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It’s the 21st century already? I can’t believe we made it this far! World wars, global pandemics, that hole in the ozone, it’s a shock that we didn’t take ourselves out long ago. In spite of our good luck, the film industry has been busy dreaming up all the bangs and whimpers with which the world could end. Nuclear apocalypse, zombie apocalypses, climate apocalypse – are there any apocalypses we haven’t covered yet? While we’ve made it this far, humanity’s advancement into the 21st century means only one thing: we’re closer than ever to the end. To celebrate our inevitable demise, here are the 10 best post apocalyptic movies of the 21st century.
Night Raiders
Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders takes place in a near future dystopia, where environmental disasters have caused the emergence of a totalitarian government calls itself “The Regime” – real creative, feds. Squeezing between the fingers of the military dictatorship’s iron fist, Niska and her eleven year old daughter Waseese have managed to create an off the grid life for themselves in the woods – until Waseese hurts her leg stepping in a trap. After surrendering herself to the government in exchange for medical treatment, Waseese is forced into a brutal state academy that trains the next generation of soldiers – unless her mother can figure out a way to break her out. A nail-biting metaphor for the never-ending cycle of colonialism, Night Raiders is a post apocalyptic thriller in pursuit of liberation.
The Road
Adapted from author Cormac McCarthy’s melancholy magnum opus, John Hillcoat’s The Road is an infamously brutal affair. The story follows an unnamed father and son along a desolate stretch of concrete, on which they cross paths with the desperate and the depraved. On a planet slowly becoming devoid of plant and animal life, humans have had to seek out an alternative food source: each other. The father tries to keep his son alive while maintaining morale in a world deprived of morals, though hope is fading faster than the sun’s dying light. It’s a harsh and bitter tale of survival, a primal scream in the face of the inevitable end. But it isn’t anger that fuels the shriek, it’s pure paternal love.
I Think We’re Alone Now
I Think We’re Alone Now is a post apocalyptic rom-com directed by Reed Morano, because what’s more romantic than the end of the world? After the majority of the human race died instantly of never fully explained causes, a lone survivor named Del lives a quiet life reading library books and burying the dead. One day, he’s visited by Grace – who drunk drove and crashed into his town. While Del meets the newcomer with a wariness befitting a post-apocalyptic survivor, their end of the world cohabitation begins to blossom into something more. Things get iffy when Grace’s parents show up exhibiting subtle signs of mind control, but the course of true love never did run smooth. In this case, it tends to run away – self-isolating due to the trauma of the apocalypse. In this film, human connection is a source of comfort and fear alike.
Mad Max: Fury Road
A Hollywood remake done right, Mad Max: Fury Road is not only one of the 21st century’s greatest post apocalyptic films, but one of its greatest action films as well. Said action takes place in a blasted wasteland formerly known as Australia, where warlords compete for resources with cult-like fervor. After lone survivor Max is captured by the brutal Immortal Joe, he’s taken to the warlord’s oasis as a prisoner – shackled alongside Joe’s five captive wives. And so begins the greatest escape attempt to post apocalyptic world has ever seen – powered by diesel engines and exploding harpoons. High octane vehicular combat sequences are enhanced with practical stunts – all soundtracked by a heavy metal guitarist strapped to a moving truck. It’s furious, fuel injected fun.
Snowpiercer
A post apocalyptic social commentary, Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer takes place in a world frozen over by a climate change induced Ice Age. The last remnants of humanity inhabit a train that forever circumnavigates the globe, sequestered into separate railcars based on social class. Sick of their squalid conditions, the population at the caboose rally together to overthrow their rich front-car oppressors, but first they’ll have to fight their way through an army of armed guards. It’s a claustrophobic action film that features some truly harrowing fight scenes – who could forget the sequence when the rebels prepare to attack to a group of soldiers, only for the train’s lights to go out while their adversaries put on night vision goggles? Terrifying. There’s an immensely satisfying vicarious thrill one gets watching Snowpiecer, a sense of being part of a rebellion that is already simmering in the real life psyche. People are sick of social stratification under capitalism. Snowpiercer serves as an outlet for the anger the average person harbors against the elite.
Children of Men
Arguably the greatest post apocalyptic film ever made, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men combines the high octane thrill of Mad Max, the biting social commentary of Snowpiercer, and the brutal realism of The Road. In a world plagued by a fertility crisis, the United Kingdom has responded to the threat of human extinction by declaring martial law – as you do. Former freedom fighter turned cynical bureaucrat Theo Faron feels the revolutionary fire stirring within him after a covert resistance movement introduces him to a woman named Kee – and her newborn baby. Charged with delivering Kee and her child to a secret scientific research group, Theo has to keep the pair out of rebel and government hands. It’s a harrowing story of the human spirit – nearly extinguished by humanity’s infinite capacity for self-annihilation. Bonus points: it features one of the greatest single shot takes ever filmed, you’ll know it when you see it.
28 Days Later
Arguably the best zombie movie ever made, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later introduced pop-culture to a new type of undead horror: the fast kind. After waking up in an abandoned hospital Rick Grimes-style, former bike-courier Jim finds himself trapped in a post-apocalyptic nightmare. The “Rage” virus has turned average humans into hyper-adrenalized terrors, capable of near supernatural speed and aggression. As he navigates an infected nation, he seeks shelter with a group of other survivors – but you never know who you can trust. Combining fast-paced action with heavy pathos, 28 Days Later is a famously brutal film with an unexpectedly happy ending. After the hell they go through, Jim and friends deserve it.
A Quiet Place
Directed by and starring John Krasinski, A Quiet Place is a fresh take on the tried and true alien invasion tale. After humanity is nearly rendered extinct by animalistic extraterrestrials that hunt by sound, The Abbott family have learned to survive by keeping quiet and communicating with American Sign Language. Knowing that even the slightest noise could spell their doom – the Lee and Evelyn Abott struggle to create a semi-normal life for their children. Sadly, things don’t go according to plan. Haunting and harrowing, A Quiet Place uses a sci-fi lens to tell a story as old as human history itself: the lengths that parents go to protect their children.
War For The Planet of The Apes
Another Hollywood remake that studios inexplicably got right, The Planet of The Apes franchise’s rise to critical and commercial success was about as likely as chimpanzees learning to speak English. In War For The Planet of The Apes, learn they do. The third installment in the franchise, the film follows the simian leader Caesar in his quest to ensure the survival of his kind. Trapped in a never-ending war between humans and apes, Caesar devotion to resolve the conflict through mercy is tested after a new human atrocity claims those he loves. It’s a thrilling dive into a non-human mind that’s wrestling with questions of morality. Caesar struggles with the weight of leadership, with fatherhood, with the pressure to ferociously protect his people while proving that he’s not the violent animal that humanity says he is. Beautiful, brutal, complex, War For The Planet of The Apes feels like a Shakespearean drama played out by animal actors, who are infinitely more human their Homo sapiens co-stars
Bird Box
Susanne Bier’s Bird Box takes place in a world haunted by eldritch entities who cause anyone who views them directly to commit suicide. Reeling from her sister’s entity-induced death, Malorie Hayes shelters with a group of survivors – her two young children among them. Forced to blindfold themselves when venturing into the outside world, the group has to get as handsy with their surroundings as teenagers in a backseat hookup. As tensions rise and the entities breed insanity among the few survivors, Malorie and her family sightlessly struggle to find someone to trust. Its heart pounder featuring one of the most unique horror villains around – a cosmic sort, left unseen for maximum maddening effect.
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Sarah Fimm
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