Even though Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars has moved dates, it still gave us a reason to look back on our favourite post-apocalyptic media. So, the Bitesize crew has put their brains together to compile Bitesize Breakdown's consensus Top Five Post-Apocalyptic Films/Series.
As per usual, each writer ranks their top 15 releases in the category. Those lists are then weighted on a reverse point system. After all the points are tallied up, the entries with the most total points make up the Bitesize Top Five.
5. A QUIET PLACE
Creating new worlds in cinema isn't easy, and it's especially hard in horror; that’s why the genre is filled with so many remakes. A Quiet Place manages to take an original idea and create a new world that has currently run three films deep. The concept is inventive, and the idea of a world devoid of sound due to fear is genuinely terrifying. To those who saw this in a well-behaved theatre, it’s likely an experience you won’t soon forget, with its great performances, solid creature design, and an impressive amount of tension. Although zombies tend to get most of the headlines when it comes to post-apocalyptic content, don’t sleep on A Quiet Place. - Nick
4. SNOWPIERCER
I personally believe director Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer is one of the strongest films in the post-apocalyptic genre. What makes it stand above the rest is that it’s more than just one thing. Its brilliant concept tackles themes of class, humanity, and global warming. Not to mention, instead of having the usual wasteland backdrop, it sets humanity on a moving train (which is a metaphor in and of itself) that’s traveling through a frozen world after a failed climate experiment. Featuring intense action sequences, and memorable performances from Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Song Kang-ho, Octavia Spencer, and especially Tilda Swinton, this film is a brutal, yet inventive and entertaining ride that keeps the tension high throughout. - Paige
3. CHILDREN OF MEN
When speaking of post-apocalyptic world-building, Children of Men is a prime example of how to do it flawlessly. The physical and mental tolls on the characters in director Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian masterpiece are well fleshed out, emotionally gratifying, and thrilling; often all at once. There are no creatures or zombies in sight, just humanity reacting like... well, humans, to an infertility crisis. From then on, the entertainment value is there in glorious spades with numerous chase sequences, but the real meat of Children of Men comes in the form of personal conflict. It’s a perfect apocalyptic film, as human behaviour takes centre stage amongst it all. - Adriano
2. THE MATRIX
You may not think of The Wachowski’s masterpiece when talking about post-apocalyptic movies, but there’s no denying that the first shot of the dark, gray, sun-deprived reality where humans are harvested hits hard for this industry-altering action film. The Matrix will forever be held in the highest regards no matter what list it infiltrates. The imagery it evokes will land in every montage, film class, tribute, and movie lexicon from here to eternity because there was nothing like it before it dropped and there was nothing that could escape its referential gravity after. 1999 changed movie history for the better, and The Matrix changing what post-apocalyptic movies can do is a major reason why. - Amarú
1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
No one does post-apocalypse better than director George Miller, and you need look no further than his Mad Max series as an example - especially as it’s evolved from a low-budget dystopian revenge tale to a gargantuan examination of a whole world gone mad. Fury Road, its fourth installment, feels like the most definitive statement one could make about the latter. It’s a relentless two-hour chase scene across a destroyed landscape. Conflicts are resolved with all sorts of weapons. Trust is built rarely with words, but with meaningful glances. At nearly every moment, action is emphasized, and it deepens the need for survival, the struggle for redemption, and the hope for a new kind of humanity. There’s a reason its influence was felt immediately in 2015, and is still felt over a decade later. - Bode
HONORABLE MENTIONS
28 YEARS LATER
ZOMBIELAND
DREDD
THE LAST OF US
I AM LEGEND