Plot: A family hides in a bunker to survive during a viral outbreak.

Apocalyptic Event: Pandemic

KBZ’s Take:  Hidden is a mash-up of different subgenres that all result in one of the best post-apocalyptic films you will ever see. It’s part Apocalypse film, part Post-Apocalypse film, part Pandemic and Virus film and part Home Invasion horror film. Created by the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things series) and similar in vein to A Quiet Place (2018), it’s about the family dynamic as they hide from ‘something’ that lurks above. It also has creepiness and jump scares along with ‘breadcrumbs’ you’ll notice upon a second viewing of the film. And believe us, once you get to the end, you’ll want to watch a second time to see where all the hints are laid out for what’s to come.

Additional Lists: Top Survival Horror Films You Haven’t Seen #4, Top Pandemic and Virus Films You Haven’t Seen #6, Top Post-Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen (Part 2) #1

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3RfKEGZ

Plot: The inhabitants of the British Isles have lost their battle against the onslaught of disease, as the deadly rage virus has killed every citizen there. Six months later, a group of Americans dare to set foot on the isles, convinced the danger has come and gone. But it soon becomes all too clear that the scourge continues to live, waiting to pounce on its next victims.

Apocalyptic Event: Pandemic / Zombies

KBZ’s Take: We might be in the minority, but we think 28 Weeks Later is a better film than 28 Days Later (2002). While the latter is a classic film in its own right, it tends to be more focused on the immediate aftermath of the Rage Virus and the beginning stages of a descent into a Post-Apocalypse world.

28 Weeks Later, however, takes place months after the first film and delves deeper into the collapse of British society. Furthermore, 28 Weeks Later involves more world building with the American military trying to contain the virus and prevent it from expanding globally.

Either way, both films are excellent and two of the best films of the Post-Apocalypse subgenre. You can’t go wrong watching either film and they both make a great back-to-back feature on Post-Apocalypse Movie Night.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XMkRrF

Plot: Account of a nuclear holocaust and its effects on the populace of Sheffield, England.

Apocalyptic Event: Nuclear War

KBZ’s Take: In the early 1980’s, three films showed realistic portrayals of Nuclear War. Testament (1983) was a smaller scale film focused on a family during and after the nuclear apocalypse. The Day After (1983) was the most popular film of the three, had amazing special effects and scarred most children of the 80’s (yes, most children at the time had parental warnings from school before watching the film on TV). But Threads (1984) is the most disturbing and heart-wrenching film of them all.

Shot in a documentary style, it doesn’t have lavish special effects like The Day After but rather focuses on the collapse of society after the nuclear holocaust. It’s a hard film to watch but the most effective at showing a realistic portrayal of trying to survive after the unthinkable (especially as it shows fact-based title cards of what happens on earth after a nuclear event in the following months and years). Highly recommended film to watch of the subgenre and we also recommend watching Testament and The Day After given current global events.

Additional Lists: Top Post-Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen (Part 1) #1

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3jja0al

Plot: Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain – sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.

Apocalyptic Event: Pandemic

KBZ’s Take: We’re huge fans of Richard Matheson’s “I Am Legend” novel so we’ll try to explain our ranking here. While Vincent Price’s The Last Man on Earth (1964) is the most faithful film adaptation of the novel and Will Smith’s I Am Legend (2007) was the big budget adaptation (with horrible CGI), The Omega Man had elements of both adaptations while retaining the essence of the novel.

Though the film is very dated and some of the special effects look hokey to younger moviegoers, for older generations that grew up in the 1970’s and 1980’s, The Omega Man helped introduce those viewers to Robert Neville and his descent into legend. It was also the scariest film adaptation of the novel at that point even though it wasn’t completely faithful to Matheson’s work.

For newcomers to I Am Legend itself, we would recommend reading the novel first and then watching all three film adaptations in order. That way you’ll get a full appreciation of Matheson’s groundbreaking novel and the various pros and cons from each filmed version. And if you’re still looking for even more I Am Legend adaptations, there’s a great unproduced screenplay by Mark Protosevich which stays somewhat faithful to the novel while adding some elements that make it even better.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3lUViXO

Plot: Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

Apocalyptic Event: Robot Apocalypse

KBZ’s Take: This is one film on our list we struggled with. While the Matrix is arguably the Best Cyperpunk Film, it also incorporates other film subgenres including Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Films, Martial Arts Films and Films About Robots. But the film itself is based on a Post-Apocalypse world and for that reason alone we have ranked The Matrix accordingly.

The film also fits into our criteria by explaining the Apocalyptic event (even going into great detail on the events prior to the Apocalypse in the Animatrix (2003)) and showing human survival in the Post-Apocalypse world.

Though we doubt many readers of this site and our lists have not yet seen The Matrix, we’ll refrain from talking about any further plot points in the film. We’ll just recommend you see this classic film as soon as possible as it’s still groundbreaking today as it was in 1999.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3kb70NA

Plot: A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.

Apocalyptic Event: Alien Invasion

KBZ’s Take: This ranking is not only for the original A Quite Place film but also for its amazing sequel, A Quiet Place Part II (2020). Both films together make up some of the best Post-Apocalypse world building of the subgenre.

While the first film focuses much more on the immediate survival of the family and gradually reveals the monsters and ‘rules’ of the Post-Apocalypse world, the second film goes into greater detail of the Apocalyptic Event and further details of the Post-Apocalyptic world.

It’s not often a film can take subgenre tropes and expand on them, but the A Quite Place franchise does just that. They’re two films that have achieved ‘must-see’ status in the Post-Apocalypse film subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3KpjL20

Plot: A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there.

Apocalyptic Event: Unspecified

KBZ’s Take: Other than Threads (1984), there is no other film on this list as depressing as The Road. It’s a film about survival in brutal conditions with not even a glimpse of hope. But it’s also one of the best films of the subgenre.

While other subgenre films focus on action or sci-fi elements, The Road is simply about survival. It’s a powerful film that helps you appreciate the things we take for granted in modern life – from food to security. It’s a must-see film of the subgenre but be prepared that you’ll never be the same after watching it.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ScDpQo

Plot: Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians, and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race. However, the tension inside the base is reaching a breaking point, and the zombies are gathering outside.

Apocalyptic Event: Zombie Apocalypse

KBZ’s Take: Our #3 ranking could be retitled, “The George A. Romero Ranking”. We couldn’t create a Post-Apocalypse film list without including any of Romero’s classic horror films.

While we debated whether or not to have Dawn of the Dead (1978) or Day of the Dead here, we ultimately went with Day of the Dead for similar reasons we chose 28 Weeks Later (2007) over 28 Days Later (2002) in our #9 ranking. Dawn of the Dead is clearly the better film (and Zach Snyder’s remake is almost as good), but Dawn deals with events right after the Zombie Apocalypse while civilization is still breaking down.

Day of the Dead, on the other hand, deals with events much later after the Apocalypse and focuses much more on the criteria for our list – military control and new order, isolated individuals dealing with life after societal collapse and so on. Day also has a more claustrophobic feeling to it as the Apocalypse survivors know their days are numbered.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3xH0mle

Plot: An U.S. Spaceship lands on a desolate planet, stranding astronaut Taylor in a world dominated by apes, 2000 years into the future, who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.

Apocalyptic Event: No spoilers ?

KBZ’s Take: Of the 9 Planet of the Apes franchise films, the first film from 1968 is still the best. While we enjoyed the reboot trilogy of films from 2011 – 2017 and had a somewhat lukewarm reception to the Tim Burton 2001 ‘remake’, the original franchise films from 1968 – 1973 are still the best of the Apes entire franchise.

The first film deals with the elements of a Post-Apocalyptic world – specifically the role reversal of man and ape. The film is also the most faithful adaptation of the Planet of the Apes novel by Peirre Boulle while making some changes that improve the story for cinematic purposes. One of those changes is the ‘twist ending’ that is the most famous in the entire subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/41m56dY

Plot: Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a Post-Apocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

Apocalyptic Event: Global economy collapse leading to Nuclear War. Nuclear War happens after events prior to The Road Warrior.

KBZ’s Take: Valid debate can take place on whether The Road Warrior or Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is the better film. However, there is no debate that The Road Warrior is the film that helped the entire Post-Apocalypse subgenre’s rise to prominence in the 1980’s where it’s continued to be one of the most popular subgenres of sci-fi over the last 4 decades.

With outlandish characters like Max Rockatansky, Feral Kid, Wez and Lord Humungus, George Miller helped create an entire subgenre within the Post-Apocalypse subgenre – gangs ruling the Wasteland. Action-packed races and battles, fight for survival by any means necessary and more were some of the film tropes Miller created within the subgenre. Numerous knockoffs appeared after The Road Warrior’s rise in the early 1980’s but none of these films could capture the magic of The Road Warrior (including the sequel Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1986)) until Miller’s own reboot of Mad Max with Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

While most subgenre films deal with depressing elements such as survival and fear in a Post-Apocalypse world, The Road Warrior exudes action and danger – elements unique to Miller’s version of a Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland. Miller’s creative vision and classic film that inspired an entire generation of Mad Max fans are what makes The Road Warrior #1 on our list.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/41dMQn1