There are a lot of post-apocalyptic movies out there and many upon many of them would qualify as some of the best. But those that are on this list are those that really look at the plight of humanity once the end has come and gone, and what is left is kind of bleak and not at all friendly to those that are stuck in the ruins of what once was. Even if society is still around it tends to become something that’s far less accommodating and much more hostile than what came before it. The need to survive in such a world spawns the kind of movie in which you can almost guarantee that someone will rise up against another person, or that the dark and meandering road of life will continue in a way that offers hope but few directions on how to reach it. That is however what makes these movies great entertainment, there’s always a glimmer of hope in the distance that the protagonists are searching for.
Here are some of the best post-apocalyptic movies to ever reach the public.
10. The Road
The Road is seriously dark and foreboding and tends to show the worst nature of mankind at its finest. Even the protagonist gets seriously dark at some points as he and his son are simply trying to survive the wasteland that’s been left behind. Yet sometimes this means getting downright mean and taking more than is their due to show others that they are not going to be taken advantage of. Despite being utterly depressing it was a strong and meaningful movie.
9. Children of Men
Imagine a world in which there are no more children, in which women can no longer give birth, and then the mortality of the human race becomes something that is far more assured and less likely to be taken for granted. Yet when one woman is discovered to be pregnant the world goes absolutely crazy at the idea that they might have a future once again. There’s no rhyme or reason any longer for society in this movie save to try and preserve the species in any way possible, or destroy it entirely.
8. The Book of Eli
It’s amazing sometimes how much of society looks to their faith in order to make sense of the world. In many ways it is the hubris of humanity that thinks that their imagination can possibly explain away the reason for why we do things. In another sense it is the bond that is formed in faith that keeps people from falling off the deep end more often than not. But in this world one book is the key to holding power over others, or to giving salvation to those that truly desire it.
7. The Road Warrior
This world is just nuts. Gasoline is worth more than gold as it’s the reason why people can move to and fro. But it’s also the lifeblood of the land and the one thing that people will gladly kill for in order to protect it. Enter the Road Warrior, the man that only wants enough of what he needs to keep moving and stay away from people. But of course he ends up having to help people in order to stay away from them, it’s kind of ironic.
6. Dawn of the Dead
The only edge the remake has over the original is that it is a newer version and stars some of the hottest names in the industry. That being said it also gave the zombies leave to not just shamble around, but to get up and actually RUN. The moment the little girl hopped back to her feet and ran back at the woman in her house was the moment that a lot of people felt their jaws drop since most zombie movies would show a shambling, animated corpse rather than an undead feeding machine that could sprint. That kind of changed the game a bit. It was one thing when zombies had the numbers since the effect spread so quickly, but zombies that outnumber survivors and can run after their prey are a different matter.
5. The Postman
Kevin Costner movies have one thing in common, he’s usually the reluctant hero or the villain. This is proven in The Postman since all he wanted after escaping the army he’d been forced into was a place to rest and a warm meal. The persona he took on however became the man he was meant to be, and the leader that a broken nation really needed. Eventually the story moved beyond him, but the spark that was needed to ignite it was the hope that he gave people in the simplest way.
4. Oblivion
Humanity has a rather bleak outlook of what will happen in the future. Most films show that our numbers will be drastically reduced by a terrible calamity or by something, or someone, that had a serious intent on wiping us out. In this film however the damage has been done, and supposedly only two people are still planetside after everyone else has been evacuated. But the truth is something that’s far more sinister and diabolical than anyone could possibly guess.
3. Waterworld
The idea of the world being drowned is a terrifying one for many people since the world is already over seventy percent water. The land masses are seriously in constant danger of being overwhelmed if anything untoward should happen and the ice caps begin to melt at an accelerated rate. The movie itself got mixed reviews from critics and fans, but the story is something that’s kind of special as it demands that human beings think about what it would be like to live in a world where the ground was a shifting, continuously uncertain thing.
2. Reign of Fire
Did you ever get the feeling that this world might not have always belonged to us? It’s a feeling that’s buried long in the past, but one that fiction tends to bring out most often in these types of movies since mankind seems to forget that this world was not always ours. Of course there are debates about that leading to the argument between creationism and darwinism, but this movie would indicate that dragons were here long before us, and if real could outlast us by simple attrition.
1. Snowpiercer
In many such movies humans are the engineers of their own demise and it usually comes in the form of Us vs. Them, which is kind of a ridiculous notion seeing as how preying on your own species is a sure way to sign the death warrant for your kind. But really, humans don’t always seem to think that far and tend to divide and conquer with the haves telling the have-nots that their place in life is to serve the whims of the haves.
When you look at these types of movies humanity doesn’t always have that great of a future to look forward to.
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