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The Best End Of The World Movies Ever

Are you ready for the apocalypse?

The great thing about end of the world movies is that you can feel terrified but safe all at once.

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The idea of the human race being wiped out by a plague, a superstorm or a government experiment gone wrong is something we could possibly experience in our lifetimes so there’s a level of believability to it. 

But there’s also a deeper hope that tells us we’ll be fine and that’s often what we get from watching post-apocalyptic movies. Or maybe that’s how we cope with the idea that any of these disaster movies could become real news.

Some of them are jump-out-of-your seat frightening and others are a bit more tongue-in-cheek. But they’re all fantastic in their own way.

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#13 Waterworld (1995)

Global warming is true; the polar ice caps have melted, only a few people have survived and the Earth is mostly underwater. Although he believes it doesn’t exist, Mariner (Kevin Costner) takes it upon himself to try and help a woman and her daughter find dry land.

Prior to Titanic (1997), this was the most expensive movie ever made, costing $235 million. Fart from becoming a box office hit, Kevin Costner even invested $22million of his own dollars into the making of what is definitely an expensive end of days movie.

One reviewer said: “NOT the worst movie ever made.”

Stars: Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorne, Dennis Hopper

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#12 Dawn Of The Dead 2004

When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth. And that includes a mega mall in the Midwest of America which gets taken over by flesh hungry zombies that are scarier than hell itself. The 10 minute opening scene is so wholesome it lures you into a false state of security. Which quickly becomes into one of the worst nightmares you can imagine.

They’re coming for you.

Reviewer says: “One thing I particularly like about this film is that the zombies are really nasty, fast, aggressive, in-your-face intimidating monsters who would really scare you in real life. I’ve just never been that keen with slow moving, sinister, but gormless, zombies. The zombies in Dawn of the Dead are truly terrifying.”

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Stars:  Sarah Polley, Ty Burrell.

#11 The Happening 2008

Imagine an airborne plague takes over the world and people contract the disease who are sitting right next to you. Then, they become temporarily paralysed before hurling themeless to their death.

M Night Shyamalan (Sixth Sense) who wrote this doomsday movie screenplay with Mark Wahlberg in mind, said moviegoers would do well to consider this a fun B movie rather than take it seriously. Reviewers agreed.

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Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel

#10 Species 1995

Extra terrestrials (in Australia! Meep!) drop a brand of DNA onto the Earth, which the powers that be decide would be a good thing to turn into an experiment. Unsurpsiringly, it goes HORRIBLY wrong.

A reviewer says:OK, it’s kind of silly but this moves quickly and is well-done. There are many excellent, if gruesome, special effects and the SIL creature at the end is truly astounding. The script is good (considering) and it actually makes sense…if you don’t think about it too much.”

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Stars: Forrest Whittaker, Ben Kingsley, Natasha Henstridgem, and a young Michelle Williams

#9 World War Z (2013)

Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is an ex UN employee sitting in a car in New York City with his family when all of a sudden everyone around him seems to be dropping dead – in droves. People, like swarms of ants, are being thrown to their death and it’s Gerry’s job to try and save them.

IMDB reviewers gave this a 7/10 average and said: “Having read the book World War Z, I could tell from the trailers for this movie that it wouldn’t exactly be a faithful adaptation …”

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“It’s true, World War Z is nothing like the book. The book is told from the point of view AFTER the war. It’s a “historical,” account of what happened during the war. Rather than make a mockumentary with flashbacks, the filmmakers decided to put us right in the middle of the action.”

Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos

#8 Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Nevermind Cyclone Oma, The Day After Tomorrow is a depiction of what happens when one heckuva superstorm wipes out the world as we know it. This is another global warming post apocalyptic epic that makes you think we should listen to the climatologists. 

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One reviewer said: “It is a fast-paced, exciting, suspenseful film filled with wonderful images, great CGI effects, plausible acting, and even a coherent script … [the director] keeps his viewer on the edge of his/her seat through the entire film.”

Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal

#7 Mad Max Fury Road 2015

Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is a bold, outspoken rebel searching for her homeland with a posse of female prisoners and a drifter called Max (Tom Hardy). They have their work cut out because the world is a barren wasteland and there’s crazed killers at every turn.

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One reviewer said: “Mad Max: Fury Road is my second favourite film in the franchise and this movie did it right and it correct. Like it or hate it, is your problem but in my opinion it is a good action violent movie and I love it to death.”

Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron

#6 The Terminator (1984)

Arnie has just 14 lines (including “I’ll be back”) in the whole of this movie and it’s his steady silence that adds to the creepiness of the world being taken over by a robot without a conscience.

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The Terminator has one purpose: to return to the present and prevent the future – no matter what it takes.

One IMDB reviewer said: “Bold, gritty and realistic” Another added: “The Terminator is one of the greatest films ever!”

Stars: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger

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#5 12 Monkeys (1995)

Set in the future (13 December, 1996 to be precise) the world has been plagued by disease. James Cole (Bruce Willis) is holed up with Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt) in an asylum and his job is to figure out how to get back to the present day without landing a life sentence in a pysch ward.

12 Monkeys is a realistic but mind bending exploration of what could happen if an airborne disease is ever released. Oh, and Brad Pitt is AMAZING.

One reviewer said:Terry Gilliam’s fantastic, twisted story of a virus destroying all but a handful of people across the Earth … [it’s a] fantastic, dizzying, and highly stylised film that boasts Bruce Willis’ best performance ever.”

Stars: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe

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#4 28 Days Later (2002)

Jim’s (Cillian Murphy) days are numbered: if he gets infected he’ll have only 28 days left – if he’s lucky. Seemingly alone in a deserted Picadilly Circus, London, his only hope of survival is to find another living human. Better hope he does it before nightfall.

Lesson one, never travel alone. Lesson two only travel during daylight. Creepy AF.

A reviewer said:It’s true that sometimes minimalism can be more effective than overblown bravado, and it’s definitely true for this movie. It’s the scenes of complete silence which get to you the most; an entire metropolis empty.”

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Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris

#3 I Am Legend (2007)

You might think you’d want to survive a deadly global outbreak that turns people into zombies, but if you are naturally immune and were the only person left (as Robert Neville is) then like Rob, you’d probably consider it a curse. He does have the cutest dog to keep him company, but watch out for the mutants … they’re out to get him too. 

A reviewer said:If you haven’t seen this movie, and would enjoy seeing a really powerful story about a survivor in post-apocalypse New York City, hey, go check out this flick. It’s really worth it.”

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Stars: Will Smith

#2 The Matrix (1999)

Ever had a dream that you were sure was real? Welcome to The Matrix. For this one we’re in the hands of computer expert Neo (Keanu Reeves) who needs to get up to speed before he can help save us all through hacking his way to the truth.

Trouble is, first he has to figure out how to know the difference between the dream and the real world. 

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Reviewers love this movie:Without a doubt one of the best and most influential movies of all time … The Matrix is a ground-breaking motion picture that not only raised the bar for all the science-fiction films to come after it but also redefined the action genre with its thrilling action sequences and revolutionary visual effects.”

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburne

#1 Interstellar (2014)

The survival of mankind is in peril and Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is in charge of fixing it. “I”m coming back.” are his famous last words to his daughter. Or are they his last words? Maybe he does make it back? You’ll have to watch it (again) to find out.

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Definitely one of the best end of the world movies. Oh, and keep an eye out for an unexpected cameo from Matt Damon.

A reviewer said:This movie was the best movie I have ever seen. Matthew McConaughey turned in his best performance of his lifetime. Anne Hathaway was an amazing supporting actress and … I have no idea how she didn’t get an Oscar for this.”

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway

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