Things to Come

So, do you remember the cheap jack Canadian Star Wars rip-off from 1979, The Shape of Things to Come -- that had nothing to do with H. G. Wells, but starred Jack Palance and his army of errant "Robby the Robot" overgrown pop corn poppers?

Well, things have shaped up for the worse.

Well, maybe not. While failing on the film disciplines aspect, the story here is pretty intelligent -- on the narrative level of this film's production-level doppelganger, THX 1138 (1971) from George Lucas.

However, due to its adult-driven shenanigans, Things to Come (1976) -- a drive-in regional, San Antonio, Texas-shot rip of Star Trek meets Logan's Run -- is a difficult recommend due to its occasional adult content via inserts. Yes, inserts, because: this is a society addicted to sex via television as a form of governmental control. So, there's a little foreshadow of David Cronenberg's Videodrome (1983) in the frames. (Look for the lazy husband who is on his "mandatory" months-long leave from his job; he argues with his wife's ambition and her wanting to go outside for walks. "Why?" he yells: everything I need (sex) is on television (via movies and TV series).)

You see, in Rollerball: the masses were placated by a government providing all of their needs; all "wants" of food, jobs, and entertainment eliminated. Even the wants of violence.

In this San Antonio-based world: the masses are of the Logan's Run variety: all young and pretty. They're also provided violence via the televised matches held in "The Pleasuredome," a "death sport" arena. Ah, but what Rollerball didn't show us, Things to Come, does: sex is also broadcast over television (or some type of cable television that we did not yet know).

Let's not forget: this film was made in 1975, so its production was more than likely sparked by the announcement of the then-hot George Lucas gearing up Star Wars. So, as we look at our digital lives in 2023 -- with the easy of accessing adult materials and the resulting addictions that have arisen from one's Internet travels -- Things to Come got it right. The concept: not the technology. You know, like when the fate of the world was held on a Kraco analog cassette tape in Escape from New York (1981). Well, maybe the tech in this San Antonio world is a throwback to the old Showtime premium channel "After Dark" days -- only you don't need a subscription.

Anyway, what we really came for: the Rollerball meets Roger Corman's Death Race 2000 (1975) "deathcycles" -- complete with wedge-cutting blades -- that appear in a subplot about a deathsport game held in "The Pleasuredome" to entertain the masses -- as the bikers hunt Westworld-styled (1973), female-android/pleasure bots with out-of-date technology being put to pasture (that brings on an M. Night Shyamalan-styled twist that pulls all the narrative threads together).

Yes, the "murder bikes" are as cardboardish as they seem. Yes, the game is a little like Lucio Fulci's "Kill Bike" in his later Warriors of the Year 2072 (1984). Did Corman rip off these bikes for his later apoc'er, Deathsport (1979)? Probably.

Is Deathsport -- which is pretty awful in its own awfulness -- better than this? Yes. Do we still enjoy this -- even in the version where the adult content is cut and just implied (making the film an easier, quicker watch). Yes.