Before ‘Squid Game,’ There Was ‘Rollerball,’ ‘Death Race 2000’ & Other Classic Movies About Killer Games

Gabrielle Moss December 26, 2:15 pm

Deadly Game Movies collage — Everett Collection

Squid Game, the most-watched Netflix series of all time, returns to screens today after a three year hiatus. But the blockbuster South Korean series certainly didn’t invent the idea of contestants fighting for their lives in a game where you can win big … or end up dead.

Though Squid Game was inspired by creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s own personal experiences with debt during the 2009 financial downturn and real-life political violence in South Korea, as well as more recent movies like The Hunger Games series and Battle Royale, it also has roots in a genre of film that became popular in the U.S. in the ’70s.

Amidst that decade’s civic unrest and international crises, movies about heroes forced to compete in life-or-death games became popular. Drawing from social satire and dystopian sci-fi, these films dramatized an increasingly alienating, technologically-driven society where people were treated more like numbers than individuals.

1Death Race 2000 (1975)

Everett Collection

Possibly the first modern “killer game” film, Death Race 2000 starred David Carradine (as well as a young Sylvester Stallone) in a story about a dystopian future where the country’s citizens have only one thing to look forward to: the ultra-violent annual Transcontinental Road Race, where five drivers race across the country, and try to kill as many innocent bystanders as they can along the way. A group of anti-government rebels have a plan to end the race, and the totalitarian regime that runs it; but champion racer Frankenstein (Carradine) has his own plans.

Though this film was released two months before the James Caan film Rollerball, it was also inspired by Rollerball; B-movie superproducer Roger Corman saw all the press when Rollerball went into production, and decided to make his own version of the film that would hit theaters first. And the plan worked — it earned over $5 million at the box office, on a minuscule $300,000 budget.

2Rollerball (1975)

Everett Collection

Roller deby and political commentary? Two great tastes that taste great together! Especially when they’re delivered by James Caan, in this film that popularized the modern “killer game” film. In it, Caan stars as Jonathan E., a beloved rollerball player. In a bleak future where everything is controlled by the shadowy Energy Corporation, Jonathan is a threat, because he’s too beloved by the people — which conflicts with the Energy Corporation’s goal of beating down humanity and suppressing individualism. As the Energy Corporation ratchets up the game’s violence to push Jonathan out, he must make a choice — save himself, or inspire his fans?

Though the whole point of Rollerball is that the game of rollerball is violent and deadly, the cast and crew loved to play it in their down time on set, because it was just so darn fun. In fact, after the film’s release, director Norman Jewison — best known for softer fare like Moonstruck and Jesus Christ Superstar — was repeatedly contacted by investors who wanted to start real rollerball leagues. Jewison, who saw the movie as a dire warning against these kinds of games, was reportedly horrified.

3Logan’s Run (1976)

Though Logan 5’s race to freedom isn’t quite a game, Logan’s Run‘s deadly hunt between “Runners” (those trying to escape the futuristic utopia where everyone is executed at age 30) and “Sandmen” (those charged with hunting and killing the Runners) bears some serious resemblance to a lot of deadly game stories that came afterwards. Plus, the ritual of Carousel — where 30-year-old citizens, clad in creepy masks and bodysuits, are made to float in the air and are then murdered by explosions, all in front of a cheering live audience — certainly makes it feel like you’re watching the weirdest game show on earth.

4Deathsport (1978)

New World Pictures /Courtesy: Everett Collection

Once again, David Carradine stars in a Roger Corman-produced film about deadly games — but this time, instead of fortune-hunters in cars, the players are convicts on motorbikes, who must fight to the death to earn their freedom. An informal sequel to Death Race 2000, Deathsport was far less popular with viewers, and Carradine himself called it “terrible,” saying in 2005, “I don’t think my career ever quite recovered from that [film].”

And yet, the film’s concept and desert wasteland setting were definitely an influence on other dystopian films, including …

5The Running Man (1987)

A decade later, big budget film The Running Man used Deathsport‘s same basic conceit — a contest where convicts compete for their freedom. This time, however, instead of playing on motorbikes in the desert, convicts must make their way through a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, pursued by “Stalkers” charged with killing them.

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, a police officer wrongly accused of murder, who has to fight his way through the game and expose the evil plot that put him there. His enemy? Match Game and Family Feud host Richard Dawson, who plays a gleefully deranged TV show host.

The Running Man was only a modest box office hit at the time, but its proved to be an enduring hit, inspiring numerous other killer game films and shows (and a remake, set to be released in November 2025).