10 post-apocalypse films to watch now that we all know the world is ending in 2050

We've put together a list of some of the best post-apocalyptic films for you to watch, so you clean up your act and help clean up the planet
The end is near| Representative Image
The end is near| Representative Image

Yet another Environment Day has passed us and we've conveniently scrolled over the screaming headlines about water scarcity, extinction of 50% of our wildlife, rising sea levels and melting glaciers. Some of us are in blissful denial, some are in panic mode and some are patiently preparing for the end. This story is probably suited for all the three categories — a wake-up call for the first, hope for the second and some preparation material for the third. Or for a fourth category that has two hours to spare and nothing to do. 

Here's a list of some of the best post-apocalyptic films that you can watch. But wait, this does not mean you don't need to do your bit for the planet — turn off that tap, switch off that AC, grow a plant, go participate in that protest against a factory poisoning your soil, use the bus, listen to your scientists and environmentalists and demand some answers from your politicians. Before, in between and after, you can take a break and watch these films. 

A Quiet Place is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by John Krasinski. The film stars Krasinski, alongside Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. The plot revolves around a family struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. The family is supposed to maintain complete silence, even the slightest sound will get them killed in a couple of seconds. A sequel is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2020 — that us about 11 years before we actually all go to dust.

Children Of Men is a 2006 British-American dystopian thriller film set in 2027. Which is only about 7 years from now which means that we shouldn't really seem surprised by the new 31-year prediction. It starts off by saying we had already lived for 18 years in a world of human infertility and on the brink of humanity going extinct. The UK, one of the few nations with a functioning government is deluged by asylum seekers fleeing radiation and plague. In response, the UK has become a police state as the British Army rounds up and executes immigrants. Theo Faron, (Clive Owen) a former activist turned cynical bureaucrat, is kidnapped by the Fishes, a militant immigrants' rights group.

Wall-E is a 2008 animation film produced by Pixar. This film is however set only in the 29th century, which is a couple of centuries away for us. The film opens by showing a world rampant consumerism and environmental neglect have turned Earth into a garbage-strewn wasteland. Humanity is nowhere to be found. One of the robotic trash compactors is left behind, named the Waste Allocation Load-Lifter (Earth Class), or WALL-E. One day, WALL-E's routine is broken by the arrival of an unmanned probe carrying an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator or EVE, sent to scan the planet for plant life. WALL-E is smitten by the sleek, otherworldly robot, but she goes into standby when he shows her his most recent find: a living seedling.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 post-apocalyptic action film co-written, produced, and directed by George Miller. It is the fourth installment in the Australian Mad Max franchise. Following an energy crisis, the world has become a desert wasteland and civilization has collapsed. Max Rockatansky, a survivor is captured by a tyrannical army headed by Joe. One of Joe's lieutenant is Furiosa who flees with five of his wives —women selected for breeding. Joe leads his entire army in pursuit of Furiosa. The film was greatly appreciated for the powerful women characters too.

Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed and produced by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. It is set in the mid 21st century, where crop blights and dust storms threaten humanity's survival. Corn is the last viable crop. The world has also evolved into a post-truth society where younger generations are taught ideas such as the Apollo moon missions were faked.  This film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humanity.

The Book of Eli is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic neo-western action film directed by The Hughes Brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals. Set in a world 30 years after a nuclear apocalypse, the story revolves around Eli, a nomad in a post-apocalyptic world, who is told by a voice to deliver his copy of a mysterious book to a safe location on the West Coast of the United States. The history of the post-war world is explained along the way, as is the importance of Eli's task. 

Cargo is a 2017 Australian post-apocalyptic drama thriller film directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke and it stars Martin Freeman. In a world overtaken by a virus that turns people into zombies within 48 hours, the Rose family—Andy, Kay, and their baby Rosie—are living safely on a houseboat in rural Australia. Short on food, Andy investigates an abandoned sailboat and retrieves various supplies. Later, Kay goes to collect more but is attacked by a zombie inside.

I Am Legend is a 2007 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror drama film based on the novel of the same name, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith, who plays US Army virologist Robert Neville. The story is set in New York City after a virus, which was originally created to cure cancer, has wiped out most of mankind, leaving Neville as the last human in New York, other than nocturnal mutants. Neville is immune to the virus and he works to develop a cure while defending himself against the hostile mutants.  

The Road is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. The film stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and his son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. They scavenge for supplies and avoid roaming gangs as they travel on a road to the coast in the hope that it will be warmer.  

Snowpiercer is a 2013 English-language science fiction action film directed by Bong Joon-ho and written by Bong and Kelly Masterson. It is based on French novel. It is set in 2014 when an attempt to counteract global warming through climate engineering backfires catastrophically, causing another ice age and extinguishing all life. The only survivors are the passengers of the Snowpiercer, a massive train traveling on a circumnavigational track created by the transportation magnate and inventor, Wilford. By 2031, privileged passengers inhabit the extravagant front cars while the "scum" inhabit the tail in squalid and brutal conditions. 

Are you done watching? Now turn off your laptop and do something. Or in 30 years, nobody will be able to make these movies!

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