Worst2First: My Top Ten Post Apocalyptic Films

Worst2First: 

My Top Ten Post Apocalyptic Films

As the classic R.E.M. song goes: "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."  Hollywood loves a post apocalyptic film, because people are naturally afraid of what could happen in the event of a global catastrophe. What happens after the world changes?

Here are my top ten post apocalyptic films, worst2first...

**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS!**

#10

The Day After Tomorrow

What would happen if global warming was real?  This is basically the question answered in Roland Emmerich's end-of-the-world epic "The Day After Tomorrow."  Starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum and Sela Ward, the film deals with a cataclysmic weather event that ushers in a new ice age, and is filled with exciting action and suspense, but very little scientific accuracy.

#9

 The Road

Based off the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, "The Road" stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee (who went on to star in hits "Let Me In," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "X-Men: Apocalypse") as a father and son who traverse the post-apocalyptic wasteland of America heading to the coast for warmer weather.  They come upon the average flair for the apocalypse, including a roaming band of cannibals, as they struggle to survive.  The story is powerful and Mortensen gives a commanding performance.

#8

 The Omega Man

There's the shortest horror story: "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room.  There was a knock at the door."  Charlton Heston stars as the last man on Earth, a scientist who who was immune to the chemical attack that wiped out the world.  Only he discovers he's not alone, as he battles hordes of The Family - a group of albino mutants who were altered after the chemical fallout.  Heston gives a great performance and its exciting and spooky, even if the effects don't quite live up to the tests of time.

#7

Stake Land

A mixture of "Mad Max," "Van Helsing," and "The Walking Dead," "Stake Land" takes place after the world has been plagued by vampires, and a young orphaned boy is rescued by a vampire hunter named Mister, and the two embark on a perilous journey to the only safe haven known.  Co-starring horror mainstay Danielle Harris and Kelly "Top Gun" McGillis, this low-budget film has all the big-budget action and setting designs, where danger waits at every turn.

#6

The Divide

After an apocalyptic event hits New York City, eight apartment denizens take shelter in the basement, where they spend a very long among of time at.  As society above them erodes, so does the social dynamics inside, and we begin to see the real evil is what's inside us all.  Starring Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia, Rosanna Arquette and Courtney B. Vance, "The Divide" is a harrowing, claustrophobic tale of the darker side of humanity in a world forever changed.

#5

Children of Men

In a world where infertility has plagued mankind, the world is slowly dying out.  Twenty years later, the world is thrown in chaos, and civil servant Theo Faron (Clive Owen) must help a refugee escape the chaos, because he discovers she is actually pregnant.  A much different way for the world to end, it's exciting, engrossing, fascinating and filled with action, dread, and danger at every turn.  Plus the script (co-written by director Alfonso Cuarion - the Oscar winning director of "Gravity") is solid and intelligent, and the film boasts an incredible cast including Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Charlie Hunnam.

#4

28 Days Later

A different type of zombie film, "28 Days Later" focuses on a virus that derived from test monkeys that sends humans into a psychotic rage attack, rendering them mindless, feral creatures.  Cillian Murphy stars as Jim, a man who awakens from a coma and finds the world forever changed.  He is hunted by those infected with the rage virus - who are now incredibly fast and insanely strong - as he makes his way through the city of London in search of safety.  Also starring Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson and Christopher Eccleston, the film is directed by Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting," "Slumdog Millionaire") and is a visionary achievement for such a low-budget flick.  Plus it revitalized the zombie craze and gave us a new type of zombie to fear - ones that are very fast.

#3

The Book of Eli

Denzel Washington stars as a man with a mission: a voice told him to deliver a special book to the west coast, and he has to traverse the vast, apocalyptic wasteland to get there.  He's hunted by Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who knows the power of the book and wants it for his own.  The film is filled with dazzling action sequences, terrific performances from Washington, Oldman, Mila Kunis and Ray Stevenson, and a compelling story with several layers to get through. 

#2

Snowpiercer

After climate engineering turns the world into a new ice age, the only survivors live on Snowpiercer, a train that traverses the country.  Serving as a microcosm for society, the richest citizens live in the front of the train in the lap of luxury, and as the train progresses there's the less rich until we get to the back of the train, which is overrun by the poor and where they're treated as inferiors.  Chris Evans stars as Curtis Everett, a poor man who decides he's had enough, and gathers the poor to go against their rich oppressors and reach the front of the train.  Not only is it a great post apocalyptic film, it's a great study of the social classes and how they interact with one another, plus the action is stellar, and the story takes several shocking twists and turns.  The film also stars Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt and Ed Harris.

#1

Mad Max

You can pick any of the "Mad Max" movies, they're all exponentially amazing, but I went with the original for my top spot.  Taking place in a post apocalyptic Australia, Max (Mel Gibson) goes on a revenge rampage against the biker game who took his family from him.  In a world where oil is scarce, war has broken out for the last drops of the precious fuel, and Max's adventure is a harrowing, exciting, non-stop thrill ride from start to finish.  The film also established Mel Gibson as a bonafide star, and spawned several successful sequels, including the recent "Mad Max: Fury Road."