Best Movies About the End of the World

“The Last Man on Earth” is based on the 1954 novel “I Am Legend,” just as the 2007 film of that name was. In 1968, Dr. Robert Morgan is one of the few survivors of a plague that has turned most of humanity to vampiric creatures that cannot stand sunlight, mirrors, or garlic. Morgan spends his days hunting and killing as many of them as he can and then burning their bodies. Critic Jerry Renshaw called the movie, which was filmed in Rome, it “a chilling study of loneliness.”

The second film in the “Matrix” franchise sees the return of much of the original cast as Neo and his compatriots continue their fight for the survival of humanity. The film continues the trend of pushing the limit on action movies with groundbreaking effects and cinematography. The sequel did not get as much acclaim as the original but still found favor amongst many critics. Michael Dequina said the film “offers some phenomenal action sequences that more than deliver on the jaw-dropping promise shown on the trailers.”

Humanity is at war with the Kaiju, massive sea monsters that have emerged from an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. To fight the creatures, humans have created massive humanoid machines that are piloted by two humans, connected by a mental link. As monsters start to appear more frequently and risk overwhelming the human defenses, the humans embark on a mission to close the portal.

Based on a 1957 novel of the same name, the film follows humans in Australia who are trying to hang on after much of the Northern Hemisphere is destroyed by nuclear war. They venture out to see if there is anything they can do to save themselves from sharing the fate of the world. Critic Felix Vasquez Jr. said, “Director (Stanley) Kramer’s drama is a bleak and heart wrenching tale of the end of the world.”

Not all apocalypses have to be so serious. “This is the End” is a comedy that stars the likes of Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride, and more, as fictional versions of themselves during a biblical apocalypse. The group tries to survive while continuing personal bickering and relationship problems.