10 Movies That Definitely "Influenced" The Hunger Games

5. Death Race 2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-YkaXGtLM Dystopian Future: Yes Reality TV Aspects: Yes Battle Arena: Yes Captive Fighters: Sort Of Children As Fighters: No At first glance Death Race 2000 is a very different film from The Hunger Games, particular in regards to how the games are played. However, if you look a little bit deeper below the surface you will see a number of thematic similarities. For starters, the race itself has been put in place by the President of the United States in much the same way that the Hunger Games are controlled by the President of Panem. Furthermore, in both cases the events are sensationalised by television crews and presented as something that everybody watches, though Death Race 2000 seems to place more emphasis on the entertainment aspects of the race. While the participants appear to be volunteers at first, it turns out that 'Frankenstein' - who is the star of the Transcontinental Road Race - is actually an unwilling participant and wishes for nothing more to kill the President. He eventually teams up with a resistance movement dedicated to ending the race entirely, which certainly sounds rather familiar. Again we have the idea of a heavy-handed "overlord" of sorts ruling the population too, with the film making reference to how the President took power without compromise, using the race to keep the masses distracted from the problems they actually face.