Summary
Nothing quite taps into a viewer’s deepest, darkest fears like horror films andpost-apocalypticmovies can provide some of the most chilling narratives, centering around crumbling societies and exploring the fragility of humanity.
From flesh-eating zombies to killer pathogens, doomsday cinema navigates the darkest corners of a world in ruins where survival becomes do or die, and sometimes like in life, the protagonist not only has themselves to worry about.
Ranging from big-budget studio cinema to low-cost, independent productions, thinking outside the box has helped propel the genre forward over the years and keep it fresh in the audience’s minds. Sometimes, the most unlikely idea can be the scariest.
9Screamers (1995)
War Never Changes
In the world of cinema, the audience isn’t just limited to Earth as a story location, and conflict is a frequently used plot device. Set on a planet in the midst of war, robots (Screamers) built for combat gain sentience and turn on their creators.
The plot ofScreamersisn’t a new one, with technology damaging the society that built it. However, artificial intelligence usually does this when the world is rosy and perfect - at least on the surface. This movie utilizes destruction to pile on more destruction.
810 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
Not What You Think
Viewers familiar with its2008 predecessorand the found footage-type POV may have expected the same elements in this ‘spiritual sequel,’ but10 Cloverfield Laneflips the narrative and what fans thought they knew of what was to come.
Starting pre-attack, the way the movie progresses creates a completely different type of horror than first thought before really zeroing in on the post-apocalyptic aspects. Waking up as the main protagonist does is enough to put enough fear into the audience, but what comes later securely places the film in several horror genres.
7It Comes At Night (2017)
Follow The Rules
Not seen in many of the post-apocalyptic films on this list,It Comes at Nightutilizes a more psychological form of horror to portray the difficulty people face when left alone at the end of the world, not only with the physical essentials but also mentally.
The film does not focus on society’s larger devastation but on what happens when two families collide while trying to survive. The plot is ultimately about trust and humanity’s very real desperation to endure. With certain inspirations taken fromThe Shining, psychological horrors can sometimes be the most unsettling.
6I Am Legend (2007)
Does The Dog Die
Story alone,I Am Legend,is scary in its own right. The idea of a plague born from scientific experimentation to fix another disease is terrifying in today’s world just as much as it was in 2007.
However, many viewers might fear more than the terrible future main character Robert Neville lives in and that fear is the very reason that spoiler websites like ‘Does The Dog Die’ exist. Horror seekers may want to skip this tense watch if their main concern is that of the animal sidekick.
5The Girl With All The Gifts (2016)
Children Are The Future
Demon children, possessed children, and simply just ‘creepy’ children are all common tropes of the horror genre. Children are innocent and often helpless, and so a lesser-used theme is that of a zombie child. Only a few movies and TV shows feature an undead character in the form of a child, and many of these are cartoons or even targeted at children themselves.
This movie flips what we know of zombies and creates a future that has the potential to be rebuilt if future generations share one very specific characteristic.
4The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Starring Horror Royalty
Based on the 1954 novelI Am Legend, Vincent Price plays a thoughtful and tragic main character whose isolation keeps him safe after humanity’s downfall due to a ‘vampire plague’.One of three adaptations of the bookto choose from,The Last Man on Earthis the first and the closest to the source material. Featuring a somewhat Van Helsing-type protagonist, the movie’s low budget could be seen as detrimental to the quality. Still, viewers may also appreciate the classic horror movie style it gives.
Price acted in over 200 movies and TV shows. He is famous for his distinctive voice and penchant for the horror genre. When watching his performances, the audience feels as though they are witnessing a master at work.
3Bird Box (2018)
See No Evil
For some, the loss of a heavily relied-on sense is hard enough, but being thrown into a horror-filled future with no routine, no guidance, and where removing a blindfold could be the end of you or those you love, that is cinematic gold. Lack of control is a fear shared among many for obvious reasons, and being the cause of hurt to those around you or even yourself is a theme drenched in horror.
Flashbacks are a useful way to increase intrigue in the plot, but sometimes, this does mean sacrificing good story beats. WhatBird Boxdoes very well is make up for this by giving the protagonist almost impossible obstacles while caring for those unable to care for themselves.
228 Days Later (2002)
Redefining A Genre
Kicking off two sequels, the latter being released in 2025,28 Days Lateris on many horror and zombie movie lists despite its director not considering it a zombie film. The story of Jim waking up from a coma to a post-apocalyptic world is very reminiscent ofThe Walking Deadand the fast-paced narrative is only matched by the fast-paced threat.
The audience is able to learn about the downfall of society as Jim does, connecting them to his character in a way that is harder to do with a large cast of survivors and the full-circlestory arc keeps viewers wanting more.
1A Quiet Place (2018)
Sound Of Silence
A constant need to be silent is an extremely difficult, if not somewhat impossible, hurdle to face when living in an endlessly noisy world. An audience member can not help but ask,‘How would I fair?’in the same scenario and the experience of watching in silence can be just as difficult of a task to complete.
Throwing the viewer into a world that has already been destroyed, showing the isolation and devastation months into the story, is sometimes preferable to skipping forward in time. The audience meets the characters in an established routine, and it doesn’t feel as though moments are skipped purely to race ahead to the ‘real story’. The family inA Quiet Placesuffers everyday injuries and tragic bereavements that in real life are expressed in an array of vocal ways, meaning their need to remain silent is another devastating loss. To ‘suffer in silence’ is a very common phrase for a reason.
