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Metropolis
Flood disaster in a cityscape. Capitalism and industrialism. -
The Wind
Arid winds, drought. -
King Kong
Giant ape rampaging in New York city. -
The Rains Came
Earthquake and horrific floods. -
When Worlds Collide
Planetary impact between Earth and a rogue planet. Fear of cold war and the fear of invasion from unknown hostile force in society at the time. -
On The Beach
In the aftermath of an atomic war, much of humanity has been destroyed. Only Australia remains, but time is short as the winds will inevitably spread nuclear fallout and everyone knows they have only a few months to live. Among those coming to terms with the inevitable is a U.S. navy officer, Cmdr. Dwight Towers, whose submarine and crew were at sea when the holocaust occurred. Threat of nuclear war. -
Day of the Triffids
Day of the Triffids is a 1962 British film unusual at the time for being in colour. It has had a huge influence on future classics like 28 days later and many Zombie films. Triffids are giant plants with the ability to kill with a poisonous sting; a man wakes up in hospital with his eyes bandaged and has missed an unusual meteor shower that has blinded most people on Earth. Fear of nuclear war threat, post apocalyptic worlds -
The Omega Man
Coming out as Vietnam raged, this Charlton Heston 1971 film told the story of a world where biological warfare had killed most humans or turned them into nocturnal vampires. Fear of the vietnam war and biological warfare within society -
Mad Max
Mel Gibson starred in this 1979 Australian film, which came to define a whole genre of post-apocalyptic movies in which a rugged hero battles across a wasteland searching for fuel and food. It spawned many rip-off. Fear of technology taking over/ authoritarian state/ humanity turning on itself -
Quiet Earth
The Quiet Earth (based on the novel of the same name) explores how a person can go mad when he realizes he’s the only one left on Earth following a terrible catastrophe that he helped cause. The portrayals of Hobson’s madness and how he pulls back from the brink are both satisfying—especially because the latter happens before Hobson realizes that he’s really not alone. Fear off science ‘meddling’ with nature (cloning, experimenting with deadly viruses etc.). -
Fears Of Science Meddling With Nature
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Body Snatcher
Clones replicate humans, at the time, this film was reflective of scoiety's fears of cloning. -
Armageddon
A 1998 film that was a huge box-office smash starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck as astronauts seeking to prevent an asteroid from striking the planet. -
The Day After Tomorrow
This 2004 film capitalised on growing concern about climate change. It postulated that a warming Earth could disrupt oceanic currents and trigger a sudden ice age across North America. Environmental disasters feared