Best End of the World Movies — 15 Visions of the End Times

If you’re looking for a movie that centers around a climate crisis apocalypse, The Day After Tomorrow is for you. The film follows a group of New Yorkers as they take shelter from an international superstorm that launches them into a new ice age.

Among all movie genres, apocalyptic films are full of external conflict. Zombies, floods, and viruses tend to move these films along. Although Melancholia follows a planet's collision course with Earth, the true conflict is between two sisters anticipating the impending doom. The film revolves more around theme, than it does action. 

This is what makes Melancholia such a unique end of the world movie. It explores rather relatable themes and emotions through a rather unrelatable scenario. Not to mention, Melancholia has become quite a calling card for Kirsten Dunst as she delivers a stellar performance as the film’s lead.

While many other global crisis movies are long forgotten, Contagion is more relevant than ever given the Coronavirus pandemic. While many looked at the film as clairvoyant due to its eerie accuracy, its prediction is a result of thorough research and great filmmaking.

Contagion follows the story of a global pandemic and its effects on various characters as well as the world. Sound familiar? 

While it's undoubtedly an end of the world movie that hits a bit too close to home, Steven Soderbergh is able to focus on the film’s characters to make it a unique story. He walks the fine line of balancing scientific and personal conflicts that make the film so engaging.

Breaking up the heaviness of this end of the world list is our first apocalyptic comedy. This is the End follows six celebrities as an apocalyptic event forces them to take shelter in James Franco’s house. With limited resources, supplies, and constant conflict between them, inevitable comedy ensues.

Amidst the end of the world, the film satirizes the self-absorption of Hollywood as the actors play themselves hilariously. Not to mention the plethora of cameo performances are punchlines in and of themselves. If you’re looking for some end of the world laughs, This is the End will fulfill that need. 

As the second installment of the Cloverfield franchise, 10 Cloverfield Lane had to overcome the mixed impressions left by its predecessor. Upon release, it quickly became the best film of the franchise. 

The movie follows a young woman who wakes up from a car accident in the shelter of a doomsday prepper who claims that the outside world is affected by a chemical attack. The conflict rises as both the woman and the audience do not know what to believe. 

The film’s increasingly suspenseful premise is brilliantly executed by the film’s antagonist, played by John Goodman. Goodman’s performance is among his best, walking a fine line between logical doomsday prepper and insane kidnapper. This one will have you guessing until the end.

What do you get when you combine brilliantly dry British humor, Edgar Wright, and the undead? Well, Shaun of the Dead of course. Not only is the film one of the funniest zombie movies, but one of the best zombie movies of all time. The film follows Shaun, a slacker living a rather mundane life who is caught off guard by a zombie apocalypse.

It archives what many of the genre does not by balancing humor with horror without compromising either. It will without a doubt be a crowd favorite at your next movie night. Since its release it has also earned a cult following and become a comedic classic. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Michael Shannon is a criminally underrated actor. Take Shelter only proves this point. The film follows Curtis, played by Shannon, as he is plagued by visions of an impending apocalyptic storm. As the film progresses, Curtis’ family and community must decide whether they need to protect themself from the storm or from Curtis.

There are few stories in the science fiction genre that are more influential than H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The film was first adapted in 1953 to critical acclaim. So when a remake was announced in 2005, the only man to execute the job well was Steven Spielberg. 

The film follows a family surviving through the terror of an alien force on Earth. Spielberg’s directing style adapted well to a darker tone to create a gripping apocalyptic film. Spielberg  pays due to the classic sci-fi story while also bringing something new to the table.

Although it may not be the most widely discussed Spielberg film, it still ranks on the higher end of Spielberg’s best films.

In 1963, the collective tension in the world was at an all time high. Aside from the escalation of the Vietnam conflict, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the building of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War had risen to a nuclear climax during the Cuban Missile Crisis. If the content of that sentence raises your eyebrows a hair, just imagine living through it.

One man did. That man is named Stanley Kubrick. He took these experiences and molded them through his own perspective and imagination. Out the other end came one of Kubrick’s best films of all time — Dr. Strangelove. The film uses satire to brilliantly portray the worsening worldly politics of the 1960s.

In a genre of forgettable films, Arrival subverts all expectations to produce something completely unique and instantly memorable. The film is based on Ted Chiang’s short story Story of Your Life. It follows a linguist as she attempts to assist the military in communicating with an alien presence.

Denis Villeneuve’s masterful directing completely engages you from start to finish. When you do finish, however, you will be tempted to give it another watch. As a master of his craft, Villeneuve balances external and internal conflicts as well as emotion and logic for an insanely thought provoking and moving film.