10 Criminally Underrated Apocalypse Movies

Everybody talks about World War Z, I am Legend and Planet of the Apes. They are the better known, more popular movies of the Apocalypse genre. But there are some that are just as good, even better if you will, that did not get the same level of recognition even though they deserved all the love and attention they could get.

10. The Quiet Earth

What happens when Man plays God? Project Flashlight was an attempt by a few scientists to come up with a solution for limitless energy. Zac, the lead scientist wakes up one day to find that he is the last person on Earth. Project Flashlight worked but it changed the physical constraints of the universe, and now the project is the reason the human race is dead. Zac meets Joanne and Api, two fellow survivors who are strangely connected with each other via one simple fact – all three of them were on the verge of death when Project Flashlight happened. The ending of the movie is also very cryptic and symbolic.

9. When the Wind Blows:

Jimmy T Murakami directs this beautifully well-crafted hand drawn animated tale of an old British Couple living the quiet country life. Their mundane lives are interrupted when they realize Britain is about to enter World War 3 to fight the Iron Curtain countries. Jim and Hilda Bloggs do not know how to react to this situation. All they have ever done is live peacefully doing boring things and ordinary stuff. The new situation brings a flurry of hilarious situations to their doorsteps. Matters soon take a dark turn when the effects of nuclear radiation start to have deadly effects on the old couple.

8. The Last Boy

Seldom do we see a movie that is inspired by the works of a literary artist that lived more than 7 centuries ago. Rumi was a Sufi poet, writer, artists and mystic. His works are widely regarded as the best in class in Sufi Culture and literature. The Last Boy takes some massive inspirations from Rumi’s works of fiction. The world is dying in The Last Boy. The mother of a young booy is about to breath her last. She sends her son on a strange quest. The mother tells the son of a magical place that actually grants wishes. The young boy now must undertake a perilous journey through dangerous territory to arrive at this mysterious location where he can wish everything to be normal again. The Last Boy is a story of redemption and self-realization.

7. Stake Land

Stake Land tells the story of a world ravaged by vampires. A mysterious disease has turned the entire human civilization into blood sucking beasts. The human race is on the verge of extinction. Whatever is left of humanity has taken to a primitive life of hunting and scavenging to survive, doing whatever they can to stave off the creatures of the night from killing them. A wayward vampire hunter called Damici takes a young boy under his wing. The boy named Martin is then trained in the ways of vampire hunters by Damici, who has his personal agenda at play as well. When Damici and Martin hear of a sanctuary where vampires do not dwell, they embark on a journey of epic proportions to save their skins. Stake Land was made on a shoestring budget of 625,000 US Dollars. It does not disappoint at all.

6. Vanishing on 7th Street

There is something in the Darkness. The protagonists of Vanishing on 7th Street slowly come to realize the meaning behind those words in full detail. The bustling city of Detroit suddenly goes silent. There is no sound, no sign of life, and no people. Only a few manage to cling to life. They do not know what is going on. Vanishing on 7th Street looks like and starts out like a typical apocalyptic movie. But it has a power packed performance by many of its actors, which form a strong ensemble cast. With big names like Thandie Newton and Hayden Christensen in the movie, we are astonished how it could escape the attention of disaster and apocalyptic movie fan bases.

5. Threads

Karen Meagher and Reece Dinsdale used to be very popular names within the British Film Industry during the 1980’s and 19990’s. One of the greatest movies where both of the hot shots worked opposite to each other was Threads. The movie takes us to the British Country Side. Karen Meagher plays Ruth, a newly wed bride who is also pregnant. Jimmy (played by Reece Dinsdale) takes her to the quieter and peaceful Sheffield, England after the United States and Soviet Union go to war. The Soviet Union launches an attack on the Nato base twenty miles away from Sheffield. The resulting nuclear holocaust separates Jimmy and Ruth as the entire town descends into madness and hysteria. Ruth has to survive on her own as the people around her becomes savages in a post-apocalyptic world.

4. Children of Men

Children of Men has an IMDB rating of 7.9. The Rotten Tomatoes give it a 92 per cent rating, giving it the label of “Certified Fresh”. It has an 84% approval rating on Metacritic. And yet almost no one has heard about it. Clive Owen gives his career best in Children of Men. He plays the down on his luck Bureaucrat named Theo. Humanity has lost the capability to reproduce, essentially becoming sterile. Nobody knows what caused it. 18 years of no fertility has pushed society to the verge of extinction. When Theo finds out that there is one woman who actually is pregnant (nothing short of a miracle), he makes it his life mission to escort her to safe haven. There is this one scene in Children of Men at the very end, when the new-born child cries for the first time and soldiers and rebels fighting each other stop momentarily to look at the baby. That scene will bring tears to your eyes.

3. The Road

The Road is the work John Hill-coat, who sits on the Director’s Chair for this one. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron in lead roles. The world has finally died out. Nobody knows what took it out. Hunger, Poverty, Pollution, War, or maybe an asteroid – We never get to know what caused the great fires that ravage the earth and rain poisonous ash on everyone that survived. Theron’s character gives birth to a boy that she knows is doomed. The Boy is born to a world which is itself cursed. The movie shows Theron either ran away or killed her-self. The father and the son now live hand to mouth, surviving on whatever they can. The Road has a lot of symbolism. It is a roller coaster of emotions.

2. Right at your Door

Rory Cochrane plays Brad and Mary McCormack plays Lexi, a married couple living in downtown Los Angeles. Brad drops Lexi at work and comes home to find that Los Angeles has become ground zero in nuclear warfare. Multiple Dirty Bombs by a mysterious benefactor have been detonated all over the city. The air, the water, and the food – everything is irradiated and lethal. Brad and Lexi manage to seal themselves off within their homes, turning away anyone who tries to ask them for sanctuary. But decisions like that come with grave consequences. Brad and Lexi realize that more is yet to come for them. The Dirty Bombs are the least of their concerns.

City of Ember

Humanity no longer lives under the sky. They live in a huge city with built within a huge metal dome. Multiple generations have lived and thrived within the City of Ember which is powered by a massive generator. But the Generator is running out of power. It was only built for lasting 200 years. The Lights have started to flicker. The City of Ember is dying. A group of young teenagers decide to unlock the purpose of the City of Ember. They realise why it was built – humanity had to live underground after a devastating nuclear war had poisoned the surface. The time required for the Earth to return back to normal was approximately 200 years.

Caption: End of Days unlike anything you have ever seen!