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Which end of the world is right for you?

Survivors, ruins and what comes after. Every title here says who it's good for, and who it isn't.

Not sure yet? Start with these.

  1. An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.

    The sides of Mad Max: Fury Road

    • One long chase across the desert
    • A warrior woman leading an escape
    • Cars, fire and a flamethrower guitar

    Good for you if

    • you want two hours that almost never stop moving.
    • you like orange deserts and blue nights that look like paintings.
    • you like a desert world with its own rules, from war boys to a warlord who rations the water.

    Bad for you if

    • brutal crashes and wounds ruin a film for you.
    • you want a story told in words. Nobody here talks much.

    About: freedom · survival · water

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  2. The Walking Dead 2010

    Series

    Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.

    The sides of The Walking Dead

    • Waking up in a world of the dead
    • Survivors who become a family
    • The living as dangerous as the dead

    Good for you if

    • you like asking what you'd do to stay alive.
    • you like never feeling safe, even at camp.
    • you like watching ordinary people harden over years.

    Bad for you if

    • gore and zombie bites ruin a show for you.
    • eleven seasons is far more than you want to start.

    About: survival · morality · community

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  3. I Am Legend 2007

    Film

    Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.

    The sides of I Am Legend

    • The last man in New York
    • A dog as his only friend
    • Creatures that come out at night

    Good for you if

    • you like dark buildings you have to go into.
    • you like a lonely hero and the dog who keeps him going.
    • you like daily routines of survival in an empty city.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't take loneliness and grief on screen. Neville talks to mannequins to stay sane.
    • you like a big cast. Will Smith is nearly alone on screen for an hour.

    About: loneliness · hope · survival

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  4. 2012 2009

    Film

    Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth's core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world's population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world's leaders race to build "arks" to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.

    The sides of 2012

    • The end of the world on schedule
    • A divorced dad racing his family to safety
    • Giant ships in the Himalayas

    Good for you if

    • you want to watch the whole planet fall apart.
    • you like escaping cracking cities by car and plane.

    Bad for you if

    • you need the science and the escapes to be believable.
    • over two and a half hours is too long for you.

    About: survival · family · the end

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  5. What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.

    The sides of Fear the Walking Dead

    • A family in Los Angeles as the outbreak starts
    • The first days of the zombie apocalypse
    • Strangers who become a group

    Good for you if

    • you like seeing how a normal city falls apart.
    • you like a blended family trying to stay together when the dead walk.
    • you want a horror story that starts before the world is gone.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand zombie bites and bodies torn apart.
    • eight seasons is too much for you.
    • you need some hope, and people keep dying.

    About: survival · family · loss · community

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  6. Fallout 2024

    Series

    The story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there's almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.

    The sides of Fallout

    • A vault dweller on the surface for the first time
    • A ghoul bounty hunter who was once a Hollywood actor
    • Los Angeles two hundred years after the bombs

    Good for you if

    • you like 1950s cheer next to exploding heads.
    • you like vaults, power armour and a wasteland with its own rules.
    • you like shootouts across the wasteland with a knight in power armour.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand gore and gun violence.
    • you'd rather watch a post-apocalypse that could really happen.

    About: capitalism · innocence · survival · the past

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  7. SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

    The sides of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

    • An armed assault on the NERV headquarters
    • A boy who refuses to pilot
    • The end of humanity as one shared mind

    Good for you if

    • you can take the end of the world shown without mercy.
    • you like giant surreal images, live-action shots and a sea of orange liquid.
    • you like a finale you argue about for years.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand soldiers gunning down staff or Eva Unit 02 torn apart.
    • a teenager's despair and self-hatred on screen are too much for you.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: loneliness · the end of the world · the fear of others

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  8. World War Z 2013

    Film

    Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.

    The sides of World War Z

    • A father racing across the world
    • Zombies that run in swarms
    • A walk through a lab

    Good for you if

    • you like a pandemic told as a race against time.
    • you like zombies piling up against a wall.
    • you want disaster on a world scale.

    Bad for you if

    • you want gory zombies. This one keeps the bites off screen.
    • you want a zombie story that builds slowly. Philadelphia falls in the first ten minutes.

    About: survival · family · pandemic

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  9. A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.

    The sides of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

    • An ape society in the forest
    • Humans who need a dam
    • A peace that won't hold

    Good for you if

    • you like apes whose faces say everything.
    • you like two sides trying not to start a war.
    • you like Caesar, a leader trying to hold his colony together.

    Bad for you if

    • war scenes with animals are hard for you.

    About: trust · war · leadership

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  10. Bird Box 2018

    Film

    Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a survivor and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.

    The sides of Bird Box

    • A mother and two children blindfolded
    • Something that makes you want to die if you see it
    • A river trip

    Good for you if

    • you like survival with a strict rule.
    • you like a threat you never see.

    Bad for you if

    • you want answers. What the creatures are and why they kill is never explained.
    • mass suicide shown on screen is too much for you.

    About: motherhood · survival · fear

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  11. Reunited by their father's death, estranged siblings with extraordinary powers uncover shocking family secrets — and a looming threat to humanity.

    The sides of The Umbrella Academy

    • Adopted siblings with powers
    • An apocalypse in eight days
    • A brother stuck as a teenager

    Good for you if

    • you like odd, colourful superhero stories.
    • you like a dysfunctional family where everyone shines.
    • you like dark comedy and dance scenes.

    Bad for you if

    • bloody fights ruin a show for you.
    • you can't watch addiction on screen. Klaus spends much of the first season high.

    About: family · trauma · time

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  12. Don't Look Up 2021

    Film

    Two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humankind of a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth. The response from a distracted world: Meh.

    The sides of Don't Look Up

    • Two scientists who find a comet
    • Nobody wants to listen
    • Media and politics laughing at the end of the world

    Good for you if

    • you like satire about a world that won't look up.
    • you like a starry cast playing fools.
    • you can take a funny film that ends darkly.

    Bad for you if

    • over two hours of satire is too long for you.
    • you'd rather keep politics out of your comedy. The White House and the news are the targets.

    About: denial · media · politics

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  13. 28 Days Later 2002

    Film

    Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs -- and it's absolutely impossible to contain.

    The sides of 28 Days Later

    • Waking up in an empty London
    • Infected who run
    • A group of survivors heading north

    Good for you if

    • you like fast, furious infected.
    • you like a deserted city that should feel safe and doesn't.
    • you like a world where the living are dangerous too.

    Bad for you if

    • brutal violence ruins it for you.
    • grief at every turn, with families lost to the virus, is too much for you tonight.

    About: survival · humanity · rage

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  14. Armageddon 1998

    Film

    When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.

    The sides of Armageddon

    • Oil drillers sent to blow up an asteroid
    • A father and his daughter
    • Animal crackers

    Good for you if

    • you want a big, loud end-of-the-world film.
    • you like a gruff father who can't say how much his daughter means to him.
    • you like a crew of rowdy drillers who'd follow Harry anywhere.

    Bad for you if

    • you need the science to hold up. Here oil drillers are trained as astronauts in a matter of days.
    • two and a half hours is too long for you.

    About: sacrifice · family · heroism

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  15. The 100 2014

    Series

    100 years in the future, when the Earth has been abandoned due to radioactivity, the last surviving humans live on an ark orbiting the planet — but the ark won't last forever. So the repressive regime picks 100 expendable juvenile delinquents to send down to Earth to see if the planet is still habitable.

    The sides of The 100

    • A hundred young prisoners sent to Earth
    • A planet that's not empty
    • Leaders making impossible choices

    Good for you if

    • you like teenagers surviving a wild Earth.
    • you like hard choices that cost lives.
    • you like leaders who become morally grey.

    Bad for you if

    • seven seasons is more than you want to start.
    • war and brutal deaths ruin a show for you.

    About: survival · leadership · morality

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  16. The Last of Us 2023

    Series

    Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.

    The sides of The Last of Us

    • A smuggler crossing a ruined America
    • A 14-year-old girl immune to the infection
    • A fungus that turned people into monsters

    Good for you if

    • you like a gruff man slowly becoming a father to Ellie.
    • you want a road trip through a world where every town can kill you.
    • you like a story about what you would do to protect one person.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand infected attacks and people killing people up close.
    • you need some hope, and this one keeps taking people away.

    About: grief · fatherhood · survival · loyalty

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  17. See 2019

    Series

    A virus has decimated humankind. Those who survived emerged blind. Centuries later when twins are born with the mythic ability to see, their father must protect his tribe against a threatened queen.

    The sides of See

    • A world where everyone is blind
    • Twins born able to see
    • A warrior chief called Baba Voss

    Good for you if

    • you like a world rebuilt, centuries after a virus, by people who can't see.
    • you like Jason Momoa in sword fights fought by sound.
    • you like a father protecting children who can see.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand bloody sword fights.
    • you'd rather watch a future that could really happen.

    About: fatherhood · power · faith

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  18. Good Omens 2019

    Series

    Aziraphale and Crowley, of Heaven and Hell respectively, have grown rather fond of the Earth. So it's terrible news that it's about to end. The armies of Good and Evil are amassing. The Four Horsemen are ready to ride. Everything is going according to the Divine Plan...except that someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist. Can our heroes find him and stop Armageddon before it's too late?

    The sides of Good Omens

    • An angel and a demon who like living on Earth
    • A misplaced Antichrist in an English village
    • The end of the world, planned and running late

    Good for you if

    • you like Aziraphale and Crowley bickering like an old couple.
    • you like an angel and a demon who would rather save the world they live in.
    • you want Heaven and Hell run like two absurd offices.

    Bad for you if

    • you want an apocalypse with battles, not two old friends arguing over lunch.
    • you lose track of big casts. Witches, witchfinders, the Four Horsemen and a boy who is the Antichrist all get their own story.

    About: friendship · good and evil · free will

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  19. Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.

    The sides of Terminator 2: Judgment Day

    • A killer robot sent to protect a boy
    • A mother preparing for the end
    • A liquid metal enemy

    Good for you if

    • you like a truck chasing a boy's dirt bike down the Los Angeles river canals.
    • you like a villain that can become anyone.
    • you like a bond growing between a boy and the machine sent to protect him.

    Bad for you if

    • you need the science to hold up. A liquid metal man pulls himself back together from puddles.
    • shootouts and a nightmare of fire are too much for you.

    About: fate · family · humanity

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  20. Zombieland 2009

    Film

    Columbus has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.

    The sides of Zombieland

    • Rules for surviving zombies
    • A road trip to an amusement park
    • A celebrity cameo

    Good for you if

    • you like a zombie comedy that's mostly comedy.
    • you like jokes about killing zombies creatively.
    • you like four strangers becoming a family on the road.

    Bad for you if

    • zombie gore ruins it for you, even played for laughs.
    • you want zombies that scare you. These ones are mostly target practice.

    About: survival · family · trust

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