set in a crumbling London not so far in the future, in which political and counter political oppressions are played out against the backdrop of entangled family relationships. While the evocations of a ghoulish capital are strong, the complex inter-relationships and the hugely unreliable narrator make it difficult to follow what's going on and how characters related to each other. This may be intentional, but does lead to a frustrating read in what would otherwise be a belter.