Given TV's increasingly desperate search for new programme formats, this futuristic blockbuster about a game show where a pumped-up audience bays for the blood of convicts on a lethal combat course isn't so far-fetched. Arnold Schwarzenegger, busy consolidating his position as the number one action star of the 1980s, plays the former police helicopter pilot who is forced into the game of death when he rebels against his totalitarian superiors. It's a long way from the original Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) novel, but Schwarzenegger gets to do what he does best - destroying baddies with a quip - and director Paul Michael Glaser - fondly remembered for his role in Starsky and Hutch - handles the action sequences with some panache. Maria Conchita Alonso plays Arnie's reluctant partner, while Richard Dawson steals the acting honours as the slimeball game-show host.

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.