Top 10? Post-Apocalyptic Movies

Ian E. Muller

While looking up Post-Apocalyptic/Apocalyptic movies, I ran across a few “Top 10″ lists. While they were, for the most part, excellent lists, it reminded me of a few movies I believe belong on a “Top 10″ list of Post-Apocalyptic movies. After setting a few parameters, such as, “all the movies on the list have to be movies I have seen,” and limiting myself to only Post-Apocalyptic movies, not ones set during the Apocalyptic event itself. I also chose to leave out a few movies on a few other specifications, which I will cover later. So without further ado, here are my Top 10? Post-Apocalyptic Movies.

10 - Zardoz (Purchase)

While “Zardoz” isn’t by far the best movie, and many would say it’s downright awful, it has a special appeal to me. Namely… Sean Connery is in it. The movie also has a not-so-subtle anti-violence message, though this message has a “twist” to it. This movie has to be on my list simply because of how absurd it is. It might have bad acting, a bad plot, and terrible special effects, but it is silly, and that’s what lets it slide into my number 10 slot.

9 - The Matrix (Series)

(Ironically, I’m watching the remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Keanu Reaves as I type this.) “The Matrix” was a pivotal and groundbreaking film accomplishment. It began many (now overused) cinematic styles (such as the ever popular “bullet-time”) and it grossed over $171,000,000 in the US alone, these facts alone can guarantee it’s place in history. However, the story was also phenomenal, and for me pretty much directly opened up the gateway to philosophical inquiry, something I had never really explored before (and my degree now is in Philosophy, so what does that tell you). And regardless of anyone elses feelings, I actually enjoy the other two films (and I love “The Animatrix” almost as much as the first film), so I believe they deserve a place on this list as well, hence why they are all lumped together.

The Films (in order):
The Matrix (Purchase)
The Animatrix (Purchase) (Watch for free on Hulu)
The Matrix Reloaded (Purchase)
The Matrix Revolutions (Purchase)

8 - Six-String Samurai (Purchase)

This little known film gets a place on my list simply because of how clever it is. Set in a world where the US has been wiped out by the Soviets, music is “king.” Elvis, who rules the American Wastelands from Las Vegas, has died, and a new king of Rock n’ Roll must be found. The main character (who looks much like Buddy Holly) is traveling to Las Vegas to become the new king, and fights various bands of people on his way, particularly “Death”, who represents Heavy Metal. The movie is more comedy than action, and is as hilarious as it is entertaining. It is also a commentary on the “death” of rock music by metal, represented by “Death” (who resembles Slash) killing off characters representing styles of Rock n’ Roll. Its combination of music with the Post-Apocalyptic theme makes it a necessity for my list.

7 - Logan’s Run (Purchase)

“Logan’s Run” is a classic and deserves to be ony practically any “Top 10″ list, let alone a Post-Apocalyptic one. This is one of the first Sci-Fi movies I ever saw as a child, and the second Post-Apocalyptic one (the first being later on this list), and it made quite an impression. It was also the first dystopian film I ever saw, and it, along with the novels 1984 (Purchase) and Brave New World (Purchase) hooked me on the genre entirely. And I wont even touch on the social and political ideas in it, just see it for yourselves.

6 - The Postman (Purchase)

This movie get’s a bad rap. It, as well as “Waterworld” (Purchase), are seen in general, I think, as bad movies. This, is ridiculous. I said it, and I’ll stick by it. I chose to leave “Waterworld” off of this list simply because I feel that “The Postman” is the better of the two, and, for some reason I have always lumped the two together. But enough about “Waterworld”. “The Postman” is, in essence, the quintessential Post-Apocalyptic movie. It as all the elements of survival, shock, attempts to rebuilt society, and fighting. It also has some interesting character development that I rather enjoyed. It’s also based off of a book, which I should read…

5 - Vampire Hunter D (Purchase)

The only Anime film to make it to my list, and for damn good reason. “Vampire Hunter D” is dark, disturbing, and weird. Vampires rule over humans in this world, and humans are living in medieval conditions, while the vampires seem to have almost “future-punk” interior architecture in their castle. Never mind the second movie, which is also good in it’s own right (and done by an amazing animation studio) -”Bloodlust” (Purchase) is different in that the world  is much more technologically advanced, it almost seems like the two movies take place hundreds of years apart. Which is highly possible and likely. The film is excellent, and was the first anime movie I ever saw, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. (Note that this compares the two films, not the novels.)

4 - 12 Monkeys (Purchase)

Is an odd choice for my list, and I purposefully left out the “Terminator” series for the same reasons I could have left this movie out, but I chose to keep it because A: It’s significantly better than all of the “Terminator” movies, and B: It works slightly differently. “12 Monkeys” is also based on the short 60’s French film “La Jetée” (Purchase). It combined Post-Apocalyptic future with time travel, which gives it a slight boost up my chart, and I feel that it gives a rather poignant and accurate account of the human condition towards the end, which I wont spoil for those who haven’t seen it. Now I just need to find a copy of “La Jetée” somewhere so I can check that out…

3 - Mad Max (Trilogy)

The “Mad Max” movies were my first introduction to the Post-Apocalyptic scenario and I’ve been fascinated by it ever since. These three movies are each fantastic in their own right, with the final one (”Beyond Thunderdome”) being the most well known. The original movie was also one of Mel Gibson’s first roles, and helped bring him into the spotlight. The films are all rather dark (though they get less so with each film I believe) and basically follow the life of Max Rockatansky, surviving in a desolate Post-Apocalyptic Australia. One thing that always fascinated me by this film series is that it seemed that the major cause of the fall of civilization in the films seems to be  the scarcity of fuel, destroying energy resources and transportation. It is an idea that I haven’t seen explored anywhere else, and I find it particularly fascinating. They are also planning on making a fourth movie (without Mel Gibson) as well as a feature-length Anime film and a video game. It looks to be interesting…

The Films (in order):
Mad Max (Purchase)
Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) (Purchase)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Purchase)
Mad Max 4 (Currently in Pre-Production)

2 - The Last Man On Earth (Purchase)/The Omega Man (Purchase)/I Am Legend (Purchase)

The novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Purchase) was written in 1954 has spawned 3* films since then, the most recent being the Will Smith movie of the same title, and the best being the Vincent Price movie “The Last Man on Earth.” The 1971 version, “The Omega Man,” is the film differing the most of the novel, and while it’s a good movie, doesn’t compare to the Vincent Price one in my opinion. The recent adaptation also deviates from the novel, and completely misses the point of it (though it is still an enjoyable film). If you want to see the proper movie adaptation of the novel please watch the original Vincent Price version.

The movies, and novel, are horror-esque, and deal with a genetically/viral-ly created zombie-like vampire creation, which has wiped out humanity, the main character being the last surviving member of the race. I have yet  to see “The Quiet Earth” (Purchase) (which I hear achieves this better), but I feel this movie perfectly captures how one would go mad from literally being the only human left alive on the planet.

*The movie “I Am Omega” (no I will not provide a  link to purchase, don’t buy this crap) is a low-budget straight to video film put out before “I Am Legend” to capitalize on the big-Hollywood film, and is also loosely based on the novel. It is terrible, do not watch it, unless you enjoy B-Horror movies like I do.
Additionally, the next movies I am about to mention were inspired by the book and first Vincent Price adaptation…

Update: Watch “The Last Man on Earth” for free on Hulu. - The Last Man on Earth

1 - Living Dead (Series)

If anyone would like to contest my opinion that the George A. Romero “Night of the Living Dead” (and subsequent five official films (with a sixth currently in production), as well as numerous remakes, parodies, spin-offs, and non-theatrical works. “Day of the Dead,” the third movie in the “series” is by far my favorite movie, ever, and each of the others would be in my top 10 movies as well (so I usually do what I did in this case and lump them all together in the number 1 slot…). Rating each other these movies separately would require about 20 pages for my to accurately describe why each is amazing, so I’ll try to keep it short. Covering the ever-loved topic of Zombie Apocalypse, and pretty much inventing the “genre” with the first “Night of the Living Dead,” Romero created a masterpiece of horror and cinema that will probably be remembered for ages. The movies are not only particularly amazing, both in script as well as cinematography, but also cover social commentary on racism, consumerism, over-use of military, class-ism and class conflict, and human nature, respectively, as well as many other topics covered in less length through all the movies.

Various films in the series have also been remade (two version of Night, one of Dawn, and one of Day), has two spin-off movie series - the “Return of the Living Dead” series started by Dan O’Bannon, five films all of which are terrible, and John Russo’s retelling of the original Night, with it’s sequel “Children of the Living Dead,” which I feel actually detract from the original film in some ways, though they aren’t as terrible as the “Return of the Living Dead” series. There have also been four or five unofficial remakes/sequels, and various parodies, the best, and most well known, being “Shaun of the Dead,” (Purchase) the 2004 “romantic zombie comedy” filmed in Britain starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

Over all Romero’s series is one of the most celebrated and well-known horror “franchises” in existence, and can be considered the definitive zombie series. In the end it seems the best, and obvious, choice for my number one slot.

The Films (in order):
Night of the Living Dead (1968 - Purchase - Watch for free on Hulu) (1990 remake - Purchase) (2006 3D remake - Purchase)
Dawn of the Dead (1978 - Purchase) (2004 remake - Purchase)
Day of the Dead (1985 - Purchase) (2005 unofficial sequel - Purchase) (2008 remake - Purchase)
Land of the Dead (2005) (Purchase)
Diary of the Dead (2007) (Purchase)
…of the Dead (Currently in post-production)

I realize that this list technically covers more than 10 movies (hence the “?” in the title). I realize I also left out some great films, which I will explain the reason for in a future post (and the only reason it’s not in *this* post is because it will take me way too long and I want to post this). If you want to take issue with the movies I chose, or didn’t choose, feel free to comment. I have provided links to every movie so that you may explore my choices further, and I highly recommend you see any movies on my list that you haven’t seen before, particularly the “Mad Max” or “Living Dead” movies. Enjoy!

~Ian

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 11th, 2009 at 01:37:26PM EDTand is filed under Visual Delights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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