Comingsoon.net is looking ahead to the apocalypse to figure out which movies tackle things the best. Check out our picks in the gallery below!
The apocalypse has been explored in all kinds of different capacities throughout film history (and, really, throughout the entire history of creative expression, from paintings to literature to music). Whether it’s via an infectious disease that turns humans into zombies or some sort of technological uprising or just an instance of happenstance, there are countless ways in which filmmakers have explored this theme. Ultimately, some prove better than others.
In addition to these different plots, there are also different genres those filmmakers utilize in order to drive home their point. Horror, drama, comedy—all have proven effective. Taking into consideration all these different factors, these are the movies about the end of the world that do things the best.
End of the world movies
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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb (1964)
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove is an unimpeachable entry in this collection. There’s no way to top a movie so comedically sharp and so incredibly relevant, even by today’s politics.
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Melancholia (2011)
Lars von Trier isn’t for everyone—the Dogme 95 pioneer makes intentionally abrasive (and divisive) films that often stir up controversy. That being said, Melancholia is one of his most accessible and very best films. Kirsten Dunst spearheads this end-of-the-world drama in a way only she could.
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Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
James Cameron’s follow-up to the hugely influential sci-fi action film The Terminator is the favorite of many fans of the franchise. It sees the once-evil cyborg played by Arnold Schwarzenegger switching sides to protect a young John Connor in order to stop the world from ending via a nuclear holocaust.
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The World's End (2013)
Not to be confused with the next entry, Edgar Wright’s conclusion to the Cornetto Trilogy, The World’s End, is a very funny and wonderfully slick send-up of science fiction and end-of-the-world movies. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are at all-time bests, and the supporting cast made up of Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike, and plenty of other Wright veterans is hard to beat.
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This Is the End (2013)
Speaking of end-of-the-world movies with an unbeatable cast, This Is the End (released the same year as the aforementioned The World’s End) is probably the funniest movie about a very serious subject. A group of Hollywood comedians, together at a big party full of other famous celebrities in LA, must band together and endure a very Biblical apocalypse.
