Over the years, there have been countless post-apocalyptic movies. From iconic zombie apocalypse movies to the greatest sci-fi films of all time, this strange and expansive subgenre has given audiences unforgettable, emotional, and even adrenaline-fueled experiences like no other.
If you’re in the mood to watch heroes and anti-heroes traverse unforgiving landscapes, ponder moral questions, and take on some of the most vile villains in cinematic history, you come to the right place. Here are 16 intense post-apocalyptic and dystopian movies and how to watch them online.
28 Days Later (2002)
The Director: Danny Boyle
The Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson
What It’s About: A bicycle courier awakes from a coma to find a world that is in shambles after a highly contagious virus turns people into rabid, feral beasts.
What To Expect: Not quite a zombie movie (though there is an argument to be made), 28 Days Later offers one of the most terrifying and visceral scenarios in the post-apocalyptic movie game. Plus, the scene of Cillian Murphy’s Jim walking through a deserted London hits just as hard more than 20 years later.
Finch (2021)
The Director: Miguel Sapochnik
The Cast: Tom Hanks, Caleb Landry Jones
What It’s About: After coming to terms with his mortality, one of the last humans on Earth builds and teaches a robot to take care of his dog.
What To Expect: Basically Cast Away, but instead of an island and volleyball Tom Hanks walks around a desolate planet with a robot and dog, Finch is a powerful, emotional, and engaging drama about a man’s final days on a dying Earth.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
The Director: Hayao Miyazaki
The Cast: Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Shia LaBeouf
What It’s About: A young princess attempts to stop a powerful empire of humans from destroying a sacred forest infested with giant insects.
What To Expect: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s best movies, is often described as an animated version of Dune, and that’s not that far off. With a tremendous story, stunning visuals, and Miyazaki’s attention to detail, this is a post-apocalyptic movie like no other.
The Road (2009)
The Director: John Hillcoat
The Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron
What It’s About: A father and son attempt to navigate a dying American landscape in hopes of finding warmth and a chance for survival years after a mysterious catastrophe left the world covered in ash and crazed survivors.
What To Expect: Based on The late Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Road is a bleak, desolate, yet heartening story of survival in a world where the only thing that is certain is death. With scenes of pure horror and others of pure joy, this 2009 book adaptation is a profound experience.
Elysium (2013)
The Director: Neill Blomkamp
The Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley
What It’s About: A reformed criminal with dreams of living on a luxurious space station known as Elysium leads a revolution to take power from the elite and end their oppression of the have-notes.
What To Expect: Released four years after his directorial debut with District 9, Neill Blomkamp gave the world Elysium, an action-packed and gritty sci-fi thriller. Though it leans more on the dystopian future side of things, this intense thriller takes place in a world full of disease and famine, but also hope.
A Quiet Place (2018)
The Director: John Krasinski
The Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt
What It’s About: A family attempts to survive and go about life after a mysterious alien species lands on Earth and kills anything that makes a sound.
What To Expect: This intimate look at a family in crisis provided for one of the most terrifying and emotional theatrical experiences upon its release, as was the case for its 2021 sequel, A Quiet Place Part II. Currently one of the best horror movies on Paramount+, this terrifying experience will leave you in shocked silence.
- Stream A Quiet Place on Paramount+
- Also try: A Quiet Place Part II on Paramount+.
- Also try: A Quiet Place: Day One on Paramount+.
I Am Legend (2007)
The Director: Francis Lawrence
The Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan
What It’s About: Years after a cure for cancer turned everyone into ravaging mutants, the sole survivor in New York City searches for a way to reverse the virus and bring order back to the world.
What To Expect: Equal parts medical drama and scary as hell horror movie, this 2007 thriller from director Francis Lawrence is one of the most terrifying monster movies to come out in the last 20 years. Though the I Am Legend ending leaves things on a dire note, we’ll soon get to see Smith’s Robert Neville team up with Michael B. Jordan in the upcoming sequel, one that is reportedly going to be heavily influenced by The Last of Us.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)
The Director: Matt Reeves
The Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman
What It’s About: Set 10 years after the Simian Flu wiped out most of the world's human population, this 2014 science fiction action blockbuster sees the remnants of humanity clash with the rising ape population.
What To Expect: One of the best Planet of the Apes movies, Matt Reeves’ epic has good and evil on both sides of the fight, some moving emotional moments, and action sequences that just have to be seen to believe.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
The Director: George Miller
The Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
What It’s About: A down-on-his-luck drifter and a powerful imperator attempt to escape a tyrannical leader in the desolate wasteland.
What To Expect: With some of the most impressive special effects and action set pieces, Fury Road is as brutal as it is beautiful. Anyone who's a fan of the Mad Max franchise, or post-apocalyptic films in general, ought to love this mad dash.
Snowpiercer (2013)
The Director: Bong Joon-ho
The Cast: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris
What It’s About: What’s left of humanity is stuck on a train traversing a dead and frozen planet. After years of being subjected to abuse and atrocities, the lower-class passengers stage a revolt.
What To Expect: With a cast that includes Chris Evans, Ed Harris, Tilda Swinton, and Song Kang-ho, this 2013 dystopian thriller is equal parts action film and exploration of social classes even when humanity is all but doomed.
Children Of Men (2006)
The Director: Alfonso Cuarón
The Cast: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Clare-Hope Ashitey
What It’s About: Two decades after humans mysteriously became infertile, a disillusioned civil servant is given a new purpose in life when he is hired to help a young woman escape a totalitarian England.
What To Expect: Children of Men is a race against time and nefarious parties who want the young woman for their own gain. This bleak and disturbing thriller was brought to life by Alfonso Cuarón, who would go on to direct Gravity and Roma in the years following its release.
Escape From New York (1981)
The Director: John Carpenter
The Cast: Kurt Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, Leen Van Cleef
What It’s About: What happens when the President of the United States is taken hostage in New York City years after the island of Manhattan is turned into a massive, maximum security prison colony? You send in Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), of course.
What To Expect: John Carpenter's 1981 dystopian classic Escape From New York follows the former Army Special Forces lieutenant as he lands on the island and fights his way to find the President before he is killed. This legendary action thriller has some of the best fight scenes, set pieces, and low-budget special effects, especially those nifty tricks by James Cameron, you'll see in the genre.
Wall-E (2008)
The Director: Andrew Stanton
The Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
What It’s About: Wall-E follows a curious and adorable robot as he has his first encounter with love in the form of the sleek and sophisticated EVE. On top of that, the movie also has a powerful story about exploration, new beginnings, and the damaging effects pollution and human negligence have on the world.
What To Expect: Although not as intense or terrifying as other movies that fall into the genre, Wall-E is more than deserving of a spot on this list. This charming, hilarious, and heartfelt 2008 Pixar movie is one of the best Pixar movies and has an incredible story and stunning visuals that still resonate 17 years later.
A Boy And His Dog (1975)
The Director: L.Q. Jones
The Cast: Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Tim McIntire
What It’s About: An orphaned teenager and his telepathic dog wander the American Southwest in hopes of finding a place to call home in a landscape that has been ravaged by nuclear war.
What To Expect: If you're looking for a shockingly funny approach to the whole "life after the end of the world" scenario, then look no further than the 1975 black comedy A Boy In His Dog.
12 Monkeys (1995)
The Director: Terry Gilliam
The Cast: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe
What It’s About: A prisoner is sent back in time to prevent the release of a deadly virus that has since wiped out much of humanity. However, upon arriving in 1996, the time traveler is mistaken for a mental patient.
What To Expect: If you are a fan of time travel, dystopian futures, and incredible performances from Brad Pitt, then this terrifying and unsettling dystopian thriller is something you don’t want to miss.
Book Of Eli (2010)
The Directors: The Hughes Brothers
The Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis
What It’s About: A nomadic warrior braves the unforgiving wasteland after being tasked with delivering a mysterious book that can potentially restore humanity to its former glory.
What To Expect: If you’re looking for a post-apocalyptic movie that combines elements of sci-fi, Westerns, and nuclear war, The Book of Eli is for you. With great action, a gripping story, and a tremendous Denzel Washington performance, this checks a lot of boxes.
Those are some of the more intense post-apocalyptic and dystopian movies out there, but with more films in the genre being released all the time, expect to see more additions to this list in the future. In the meantime, there’s a lot to look forward to on the 2025 movie schedule.
