We live on a planet that houses eight billion people. This point is specifically punctuated and felt when you’re stuck in a traffic jam, en route to an important meeting. Or when you’re standing in line at the bakers only to find the person ahead of you has grabbed the last donut you had your eyes on… But what if there was an earth-shattering event that wiped out the majority of the population; a global event triggered by a natural disaster, or a monstrosity engineered by man.
At first glance, a dystopian future would seem enticing, but subtracting humans from the equation would lead to an element of bleakness. In other words, life after an apocalyptic event may seem primal and convenient, but would it be worth it? One might be able to scrounge their favorite donut, but might not be able to find the man that baked it. Here’s a list of the bleakest post-apocalyptic movies, ranked.
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8 The Lobster (2015)
Element Pictures
If tinder came with consequences, it would thematically resemble the world created in The Lobster. Set in a dystopian future, David’s (Colin Farrel) wife leaves him for another man. Freshly single, David is sent to a hotel full of single people, where he must find himself a partner in 45 days or be converted into an animal of his choice. Almost as an homage to the absurdity of life, The Lobster is a darkly satirical take on human norms and relationships. Upon its release in May 2016, the film was met with great critical and commercial success, with director Yorgos Lanthimos earning a nomination for the prestigious Palme d’Or.
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7 Punishment Park (1971)
ChartwellFrancoise
Deemed an obstruction to the war effort, a group of prisoners is given a choice between a lengthy prison sentence or surviving a few days on an obstacle course known as Punishment Park. If the prisoners are to choose Punishment Park, they will have to navigate fifty miles through the barren lands without food to make up for their crimes against the state. In his pseudo-dystopian documentary of America’s approach to the Vietnam War, British filmmaker Peter Watkins intricately highlights the clash of ideologies and how they act to effectively erase common human sentiment.
6 Threads (1984)
BBC
Threads is one of the first few films to properly explore the theme of a Nuclear Winter. Having been shot in 17 days on a shoestring budget of £250,000, the film is touted as one of the most accurate representations of the full horror of nuclear warfare and the aftermath it could cause in its wake. The story revolves around the escalation of tension between two nuclear superpowers, US and The USSR, and its impact on the world, particularly on the city of Sheffield, UK. Threads was made for television but was deemed too horrifying, so when the film premiered on TV, it was dubbed “the night the country didn’t sleep”. To add to this, a thirteen-year-old boy named Charlie Brooker also viewed the television premiere of Threads. Brooker then went on to make the mind-bending Netflix series Black Mirror.
5 Snowpiercer (2013)
Set in a dystopian future where the earth is frozen and all of humanity is aboard a train. Curtis (Chris Evans) must fight his way to the front of the train to control the engine, hence freeing his people from slavery. Academy Award winner Bong Joon-ho has masterfully carved out a niche for himself when it comes to his commentary on social class. Thereby in Snowpiercer, the subtext of social classism is buried within the larger context of universal survival, all set against the backdrop of a train moving through a blizzard.
4 Stalker (1979)
Goskino
Based on the book Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers, Stalker is regarded as one of the best films of all time. Set in the distant future, Stalker tells the story of a man known by the same name who ferries people to a distant place known as the Zone. The Zone is famous for having a room that grants the innermost desires of the people who inhabit the space. Apart from its brilliant cinematography and production design, filmmaking Demigod, Tarkovsky beautifully sprinkles the narrative with multiple layers of science fiction, philosophy as well as theological themes.
3 Contagion (2011)
Warner Bros.
Contagion at this point isn’t just a film; it was Steven Soderbergh’s uncanny predictions of the future. What makes Contagion interesting is that it’s not an out-and-out film that chest-thumpingly predicts an event in the future. It rather is a study into the first few phases of response should an event such as this occur. Having said that, the timing and the detailing outlined in the film make it a disturbingly relatable watch. Despite its release in 2011, Contagion had somewhat of a wild resurgence during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Conspiracy theorists throughout the world jumped at this opportunity to make sense of the situation while using Contagion as a roadmap for their ideas.
2 28 Days Later (2002)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Not all zombie films are rapid and senseless. A few operate within the woodwork of a narrative structure while also successfully scaring the daylights out of the viewer. Danny Boyle’s, 28 Days Later is one such film. The story revolves around Jim, who wakes up from a coma after 28 days only to find nobody around him and his surroundings in a complete state of chaos. After creeping through the streets of London looking for answers, Jim soon finds answers in the form of bloodthirsty zombies. 28 Days Later, digs deeper into the nature of humans, almost juxtaposing them with zombies. With some characters in the film being portrayed as cunning and malicious, it puts forth a pertinent question — who’s worse, mindless zombies or mindful humans.
1 Children of Men (2006)
Universal Pictures
Children of Men places a bleak narrative theme on a rollercoaster with no brakes. The year is 2027 and women have grown infertile, causing no babies to be born. These 18 years of infertility are broken when a woman, Kee, gets pregnant miraculously. Not having seen a baby for the better part of 2 decades, the nation’s eyes are on Kee along with her baby, and some don’t mean as well as others. Tasked with the burden of transporting Kee to safety, Theo (Clive Owen) goes to hell and back in this fast-paced, action-packed thriller. Alfonso Cuarón and his staple cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, create an immersive edge-of-the-seat experience with a particular car chase sequence that seems to have been shot in one take.
