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Apocalyptic movies. Know any?

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polycounter lvl 11
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Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
I was able to see a few movies recently that I've been waiting for for a while. Antichrist was disappointing, but I think that's cause I didn't get it, not that it was a bad movie. Trick 'R Treat was amazingly fun, and I'm very glad I was able to see it FINALLY. But Seventh Moon really struck a chord with me. I've always loved end of the world kind of movies, that feeling of impending doom is something I've loved since I was a kid. While Seventh Moon is not an apocalyptic movie, it does have that sense of more widespread doom than a regular horror movie.

So, seeing as how polycounters seem to know a lot about cinema, I thought I'd ask if any of you know of good end of the world type movies. Also really claustrophobic movies as well, but more end of the world stuff preferably. :)

Post any and all suggestions here.

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  • bounchfx
    apocalyptica?

    .. :)
  • Jesse Moody
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    Jesse Moody polycounter lvl 17
    The Happening...
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    Hmmm, guess I should have prefaced that with GOOD apocalypse movies ;)
  • Sage
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    Sage polycounter lvl 19
    End of the human rave type deal... Hmm I'm not sure if these count for you, but Dawn of the Dead, 28 days and 28 Weeks later, are pretty good and you get the feeling well doom at the end. You might have seen those already though. I just saw one the other day too, it was a nice surprise!

    The Thaw, it was pretty messed up and creepy just because something like this might actually happen.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u94EM7RAkZ8[/ame]
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    Ok, now we're talking! I have seen, Dawn, 28 days, and 28 weeks, but I hadn't heard of The Thaw, that looks interesting. And Val Kilmer? That was a surprise. :D Looks creepy indeed, will be checking that for sure. Thanks
  • moose
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    moose polycount sponsor
    The Mist is entertaining
  • AtlusZMH
    I would advise just stopping The Mist about 10 minutes before the end of the movie.. <.< >.>
  • CheeseOnToast
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    CheeseOnToast greentooth
    There's an old Rutger Hauer movie, probably one of his straight-to-video jobs, that I always really liked called "Salute of the Juggers". It's based on groups of people wandering the post-apoc landscape, scraping a living by playing a very violent team sport in various settlements. Lots of great costumes made from bits of tires, chains etc. etc. Not a bad story either, as a weird take on the old cliche of a little team that makes it into the big leagues.
  • Murdoc
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    Murdoc polycounter lvl 11
    The Mist surprised me and aside from the timeline of the ending, the ending was f@#$ing awesome.
  • Mime
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    Mime polycounter lvl 14
    Murdoc wrote: »
    The Mist surprised me and aside from the timeline of the ending, the ending was f@# awesome.

    What he said.
    Plus antichrist was not that hard to understand :D (and not at all apocalyptic)


    On to the list :

    Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is one of the good ones.
    Pitch Black maybe ?
    Children of Men
    Last Night ( didn't get to see this one)
    The Fifth Element
    War of the Worlds (which i enjoyed)
    12 Monkeys
    Akira ( if in the mood for anime)
    Sunshine
    Dr. Strangelove

    And the king of apocalypse THE TERMINATOR (1+2)

    Hope you find at least a couple which you have't seen.
  • slipsius
    Tank girl
    waterworld (different kind of apoc)
    the new terminator
    I am legend (though, not full out apocalyptic, it does have alot of good reference for what it would look like if it were. )

    alot of the movies people have listed arent really the end of the world movies... they have storylines that are "if we dont do something, it will be the end of the world", but you never really see that happen cause they always save the planet. so there are 4 that actually have the world ended in some way throughout the movie.
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks for the suggestions! I've seen the mist, and while it bothered me, I thought the ending was quite good. I'd much rather be bothered by an ending, than feel ho-hum about it.

    I will look up Salute of the Juggers, thanks for that.

    Mime, I got most of Antichrist, but what I didn't get was the ending shot which I won't spoil, and whether or not certain things (REALLY trying not to spoil this one...) were real, or metaphor. I got the rest, and I wasn't saying it was apocalyptic, btw. Just one of the three movies I was able to see after waiting for a long time. Trick 'R Treat wasn't apocalyptic by any means either.

    As far as the list you posted, I haven't seen children of men, or Last Night. The rest I've seen, but I'll check the two I haven't for sure.

    As an example of other movies that are more PRE apocalyptic, Prince of Darkness, and The Thing, have that sense of impending doom. Yeah, I know they're both John Carpentar flicks from his "apocalypse trilogy" but that's kinda the thing I'm always on the lookout for.

    Anyway,thanks for the suggestions so far. :)
  • CasperNilsson
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    "The Day After" TV mini-series from the 1980s ... I honestly don't recall if it was any good or not though :-/
  • Mime
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    Mime polycounter lvl 14
    Jeremy-S wrote: »
    Anyway,thanks for the suggestions so far. :)

    Np. Glad i could help.
    Also noone seems to mention Cloverfield... (wasn't that good, i know)

    Edit: After a bit of google added a few more. (you might have seen them all)

    Lord of the flies
    Equilibrium
    Brazil
    Blade Runner
    maybe Donnie Darko
  • firestarter
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    firestarter polycounter lvl 18
    The Quiet Earth website is a good resource for this stuff. I`d definitely recommend the film of the same name. And also aim for movies/tv that were filmed during the 70's as it seems people can`t quite handle the pessimistic vibe required to pull apoc films off these days (mostly). Survivors! ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072572/ ) Some of the early 80`s British TV dramas are pretty chilling, especially Threads ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090163/ ).
    You may also enjoy End of the Line ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494224/ ) seeing as you also tinker with horror I see (still awaiting my Trick r Treat dvd =o), not to say it`s a `great` film mind.
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    WOW! Thanks for all these suggestions. There's some gold in here! That quietearth link is full of win, thanks a lot.

    The Day After was fantastic! I wasn't allowed to see it when it first aired, as I was too little, but I do remember my dad and uncle thinking it was real... they may have been rather drunk, too.

    Mime. I don't think I've seen Brazil. I vaguely remember it, but I really don't think I've seen it all. That one goes in the "get it!" pile. Thanks.

    firestarter, I know what you mean about the pessimism of these kinds of movies. No one's mentioned The Day After Tomorrow either, and I think that might be partially because it's not pessimistic ENOUGH. About your suggestions, I have actually never even heard of any of those. I will have to check them out. Oh, and I do much more than "tinker" with horror. ;) I'm a MAJOR horror fan. It's about 95-98% of my small dvd collection.

    Now I get the strange feeling I'm gonna be spending the rest of the night at that Quiet Earth site. :D Thanks a ton, everyone.
  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    "The Road" is coming out soon. Should be two-mazings (not just A-mazing, haha)
  • cholden
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    cholden polycounter lvl 18
    I just saw the trailer for this cheesefest on scifi
    http://www.trailerspy.com/trailer/5530/Megafault-Trailer
    There must be a "mega-" series or something on scifi, because every movie is like megashark, megasnake, megatornado, etc. all with the same budget cg and ethnically diverse hero, female costar and scientist cast.
  • low odor
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    low odor polycounter lvl 17
    There's an old Rutger Hauer movie, probably one of his straight-to-video jobs, that I always really liked called "Salute of the Juggers". It's based on groups of people wandering the post-apoc landscape, scraping a living by playing a very violent team sport in various settlements. Lots of great costumes made from bits of tires, chains etc. etc. Not a bad story either, as a weird take on the old cliche of a little team that makes it into the big leagues.

    I think it was called Blood of Heros here in the states...good movie
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Joopson wrote: »
    "The Road" is coming out soon. Should be two-mazings (not just A-mazing, haha)

    Likewise the Book of Eli - Fallout the movie for all intents and porpoises.
  • moose
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    moose polycount sponsor
    oh fuck, i completely forgot about Children of Men ads;lkjfas;dlkjfas;ldjkf. such an amazingly awesome & depressing movie.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    "The Day After" TV mini-series from the 1980s ... I honestly don't recall if it was any good or not though :-/

    God that series gave me nightmares for years as a kid. Really left a anti nuke war impression on me.


    Want to back up Strangelove of course.. not horror. Another classic, sorta.

    WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeT-yHNcFI[/ame]



    Of course, who can forget.

    A Boy and his Dog.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu9fESAlGc4[/ame] (comedy horror)


    Finally a Cartoon. (really a downer/sad movie/ post nuke war)

    When the Wind Blows (killer soundtrack as well)

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EbsrJuAoQo[/ame]

    Edit. Also want to third, the Quiet Earth.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdHoYtBzdX0[/ame]

    Finally, in some ways, this movie is more horrible than the day after. It stays with you because its so restrained. It focuses on a mother and her children after a nuke war. (Barring the name, its not religious).

    Testament

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testament_%28film%29

    testament.jpg
  • Slum
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    Slum polycounter lvl 18
    AtlusZMH wrote: »
    I would advise just stopping The Mist about 10 minutes before the end of the movie.. <.< >.>

    No way, that ending was awesome. Incredibly brutal.
  • Em.
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    Em. polycounter lvl 17
    That "Life After People" series is pretty interesting, I think it's on history channel. If someone already said it, sorry, I'm tired and just kinda skimmed the posts.
  • glynnsmith
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    glynnsmith polycounter lvl 17
    US TV show Jericho, which I really liked.

    There's a UK show called Survivors that's pretty badass, too. Hope they make a second season.
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    oxynary posted each one that i was going to, damn his eyes
  • Peris
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    Peris polycounter lvl 17
    Le dernier combat (the last battle)
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085426/

    cool black and white low budget movie set in a future where people for a strange reason are unable to talk anymore. Society collapses, women become a rare valuable good and all that.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
  • Rhinokey
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    Rhinokey polycounter lvl 18
    i second "a boy and his dog"
  • I_luv_Pixels
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    I_luv_Pixels polycounter lvl 17
    A boy and his dog

    is awesome!!!!!!
  • divi
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    divi polycounter lvl 12
    maybe not the best fit to what has been suggested so far and more post-apocalyptic than apocalyptic would be "Pandorum". i normally hate movies like that, event horizon for example, but this one i really enjoyed. kept me attentive the whole time.
  • spacemonkey
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    spacemonkey polycounter lvl 18
    Ok some that havent been mentioned;

    Fist of The North Star (80's anime)
    The Stand (Stephen King Tv Movie)
    DeadSet (Uk Tv show)
    Hardware (Movie)
    Tooth & Nail (crap movie)
    Doomsday
    Resident Evil movies
    Judge Dread

    (Disclaimer I don't recommend all these films, just food for thought in addition to the others already recommended.)

    For claustrophobic I recomend The Descent, the original is great and full of tension. I went to the premiere of the sequal and its more action orientated and doesnt successfully capture the tension of the first.


    Battle Royale - break down of society rather than apocalyptic but good :D
  • HonkyPunch
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    HonkyPunch polycounter lvl 18
    Idiocracy is an amazing look at a different kind of apocalypse, made by mike judge..
    It's a must see.
    It's a comedy movie, of course, but it seems unfortunately unlikely.
  • Peris
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    Peris polycounter lvl 17
    ooh this one is cool too, kinda post apocalyptic but it takes place in space, and has a very fallout feel to it. Absolutely fantastic movie!

    The american astronaut

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfHfTt2-3pI[/ame]

    and yeah a boy and his dog rules, best movie ending ever =)
  • Jeremy Lindstrom
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    Jeremy Lindstrom polycounter lvl 18
  • spacemonkey
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    spacemonkey polycounter lvl 18
    Oh, forgot Infestation! Comedy horror set after giant insects take over the world :D
  • Mark Dygert
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Whats the one about the world slowly being irradiated?

    On the Beach, that was it. There are a couple of different versions, both of which are quite good.
  • Jasp
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    Jasp polycounter lvl 12
    Silent City, a (very) short film you can download in 720p version, on the director's website
  • vcool
    A boy and his dog.

    Weird, and the ending left me ... hm ... feeling strange.

    Mad Max obviously.

    Doomsday works, but it was a shit movie.

    Knowing is great.

    Then, of course, The Day After Tomorrow, Deep Impact (I think it's called that) and a shitton of other end of the world movies with asteroids.

    There are some nice wasteland environments in the very beginning of the 2001: A Space Odyssey, at some places in Terminator 4.
  • t4paN
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    t4paN polycounter lvl 10
    Infestation was a pretty fun indie movie but didn't look too indie. Plus the guy who plays the devil in Reaper (tv) plays the main character's psycho ex-marine dad or something, pretty awesome movie.
    Slum wrote: »
    No way, that ending was awesome. Incredibly brutal.

    The Mist is one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years, esp for that genre. Watch it full :P
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    Holy crap, that's a lot to take in, but here we go...

    I haven't seen "Life After People" mainly cause I don't watch much tv at all. About 2 shows, and that's it. Same with Jericho.

    Le Dernier Combat was another name for one of the previously mentioned movies I think. It looks interesting none the less, so I'll be checking it out, thanks.

    Delicatessen looks weird as all hell, and right up my alley. Will check for sure. ;)

    I never saw Boy and His Dog, for the simple fact that when I could have seen it easily, I thought "eeeww, Don Johnson?" and left it alone. Will look into it now though.

    Pandorum looks great! And no, I don't mind "check your brain at the door" movies for the most part, such as Event Horizon.

    Fist of The North Star (80's anime) Seen it, read the manga's, and watched the god awful live action flick. Pretty fun stuff none the less.
    The Stand (Stephen King Tv Movie) Seen it as well, but the two times I've watched the whole thing are enough. I'd like to stay better in my memory than it actually is.
    DeadSet (Uk Tv show) One of the best tv show I've ever seen in my life, next to Dexter. The sleezy producer guy was hilarious. "Cause I'm askin, ya fetus" Ah man, that dude was awesome.
    Hardware (Movie) I saw that when it first hit vhs. Loved it then, as I do now. Side note, Bloodydisgusting.com is giving away 5 bluray versions of Hardware right now.
    Tooth & Nail (crap movie) That was god awful! But thanks for taking the time :)
    Doomsday That was fun. Ran a little long, but it was fun.
    Resident Evil movies Meh, but again, thanks for taking the time
    Judge Dread :)
    Descent was great too. VERY claustrophobic, and the end! Well, the director's cut end, not the theatrical end. Good stuff.

    Idiocracy was weird! Simple as that.

    American Astronaut I haven't heard of, but again, looks weird as hell o will check it out.

    Knowing I actually enjoyed, despite Nicolas Cage, and what actually caused what happened (massive spoiler avoidance)

    infestation, THAT looks awesome!! And it has Ray Wise, I gotta see that shit!!

    Thanks for the link, Vig.

    Never heard of On the Beach before, so I gotta look for it, and check it. Thanks for that.

    I Like shorts, so I'll download, Silent City.

    Covered all the ones vcool was talking about already, except Terminator 4, which I absolutely loved. Well, that part with the GIANT terminator SNEAKING up on those people was funny, but whatever.

    t4paN, "the guy who plays the devil in Reaper (tv) plays the main character's psycho ex-marine dad or something" That's Ray Wise, my man. One of the coolest cats to ever grace celluloid.

    Speaking of Ray Wise, he was in a self financed short movie called AM 1200, which was straight out of Lovecraft. If like Lovecraft, then check that short out. It's great.

    Ok, I think that covers all the movie's suggested since I last popped into this thread (WHEW!!) Do we have any more PRE apocalyptic movies? One's that have the end of the world approaching, not over with? Iknow a lot were suggested, just asking for more :D

    Thanks all who contributed. I got a LOT of movies to watch :)
  • slipsius
    I would really love to know what classifies as apocalyptic....

    alot of these movies really arent that at all. judge dread? I thriving city with strict laws? hardly apocalyptic.
  • Murdoc
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    Murdoc polycounter lvl 11
    vcool wrote: »
    A boy and his dog.

    - Is this like a movie from the 70s that is super low budget and the dog talks to him? I caught about 20 minutes of a movie like this in a hotel a month ago; it was f-ing weird but had no idea what it was about.
  • vcool
    Murdoc wrote: »
    - Is this like a movie from the 70s that is super low budget and the dog talks to him? I caught about 20 minutes of a movie like this in a hotel a month ago; it was f-ing weird but had no idea what it was about.

    Yup, 1975 and you can see the budget was low.

    Still great and I think the story is very similar to Fallout's. Well, some aspects of it.
  • ebagg
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    ebagg polycounter lvl 17
    I really liked the show Jericho, two seasons of it are on netflix instant play!
  • Xoliul
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    Xoliul polycounter lvl 14
    I always thought Escape from New York and Escape from LA were pretty cool. Largely due to Kurt Russel. I really loved the ending from LA!
  • wasker
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    wasker polycounter lvl 7
    I loved The Road, but the book is even grimmer and better.
    I also just watched Stake Land, a quite well written zombie/vampire movie with lots of clever homages to the 80s horror movies. I quite liked it. It's probably on par with the movie version of The Road in gloominess.

    I loved Dead Set, 28 days later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead and I can recommend all of them if you're looking for zombie flicks. Speaking of zombie movies. The german movie 'Rammbock' is quite cool but somewhat hard to follow at times.
    Night of the Comet (1984) is alright and so is Day of the Dead.
    I think any zombie movie fits into this category really.

    I also liked Hunter Prey somewhat (bounty hunters transporting a prisoner crash on a desert planet). They've done wonders with their tiny tiny budget.

    And if you're looking for something really really low budget and wierd; Eden log. It's french, nuff said.

    Also; Monsters from 2010. Again, lowbudget but it doesn't show (much). Very slow but tense movie. I like.

    And claustrophobic movies, hmm well, any of the Alien movies I guess, Descent and the Cube movies. The spanish movie REC takes place inside an apartment building with lots of close up and shaky camming so I guess that could be considered claustrophobic.
    The australian free movie "The Tunnel" was quite claustrophobic as well. it's not the best movie I've seen but considering it's free it could be worth checking out.

    Hh, how could I forget; "Buried"! Very nice movie, again quite low budget (seems just like the games industry this is where people innovate). Doesn't get more claustrophobic than this.
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    The Road looked too depressing to me, so I haven't, and probably won't, see it. Haven't seen Stake Land yet, but it's on my list. Haven't seen Hunter Prey either.

    The Tunnel was actually pretty great. I'm a massive sucker for cinema verite films. I get pulled into them almost immediately, no matter how shitty they are. Same with REC/Quarantine. Buried pissed me off. it was good, very moving, and Reynolds performance was fantastic, but there's claustrophobic, and then there's that. There were other things that pissed me off, but won't go into them.
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