From Biblical floods, nuclear strikes, global pandemics, and zombie outbreaks to asteroids hurtling toward Earth, the volume of apocalyptic movies and TV shows proves we’re obsessed with the end of the world.
Our fears move with the times; the 1950s atomic age brought radioactive monsters and body-snatching alien invasion B-movies. The 1970s saw meteor and tsunami disaster movies. Mixing my metaphors, nowadays, we have more zombie TV shows than you can drive a stake through!
Who knows why we love the thought of sliding helplessly towards our own oblivion? Not us! But we can run down some of the best films and shows predicting our demise; some old, some classic, but some new. So join us… become one of us. Before it's too late!
28 YEARS LATER
Writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle's gritty, grainy 28 Days Later saw Cillian Murphy running from lightning-quick rabid Rage Virus infectees. Sequel 28 Weeks Later saw Robert Carlyle trying to find his kids in a quarantined London. 28 Years Later sees Holy Island village-dwelling Spike (Alfie Williams) and his sickly mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), searching for Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a Colonel Kurtz-like figure on the British mainland. They team up to escape a new, super-strong Alpha Zombie.
Exciting, emotive, and philosophical with a folk-horror feel, 28 Years Later successfully brings the franchise to a new generation, and sets up Ralph Fiennes’ surprise sequel, 2026’s The Bone Temple.
CHERNOBYL
The 1986 Soviet nuclear meltdown didn't predict the apocalypse, but this phenomenal five-hour HBO mini-series makes you feel like your world is about to end. Written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck, Chernobyl is a masterclass in storytelling and perspective. Terrifying, devastating, suspenseful, and beautiful; everything about it is perfect.
Stunning performances from Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård. Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir's haunting score. Immersive sound design. Every reveal is perfectly paced, and Renck's visual storytelling is mind-blowing. As Mazin's expert world-building expands, you realize Chernobyl isn't only about the brave Ukrainians fighting an unseen, deadly monster– radioactivity–it is an investigation into truth, lies, disinformation, cover-ups, hubris, madness, and following the Soviet party line. Stunning TV.
DON'T LOOK UP
Adam McKay’s black comedy is a hoot. Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio star as astronomers who detect a planet-ending-sized meteor hurtling toward Earth. Most asteroid films feature a crazy scientist who isn’t believed, but this cranks up the tension, not by showing the natural disaster, but with the lengths the government and media will go to ensure the public ignore their impending doom by… not looking up.
The ensemble cast plotting to make the public bury their heads in the sand may sound unbelievable, but this satire of the reaction to climate change, that ongoing pandemic, and our current extreme, insane, divisive, blind-leading-the blind politics is as perfectly observed as it is ludicrous.
THE LEFTOVERS
The Leftovers is quite possibly the greatest TV show ever made. Lost and Watchmen writer Damon Lindelof adapted Tom Perrotta's 2011 novel so perfectly that there will never be another show like it. The premise sees 140 million people, or roughly 2% of the world's population, vanish in a rapture-style event on October 14th, 2011.
The Leftovers follows Mapleton, New York, police chief Kevin Garvey, and his dysfunctional family as they attempt to make sense of what happened three years prior. Full of incredible performances, superlative writing, and religious allegory, it's a tale of grief, bereavement, suffering, madness, and a forthcoming apocalyptic flood. Season one is tough, but the sophomore and junior seasons become heart-warming, tragic, haunting, mournful, profound, spiritual, life-affirming... and insane! Best. Storytelling. Ever.
BLOOD DRIVE
Okay, Blood Drive doesn't strictly predict the end of the world, but it is set after an environmental catastrophe where the world runs out of fossil fuel. So it's a documentary! Imagine Death Race 2000, but the contestants are embedded with exploding microchips à la Battle Royale. Then set contestants like psycho femme fatale Grace D'Argento (Christina Ochoa) off on a Mad Max road race across America in cars fuelled by human blood. Bloody brilliant - quite literally!
Then imagine it was written by Robert Rodriguez, directed by Edgar Wright, and edited by Rob Zombie, with Quentin Tarantino as music supervisor. Creator James Roland's encyclopedic horror film knowledge ensures all 13 episodes cover a different exploitation genre, from cannibals to Supervixens to body horror. Depraved, breathless, gory, and bonkers, Blood Drive gets your motor running and your blood boiling! The sexiest, most disturbing, OTT Grindhouse TV show ever. You have been warned!
APOCALYPTO
Mel Gibson’s 2006 epic historical action-adventure, Apocalypto, is an incredible piece of filmmaking. Set during the end of days of the Maya civilization – using only Yucatec Maya language – this sometimes haunting, occasionally funny, visceral survival thriller tells the story of a young tribesman hunter named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) nicknamed “Almost” on his desperate journey to escape captivity and save his family.
Pursued by a merciless tribe that wants to take him to their city to sacrifice him to the gods, Jaguar Paw must fashion weapons à la The A-Team from the rainforest he knows like the back of his hand. Breathless, bloody, brutal, brilliant, and terrifying, Apocalypto is perfect.
MONSTERS
After a NASA probe crash-lands in Central America, strange, alien life forms spread rapidly, and Mexico is quarantined as the military battles the alien invaders. Enter Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a photojournalist tasked with escorting his boss's daughter, Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able), back to the United States through Mexico's infected zone.
Largely improvised, tranquil, moody, atmospheric, tonally perfect, and as beautiful as it is chilling, Gareth Edwards' directorial debut was so impressive that he was given the Godzilla and Star Wars: Rogue One gigs off the back of it. Seriously, this is a near-perfect movie. Stop what you're doing and watch it now. The 2014 sequel Monsters: Dark Continent was lackluster, but rumors of a Channel 4 Monsters series have gone quiet.
CHILDREN OF MEN
London, 2027. Two decades of infertility have left humans on the verge of extinction. When one woman miraculously gets pregnant, a cynical bureaucrat, Theo (Clive Owen), must transport her to safety to have her baby and save the human race. Alfonso Cuarón's visually stunning, politically charged modern nativity thriller is a modern classic.
The subject matter is heavy, but there's no time to get depressed as Cuarón's filmmaking skills leave you thrilled, exalted, and on the edge of your seat. If story is all about change, then Theo must undergo one of cinema's greatest character arcs. But can he save the world?
A QUIET PLACE
Writer-director John Krasinski's A Quiet Place is a stunning post-apocalyptic horror. The plot centers on a family struggling for survival in a world where humans have been almost wiped out by blind creatures who hunt by sound. Luckily, this family features a deaf daughter (the brilliant Millicent Simmonds), so they have one advantage over the creatures and other humans; they can communicate by sign language.
As clever as it is terrifying, the film's genius lies in the filmmakers taking a straightforward premise and executing it flawlessly. The use of – and lack of – sound will blow you away. The original and two sequels, A Quiet Place 2 and A Quiet Place: Day One, all feature fine scripts, intelligent storytelling, and great performances, especially from Emily Blunt.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
The Last Man on Earth is perhaps the world's first post-apocalyptic sitcom. The series sees its creator, Will Forte, play Phil Miller (named after pilot directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller), who thinks he is literally the last male on earth after a deadly virus almost wiped out humanity.
It's not exactly a spoiler to reveal that Phil eventually finds others. He and his newfound, constantly irritating friends like Kristen Schaal, Jason Sudeikis, and January Jones work together to try and repopulate society while doing fun things like going to Malibu on road trips! The fourth and final season aired in 2018, but the series is well worth checking out.
JERICHO
Imagine going about your business in Middle America, doing whatever Middle Americans do - perhaps buying fun-fair corn dogs or baptizing cats. Now imagine looking up to see the skyline enveloped by a giant nuclear mushroom cloud. That's exactly what happened to the inhabitants of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas.
The series focuses on how Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) and the town's inhabitants deal with being the only people left alive and how to rebuild Jericho. In a similar vein to The Mist, sometimes dangers come from within ourselves rather than from external forces. Unfortunately, Jericho was canned after just two seasons, but it's well worth checking out.
REIGN OF FIRE
England. 2084. Twenty years after London Underground tunnelers inadvertently awakened dragons from centuries of slumber, the winged beasts rule the skies, burn everything in sight, and feed on the ash. Quinn (Christian Bale) leads a community of survivors at Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, eking out an existence farming tomatoes.
Their lives are turned upside down by US soldier Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) and his platoon's arrival, saying they are dragon slayers. Reign of Fire is an absolute hoot. Sure, it's pretty superficial and definitely a film for the teenage boy in you... but who cares - it's so much fun!
Z NATION
Rip-roaring, sassy, irreverent, and fun, Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler’s Syfy series Z Nation sees Maine prison inmate Murphy survive the apocalypse by volunteering for a vaccine that accidentally made him immune to zombie bites.
Slowly mutating into a zombie hybrid, humanity's best hope for a cure, Murphy, must traverse the country from NYC to a California laboratory, accompanied by a hilarious motley crew of stoned hippies and cannibals across five rollercoaster, insane, hilarious seasons. It’s occasionally hampered by too many ideas, but it’s a fun journey if you need a road trip.
BLACK SUMMER
Z Nation’s spin-off series may take place in the same universe, but the insanity and fun are missing. That’s not a bad thing; Black Summer is pure, unadulterated, non-stop, fight or flight, lizard-brain adrenaline. Jaime King stars as Rose, a mother who teams up with a crack team of special forces troops during the early days of the zombie apocalypse to find her missing daughter, Anna.
Often shot in real-time with handheld cameras in Calgary, Alberta, Black Summer ditches soap-opera storylines for high-octane action. The Asylum’s breathless series is one intense experience!
MAD MAX
Mad, bad Mel Gibson first played unhinged ex-cop Max Rockatansky in the 1979 classic Mad Max. 1981's Mad Max 2, aka The Road Warrior, upped the ante and invented the now-ubiquitous post-apocalyptic, Australian Outback backdrop and scrapheap challenge punk aesthetic we know and love. Throw in a dead family, some crazy vehicles, and protecting a town from scavenging marauders, and you've struck gold!
George Miller expertly made each Mad Max movie unique in theme, tone, and vibe. By the time Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron took up the reins in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, 70-year-old Miller finally had the technology to bring his ultimate steampunk vision to the silver screen, earning him 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Also check out 2024's Furiosa.
THE 100
The CW's The 100 is a fun YA sci-fi drama. Imagine a futuristic Lord of the Flies with the cast from Twilight, and you're 50% there. 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse forced humanity to flee to orbiting space stations, 100 juvenile delinquents lead a mission back to Earth to test radiation levels.
However, instead of finding inhabitable lands, they're faced with mutated monsters and crazed, savage tribes of survivors who've rebuilt civilization in the mold of Game of Thrones. The cast is excellent, especially Australians Eliza Taylor and (mini-Keanu Reeves) Bob Morley. Early storylines are reminiscent of Lost in space. Not Netflix's Lost in Space, but Lost… in space, with brilliantly strong female characters.
THE MIST
Every day, American folk are going about their weekly supermarket shop when, suddenly, a mist engulfs their entire town, bringing bloodthirsty creatures that devour anyone who gets in their way. Based on a Stephen King story, Frank Darabont's screenplay and claustrophobic direction, and excellent performances from half of the early The Walking Dead cast boil over as the trapped townsfolks' prejudices rise to the surface.
They argue, fight, and turn on each other in ways that are almost as ominous and terrifying as the creatures at the door. Marcia Gay Harden's religious zealot Mrs. Carmody is a joy to behold. We don't want to spoil anything, but that ending is not to be mist... sorry; missed. Avoid the more recent TV show like the plague!
THE RAIN
This subtitled Danish series quickly sets events in motion as a deadly, ongoing deluge wipes out Scandinavia's population. Brother and sister, Simone and Rasmus, hide in a bunker for six years until the rain stops. Must be like living in Scotland!
Convinced Rasmus is the cure, Simone drags her brother across Denmark and Sweden, making friends, fleeing army drones, and making riveting drama. The omnipresent threat of something as mundane as rain is where this show's genius lies. Its Young Adult/emo themes include romance, jealousy, and interpersonal conflict, but just like the Danish people, The Rain is smart, sexy, and self-aware enough not to take itself too seriously.
THE TERMINATOR & TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
Before he went all Titanic, James Cameron made three of the greatest science-fiction films ever: Aliens, The Terminator, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The idea of exterminating metal cyborgs came to him in a fever dream. Both movies tell the tale of futuristic A.I. machines wiping out three billion lives in a nuclear attack on August 29th, 1997.
Both films see lifelike cyborgs sent back from the future to kill John Connor, the leader of the human resistance. The Terminator sees Arnie trying to assassinate the unborn John's mother, Sarah, while T2 sees a new, improved, liquid metal T-1000 cyborg go after teenage John. T3, Terminator: Salvation, and Genysis are okay, while Dark Fate is fun as an older Linda Hamilton kicks robot ass while looking like Hillary Clinton!
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Two Edgar Wright movies for the price of one. These two films are the apocalyptic bread surrounding The Cornetto Trilogy sandwich. Both star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and deal with TEOTWAWKI. A parody homage to George A. Romero's glorious 1978 Dawn of the Dead, this horror-comedy sees hapless Shaun try to win back his girl during a zombie outbreak.
Filled with Spaced director Edgar Wright’s breathless direction and editing, it’s the world’s first zombie romantic comedy, or "zom-com".
THE WORLD'S END
Edgar Wright's The World's End features a similar premise. 40-year-old, immature goth alcoholic Gary King (Simon Pegg) tries to recreate his youth by hosting a pub crawl in his hometown with his old school mates, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, and Eddie Marsan. But things soon get weird when blue goo-filled robots take over the town, and Gary must save the earth from Invasion of the Body Snatchers-style aliens.
Whereas Shaun of the Dead was a satire on dead-end jobs and our brains being taken over by our phones, this is an essay on Pegg’s alcoholism. It’s fun but treads many of the same ideas as the far superior Shaun.
THE PLANET OF THE APES TRILOGY
Not even Star Wars, The Godfather, or The Lord of the Rings could complete a great trilogy. Yet the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy pulled it off, with three varied, thematically different thrillers! Beginning with Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we follow baby chimpanzee Caesar as he's captured and experimented on.
The drug he's given allows him to evolve a human-like brain, so he leads his fellow primates in a revolution against humans. Matt Reeves' Dawn of the Planet of the Apes sees Caesar, now the leader of the apes, help a human family who stray into his forest territory, resulting in an 0interspecies war. The same director's final entry, War for the Planet of the Apes, is a harrowing yet touching (occasionally funny) war movie.
WORLD WAR Z
Brad Pitt. A global pandemic. Fast zombies. What's not to love? Well, quite a bit, actually, but it's breathless and immensely fun. Panned by critics, WWZ is much better than most people give it credit for. Brad plays Gerry, a former United Nations scientist and father who's unwittingly drawn into saving the world from a virus that turns people into zombies.
Granted, the rewrites and reshoots mean the plot is all over the place. Brad Pitt personally invited Lost writer Damon Lindelof in to rewrite the third act, but he didn't have time to finish it, so fellow Lost alum Drew Goddard did. Thus, the third act feels like a different movie altogether; the fast zombies have become slow zombies, but it's still well worth watching.
12 MONKEYS
2035. Humanity has retreated underground to escape a deadly virus. Bruce Willis plays convict James Cole, who volunteers to travel back in time to discover what caused the outbreak. What could possibly go wrong? Everything! Sent back to the wrong year, 1990–six years before the outbreak–he meets Jeffrey (Brad Pitt) in an insane asylum, who may or may not be behind the virus.
Based on Chris Marker's 1962 French short film, La Jetée, 12 Monkeys is a breathtaking study on memory and reality wrapped up in a madcap Marx Brothers meets apocalyptic time-travel storyline. Terry Gilliam's direction is flawless, and Brad Pitt is an absolute hoot as the lunatic who takes over the asylum. The recent TV show remake is not bad, either.
THE WALKING DEAD
What do you mean you haven't watched The Walking Dead? It's the DADDY of zombie apocalypse shows. First created as a comic book, the second most popular TV show of the 2010s, after Game of Thrones, ran for 11 seasons. The story follows police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as he wakes up from a coma to find that everyone else is a zombie.
Rick eventually finds other humans, becomes de facto leader, and co-dependently tries to save and shelter every Tom, Dick, and Harry from 2D cardboard cutout antagonists like The Governor and Negan. Trouble is, the show ran its course by season four. The writers relied too heavily on gimmicks, eked three weeks’ worth of storylines out over three seasons, and tricked viewers again and again. RIP, TWD.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD
Fear the Walking Dead lit the blue touchpaper as The Walking Dead's first spin-off, but started life as a real damp squib. Most viewers walked away. A few went back to check on the wet firework. But, found nada… no flame, no heat, no nothing. Definitely dead. Until… BOOM! Season three exploded in our faces and was better than The Walking Dead ever was!
In Season 3, our family of protagonists finds salvation at Brokejaw Ranch. It lies on native American land, and the King Lear-like owner is descending into madness. Worse, his equally tormented Kane and Abel-esque sons manipulate our family every which way. An explosive finale was rendered meaningless to incorporate an inexplicable time jump that saw Morgan and two showrunners jumping from TWD to FTWD. The show was never the same before or since, but it's worth watching for this season alone!
I AM LEGEND
Will Smith plays scientist Robert Neville, the last human survivor of a deadly plague. He and his dog wander the New York streets, scavenging, avoiding half-zombie, half-vampire creatures, and trying to find a cure to reverse the effects of the man-made virus with his own immune blood.
This exciting post-apocalyptic action thriller isn't the first time Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name has been made into a movie. 1964's The Last Man on Earth starred Vincent Price, and 1971's The Omega Man starred Charlton Heston. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air thinks his version is one of his best films.