Post-apocalyptic movies? I love them. Always have. I appreciate the best ones, of course. You know the ones, the Mad Max series, Children of Men, The Road, etc. There are many more, however. There was a massive production of post-apocalyptic movies in the 1980s when people had a strong fear of nuclear war. Many of the films produced during that time were low-budget, and it shows.
But if you are looking for post-apocalyptic movies to watch, let this post be the mothership of listings. There are more and more post-apocalyptic movies being produced every year, so this list will never – ever – be complete. That’s why this post will forever – and ever – be updated.
The big question in building such a list is: How do you define “post-apocalyptic movies”? So many post-apocalyptic films (and post-apocalyptic books) cross over into other genres like dystopian, science fiction, and even horror.
To answer the question, I have to make a judgment call. I try to determine if the movie is post-apocalyptic first and foremost. For example, zombie-themed movies qualify as post-apocalyptic movies only if they’re set in a future post-apocalyptic environment, not in the present world. Most zombie movies are not, so we have made a list for those movies. Post-apocalyptic movies needs a distinct post-apocalyptic feel.
Please! If you know of post-apocalyptic movies not listed here – leave them in the comments.
I will keep this list updated so that it grows and grows and grows.
If you’re not finding enough movies here, see our complete list of prepper movies. If you’d rather read, check our list of post-apocalyptic books.
Complete List of Post-Apocalyptic Movies
Numerical
9 (2009)1hr 20min – We’ll start with the one that barely made the list because it’s animated and science fiction, but it’s also post-apocalyptic and interesting enough to make the cut. A rag doll wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world, and he holds the key to humanity’s salvation.
20 Years After (2008) 1hr 35min – Twenty years after the nuclear war followed by plagues, no children have been born in 15 years. A woman becomes pregnant, and people fight for control of her.
2019: After the Fall of New York (1983) 1hr 36min – After a nuclear war, two groups fight in New York for the last fertile woman left on Earth.
2020 Texas Gladiators (1982) 1hr 31min – This is an Italian film set in post-apocalyptic Texas where a band of warriors fight a fascist regime.
2149: The Aftermath (2021) 1hr 16min –
A
A Boy and His Dog (1975) 1hr 30min – It’s a weird movie, but an 18-year-old boy concerned with food and sex is accompanied by a telepathic dog in post-nuclear war Earth. The dog helps the boy find women. The boy helps the dog find food.
A Quiet Place (2018) 1hr 30min – Making noise equates to a death sentence. In this post-apocalyptic world, mysterious creatures hunt by sound. A family tries to survive.
After Earth (2013) 1hr 40min – Mankind was forced to leave Earth a millennium ago. Gen. Cypher and his teenage son crash on Earth’s hostile surface, where they must fight for survival.
Aftermath (2014) 1hr 44min – Mushroom clouds go up and nine desperate survivors have to decide between dying in their shelter or venturing into the terrors of the outside world.
Air (2015) 1hr 34min – Air is no longer breathable, and after a malfunction at an underground bunker, they are forced to leave.
America 3000 (1986) 1hr 32min – Nine hundred years in the future, after a nuclear war has reduced mankind to the stone age, women rule the world, but one man seeks to change that.
Apocalypse Road (2016) 1hr 27min – Two sisters become separated during a post-apocalyptic depression.
Apocalyptic 2077 (2019) 1hr 4min – Jack survives the apocalypse from a research bunker in the Scottish highlands with the station’s AI computer to keep him company. Eight years later, Jack & the AI computer set out across the post-apocalyptic wastelands to deliver a message.
Automata (2004) 1hr 50min – Jacq is an insurance agent for a robotics corporation who investigates cases where robots alter themselves and find serious consequences for what this means for the human race.
B
Barb Wire (1996) 1hr 38min – America’s second Civil War struck in 2017. Barb Wire (Pamela Anderson) owns a nightclub and she is the toughest woman in Steel Harbor, a crime-ridden city where a new kind of mercenary resides.
Barefoot Gen (1983) 1hr 26min – (subtitles) An animated manga film that serves as an anti-atomic war statement. The film details how nuclear war impacts a young boy’s life and the Japanese people he lives with.
Battletruck (1982) 1hr 33min – A film made following the success of Mad Max. Not-so-strangely, it follows a similar “need gas” storyline. Also went by the title Warlords of the Twenty-First Century.
The Bed Sitting Room (1969) 91min – If you’re a fan of British humor (I’m not), this is the PA movie for you. Despite its average rating on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, people that love this movie – love this movie. It takes place 3-4 years after nuclear war destroyed much of the world. Survivors wander through the world trying to rebuild.
Blood of Heroes (1989) 1hr 31min – In a post-apocalyptic future, a woman joins a band of sport fighters (Juggers) who go on to battle against fighters of the ruling elite. This movie became such a cult classic among post-apocalyptic fans that it resulted in the games being replicated at such annual events as Wasteland Weekend.
Blue World Order (2017) 1hr 55min – An EMP kills all children on the planet but one – and now her father must protect her.
Bird Box (2018) 2hr 4min – A mysterious force kills people all over the world. If you look at it – you die. Survivors must navigate the world blindfolded.
Bokeh (2017) 1hr 31min – A couple is vacationing in Iceland when a flash of light happens and they wake up to find everyone else is missing. Now they must fight for survival while trying to make sense of what happened.
Bounty Killer (2013) 1hr 32min – Corporate powers destroy the planet with their greed, so a bounty is placed on the heads of business leaders. Two bounty killers compete for the fame and fortune of having the most kills.
The Bad Batch (2016) 1hr 58min – Starring Jason Momoa and Keanu Reeves, in a desert wasteland, a woman is kidnapped by a group of cannibals.
The Book of Eli (2010) 1hr 57min – Thirty years after the apocalypse, a man travels west in the former United States, fighting for survival, and protecting an important book that he carries with him.
C
Cafe Flesh (1982) 1hr 14min – (We told you this is a complete list of post-apocalyptic movies!) It’s a cult sci-fi porn film where, in the nuclear-ravaged future, people are either sex-positive or sex-negative. Negatives can’t have sex, and they force the Positives to perform for them.
Captive Women (1952) 1hr 4min – free on YouTube – It’s post-apocalyptic NYC and three tribes of mutants fight each other for survival. Oh, and there are captive women.
Cherry 2000 (1987) 1hr 38min – In the post-apocalyptic future, a man’s android wife shorts out and he won’t settle for any other model. This forces him to hire a tracker (Melanie Griffith) to get him through the dreaded Zone Seven to find another Cherry 2000.
Children of Men (2006) 1hr 49min – A British/American film that takes place 18 years after the last baby was born and humanity has become infertile. Then a woman becomes pregnant.
City of Ember (2008) 1hr 30min – A disaster was poised to destroy the world, so a “city of ember” was built underground to house survivors for 200 years. The movie takes place as the generators powering the city begin to fail.
Contagion (2011) 1hr 46min – This movie saw a resurgence when Covid-19 hit. A movie with good reviews and strong actors. A virus strikes the world hard and fast.
Containment (2015) 1hr 16min – Residents of an apartment complex wake up to find themselves sealed inside by people in hazmat suits. They don’t know who is infected and who isn’t. They begin to turn on each other.
Crumbs (2015) 1hr 10min – The first post-apocalyptic film set in Africa? It’s post-apocalyptic Ethiopia in a strange but interesting film where an unexpected hero makes his way across the landscape in hopes of boarding a floating spaceship.
Cyborg (1989) 1hr 26min – A typical Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, only post-apocalyptic. A plague cripples civilization. Watch Jean-Claude do what he does to a gang of bad dudes.
The Colony (2013) 1hr 34min – The world froze over, but an underground colony must venture out to find another outpost.
D
Dark Vengeance (1992) 1hr 32min – The environment is reduced to a poisoned wasteland and society is left with warring gangs. One warrior fights to bring order.
Damnation Alley (1977) 1hr 31min – Barely more post-apocalyptic than it is science fiction. The world was tilted off its axes by the nuclear bombs of WWIII. Massive storms mutated giant scorpions, and an adventure to cross the country in an Air Force “Landmaster” armored personnel carrier.
Day the World Ended (1955) 1hr 19min – free on YouTube – Sorta sci-fi with a mutant monster, but it takes place after a nuclear war. Seven people shelter in a protected valley with a survivalist and his daughter.
Dead Man’s Letters (1986) 1hr 27min – free on YouTube – This one is interesting in that it’s a Russian story of post-nuclear war in the 1980s, which some believe was a Russian response to American films like War Games. People live in bunkers, with the main character holed up in the basement of a museum. What is life like outside?
Deadman Apocalypse (2016) 1hr 18min – One man is the final hope to save the dying earth. Living in isolation, trapped deep beneath Labyrinthia, he must attempt an escape from the underground.
Def-Con 4 (1985) 1hr 27min – A Canadian post-apocalyptic film. Three astronauts survive WWIII only to fight a paramilitary faction.
Delicatessen (1991) 1hr 39min – Barely post-apocalyptic, but interesting to warrant inclusion. In post-apocalyptic France, a butcher who owns an apartment building occasionally carves tenants up and sells them as meat. This is a dark comedy.
Deluge (1933) 1hr 7min (free on YouTube) – Based on a book of the same name, an enormous earthquake destroys the West Coast and now threatens the East Coast as well.
Doomsday (2008) 1hr 49min – Twenty-five years after a devastating virus, a team goes into post-apocalyptic Scotland to fight feral survivors for a cure.
Dune Warriors (1990) 1hr 33min – A wasteland warlord wants a town and its precious water. A woman and five warriors fight to defend it.
The Dark Age (2019) 22min – A short, independent film that picks up seven years after a catastrophic solar storm destroys the global power grid, plunging humanity into darkness. It follows two women as they track down an electronic signal, leading to a deranged loner and his mysterious power supply.
The Day (2011) 1hr 24min – A Canadian post-apocalyptic film where five survivors must battle cannibals at an isolated farmhouse.
The Day After (1983) 2hr 7min (free on YouTube) – A made-for-TV movie where the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. Then it happens. People in small-town Kansas fight to survive.
The Day After (2017) 1hr 32min – A drug company hoping to build the perfect race releases a deadly virus. Eleven strangers wake up in a bunker. This is a Russian series with English subtitles.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) 1hr 34min – A British reporter, a veteran journalist, and a weather forecaster discover that nuclear explosions have altered the earth’s rotation. Fires and earthquakes strike cities as chaos and sickness descend as they try to put the planet back on its axis.
The Divide (2011) 53min – Nine strangers find themselves together in a bunker after a nuclear attack. They try to adapt to one another, but what lurks outside?
The Domestics (2018) 1hr 35min – A post-apocalyptic horror film where deadly gangs hunt a couple on the run.
E
Empire of Ash (1988) 1hr 26min and Empire of Ash III (1989) 1hr 38min – In the first movie, a virus has killed off much of civilization as people fight for survival. In the follow-up (labeled as III) new gangs fight for survival after the apocalypse.
Endgame – Bronx lotta finale (1983) 1hr 38min – Yet another Italian film set after a nuclear holocaust. Endgame is a television show where hunters and gladiators fight in what’s left of New York City.
Equalizer 2000 (1988) 1hr 27min – Two wasteland gangs fight for the “Equalizer 2000,” a powerful weapon that will ensure survival.
Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983) 1hr 30min – An Italian/Spanish post-apocalyptic action film spurred by the success of Mad Max, and not-so-strangely follows a similar storyline.
F
Five (1951) 1hr 31min – An early nuclear war survival story, where only five Americans survive: a pregnant woman, a neo-Nazi, a black man and a bank clerk.
Future World (2018) 1hr 28min – This movie skipped theaters altogether (an indication of its quality). The queen of a post-apocalyptic desert oases sends her son into the barren wastes in search of medicine that might save her life. Raiders, a robot sex companion, and a drug lord help make up this movie’s cast of bad characters.
Flu (2013) 2hr 1min – English subtitles – A South Korean city near Seoul goes into chaos after an airborne virus begins infecting the population.
G
Gas-s-s-s (1970) 1hr 17min – A post-apocalyptic dark comedy about survivors of an accidental military gas leak that kills everyone on Earth over the age of 25.
Glen and Randa (1971) 1hr 33min – Decades after nuclear war devastated the earth, a young couple leave their tribe to explore what remains of the word. They know only what they’ve seen in pictures and comic books.
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) 1hr 51min – Twenty years ago a devastating fungus infected people and turned them into “hungries,” people that lose their mental capacity and feed on people. The uninfected live in heavily guarded areas or roam the wastes as scavenging “junkers.”
H
Hardware (1990) 1hr 34min – Nomads scavange for scrap in a blasted landscape. An ex-soldier gains possession of some spare android parts. What he doesn’t know is that they go to a lethal new android that can reassemble itself and kill.
Hell (2011) 1hr 30min – In the post-apocalyptic future, where rising temperatures have turned the world into a barren wasteland, survivors fight their greatest enemy – the sun. (English subtitles.)
Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) 1hr 26min – This is a questionable add, I know. A nuclear holocaust renders most people sterile. A drifter (Sam Hell) is recruited for a very special assignment. He, and the dangerous Spangle, must brave the barren wasteland ruled by overgrown amphibians.
Hostile (2018) 1hr 23min – A lone survivor, Juliette, lives in a post-apocalyptic world fighting hunger, a broken leg, and strange, nocturnal creatures.
I
I Am Legend (2007) 1hr 40min – The third of three adaptations of Richard Matheson’s book I Am Legend. Dr. Neville survived a plague that turned humans into killing mutants. He wanders NYC in search of others and in hopes of a cure.
I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday (2019) 1hr 11min – This is one to watch during the holiday season! A woman and her son, staying in a bomb shelter during end times, wait as Christmas Eve approaches and their supplies dwindle. Watch as the mother is faced with difficult situations in order to save her son.
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018) 1hr 39min – A recluse is welcoming the end of the world, because he doesn’t have to deal with people. Then, a second survivor threatens his solo life.
In the Year 2889 (2016) 1hr 19min – A B-grade movie that borders on a zombie film. It’s actually a remake of Day the World Ended (previously listed). Nuclear war and survivors fighting mutants (and each other).
Interzone (1987) 1hr 32min – An Italian/American film where a monk is sent on a mission to protect the last fertile region left on earth.
Into the Forest (2015) 1hr 41min – In the Pacific Northwest, two sisters fight for survival after an apocalyptic blackout strikes.
IO (2019) 1hr 36min – The planet is devoid of oxygen and the last spaceship is about to leave for the colony on IO. Can they make it in time?
It Comes at Night (2017) 1hr 33min – A mysterious apocalypse leaves few survivors, and two families must share a home to stay safe. But will the real horror come from within?
L
Land of Doom (1986) 1hr 27min – Post-nuclear holocaust, survivors live in caves and roam the wasteland in gangs. A few want a better life – and go in search of a safe city.
Le Dernier Combat (1983) 1hr 33min – A French post-apocalyptic film. Shot in black and white and containing only two words of dialogue, it’s a world where people have been rendered mute and fight one another for survival.
Light of My Life (2019) 1hr 59min – In a post-apocalyptic world, years after a plague has wiped out nearly the entire female population, a man must hide his daughter from men the men looking for women.
LX 2048 (2020) 1hr 43min – Don’t go outside in the sun, because it’s toxic! Everyone is forced to stay indoors during the day.
The Last Days (2013) 1hr 42min – (English subtitles.) – A mysterious epidemic spreads across the land where being outside causes death, trapping everyone indoors. A man sets off to find his girlfriend in Barcelona while trying to avoid ever going outside.
The Last Man on Earth (1964) 1hr 26min – The first of three adaptations of Richard Matheson’s book I Am Legend. Vincent Price survived a global epidemic only to now face a race of zombie-like vampires.
The Last Survivors (2014) 1hr 34min – Society has collapsed and water is scarce. Set in Oregon, a greedy water baron begins clearing out survivors, but some won’t go without a fight.
M
Mad Max (1979) 1hr 33min – The original. Old school. Post-apocalyptic? Borderline, but it began the Mad Max franchise.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) 1hr 46min – Two men enter. One man leaves. This is the film that continued the Road Warrior story in the post-apocalyptic Australian landscape.
Mad Max Fury Road (2015) 2h – This movie needs no explanation. Watch it again. It’s sick. The soundtrack, the cinema photography, all of it. Hook up your blood bag and watch this film.
Malevil (1981) 2hr 2min – In post-apocalyptic France, people struggle for survival and try to resist a dictator trying to force them under his control.
Mortal Engines (2018) 2hr 8min – Steampunk meets the post-apocalyptic word. Hundreds of years after a cataclysm, cities now roam the wasteland as gigantic machines, and London wants to bring the power of the old world back.
N
Neon City (1991) 1hr 39min – Another Mad Max clone movie that follows people trying to escape to Neon City after a solar disaster destroys much of earth.
No Blade of Grass (1970) 1hr 37min – An adaptation of the classic novel The Death of Grass, this movie follows the survivors of a plague that hit London. Food riots cause famine, and a man tries to lead his family to safety.
The Noah (1975) 1hr 45min – A nuclear war kills everyone on the earth except one man. He makes an imaginary friend to keep him company. Then a friend for his friend. Then an entire world.
The New Barbarians (1983) 1hr 30min – After a nuclear war, a few survivors try to read a distant land, fighting of an evil force along the way.
The Northlander (2016) 1hr 38min – The year is 2961, and a hunter in one of the last surviving group of humans goes on a dangerous journey to save his people.
O
O-bi, O-ba – The End of Civilization (1985) 1hr 28min – (subtitles) Another nuclear holocaust film, this one is Polish and set in an dungeon. Exhausted survivors live there waiting for “the Ark” to arrive.
On the Beach (1959) 2hr 14min – Based on the classic 1957 Novel, in the aftermath of nuclear war, a deadly radioactive cloud slowly moves toward Australia.
On the Beach (2000) 3hr 15min – Based on the classic 1957 Novel, and a made-for-TV remake film of the 1959 version above, in the aftermath of nuclear war, a deadly radioactive cloud slowly moves toward Australia.
One Night Stand (1984) 1hr 34min – Four teenagers hanging out in Australia as the world comes to an end need to figure out how to survive the nuclear war and everything that comes with it.
The Omega Man (1971) 1hr 38min – The second of three adaptations of Richard Matheson’s book I Am Legend. Dr. Neville is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war beyond a few hundred nocturnal people that blame science and technology for their maniacal condition. Neville, a symbol of that science, is hunted by them.
P
Panic in Year Zero (1962) 1hr 32min – The Baldwin family heads on vacation, but then Los Angeles falls victim to a nuclear attack. Harry and his family head to their fishing retreat in the mountains, but they can’t escape the frantic and irrational citizens.
Phoenix the Warrior (1988) 1hr 25min – Also went by She-Wolves of the Wasteland. Women – lots of post-apocalyptic women – fight each other for a fertile man to preserve the species.
Planet of the Apes (1968) 1hr 52min – Let this inclusion also stand for the original sequels (Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes). I’m not adding the newer versions, but in the classic 1968 movie, astronauts find themselves in a strange, post-apocalyptic world where apes dominate over humans.
The Postman (1997) 2hr 57min – A post-apocalyptic drifter (Kevin Costner) dons a postal worker’s uniform, grabs a bag of old mail, and heads out to deliver it.
Q
Quintet (1979) 1hr 58min – Starring Paul Newman and taking place during a new ice age, people play a strange game of life and death.
The Quiet Earth (1985) 1hr 31min – A man awakens and find himself alone in the world. He finds two others.
R
Raiders of the Sun (1992) 1hr 20min – The apocalypse hit, and now a commando must defend the only village with gunpowder from a gang of raiders.
Radioactive Dreams (1985) 1hr 34min – This is a sci-fi comedy that takes place fifteen years after a nuclear war that expended the entire world’s nuclear arsenal but one missile, two nineteen-year-olds emerge from a bunker into a world of mutants and cannibals in a struggle to find the two keys that could launch the last missile.
Ravagers (1979) 1hr 30min – Based on the 1966 novel Path to Savagery. After a nuclear holocaust, creatures roam the earth looking to kill all survivors.
Refuge (2013) 1hr 13min – Society breaks down and the rules that bind us together rot as our selfish, animalistic qualities take over. Now a family struggles to survive.
Robot Monster (1953) 1hr 2min – free on YouTube – Yes, this movie involves an alien, so it’s rather sci-fi, but oh isn’t it special (sarcasm). Anyway, the alien has killed off all but six people on the planet and is now trying to kill off the rest, but then he falls for a woman in the group…
The Road (2009) 1hr 51min – Based on the best-selling book of the same name, America is a gray, desolate, post-apocalyptic mess. A man and his boy make a dangerous journey toward the sea. The movie is like the book – epic.
The Rover (2014) 1hr 42min – Society has collapsed. A drifter crosses the wasteland, but a gang steals his car, so he goes on the hunt to get it back.
The Road Warrior (1981) 1hr 35min – You already know this movie. It’s the best.
S
Scorched Earth (2018) 1hr 33min – A Canadian/American post-apocalyptic film where a bounty hunter searches for the head of a dangerous gang.
Six-String Samurai (1998) 1hr 31min – This is a post-apocalyptic comedy following a rock ‘n’ roll samurai who takes an orphan under his wing on the way to Lost Vegas.
Snowpiercer (2013) 2hr 6min – A climate change experiment failed and froze the globe. Everyone died. Everyone but those who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe.
Solar Babies (1986) 1hr 34min – In the post-apocalyptic sun-scorched world, a group of young orphans spend their time avoiding the dreaded “Protectorate” authorities. Then one orphan discovers a strange sphere that leads to a struggle.
Soylent Green (1973) 1hr 36min – Award-winning film starring Charlton Heston. Overcrowding, pollution, global warming – people in NYC struggle to stay fed. Great flick.
Stalker (1979) 2hr 41min – This is a Soviet post-apocalyptic movie, where “Stalker” leads a small expedition into a mysterious post-apocalyptic landscape known as the “Zone.” They travel through the debris of modern society.
The Stand (1994) 5hr 59min – Stephen King’s book taken to a TV miniseries. A deadly plague has wiped out most of the world and now there is a final battle between good and evil.
Steel Dawn (1987) 1hr 40min – A Patrick Swayze post-apocalyptic action film where a warrior wanders the wasteland when he comes upon settlers who need his help.
Stryker (1983) 1hr 26min – Amazon women (with the help of Stryker) fight to defend their water supply in the wasteland.
Survivors (2008 TV Series) 1hr – A British series depicting the lives of a group of people who survived a previously unknown strain of influenza that has wiped out most of the human race.
The Sisterhood (1988) 1hr 32min – Amazon she-warriors fight a brutal group of men who survived the nuclear holocaust.
The Survivalist (2015) 1hr 43min – A survivalist lives off a small plot of land during a period of starvation. Two women show up looking for help, and his existence becomes threatened.
T
Tank Girl (1995) 1hr 44min – A comedy based on the comic series of the same name. Tank Girl is one of a few survivors left, and with her tank, she fights against those trying to dominate a water supply.
Things to Come (1936) 1hr 32min – free on YouTube – An HG Wells classic. This British science fiction movie set as war leaves nothing but plague and anarchy. A new government built on reason rebuilds society and attempts space travel.
Threads (1984) 1hr 57min – The U.S. and the Soviet Union go to war. A nuclear attack destroys a NATO base in England and a young couple struggles to escape the fallout.
Time of the Wolf (2003) 1hr 54min – A French post-apocalyptic film that follows a family as they seek safe haven at their holiday home only to find it occupied by others, and they are then turned away by neighbors.
Tooth and Nail (2007) 1hr 34min – “Foragers” fight cannibalistic “Rovers” in this post-apocalyptic horror film.
Turbo Kid (2015) 1hr 32min – In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, an orphaned teen battles a warlord to save the girl of his dreams.
U
The Ultimate Warrior (1975) 1hr 33min – Post-plague NYC. A fighter helps defend a community with food, before they need to leave for shelter elsewhere.
V
Virus (1980) 1hr 43min – (free on YouTube) – This Japanese films that also went by the title Day of Resurrection. A virus kills nearly the entire population, but the virus is ineffective at -10 degrees Celsius. Those stationed at Antarctica survive, but they have to race to stop nuclear missiles from being launched.
Visitors of a Museum (1989) 2hr 16min – free on YouTube – a.k.a. Posetitel muzeya – (subtitles) It’s a post-apocalyptic world where most people have been reduced to deformed mutants. The lead character decides to visit the ruins of an underwater museum.
W
WALL-E (2008) 1hr 38min – A computer-animated science fiction flick where a robot, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class), spends his days cleaning up the planet for the last 700 years. He develops a sense of personality, and then meets a sleek and feminine robot sent down to scan for signs of life.
Warrior of the Lost World (1983) 1hr 26min – This is an Italian post-apocalyptic science fiction film where a warrior helps find a woman’s kidnapped father.
Warriors of the Apocalypse (1985) 1hr 36min – Civilization is destroyed by a nuclear war, and now an adventurer leads wanderers on a search for the Mountain of Life, encountering tribes, savages, and Amazon women along the way.
Warriors of the Wasteland (1983) 1hr 30min – After a nuclear holocaust, two mercenaries help wanderers fight off an evil band of bikers.
Water Wars (2014) 1hr 18min – Earth’s ecosystems have been destroyed and mankind is on the brink of extinction. Let the war for water begin.
Waterworld (1995) 2hr 15min – Polar ice-caps melted and the Earth is flooded, but a mutated mariner (Kevin Costner) fights to find dry land.
What Still Remains (2018) 1hr 31min – A young woman loses her family and comes upon a man from a religious commune who invites her to join them…
Wheels of Fire (1985) 1hr 21min – Another B movie attempt at Road Warrior. A bounty hunter, with his wheels of fire car, helps rescue a girl from a wasteland road gang.
When the Wind Blows (1986) 1hr 24min – Tough call whether to add this movie here or at the list of survival movies, but in the end, the world has gone MAD (mutually assured destruction). A unique, stop-motion animation that tells the tale of an elderly couple hunkered down in a bunker during nuclear war.
Where Have All the People Gone (1974) 1hr 12min – A massive solar flare decimates almost all life on Earth. You only survived if you were underground at the time. A group of survivors goes cross country to find others.
World Gone Wild (1987) 1hr 35min – Earth in 2087 is a nuclear wasteland. An isolated outpost of survivors guard the source of their existence, but a mercenary leaders his gang of bikers to take it over.
The World, The Flesh and The Devil (1959) 1hr 34min – One of the earlier post-apocalyptic movies listed here, but – not surprisingly – filmed after the dawning of the nuclear age. Nuclear doomsday struck, set in NYC, the main character, Ralph, thinks he’s the last person left alive. Then he finds a woman, then another man, and has to proceed with caution.
Y
Young Ones (2014) 1hr 39min – Water is scarce and a farmer must defend his land if he hopes to bring his parched soil back to life.
Z
Z for Zachariah (2015) 1hr 37min – Most of civilization has been destroyed, and now two men compete for the love of a woman who may be the last female left alive.
Z for Zachariah (2015) 1hr 37min – Most of civilization has been destroyed, and now two men compete for the love of a woman who may be the last female left alive.
There you have it – hours upon hours post-apocalyptic movies for your enjoyment. Again, if you are seeing holes in our list, please add the movie to the comments section below. I want this list of post-apocalyptic movies to be as complete as it can be.
90 comments
Testament.
That’s at our list of survival movies: https://prepperpress.com/a-complete-list-of-survival-movies/
E.M.P. 333 Days (2018) excellent!
Zombieland
Have that one at the complete list of zombie movies.
When the Wind Blows (1986)
Dead Man’s Letters (1986)
Visitor of a Museum (1989)
Barefoot Gen (1983)
O-Bi, O-Ba – The End of Civilization (1985)
Excellent – thanks for adding.
The Day of the Triffids is in the complete list post apocalyptic books but has also been made into a movie of the same name in 1963 and a mini series in 1981 and again in 2009.
Dan is the damn man!!
After Armageddon
Old comments have gone away or at least I am not seeing them well never mind though.
I just saw better than your average post apoc movie: Hostile (2017). Definitely something different for the genre. Visually very good looking movie.
Thanks, I’ll check it out. I moved the article from prepperpress.com, that’s why you’re probably not seeing the old comment.
I saw a film back in 1969 – In the Year 2889. Here is the synopsis:
Nuclear war devastates much of the world, but old man John Ramsey (Neil Fletcher) manages to survive, and he holes up on his rural property with his daughter, Joanna (Charla Doherty). Because John always believed in the inevitability of nuclear apocalypse, he’d prepared the house with plenty of provisions. Other survivors of the disaster start to show up at the house demanding refuge. John reluctantly lets them in, but there is much tension. Then the mutants appear.
Interesting, a remake of a 1955 film. I added it.
I’m looking for a post apocalypse movie that I got to see years ago but if never been able to find it since then.
if somebody knows which movie I’m talking about please let me know I’d love to look this film up.
the start of the movie the young man that’s the hero of it is driving an old 1960’s vintage pick up and I believe the opening title says
” Central America after the collapse”
He elopes with a blond girl that is the daughter of a wealthy capitalist and they are chased down by some motorcycle riding bounty hunters.
The hero gets caught and sent to a prison or they torture him but when they figure he’s dead they throw him out with all the other dead bodies and he escapes.
he goes to some mechanics that fix old vehicles and he buys an Indian motorcycle from them and a handgun .
one of the mechanics that he buys the motorcycle from is a deaf mute .
there’s also a scene in the movie where he goes into a bar called The Snake den and orders a bowl of snake stew.
if anyone knows the name of this movie please let me know I’d love to look it up
Any idea of the year it was made?
It had that 1980s style.
After Armageddon was made 2010, it’s a docu-drama
Two “oldies”:
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) With Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens, Mel Ferrer. A miner trapped in a cave-in resurfaces, and upon discovering mankind has been wiped out in a nuclear holocaust, sets out to find other survivors.
Things to Come (1936) With Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson, Margaretta Scott. The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
During early ’10s I was battling cancer when my wife and I watched a PA movie that neither of us can remember the title of. Hoping folks here can help.
What I remember of the film is: it was about the struggles of a young couple (possibly siblings) amongst some ruins; they weren’t interested in what happened to the world, only scrounging for their next meal, even when they encounter a single dark-haired woman who is well equipped and actively looking for answers (I remember thinking that if this was an RPG she was the player character as she had maps, etc.); low budget (possibly indie); in color but mostly drab and grays; movie doesn’t end well for the couple as they succumb to starvation (if I remember correctly).
I’ve posted a request for this movie on a few different places without joy.
Doesn’t ring a bell with me – maybe others will chime in.
Great additions!
really good one with Charlton Heston titled
solar crisis ” from the 1980s
There was a movie that had Amazons being lead by a man in drag
Another movie had a sentry guarding a bridge and when the hero would strike him he would split into two then 4 then 8
Your thinking of “America 3000”
Your “Z” section – Z for Zachariah double billed for the second one: Zardoz with Sean Connery
LX 2048 (2020)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
2149: The Aftermath (2021)
We’ll add ’em. Thanks, Dan.
Zoo (2018)
Zoo looks like a zombie apocalypse movie, something we’re not including here, but it’s a movie that we missed in our Complete List of Zombie Movies article. I added it there. Thank you!
the movie ‘beyond reason’ that is listed here does not belong, I tried to watch it and it has nothing to do with post apocalypse themes .
the description of the movie is totally wrong.
I was wondering if anyone seen a movie sometime in the last 5 years or so with
Benedict Cumberbatch where a bunch of people are living in sophisticated bunkers after the Apocalypse, I saw a preview for the movie some years ago but have never been able to find it even when searching this man’s name with the movie she’s been in
Thanks for that. There are so many it’s hard to nail them all 100%. I removed it.
Have you tried his imbd?
I’ve been trying to find a post apocalyptic film for ages that I watched as a teenager – I’m now 48 – but the problem is my memory of it is very limited. I’ll give it a go just in case it rings a bell with someone. As I said it;s set in a post apocalyptic future and the whole film is set in a never ending underground parking lot – a wasteland – but I distinctly remember it being described on the back of the VHS case in the rental place as a parking lot. It was an American film and I would say it was late 70’s to mid 80’s. I know that’s very vague and sounds a bit strange but as I’ve said, it’s been a quest for years for me on and off and I’ve got nowhere near finding it. Anyone got a clue? Thanks.
It could be this one : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099271/ Circuitry Man ? Let me know if it’s that one.
Yes, “Circuitry Man” sounds correct. The underground was referred to as “The Maze”
Allow me to define my classifications for Post-Apocalyptic films.
High Fantasy means the apocalypse has occurred. There are still plenty of resources, a functioning environment and civilization for humanity. Life can still be pretty good. The Stand and The Postman are good examples.
Low Fantasy is bleak. The world is in ruins. People live on scraps. Supplies are limited. What is left is fought over fiercely. The Road and The Mad Max films qualify.
Medium Fantasy is somewhere in the middle. Waterworld might fit here. Though I have no clue where the smokers got all that tobacco. Soylent Green is a good example.
Rock N’ Rule = It is animation by Nelvana from 1983 or so. Humanity destroyed itself in a nuclear war. The rats, kittehs and doggehs have evolved in anthropomorphic bipedal humanoids. They have a society that is built around the ruins of human cities. For example, New York is now called Nuke York.
I consider it post-apocalyptic. Planet of the Apes is has the same basic backstory. Rock n’ Rule is a hidden gem of a film.
Wizards may be a post apocalyptic film. Ralph Bakshi did it. It has rotoscoping scenes galore. Fire and Ice may work too.
‘Now and then, Here and there’ is an anime about a broken world where water is scarce. This is a bleak story about loss of innocence.
The Macross Saga of Robotech may qualify. About halfway through the series, Earth’s major cities are annihilated by the Zentradi fleet. The survivors are forced to rebuild among ruins of the war. It is what I consider a ‘High fantasy’ post apocalyptic setting.
Robot Holocaust is a great example of a bad B post apocalypse movie. Mst3k did a riffing of this film. Boy, is it bad. The film never explains why the dad is turned into an avocado.
Does ‘Day of the Comet’ count as a PA movie?
Maximum Overdrive (maybe? It could be a sub-genre)
Technically, the Matrix is a post-apocalyptic film.
Rock N’ Rule – never heard of it. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the informative comment.
I believe it is 1984’s “Night of the Comet”. Sort of immediately post-apocalyptic.
Rock and Rule is on YouTube for free viewing.
The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell
Good one, but given that it’s flesh-eating women, I’m going to add it to the complete zombie movies list.
I’m needing help finding a movie. I can only remember one scene, and hoping someone knows what movie it is.
I’m pretty sure it’s a low budget, b rate movies about nuclear war. The scene i remember is of a man who emerges from his underground bunker with his dog after the blast. They go off to find water. They get to what looks like a giant hill and the dog runs up to the top and starts barking non stop. The man the ascends the hill to the top to his dog, only to discover that they are at the edge of a giant crater from a nuclear blast. The camera pans back to show this, with a city in the distance devastated.
Does anyone know this movie?? I rented it from a movie store back in the 2000s and am at a loss for what it was.
Appreciate any leads
I have a hunch that this could simply be Hills Have Eyes (2006). Let me know if it was this one. If not, I’ll try to find you another one. A Boy and His Dog is also one candidate.
Nice list. Anyone familiar with a low budget film about a mother and her daughter and another woman living in a house in the woods. The mother is hard on her teenage daughter trying to prepare her for life. The second woman gets injured, and the daughter sets out on her own to find a settlement that might have medical supplies. She meets a crippled black teen who assists her. Did not get to see end and cannot find it again. Probably a relatively recent release. Thanks.
Hi,
I trying to figure out a movie I watched back in 80’s. It was about a future where nobody ever left their homes. They worked from home on computers. Food was delivered. They had never met another human in person. After an apocalypse, they were force to venture out and meet other humans and basically re-establish the human race.
I answered to your question accidentally as a separate message.
I would be curious to know this one as well. Do you have idea when the movie was made? Could it be a tv special or something? Any idea of the actors or more clues of the plot? The Exterminating Angel (1962) has some of the elements you are looking for it seems.
Hey everyone, I need help finding a movie
There is one movie that I remember saw as a teenager about WW3 which started with nuclear strike somewhere in the world. I don’t remember much details, I only remember that there was some main plot line taking place after the strike (I remember some woman/girl discovering buildings), and there were flashbacks to two pilots bringing the bombs, with the countdown till strike was made, or smth like that. It’s not “the day after”, and I don’t want to mislead anybody, but as I suppose it was out somewhere in 2000s-2010s, cause as I refer, it was colorful and not that old. But if you have older suggestions, go ahead, it really irritates not to know what the name of the movie is
Thanks a lot for reading 🙂
There’s an Australian movie made in 1984 called ‘One Night Stand’. It’s usually (incorrectly) described as four Sydney teenagers in a theatre hear about WW3 starting in Europe. The four people are adults, not teenagers and the majority of the movie takes place within the Sydney Opera House on New Year’s Eve.
The war spreads to Australia and Sydney is targeted. One of the four is a US Navy sailor who tells the others that the US Navy had known for weeks that a war was coming.
For those of us who lived through the 80s it’ll bring back some memories of what it was like living with the thought of nuclear war
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087844/
Good one, we’ll get it added.
I could really use some help here .. tried every search known to mankind still can’t find this movie listed anywhere . It’s definitely a post apocalyptic movie set in the far future when only young people who can hunt and scavenge survived but they dont even have language anymore ,they just motion to things and show their anger by grunting in a very animalistic way … the lead character in the story is a young women who travels the cities and wasteland looking for food and to hunt …. and occasionally runs into other kids …. it’s a really bleak hopeless film of young people just surviving but I loved it big time and hope someone can help with the title so I can track it down
I have a strong gut feeling that it could be Glen and Randa (1971). https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0067141/reviews. Lemme know did I nail it, thanks.
Great list! I wonder if “Logan’s Run” is good enough to add…
Great movie, but more science fiction than straight post-apocalyptic (I have to draw imperfect lines somewhere).
OK, Technically speaking, Logan’s Run should be counted as a P/A film, but the story occurs 500 years after the Apocalypse, and the characters have a sketchy idea of what happened.
Now, here’s a good one for you, a British dark comedy, “The Bed Sitting Room”. The movie came out in the late 1960’s, I think it was 1968. I first saw this movie as a kid in the late 70″s.and just recently (a few weeks ago) watched it again on either Epix or Flix movie channel. Check it out. you’ll get a good laugh.
Nice – we have a new addition!
There are a lot of really good Sci-Fi movies that also could be post a cop elliptic films a really excellent one had Charlton Heston starring in it, also Jack palance played a survivalist living out in the desert, I haven’t been able to find it like so many others I believe the name of it was solar crisis.
That film was titled “Supernove” I actually have that in my Chuck Heston collection.
Looking for a postcopalyptic film.
Got to see it a couple times about 20 years ago and never have been able to find it since, it had that 1970 to 1980 look to it.
I’ll post a few things I remember about the movie and hope somebody here can recognize it I’d like to know the name.
Hero of the film started out driving an old Ford pickup truck and later got an old Indian motorcycle.
I believe the opening of the film said
“Central America after the collapse”
As the hero is driving his pickup to a factory he works in.
He elopes with the daughter of one of the either crime bosses or capitalist that’s trying to rebuild society, and some mad Max type assassins on their motorcycles take out after him.
He’s captured and tortured in prison while they tried to get him to tell where the girl is at they think he’s dead and they throw him out with the other dead bodies .
At some point he goes to a couple of mechanics who are building motorcycles one of the mechanics is a deaf mute and he buys an old Indian motorcycle and a single shot Remington rolling block handgun.
Another scene in the movie he goes into an underground bar that is called the snake pit and has a bowl of snake stew.
I have searched for years online and in movie dictionaries trying to find this film and just can’t find it but I know I used to have it on an old VHS tape
Did anyone hear know that Clint Walker made a collapse movie?
It was titled ‘deadly harvest’ it wasn’t exactly post apocalypse
it was almost a pre-apocalypse
I remember watching that movie (had forgotten the name). It was actually pretty good. It stuck with me for sure.
“Deadly Harvest”, excellent movie, more of an Apox . in motion film. One scene that has always stuck with me was near the end. At the beginning of the film, a government specialist informs his bosses that an ensuing food crisis will hit the planet, and the human race has only X amount of food left. This begins the individual stories.
Now, the scene that rattled me was near the end. The same gov. guy, knowing what is going to happen, prepares a lavish dinner for his ill wife and children. I remember it was Pot roast with vegetables (one of my favorites BTW) While he is alone, in the kitchen, he secretly laces the brown gravy with poison, while he does this act, he’s crying and looking to God, for forgiveness.
Thats how the scene ends, but not the movie.
Yet another post looking for am unidentified movie, likely North American, likely post-2000. I didn’t find it either here or on the “survival” list. Should definitely be added to this list if tracked down.
What I remember:
1. Opening scenes: in a big city, people in a skyscraper see nuclear bombs go off in the distance. Everybody panics and runs down a staircase to get to the basement. These scenes had very much a 9/11, World Trade Towers feel to them.
2. Most of the rest of the movie is of a few survivors holed up in the basement being brutal to one another.
3. Closing scenes: one young woman puts on some kind of environmental suit and leaves the building. She wanders through ruined city streets covered in ash, which is still floating through the air. There’s a closeup of her beautiful eyes, which are still perfectly made up, LOL. The film closes with a shot of her just standing there looking around at absolute devastation. It’s implied that this is the end for humanity.
4. Bleak, but a better-than-average musical theme, piano-based.
…Anybody?
Update: I think this has to be The Divide from 2012. I just repressed a bunch of stuff that didn’t match my memory of it LOL.
Yes, has to be Divide. Good movie! A bit of mystery there too.
Looking for an old 60-70s movie of a post, destruction of earth’s surface, probably a nuclear, explosion. A world now exists underground completely controlled by technology/computers. An ideal world for humans based on youth and being cared for by the technology. An age implant brings you to a celebration party from which you never return.
With knowledge controlled by the technology humans live a carefree life of enjoyment with no work and dominated by a game called Rollerball.
The superhero player deviates on his own wanting to know what more knowledge the library contains, which is out of bounds to humans, and what it’s like to go up to the forbidden surface. A struggle ensues between the hero and the technology trying to stop him.
Ain’t this just Rollerball (1975) ? It’s been awhile since I saw it but that sounds like it.
That’s not Rollerball. Rollerball was a game of diversion for the masses (think of the Roman Collesium) where corporations ruled the world.
Got it! Well other candidates would be: Solarbabies , Deathsport and Logan’s Run but that last one is too obvious and they don’t play any rollerball games on it. Then there is the movie with Rutger Hauer: The Salute of the Jugger. Anyway, this movie sounds like an interesting one to see if we can figure it out.
Speaking of the GREAT Rutger Hauer. He stared in a movie titled “Blood of Heros”.He plays the leader of some post-apox gladiators, tour the barren landscape giving “Performances”. Whats unique about the one is the first appearance of Vincent Michael DeNoferio (YES: that Vincent DeNoferio)
Yes that is actually the same movie (salute of the jugger/blood of heroes) but very different cuts of the movie. Such a shame that it has never received a good home media release anywhere in the world.
I agree, this sounds like an inadvertent blending. Now, I will concede that some later, low budget films did borrow from other more established films. In this case we could be looking at this as the problem.
This sounds like Logan’s Run. The Carousel was an event where the “old” person’s hand gem flashed. They went to the carousel and floated up to enlightenment in a new life. They were actually being killed to ensure population control.
Great film.
*Ahem*
You are blending two films. The first one is Logan’s Run.
The second is Rollerball starring James Caan.
I suspect your brain is melding two memories. Or maybe you are making a joke. I do a similar thing when I say “Cyborg was an Avenger too”. It makes Marvel fans so annoyed.
Hi saw this apocalyptic film at 2003-2005 in HBO, i need help to find it!
The ambient was desertic, the survivors are all young people (teenagers) escaping of a old man (ugly and depravating) leader. They went to a lab were was a few people (in their 20´s) that introduce the teenegers to having sex and that gives them some power like strenth and stamina…. They kill each other, i dont remember the end, i was 11-13 years old, please help to find that movie!
I’ve got this one too, you are talking about an updated version of “Teenage Caveman” The original starred a young Robert Vaungh as the protagonist. The first movie was a Roger Coreman production, and the story was based on a short story “By the Rivers of Babylon”. I remember having to read the story for a high school English class.
i really apreciate your reply, finally i found the film, is teenage caveman of 2002, there is no streaming service for that movie, i hope to find the torrent.
Thanks a lot!
Torrent has some bad quality versions available. eBay and Amazon for buying DVD version or rarefilm dot net for download. The only bad thing is you need a premium nitroflare account for that site.
OK If you have FXM on-demand, the original B/W Roger Corman version is there. As to the recent version, I recorded it off a VHS back some time ago. So unfortunately, you might have to hunt for that version.
Good luck.and remember “Beware, there is evil across the River”
Help if you can please? Mutants, there are some de–evolved humans and reptilian humans. A mercenary recruited to rescue maybe a scientist from a badlands town gathers a team of heroes. One of the team is captured and cemented into a wall alive pillory style. There was a rescue attempt but he had begged for and given merciful death. Not a lot to go on, hey?
Hmm, Interesting premise, but unfortunately, it doesn’t ring any bells. My first thought was one of the
“Resident Evil” movies, but that had zombie’s, not reptilian mutants.
Another thought, you might be looking for one of the “Notorious”Italian Post-Apox movies from the 80’s.
There’s a movie out that’s sort of like the book Swan Song post apocalyptic movie that’s showing now what is the name of that movie. ?
Can you give any more details? You mean it’s like 2022-2023 movie? Then I have a couple of suggestions. Vesper and Mondocane.
Im looking for a movie i watched when i was really young but i can only remember once specific scene, it was post apocalyptic and in a desert area, the main character was in a futuristic suit with a tube connected to it so he could eat and he put the tube in a can of dog food to eat it and vomits in his suit, thats kinda all i remember that i can be specific about.
I have seen a bunch of post apocalyptic movies and never seen this kind of scene, sounds interesting enough though. It might be one of VHS era movies that are harder to find. Try to look for it on rarefilm dot net. They might have it.
Strangely you left out the original “The Survivors” from 75-77. It has entire plotlines written by “Terry Nation.”
The 2008 remake was a sad excuse. Nothing like the original. Except for taking scenes or plots from the original.
I hadn’t heard of it, but it’s a TV series, not a movie. Was it good?
Day of the Triffids (1963) should be listed