The word “apocalypse” literally means “lifting of the veil” or “revelation” and is typically used to describe the end of the world, whether that end is brought about by something spiritual, natural, man-made or a combination of all three.
There are as many theories on how the world will end as there are religions, faiths and philosophies. Thus, Hollywood has lots to choose from when deciding how to show the demise of humanity on the big screen. And the creators of the new Internet television series “2012” have added a new voice to the genre. In “2012”, the Mayan calendar is correct and in December, 2012, aliens destroy most of life on earth. A handful of courageous survivors must overcome the odds as they are guided to safety by the mysterious extrasensory visions of an unknown Mayan god. With resources at a minimum, basic survival is key as they attempt to battle the aliens and evade the rest of the humans who have been infected beyond a cure.
2012: Arrival – Ep.1
Since there won’t be any filmmakers left to document the actual end of life as we know it, below are nine films which, if they didn’t get it exactly right, did a great job depicting The End.
Children of Men
The end of the world comes quietly and sadly in this 2006 Clive Owen-starrer. It is the year 2027 and mankind has lost the ability to reproduce.
Owen plays a man who is a shell of his former self. Once a fiery activist, now he’s just waiting for humanity’s extinction. That changes, however, when his old friend and partner, played by Julianne Moore, introduces him to a pregnant woman. Seeing this miracle ignites Owen’s fire and he risks it all to get her to safety.
Children of Men, based on the book The Children of Men, does a great job at giving audiences an alternative to big, violent, end-times fare. Chronic, species-wide infertility is a great villain and the film captures the sadness and longing that a slow march to extinction would bring.
The Omega Man
Charlton Heston makes pretty much any movie list-worthy and The Omega Man is no exception. In this movie, Heston plays Colonel Robert Neville, a man trying to save the remaining bits of humanity from the effects of the biological warfare that wiped out everyone else. Most humans who survived have turned into albino mutants bent on destroying all technology. Neville does not become a mutant because he had access to an experimental vaccine that spared his life.
He finds a band of humans who are infected, but who haven’t turned into mutants yet and creates a vaccine that will save them as well. But before he can give it to them, one of them betrays him, leading to his death. Despite the betrayal, Neville still hands off the meds and dies in an appropriately maudlin Christ pose.
Mad Max (franchise)
The three movies that make up the Mad Max franchise (Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) explore the emotional ramifications of a greedy society that cannot control its urges or change with the times. In this world, dependence on oil has destroyed the landscape and the people that inhabit it. Society is now ruled by cruel, violent gangs who use torture, threats and terror to maintain their existence. Single gallons of petrol are precious, priceless commodities and thugs have no qualms or hesitation about killing to get a jug.
Enter Max Rockatansky, played by the then-newcomer Mel Gibson. At the start of the series, Max is a police officer working to uphold the law and restore some sort of order. The senseless murder of his wife and child are enough to prove to Max that order is impossible to restore and he becomes a thug himself — though one constantly battling between his old, rational, emotional self and the Max he is becoming — a man bent on revenge and delighting in treatment as cruel as what was inflicted upon him.
Thanks to the unique setting, unique costumes, motorcycles, and machinery-focused storytelling devices, the Mad Max movies have become cult favorites.
28 Days Later
This film adds a touch of horror to the genre. Instead of people dying suddenly and/or mysteriously, mankind is infected with a wildly contagious “rage” virus that causes sufferers to act out violently and either kill everything in sight or be killed by people trying to defend themselves. The story follows four survivors as society falls to pieces around them.
The seamless combination of genres — horror, zombie, end of the world, allegory –makes 28 Days Later an excellent example of apocalyptic cinema.
Logan’s Run
The best genre films take the basics of the genre and layer in contemporary commentary. Logan’s Run adds the rarely discussed topic of ageism to a dystopian setting. In this film, based on the book of the same name, balance and order are maintained by killing every citizen when they reach the age of 21. This is the only way the powers that be see to keep mankind from depleting the Earth’s dwindling resources.
Titular character Logan is in charge of finding and executing Runners — people who try to escape their fate. He goes rogue in order to infiltrate a group of Runners and soon finds he has more in common with them that he does with the governmental forces he worked for so long.
Equilibrium
Like Logan’s Run, Equilibrium features a society trying to stave off its apocalypse. In this world, feelings are considered the enemy. Citizens are prohibited from engaging in or enjoying artistic expression and take daily injections to stop all emotion. Christian Bale plays a law-enforcement officer charged with making sure people obey these rules. Naturally, he re-discovers how beautiful art can be and leads a resistance to overthrow the oppressive regime.
The film received mixed reviews, but deserves a spot on the list for the very cool martial arts created for the film: the Gun Kata. This fighting style pits gunmen in close hand to hand combat where they avoid direct bullet hits in favor of elaborate ricochets.
Soylent Green
Set in 2022, Soylent Green tells the story of an Earth significantly destroyed by overpopulation and global warming. Charlton Heston plays Robert Thorne, a police officer who is investigating the death of a Soylent Corporation official. The Soylent Corporation has been keeping humanity satiated by feeding people Soylent Green — a food substance they claim is made from plankton. Soon, however, Thorne discovers that the oceans no longer produce plankton and thus realizes… “Soylent Green is PEEEEEEEOPLE!!”
The Road
As if the sudden and tragic death of most people on the planet isn’t scary enough, The Road adds in a creepy layer by showing us what happens when scared people become desperate to survive. A father and son leave their home on a long walk in search of warmer weather and hopefully other humans. They do find other humans — but not the type of people who would make great new neighbors. Mankind has turned cannibal and a fight for their lives turns into a fight to the death.
The common perception of this movie is that it’s definitely worth seeing, that you will be glad that you saw it, but that you won’t want to see it again. Where many apocalypse-related films use frightening new images of destruction we’ve never seen before, The Road uses images that are very familiar. In fact, one of the most haunting scenes — two ships beached on a freeway — was an actual shot of destruction left by Hurricane Katrina. These very real images paired with the very real emotions displayed by lead actors Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee create a powerfully bleak story that is almost too relatable for comfort.
The Book of Eli
Though there are clear religious overtones in this 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli puts a grounded spin on those overtones so that if religious forces are what bring about the end of humanity, it’s reasonable to think they might look like this.
The hero, Denzel Washington’s Eli, is stoic, mysterious, matter-of-fact and down to business. He doesn’t romanticize the death and destruction he comes upon, nor does he fear it. He simply does what needs to be done in a direct to-the-point manner often unseen in post-apocalyptic settings. Eli has a mission to accomplish that he will clearly get to, end of the world or not. In a genre normally overrun with loud and obvious fear, The Book of Eli shows another depiction of mass destruction: acceptance and faith.
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