Light of My Life (2019)

A pre-teen Rags and her dad take on a journey through an end-of-time British Columbia, a place devoid of women. In fact, no female humans exist anywhere on Earth because a lethal plague wiped out the world’s female population a decade ago. Rags is the sole exception. Being the only woman on the planet, Rags depends on her father to keep her safe from the men-only society filled with angry, lustful, and manipulative bandits. The only way to go is forward is to go to nowhere. 

Dredd (2012)

In a post-apocalyptic world where the United States has become a wasteland of dystopian society, justice still has to prevail somehow. Order must be maintained, the streets must remain safe, and laws must be enforced. In the ruin of an old world inhabited by 800 million people, armed cops have license to kill. A degraded society of the future has a new kind of an old problem: mind-altering drug known as SLO-MO. The jobs to take down its production and distribution along with the drug lord running the operation are best left to Dredd – the exemplary cop, judge, and executioner. 

Aftermath (2014) 

Nuclear disaster is often a premise of a post-apocalyptic movie. The characters then navigate through a destroyed world, fighting for resources against each other. Aftermath (2014) doesn’t stray too far from such a mainstream idea. That said, it doesn’t tell a story in the decades or centuries following an apocalypse, but in the immediate aftermath of it. A small group of people are forced to take refuge in a shabby shelter somewhere in rural Texas. They’re struggling not only against zombie-like invaders, but also radiation poisoning and toxic air. 

Scorched Earth (2018)

If you don’t care much about the plot and only focus on the fight scenes, Scorched Earth is a good 96-minute fun. In the film’s version of a post-apocalyptic world, the destruction of the planet started not so long ago mainly due to relentless industrialized mining and uncontrolled fossil fuel consumption. Climate change of global scale puts the Earth on the brink of total depletion, forcing everyone to revert back to the much simpler old-school barter system and the absence of internal combustion. Burning fossil fuel is against the law, which leads to a nasty battles between bounty hunters and criminals.

Night of the Living Dead HD (1968)

Most movies about zombies are post-apocalyptic in nature, otherwise normal human will not be outnumbered by the undead. This 1968 film remains a mainstay of the genre for its beauty in simplicity. To stay safe from the hordes of flesh-eating corpses, who have just been reanimated thanks to radiation from a space probe explosion, some ordinary Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in a farmhouse. Struggles ensue to the very end of the film. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Night of the Living Dead is the best zombie movie of all time.

The Blood of Heroes (1990)

A war in the 20^th century brought the world to its knees. Most technologies have been wiped out, and the planet is now inhabited only by small populations here and there. People scavenge for food when there are no crops to harvest and raise dogs as livestock animals. There are no laser guns, invading aliens, or smart zombies in the film. The plot revolves around the lives of six people who travell across the land to play juggers, a savage game of American football using a dog skull. The Blood of Heroes gives a different take on the post-apocalyptic theme, with a touch of Dark Ages.

Cherry 2000 (1988)

In Cherry 2000, a film released over three decades ago, post-apocalyptic future happens in 2017. A constant economic crisis has driven the United States into madness with only few civilized areas remaining. Most people have become overly bureaucratic and more importantly, hyper-sexualized. There are lawyers in brothels to help men and women handle the paperwork before they can engaged in sexual activities. To keep things simple, men take androids as wives instead. When a successful man loses an android wife following a short-circuit damage during a vigorous sex in a wet kitchen, he hires sexy tracker to find him another.

Find out more about Cherry 2000 here!

Turbo Kid (2015)

In an alternate 1997, the world has already fallen into a post-apocalyptic state. The society living in a godforsaken place known as “The Wasteland” is ruled by an evil overlord called Zeus. Nothing is off-limit for Zeus; there is no boundary as to what he will do to retain control. He even grinds people into liquid. An orphaned boy, whose parents were killed by Zeus, is on a quest to save the day. Just about everything about Turbo Kid is 1980s-retro with one-eyed villain, first love, BMX, and desert soundtrack. Some say, it is a cult classic in the waiting. 

Carriers (2009)

Here is another typical premise: a deadly virus infected and killed most of the world’s population. The few remaining survivors are on their way to a sanctuary. While the virus-induced massive scale deaths is always the background of the narration, Carriers gracefully shifts the focus on the interpersonal conflicts among the sanctuary seekers. Their body might be healthy, but they find it difficult to make sound judgment about everything on the journey. Their survival and happiness depend on whether they should stay together or leave each other.

The Colony (2013)

The world is covered in snow as if the planet has returned to Ice Age period. Survivors form colonies in various places, but they all live underground to stay away from the extreme cold temperature. Without access to healthcare facilities and farm lands, they must control diseases inside cramped bunkers and prepare for a journey to the surface for food. Some colonies have already resorted to cannibalism. There is hope when a radio broadcast delivers news of melting ice in an unknown location, but hope can be dangerous. 

The Midnight After (2014)

A group of people take a minibus in Hong Kong to travel from Mong Kok to Tai Po. As the minibus goes through a tunnel, the world changes in an instant. The streets are empty and all places around are eerily quiet. Soon the passengers realize that they might be the only people left alive in Hong Kong. Many of them suddenly melt, become ill, or spontaneously combust. Some suggest it is a paranormal experience, and others think the strange phenomena are caused by nuclear disaster elsewhere. The Midnight After is for sure touching on the post-apocalyptic theme, but it takes the issue with a completely different perspective: comedy. As with any comedy, you watch it not for the action, but for the laugh.

The Survivalist (2015)

In a world where most people see each other only as potential meals, no one is trustworthy. To stay away from all the killings, a man chose to live alone in a small cabin deep in the woods. When a mother and a daughter came across the cabin, his story gets complicated. The mother is willing to let him do as he pleases to her daughter in return for food and shelter. He agrees, and everything seems alright although inappropriate. However, the mother’s intention to kill him never really disappears. 

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

To exclude Mad Max: Fury Road from a list of post-apocalyptic movie would be blasphemy. There is Max, a lone wanderer haunted by his troubled past; and then is also Furiosa, a female warrior longing to revisit her own past back at home. Their world is a barren desert with little humanity left. Everyone fights for survival, and a villain leader speaks like a Viking lord. A twist of fate and a common enemy bring Max and Furiosa together in a thrilling parade of outrageous car chase sprinkled with flame throwers, chainsaw, heavy metal distortion, black mud, gasoline, and mother’s milk.

Find out more about Mad Max here!

Bird Box (2018)

A classic end-of-the-world fare, Bird Box features all the expected post-apocalyptic elements. It has scenes of horrible deaths and a dramatic attempt at escaping seemingly inescapable perils. The few remaining survivors may find refuge in a sanctuary, but they have to go there blindfolded; otherwise, they won’t be able to control their suicidal thoughts.

Find out more about Bird Box here!

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

Unlike the previous two films in the Cloverfield series, the third entry comes across as underwhelming to fans of the franchise. The Cloverfield Paradox is drowned in scientific exposition that it is irresistible only to those who appreciate the hard science category in the sci-fi genre. 

Blame! (2017)

Everything is connected via technology. An infection in the system wreaks havoc on the automation process. It is a malfunction with the ability to replicate itself infinitely. The system hunts down humans.

Cargo (2017)

An infected father has to take his infant child to safety before the disease turns him into a mindless zombie. The character-driven story makes Cargo, a Netflix original, a refreshing take on the genre.  

The Colony (2021)

A series of global-scale disasters force the ruling class to abandon Earth and colonize Kepler 209. Fast forward to two generations later, the colonists are unable to reproduce. An expedition team is sent to post-apocalyptic Earth only to discover its unwelcoming inhabitants.

#Alive (2020)

Our time of strict quarantine and almost complete dependency on technology due to the Coronavirus might be over, but watching #Alive will bring back memories of the bleak situation a few years back. Only in the film, the culprit is the zombie virus.

How It Ends (2018)

Just in case you like a challenging—in fact borderline a chore to watch—doomsday film, How It Ends offers some hefty ideas waiting to be explored. It is about a man (and his father-in-law) on a journey against violence and lies to save his wife while the world around him is crumbling.

I Am Mother (2019)

Artificial intelligence serves its function as either a mother or a true villain to a young girl in an automated bunker. The girls learn that the outside world is uninhabitable following an extinction event, but only until another human sneaks into the bunker.

Last Man Down (2021)

The human population has been decimated by a deadly pandemic. Things take a drastic change in the life of a hermit soldier when a woman claims that her blood is key to discovering a cure. Now he has to protect her from a band of pursuers.

IO (2019)

Pollution has rendered the air on Earth unbreathable. Everyone leaves to build a colony on space station IO. Sam Walden seems to be the only one who sees hope to clean the air using immune bees to pollinate oxygen-producing plants.

The Silence (2019)

Noise means instant death in The Silence. The main character is Ally Andrews, a girl with hearing loss. She must lead her family to safety, escaping from pterosaur-like creatures that hunt by sound.

Cadaver (2020)

Not much is left after a nuclear disaster; no work, no food, no electricity, and no hope. A family has been invited by Mathias, a rich mysterious man. They are welcome to dine as they like and enjoy the entertainment. Little do the guests know if they will be part of the entertainment itself. 

Awake (2021)

Worldwide calamity can come from any imaginable ailment. In Awake, disaster happens because people everywhere lose their ability to sleep. Jill’s daughter may hold the key to an effective cure, but the girl herself needs saving before she can do any good to everybody else.

Black Crab (2022)

Sweden is at war. A team of six soldiers are on a suicide mission to deliver a package of biological weapon through a post-apocalyptic landscape of frozen lands and water. 

The Worthy (2017)

Political conflicts have gone out of hand. Some survivors retreat to a compound that holds the only source of fresh water. The problem is that they must take part in a vicious game to decide who may survive.

What Happened To Monday (2017)

Part post-apocalyptic and part dystopian thriller, What Happened to Monday tells the story of Settman septuplets as they struggle to elude the one-child policy during a time of resource scarcity in the distant future.

Find out more about What Happened to Monday here!

Extinction (2018)

With obscure settings and strange lighting, the tale of an alien invasion in Extinction delivers a real sense of doomsday uneasiness that leads to an interesting twist at the end. 

The Midnight Sky (2020)

Earth has been evacuated. Augustine, a scientist suffering from terminal cancer, is accompanied by a quiet girl in an observatory in the Arctic. He doesn’t have much time himself, but the girl might help him find a ride to safety. 

World War Z (2013)

Loosely based on Max Brooks’ novel of the same name, World War Z chronicles the story of a former UN investigator Gerry Lane as he travels the world in search of an answer to a global zombie outbreak. The journey ends with no cure in sight, but humans might have a fighting chance against the undead. 

Resident Evil (2002)

Raccoon City is home to Umbrella Corporation, the company behind the genetically engineered T-virus that turns humans into undead cannibals. When the virus escapes the lab, the AI system kills everyone to contain the infection. It fails and soon the virus spreads elsewhere, turning the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. 

Find out more about the Resident Evil movies here!

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Milla Jovovich reprises her role as Alice in the second installment of Resident Evil. She takes the lead in the fight against the undead while attempting to escape Raccoon City before the place is leveled by a nuclear missile. Both the first film and the sequel are not strictly post-apocalyptic, but the vibe is strong with all its zombies and virus.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Alice brings the battle to Umbrella headquarters in Tokyo. As always, things never go as planned especially when she finds herself injected with an anti-virus and losing her superhuman powers. 

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

T-virus is unstoppable; zombie outbreaks are everywhere. Alice is now trapped inside an Umbrella Corporation facility and teams up with an old enemy to fight a new one.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

A cyborg named T-800, often simply referred to as Terminator, comes back from a post-apocalyptic future to protect John Connor from a more advanced cyborg also from the future. Failure is not an option, or the world will fall under the grasp of the ominous Skynet. 

Jung_E (2023)

Extreme climate change makes the Earth uninhabitable. Most of the human population now lives in space colonies. When war breaks out between the colonies, a scientist is tasked with creating an AI-based super soldier to put an end to the conflict. 

Find out more about Jung_E here!

Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters (2017)

It has been 20,000 years since Godzilla took over the Earth. A group of human refugees from an interstellar ship plan to recolonize the planet. Before they can do that, of course, they must defeat the monster first. 

The Mitchells Vs. The Machines (2021)

An AI revolution begins when humans try to replace a robot helper with a new model. The robot hijacks all technologies and turns them against their owners. The Mitchells are humanity’s best hope to stop the madness.

The Road (2009)

Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, “The Road” is a bleak and haunting exploration of a father and son’s struggle for survival in a world ravaged by an unspecified catastrophe. Director John Hillcoat captures the desperation and fragile hope of the two protagonists as they journey through a desolate, ashen landscape. The film’s emotional depth and harrowing portrayal of humanity’s darkest instincts make it a true standout in the post-apocalyptic genre.

Children of Men (2006)

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men” presents a future where infertility threatens the extinction of humanity. In this bleak world, Theo, played by Clive Owen, is tasked with protecting a pregnant woman, offering a glimmer of hope. The film’s intense, single-shot action sequences and thought-provoking social commentary make it a standout in the genre, addressing themes of hope, despair, and the value of human life.

Find out more about Children of Men here!

Snowpiercer (2013)

Bong Joon-ho’s “Snowpiercer” is a unique and visually striking take on the post-apocalyptic genre. The film unfolds entirely on a massive, perpetually moving train that carries the last remnants of humanity. As the train travels through a frozen, uninhabitable world, a class struggle emerges within its confined society. “Snowpiercer” is a thrilling exploration of social inequality and revolution.

I Am Legend (2007)

In “I Am Legend,” Will Smith stars as Dr. Robert Neville, the last known human survivor in New York City after a virus has turned the population into bloodthirsty mutants. Neville is dedicated to finding a cure and maintaining his sanity while facing the isolation and dangers of a deserted city. Smith’s powerful performance and the film’s eerie atmosphere make it a compelling entry into the post-apocalyptic genre.

Find out more about I Am Legend here!

The Book of Eli (2010)

Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a lone wanderer in a post-apocalyptic world, on a mission to protect a sacred book that may hold the key to humanity’s survival. The film combines action with spiritual themes and features a memorable twist ending. “The Book of Eli” explores the enduring power of faith and knowledge in a world stripped of both.

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

While not a traditional post-apocalyptic film, “The Day After Tomorrow” presents a scenario where rapid climate change leads to a new ice age, resulting in a global catastrophe. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the film is known for its spectacular visual effects and disaster sequences, offering a thrilling take on the potential consequences of environmental negligence.

Find out more about The Day After Tomorrow here!

28 Days Later (2002)

Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later” reinvigorated the zombie subgenre by introducing fast-moving, rage-infected humans as the antagonists. The film follows Jim, a bicycle courier, who wakes up from a coma to find a deserted and dangerous London. “28 Days Later” is a tense and fast-paced exploration of societal breakdown and survival.

The Maze Runner (2014)

Based on James Dashner’s novel, “The Maze Runner” follows a group of young adults trapped in a mysterious maze with no memory of their past. As they attempt to unravel the mysteries of their environment, they face deadly challenges and conspiracies. The film blends science fiction and mystery elements in a unique and suspenseful narrative.

The Hunger Games (2012)

“The Hunger Games” introduces us to a dystopian society divided into districts, where young tributes are forced to compete in a televised battle to the death. Katniss Everdeen, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, becomes a symbol of rebellion against the oppressive Capitol. The franchise explores themes of totalitarianism, media manipulation, and the power of resistance.

The 5th Wave (2016)

Based on the novel by Rick Yancey, “The 5th Wave” depicts an Earth under attack by extraterrestrial invaders who employ increasingly devastating tactics. The film follows Cassie, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, as she navigates the chaos and tries to reunite with her brother. It explores themes of trust, resilience, and the blurred line between friend and foe in times of crisis.

People Also Ask: Post-Apocalyptic Movie Edition

Before we finish up, let’s go through some of the most common questions people are asking about Post-Apocalyptic Movies:

What’s the best world ending movie?

Based on the novel by Rick Yancey, “The 5th Wave” depicts an Earth under attack by extraterrestrial invaders who employ increasingly devastating tactics. The film follows Cassie, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, as she navigates the chaos and tries to reunite with her brother. It explores themes of trust, resilience, and the blurred line between friend and foe in times of crisis.

What is the British post-apocalyptic movie 1980s?

Threads is a 1984 British-Australian apocalyptic war drama television film directed and produced by Mick Jackson and written by Barry Hines.

What is the movie about the end of the world in 2000?

The Apocalypse (2000 film)

Fancy more ruined worlds, radioactive wastelands, and survivalist chaos?

Have a wander through our other post-apocalyptic articles. We’ve got rogue AIs, dusty highways, mutant creatures, and everything in between. Go on, treat yourself to something grim and gripping.

The post 50 of the Best Post-Apocalyptic Movies to Stream Right Now! appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

Brightwood

If you’ve been searching for a fine example of how a plucky indie produced with micro-budget can prove to be a sci-fi horror masterclass, look no further than Brightwood. Just to give you an idea of how small the budget was, the movie was written and directed by Dance Eclar, who doubled as a cameraperson. Also, the film only featured a couple of actors.

Brightwood opens with Dan (Max Woertendyke) and Jen (Dana Berger) jogging in the woods and bickering as they go. They’ve been married long enough to really know and hate each other. It turns out that Jen is listening to a how-to podcast about getting a divorce, whereas Dan gets irritated because she doesn’t want to take the earbuds out for them to have an actual conversation. Jen is furious about all his flirting and drinking issues. Dan is also having a terrible hangover, by the way.

It’s a painful interaction to watch. You want the scene to either stop entirely or get way more interesting and perhaps lead to a surprising development. Although it never actually stops, at least now you know they are caught in a time-and-space loop. They’re wrapped up in their toxic dynamic so that they take a little while to realize the surreal experience. And to make things worse, there doesn’t seem to be any simple way out of the circular path.

Time loop is admittedly a standard sci-fi feature. But that Brightwood allows you to experience everything through the couple’s psychological lens makes it much more intense that what it appears to be.

Something in the Dirt

Inside an otherwise ordinary apartment complex, John and Levi witness quite a lot of extraordinary things happening around them. It seems like they’re in the middle of unexplainable anomalies where things levitate and cast mesmerizing patterns on the wall. And the anomalies happen not only inside the apartment, but outside as well. Something in the Dirt is an invitation to cultist beliefs and conspiracy theories, from freemasonry and magic to doomsday belief and time travel.

Before halfway through the film, you can’t help but notice that maybe there isn’t exactly a storyline at all. The two men initially believe that everything is some kind of ghost apparition, but then the conversation gets even weirder as they talk about creating a documentary and landing a deal with Netflix.

The Harbinger

It makes good sense to deliver a horror story in which people are isolated in a claustrophobic set. They can’t escape and have no choice but to accept all the terrible things that might just happen. Give it a COVID-19 reference, and you get an on-point sci-fi horror flick where all events are contained within the context of a pandemic. All the over-precautionary measures now fit perfectly into the storyline, as the plot is limited by size and location use. That’s exactly what The Harbinger does.

Mo is now stuck inside a bubble in upstate New York, along with her father and brother. The pandemic rages everywhere to where going nowhere is the best thing she can do to stay safe. When her friend, Mavis, calls for help because she has been suffering from recurring nightmares that force her to inflict self-harm to escape the torture, Mo just has to travel to Queens and lend a hand. Together, they will try to break the spell of The Harbinger.

We think micro-budget filmmaking offers a lot of interesting challenges for the writer, director, cast, and cinematographer to produce quality work with all the limitations. But it also gives quite a lot of advantages because there aren’t many things that can go wrong. Movies with more resources can easily support the characters with plenty of cinematographic elements, including CGI and expensive props, but indie films are as restricted as they can be. If done right, however, indie films – regardless of the genre – might be real gems for everyone to cherish.

Do you think indie films can be more successful than their mainstream counterparts? What do you think is the best sci-fi horror movie ever? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

What is an Indie Film?

An independent film refers to a movie produced without involvement of any major studio. It has no big financial backing or any kind of well-funded marketing campaign. Most times, you’ve never heard of any indie film at all until the release date. Nearly all indie films rely on word-of-mouth marketing, as they don’t have the luxury of theatrical release.

Some of the most successful indie horror films:

• John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978)
• The Blair Witch Project (1999)
• Paranormal Activity (2007)

What exactly is the upside of making an indie film?

Since the filmmakers are not aiming for mainstream release or financial success for that matter, they usually have the freedom to take on various topics that are not typically explored by mainstream films. Without interference from big stakeholders, the filmmakers have full control over the direction of the film.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post The Rise of Indie Sci-Fi Horror: Hidden Gems of 2022 appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

Nope

Our first specimen here is Nope, written and directed by Jordan Peele. It’s a blend of sci-fi, western, and horror packaged in a tale about a ranch as it comes under attack by a mysterious UFO. It’s a story of siblings Otis Jr. (or OJ) and Emily Haywood in their attempt to produce video and photographic evidence of such incidents. They know the UFO is real and that it has been devouring horses and everyone else around them, but capturing instances of attack proves to be difficult because all electronic devices go haywire in the presence of the unidentified object. Em even goes the extra mile to hire Antlers Holst, a famous cinematographer, who agrees to use an old hand-cranked camera for the job.

While most people would simply flee the area, Em believes the UFO can be a good thing to boost her fame. Her great-great-great-grandfather was the first ever jockey to have been filmed. The Haywood Ranch also used to be quite important in Hollywood. But like many other chapters of Black history, no one today really knows about the siblings’ origin at all. When the UFO visits their ranch and begins killing the horses, they know that getting “the shot” will put the Haywood Ranch back on the map again.

Nope offers an insight into some kind of “universal” racism by giving a depiction of “misrepresentations of history” and, in a much less subtle fashion, a UFO attacking a black-owned farm. That said, Nope is mainly about fame, or more specifically, how being fixated in the pursuit of fame might require some serious sacrifices, just like what we’ve seen too many times in recent years.

M3GAN

If you take the sinister part of Chucky and the encyclopedic nature of HAL 9000 together into one thing, it turns out that what you get is M3GAN, a child-sized humanoid robot powered by AI. She knows everything about all things in existence, allowing her to answer all your questions as a surrogate parent does. But M3GAN really is anything you want her to be; in times you need a soulful best friend to share silly thoughts, a knowledgeable therapist to help gather courage, a musical fellow to perform a soft-rock lullaby, or a conspiratorial girl with a mean attitude, she’s there for you.

Right from the beginning of the movie, you immediately get the idea that M3GAN is more than just an ordinary robot. She’s a sentient humanoid, and the fear quietly yet rapidly grows. Like in a lot of movies about artificial intelligence, M3GAN has been programmed to do some machine learning – the more she interacts with people, the more she knows how to do things in the same way humans do. And then, at a certain point in the film, you’ll realize M3GAN is definitely not a friendly robot. She’s the Terminator in the shape of a doll.

Although M3GAN fits perfectly into demon-doll categories (like the Annabelle trilogy and Child’s Play), it’s not a traditional horror with some slasher and paranormal elements. M3GAN is a satirical horror, aimed at how our current technological advances seem to glorify the dream of building humanoid AI with the ability to learn and imitate a real person. We seem to forget that the part where a robot “imitates” a person might as well be the start of the likely dreadful robotic revolution.

Prey

Few films scream sci-fi horror louder than Predator. In the original 1987 film, you’re bombarded with combat actions between a battle-tested group of soldiers and a stealthy human-killer extraterrestrial warrior. Throw in some catchy one-liners amid tense action hero scenes, and you get a complete classic winning formula for an exhilarating sci-fi horror flick. It has always been franchise worthy, but the later releases often suffer from the problems of somehow having to redeem the villains (the Predators – because there are plenty of them, apparently). You can’t help but wonder if there’s an unwritten rule to make the Predators antiheroes instead of outright villains.

The prequel, Prey, is smart to avoid the same mistake. At no point throughout the film, does anybody feel anything else but fear for the monster. Apart from the fact that the hero is female (this alone is worth at least a full page of commentary), Prey keeps up with the trend of UFO sightings and aliens, especially following the April 2021 release of video footage confirming the sighting of an unidentified triangular object recorded by Navy personnel aboard the USS Russel. If fear of the unknown is the name of the game, Prey does a great job of personifying that unknown entity.

We think horror has always been influenced by the social-cultural and socio-political situations of the time. Each era has its own distinctive societal fears, and many horror films released in 2022 seemed to revolve around the idea of isolation, feelings of loss, and unwelcome changes. Although there really isn’t any easy way to characterize the horror genre at any period, you’ll find that one of its most persistent elements is an exploration of the fear of the unknown. When people don’t understand something, they take it as a potential threat to society – the unknown can be anything from a strange new disease, artificial intelligence, UFOs, or even social prejudices that pose serious harm, both physically and psychologically. The protagonists in horror movies don’t always win the battle at the end, but at least the audience can gain some lessons about survival and dealing with fear.

Do you find horror movies released in 2022 still relevant today? What do you think is the most overrated horror film ever? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

What is the worst horror movie of all times?

This is one of those questions with no definitive answer. But according to a Rotten Tomatoes editorial, some of the worst horror movies must include:

• Jaws the Revenge (1987)
• Troll 2 (1990)
• FeardotCom (2002)
• One Missed Call (2008)
• The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)
• Homecoming (2009)
• Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

Great horror movies that are based on books:

What are some popular subgenres of horror?

There are quite plenty, actually. Among the most popular are:

• Demonic
• Paranormal
• Slasher
• Zombie
• Gore
• Witchcraft
• Psychological

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post New Nightmares: How 2022 Sci-Fi Horror Films Reflect Modern Anxieties appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

The short answer is: No. But let’s first talk about some context here. The jump from Frankenstein to Prometheus didn’t just happen. In the aftermath of World War II, or more precisely the use of nuclear bombs and the subsequent exposure to radioactive materials, sci-fi horror took a big important step as the movie industry became fixated on the uncertain future of humanity. And then the Cold War, filled with everything from arms race to space race, happened. Despite the all-too-real concerns about the possibility of another great war between the promise of American democracy and the threat of Soviet’s hardened communism, filmmakers did what they could to deliver messages of peace and friendly warnings while offering quality motion pictures. This applied to just about every genre; sci-fi horror was no exception.

The notion of unstoppable technological advances and the business with space exploration fueled the genre even more intensely than before. You could almost say it welcomed the image of a future overshadowed by nuclear anxiety and the mystery of the extraterrestrials. In fact, post-WW2 sci-fi horror often explored the themes of technologies gone wrong and murderous Martians, usually set on a dystopian Earth or apocalyptic time.

Films like The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) make for fine examples of the genre’s classics. We call them classics now, but back then they were as relevant as ever to the issues of the day. With sci-fi horror, everything was about monsters and abominations created by failed experiments or aliens trying to kill all humans and take over the Earth, with not-so-subtle references to anti-communism ideas. Those classic sci-fi horror films were shaped by the collective social anxieties of the ongoing Cold War, the fear of Soviet infiltration, and the ugly effects of science, blended together to make some speculative, terrifying, memorable spectacles.

Nothing really changed in 2022 in the sense that sci-fi horror was still heavily driven by social issues of the day. The only things that changed were the issues themselves. If sci-fi horror in the 1950s had been about radioactive mutants and Soviet spies, the 2022 version talked about artificial intelligence, COVID-19, and social injustices.

As for the storytelling itself, you cannot overstate the influence of Netflix’s Stranger Things; for several seasons, this TV show about kids fighting supernatural oddities has reinvigorated the interest in the old-school cinematic look. But thankfully not as old as the 1950s because the events in Stranger Things are set in the 1980s. Besides the old-school aesthetics, Stranger Things also re-popularize elements of comedy and romance in sci-fi horror. It’s not the first series to use fusion of genres, but certainly one of the most popular.

Two of the most celebrated sci-fi horror films from 2022 included Nope and Prey; the former is set in Western-style narrative infused with extraterrestrial villains, whereas the latter brings back the story of Predator to the days when it contacted Native Americans. In both films, you’d easily find some elements taken directly from Stranger Things’ playbook. If you replace every supernatural phenomenon with an extraterrestrial mystery, you’ll find even more similarities.

However, modern sci-fi horror isn’t afraid to delve into specific, and often sensitive, social issues. In Prey, for example, it’s nice to see that a young woman played the role of the main protagonist in an era where the nation remains somewhat indecisive about feminism. Nope, once again encourages discussion about racism in the United States. Hollywood (and the American film industry) has been pretty progressive, politically. It’s safe to say that the next generation of sci-fi horror films will probably keep its extent of progressiveness with even more thought-provoking social commentaries.

We think the realms of science fiction and horror have long been dancing around each other – like a couple of twisted yet perfectly compatible best friends – to create unique narratives capable of delivering an utterly enjoyable style of storytelling that blurs the line between macabre and bewilderment. It’s a fascinating blend where you may discover otherworldly territories filled with terrors, apparitions, eerily quiet spaceships, shadowy creatures, aliens, and fear of the unknown merged into an overwhelming excitement. Sci-fi horror continued the trend in 2022, but noticeably with explicit social commentary on our increasing dependence on technology, AI-related issues, over-fascinations with extraterrestrial lives, and political divide.

What is the most thought-provoking sci-fi horror film you’ve watched? Can you name any animated sci-fi horror movies? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

Recommended sci-fi horror for your next Halloween:

• Event Horizon (1997)
• Annihilation (2018)
• Possessor (2020)
• The Invisible Man (2020)
• The Endless (2017)
• Splice (2009)
• Pulse (2001)
• The Platform (2019)

Ten great sci-fi horror films, according to the BFI:

• God Told Me To (1976)
• Demon Seed (1977)
• The Fury (1978)
• Alien (1979)
• The Brood (1979)
• Re-Animator (1985)
• Lifeforce (1985)
• Tetsuo (1989)
• Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
• Under the Skin (2013)

Are zombies sci-fi or horror?

It always depends on the narrative. Zombies can be strictly horror, such as in the original Night of the Living Dead; but you can consider them pretty much sci-fi from the perspective of World War Z.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post Innovative Storytelling in 2022 Sci-Fi Horror Cinema appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

The Not-So Hypothetical Effects

With the possibility of nuclear war, it possibly involves the United States and Russia. It’s such an old cliché that has been the staple of apocalypse fiction since decades ago, perhaps even before the Cold War era. Everybody knows a nuclear fallout between the two countries would be terrible, but how to describe devastation, exactly?

It’s difficult to map the damage with precision because there’s no way to know how many nuclear warheads both countries will use, which cities they target with each missile, and whether other countries choose to get involved. So, let’s just assume the worst.

Whether the United States, or Russia starts the war is irrelevant. It doesn’t really matter who pulls the trigger first; when one launches a missile, the other undoubtedly fires back even before the first warhead reaches the target. A ballistic missile launched from a U.S. submarine stationed west of Norway could reach Russia in about 10 minutes; a Russian warhead from north of Canada could hit the U.S. just a few minutes later. The first strikes from the two countries would most likely fry all electronic devices and cripple power grids within the blast radius, and the second strikes are aimed at each other’s nuclear launch facilities and the command centers. It takes about 30 minutes for a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile to reach the target.

Russia and the United States have around 11,000 nuclear warheads combined, split roughly half between the two countries; and that’s only the confirmed number. While not every warhead is created equal (some have a larger yield than others), it wouldn’t be a farfetched idea that each has enough power to cripple a major city in the target country. Every ground-level impact generates a fireball with intense heat before the radioactive mushroom cloud rises to the sky. The explosion vaporizes everyone within the radius, triggers fires, and causes blindness even further away. Buildings and many infrastructures collapse because of the blast wave, increasing the casualties.

France and the U.K. are under the obligation to defend the U.S. as stated in NATO’s Article 5, so Russia will probably strike first to minimize chances of devastating retaliatory strikes from the alliance. Firestorms hit major cities, and the effect is exacerbated by winds that act like a massive fan to intensify and enlarge the flames. Everything that can burn will soon be wrapped in fire, glass melt, metals bend, and the asphalt road is now just a stretch of boiling hot liquid.

Believe it or not, the immediate effects of a nuclear blast (the explosions, firestorm, EMP, and radioactivity) are only the beginning of endless nightmares. A decade-long nuclear winter, caused by the smoke of nuclear firestorms, is as merciless as they come.

The atomic bombs detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly 80 years ago were much less powerful than today’s hydrogen bombs. In a big, heavily populated city like Moscow, there will be even bigger black smoke. And the firestorms generated by modern warheads send the smoke as high as the stratosphere. Since the altitude is higher than rain clouds, nothing can wash out the smoke. Sunlight continues to increase the black smoke’s temperature, keeping it afloat for a decade or so. Considering the speed of high-altitude jet streams, it won’t take longer than just a few days for the smoke to cover not only the skies of Russia, but the entire Northern Hemisphere.

In case you forget, the Northern Hemisphere encompasses the entire North America and Europe, about 10% of South America, two-thirds of Africa, and most of Asia including China, Japan, and India. Black smoke in the stratosphere blocks the sunlight. Earth is rendered freezing cold even during summer. Farmlands in any region in the Northern Hemisphere will not survive. Around 5 billion will die from starvation. The vast majority (about 99%) of the populations in the U.S., Europe, Russia, and China are gone. Will it bounce back? Highly unlikely, and certainly not within a decade.

How Do Technologies Help?

If the war doesn’t end up involving countries in the Southern Hemisphere, humanity still has a good chance of “not going extinct.” Australia and South Africa are pretty far south, so they may still maintain 21st century technological development. They have records, books, and presumably working Internet servers, so the world is not over yet. They also have enough scientists, academics, engineers, and skilled professionals to help rebuild the destroyed world. This, too, will have to wait until the Northern Hemisphere is deemed ready for occupancy and safe from radiation. In the meantime, human civilization will continue in the Southern Hemisphere only.

But what if the war affects the entire world?

In that case, you have to be very optimistic to even suggest that some people survive after a worldwide nuclear fallout. Let’s say there are indeed survivors. A small group of people can build a rudimentary hydroelectric generator, so everyday electrical devices can still work. The Internet is lost as well as all forms of remote communication because the network just isn’t there anymore. Computers are also usable, but once the devices break, it’s going to be very difficult to get replacements. Factories are gone. There’s no facility to produce microchips and cars. You can’t even rely on solar-powered devices simply because, well, the sunlight no longer reaches the ground.

We think basic technologies, like hand tools and farming equipment rather than calculators or wristwatches, will be the key to survival. If there are survivors somehow miraculously in an area unaffected by the gusting wind that carries radioactivity, there might also be some crops left intact, again thanks to an unexpected, miraculous series of events. Farming equipment is the first technology to manufacture, and then gradually over two decades when the black smoke slowly disappears, there will be power to help rebuild the civilizations as long as records of the old world knowledge still exist.

Do you think nuclear weapons make the world safer (due to the threat of mutually assured destruction) or more dangerous? Which is more likely to happen, nuclear fallout or asteroid impact? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

We had some nuclear disasters before, but we survived. How is the next time different?

The biggest difference is that all the previous nuclear disasters were localized, not worldwide. If one nation suffers from the lack of electricity and food production, the neighboring countries can provide help. In a global-scale catastrophe, nobody is helping anybody. No country will be willing to share resources, and that’s assuming they have anything left after the war.

What animals and plants are most likely to survive?

Life on Earth will survive even during prolonged nuclear winter and radioactivity, but humans might not be a surviving species. A lot of microbes have been found to be exceedingly resilient and capable of handling a huge amount of radiation over a long period. Scorpions can also survive.

How many nuclear bombs have been used in warfare?

Nuclear weapons have only been used twice in warfare – Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post Survival of the Fittest: The Role of Technology and Innovation in Post-Nuclear Worlds appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

It’s surprising to see the lack of films that emphasize growing your own foods in the post-apocalyptic time. If everybody is scavenging for food, there won’t be anything left to eat after just several years. Canned goods, too, will go out of supply sooner than you think. While gardening isn’t exactly action-packed, it will make your post-apocalyptic survival much more manageable. And as a bonus, a high carbon garden fork is more than good enough to ward off even the most determined bullies. Assuming the apocalypse involves zombies and mutated worms, your fork can easily pierce their skulls like they’re overripe pumpkins.

Things to Know

Before you dig some holes in your fortified backyard, we need to remind you first that gardening isn’t always that easy, and even more so if you have no experience. A bit of planning and know-how can make all the difference between fresh produce for the taking and going hungry all year long. One of the first things to understand is that post-apocalyptic gardening has only one goal: to help you survive, not from boredom and idleness, but hunger. It doesn’t matter if your plants look as bad as they taste. Their main purpose is to sustain your life, and that’s about it. As for your lack of experience, there’s no time to learn, so you just have to wing it as you go.

Collect Water

Don’t expect to collect water from the tap. The post-apocalyptic world has no modern water supply system. Rain is likely scarce. Modern farmers devise complex irrigation systems precisely because they can’t solely rely on Mother Nature to provide them with enough rainfall for gardening or farming. If your environment is now mostly a desert wasteland, and you haven’t seen a single drop of rain for months, collect water from ground surfaces. Ditches and streams are good enough. Unless they’re heavily contaminated with radionuclides, the water should be fine for gardening. Keep in mind that you can use urine as fertilizer as well. We won’t discuss it here – all you need to know is that it works.

Build a Keyhole Garden

All the food waste and organic leftovers go into the compost bin. In case it suddenly rains, the bin will also collect the water. The resulting compost tea can only distribute its fertilizing benefits and the moisture to the garden. It might smell awful, but you really shouldn’t give it a thought, ever.

Plants to Grow

Don’t be greedy and plan to grow some flowering plants. Aesthetics are the least of your concern in post-apocalyptic gardening. You want easy, resilient plants that give nutrient-dense yield. Here are some crops to consider:

●      Beans: they can grow in bush or pole forms, and the seeds are packed with nutrients.

●      Potatoes: the starchy root crop is easy to grow and tastes good as well. You can even plant them in buckets or bags.

●      Sweet potatoes: when people say they love potatoes they haven’t had sweet potatoes in a long while. The greens of sweet potatoes are also edible.

●      Tomatoes: you don’t have to eat them while they’re fresh – dried potatoes are good enough for most people.

●      Spinach: even if you hate spinach, it’s a good thing to have leafy greens full of minerals and vitamins in an apocalypse garden.

Dried crops have longer shelf life. Save all you can after every harvest and start over as soon as possible. In the event the next crops fail, at least you still have some stash from the previous harvest. 

We think too many post-apocalyptic films depict the world as dry wastelands with abysmal plant life. A lot of such films seem to emulate the atmosphere of Mad Max 2. Has anyone forgotten the fact that the film is set in the Australian Outback, which has always been a desert to begin with? Remember even in Chernobyl, a place turned uninhabitable for humans because of nuclear disaster, there’s an abundance of plant life. In fact, nature has taken over everything in the abandoned city. Plants also grow during prolonged nuclear winter, in the permafrost.

How long do you think it will take for survivors in the post-apocalyptic world to re-establish farming/gardening? Do zombies eat fruits? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

In a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, where does the food come from?

The most plausible answer is farming. Years after the apocalypse, food will be scarce. Animals can’t keep up with humans’ appetite for meat and canned foods are long gone. Our heroes and villains can’t engage in an all-out battle and intense car chases if they don’t have enough potatoes and beans sprinkled with dried tomatoes.

Does gardening make survival too easy?

Nothing is too easy in a post-apocalyptic world. To have a farm or garden that supports a small family, you need more land than you might think. And every inch of that land is an additional work. Think about the amount of produce you eat every week. If you combine that with bad weather and grasshopper invasion, what you get is a difficult survival. But yes, post-apocalyptic gardening is still better than none.

What about livestock?

If you have the chance to grow livestock, choose the species that reproduce quickly in large quantities. Rabbits and pigs are good choices, and they’re not picky eaters either.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post Apocalypse Harvest: Essentials of Post-Apocalyptic Gardening
 appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden

Many people think the music video for Black Hole Sun is just too creepy to love. It’s not exactly horror, but spooky enough to scare children away from the TV screen for a few minutes. It’s a somber tune with an impeccably written lyric. Some say Black Hole Sun is iridescent; depending on your mood and perspective, the song can soothe, uplift, unsettle, and even depress someone. It might even be all of those at the same time. Good music has its period of tensions and releases, but Black Hole Sun is almost entirely tension that drags you along with it, as if you’re on a psychedelic journey.

It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by REM

The title says it all. The tunes come straight at your face, and the lyric goes like a bombardment of political and pop culture references. Unless you’re a rapper, it’s probably the fastest song you’ll ever try to sing. It really doesn’t help that the lyric has no easily recognizable rhyme. Trying to memorize every word is a real struggle, but you wouldn’t feel underappreciated once you get to the remarkably catchy refrain. Some of the pop culture references sound a bit dated today, and everybody couldn’t care less about it.

Boom! by System of a Down

If you listen really hard, just about every song by System of a Down sounds like either an apocalypse is happening or you’re already in the gloomy post-apocalyptic time. “Boom!” certainly falls under the former category and pokes at the harsh reality that our world is under constant bombing. Part of the lyric says something to the effect that thousands of children are suffering from starvation, and yet billions are spent on weapons to bring about more deaths. The song came out at the height of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and so you can expect SOAD’s usual characteristics of angry poetry, weird delivery of statistics, and of course, shouting chorus. Some parts of the lyric are vague, but enjoyable.

No World For Tomorrow by Coheed and Cambria

This one takes you in a slightly different direction. “No World for Tomorrow” hasn’t seen the apocalypse yet, but it’s coming, and the song calls on everyone to take part in the battle to prevent the doomsday. With a blend of fast-paced pieces, calls for action, and convoluted sci-fi narrative, you’d easily fall for the idea because the end-of-the-world is coming sooner than later. The song gives a genuine sense of urgency, as if the world will no longer be here by the time the song is over. Such a rush also feels honest, because realistically the apocalypse is not yet here. But we’re expecting its arrival, anxiously but with excitement at the same time.

Planet B by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Quite a mouthful name indeed. Like all the other tracks in the “Infest the Rats’ Nest” album, Planet B talks about the environment and how human civilization mistreats nature so badly to where the planet is damaged beyond repair. There is also a super bug so dangerous that people plan to escape Earth to survive. We, too, wonder about just how lethal the super bug actually is that you have to abandon a planet to stay away from a bug. It turns out the song is titled “Planet B” as a stark warning that there’s no Planet B, which makes sense? This is your standard (but not typical, because the distinction matters) thrash metal track with shredding guitars, gruff vocals, thundering drums, and chugging riffs; these sound like an apocalypse already.

We think it’s absolutely fine to take your shot of post-apocalyptic dose from music instead of films, TV shows, novels, or comics. Just about every other form of entertainment has its own way to depict the world in the aftermath of a doomsday, so there’s no reason music can’t do the same thing, too. The depiction might not be as explicit and descriptive as you’ll get from visual and text formats, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. You have the freedom to interpret the tunes and lyrics as you see fit, and that’s what makes it even better.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

Some post-apocalyptic music videos to get the mood going:

• Tom Petty – You Got Lucky
• 2PAC – California Love
• Foster the People – Helena Beat
• Mushroomhead – The Heresy
• Five Finger Death Punch – House of the Rising Sun
• Lionface – No Hope State
• Lindsey Sterling – The Arena
• AHTCK – Antagonist
• Unleash the Archers – Tonight We Ride
• Undercode – Driven
• Rick Springfield – Bop Till You Drop
• V2A – Toxic
• Duran Duran – The Wild Boys
• Within Temptation – Paradise (What About Us?)
• Gary Numan – My Name is Ruin
• Britney Spears – Till the World Ends
• Scandal – The Warrior
• Billy Idol – Dancing with Myself
• Pearl Jam – Do the Evolution
• My Chemical Romance – Na Na Na
• Linkin Park – The Catalyst
• Heart – What About Love?
• Don Henley – All She Wants to do is Dance
• Public Enemy – GRID

Keep in mind that the music videos might be post-apocalyptic in nature, but the songs can have different themes.

What music genres are associated with post-apocalyptic aesthetics?

According to Aesthetics Wiki Fandom (yes, the internet is weird), there are at least five music genres typically associated with post-apocalyptic stuff, including Metal, Crust Punk, Aggrotech, Industrial, and Acoustic.

What are the worst post-apocalyptic movies?

It really is quite difficult to determine the worst of the worst, because you also have to take viewers’ subjectivity into account. For example, some people actually enjoy The Asylum films, regardless of how cheesy the acting and visual effects are. Instead of giving our own opinion about the matter, we figure it’s only best to give you a list based on Rotten Tomatoes’s scores.

• The 5th Wave (2016)
• The Swarm (1978)
• The Postman (1997)
• Space Truckers (1997)
• Babylon A.D. (2008)
• Left Behind (2014)
• Future World (2018)
• Solarbabies (1986)
• Mars Needs Women (1966)
• Megaforce (1982)

Keep in mind that Rotten Tomatoes has been wrong many times before, so you’re free to take their scoring system with the biggest grain of salt you have.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post Soundtrack for the Apocalypse: The Ultimate Survival Playlist appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

• Flashlight: if “The Last of Us” is a lesson to learn (we know it’s not about a solar flare, but let’s just gloss over that fact for once), then a flashlight is the most important thing to have in a survival kit. When your food and water run out, at least you have something that shines like a beacon in the dark to help you find something to eat and drink. And please, pick a reliable flashlight that’s waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof. Have at least two flashlights and a lot of replaceable batteries.

• Water Filter: when the water supply system cannot run and the stores can’t use the cashier machine, bottled water is scarce. A portable water filtration device or water purification tablets should serve you well; carry both of them if you can. Choose a device with a massive filtration capacity (4000 liters or more) so you get to stay hydrated. Always have some canteens to store the already filtered water. Don’t drink everything at once. Keep in mind that military canteens can be used to boil water as well.

• Food: choose nutrient-dense foods that don’t take too much space in your backpack. Canned beans, dehydrated meals, and sugar-rich energy bars are dependable supplements. Some companies actually sell nutrient powders that you can mix with cold water, which means there’s no need to boil the water first.

• Fire: always include fire steel in your survival kit along with some lighters, tinder, and waterproof matches. One thing to remember is that you shouldn’t learn to make fire when you’re already in an emergency situation. Making fire can be tricky, so learn to do it when you don’t have to worry about the cold, the rain, and the dark.

• Radio: yes, solar flares kill the radio broadcast. But who knows? Perhaps a genius somewhere does some tech wizardry to the broadcasting devices and sends helpful messages to any listener. A nice NOAA radio will keep you informed about the latest danger and safe zones, and it can even function as a solar generator. Some radios also have a built-in compass and flashlight.

• First Aid Kit: a pack of first aid kit contains ointments and bandages to keep infections away in case you get injured. We know you’re good at crafting medicines from improvised materials, but we just feel safer using an already sterilized kit from the factory.

• Binocular: we’re talking about real military-grade optical binoculars here, not something a kid would use to play Rambo. Although high-quality binoculars still can’t help you look through the walls and into the future, they can definitely tell you what lies ahead and whether you should worry about alligators when filtering water on the riverbank.

We think that the main purpose of a survival kit is to help you stay alive and comfortable despite the dire situation, so it’s supposed to prepare you for everything. In a comic catastrophe like solar flares and asteroid impact, chances are you still have some buildings and bunkers intact; sleeping bags might be necessary in certain circumstances, but they’re not the priority. The same thing applies to an emergency whistle and duct tape. What you need is a pack of true essentials that will not run out until you can replenish them.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

Apart from the Carrington event, have there been other solar flares?

In February 2011, a solar storm disrupted GPS signals for a few minutes. It was a brief disturbance but might wreak havoc to commercial airplanes and ships that relied on GPS for navigation. And in April 2023, another solar event sent a burst of plasma toward the Earth. Two days later, a severe geomagnetic storm happened.

Do you need to include weapons in your survival kit?

Here is the thing: if you’re still alive in the aftermath of a solar event or an asteroid impact, chances are the disaster didn’t kill anyone outside the blast radius. It probably killed many people, but it wouldn’t likely cripple the nation’s ability to maintain law and order. Carrying a weapon for self-defense is never a terrible idea, though.

How to minimize damage in the event of a cosmic catastrophe?

It depends on the type of the catastrophe and its intensity. If you’re talking about a twenty-mile-wide asteroid, well, there is very little you can do to protect yourself, and the rest of humanity, for that matter. But let’s say the cosmic catastrophe is mild solar flares; here are some things you can do to minimize the damage:

• Use surge protectors to keep your electronics running within their power limit. Assuming the government issues a public warning with a time estimate, unplug all the electronics before the solar flare happens and wait until the dust settles before reconnecting them to the power outlets again.
• Have proper data backups. Use both cloud backup solution and offline backup.
• Plan for an alternative communication plan, such as a satellite phone, because the cell towers and landline might be damaged.
• Use alternative power sources, like solar panels or generators, for essential appliances.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post The Ultimate Sci-Fi Survival Kit: Gear Up for Any Cosmic Catastrophe appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

Post-Apocalyptic Characters

If you’re writing a story, no one else, but you should decide what it means to be good and bad people. This is kind of important because people might behave differently in a post-apocalyptic world. The old laws no longer apply, and the moral values take a dive just as society falls. Say the story involves a freshly married couple trying to do their best to survive following a zombie outbreak. During an otherwise quiet night, they run into a bunch of sleepwalking undead, who now turn aggressive because they can smell human flesh. The wife saves the husband and in the process gets bitten by a zombie. Within the next few hours, the heroic wife will transform into a zombie as well. What should the husband do? Does it make him a bad person if he kills his soon-to-be-zombified wife? What if the same thing happens to father and daughter, or mother and son?

You also have to give your characters some noticeable personalities, tendencies, and goals. Anybody can say that a post-apocalyptic story is all about surviving, but at least the main character needs to have another tangible purpose. Still remember the husband we talked about earlier? Assuming there’s any chance he can save his wife from becoming a zombie, like finding an antidote in another state or stealing the cure from the zombie king, that’s a purpose you need to develop the plot line.

Story timeline is another thing to consider. People who were born when the world had already been reduced to ruins probably don’t have in their mind thoughts about going to college, celebrating birthdays, or taking vacations. When the world out there is full of cannibalistic mutants and food scarcity, they most likely won’t be bothered with romance as well, although it can happen. But when they meet new people while scavenging for resources, a friendly encounter isn’t always a thing; people avoid strangers and keep a safe distance out of suspicions that the other person is out for the kill.

Setting the Tone

You want readers to be emotionally invested in the story and actually care about what happens to the characters. This is where creating empathy comes in handy. Characters with power and determination are always interesting because they can influence everyone else in the story; it doesn’t matter if those characters are protagonists or villains. Another trick to evoke empathy is to put any character in an unfortunate yet relatable circumstance. For example, an innocent person wrongfully imprisoned by a corrupt government, an otherwise harmless alien hunted by an evil corporation, or an ordinary citizen believed to be patient zero and targeted by post-apocalyptic warlords.

Once the empathy-inducing scenes are built, you can focus on setting the overall tone of the narrative. A comedy story needs to have some laughs, a thriller is supposed to deliver a sense of urgency, a horror tale can use a jump scare or two, and an action is at its best when you have a variety of hand-to-hand combats, gun fights, car chases, and some dramatic deaths along the way. No one says you can’t mix and match the tones as well. The post-apocalyptic world is a lawless land.

We think one of the most important aspects of fiction storytelling is your ability to find the right “what-ifs” formula and put them in engaging words for readers. People worry about the future even when simple, unexpected things happen. For example, if the electricity goes out, someone quickly imagines what if it’s not actually a faulty electrical line but a deliberate plot by aliens? What if the electricity is cut off everywhere? What if zombies, vampires, and many abominations lurk in the dark corners of the town? Fiction is a product of imagination indeed, including the characters and the tone of the narration. What would your characters do if all those things were true? How do they go about defending themselves and protecting their loved ones? Do they do it like John Wick, Bryan Mills, John McClane, or Ned Stark? The important thing is that characters drive the plot and the tone, not the other way around.

Who do you think are the best protagonists in post-apocalyptic stories ever published in any format? And who are the best villains? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

Are there important things many post-apocalyptic films overlook?

There are probably too many to mention, but we have three on top of our head:

●      Farms: people know how to farm, and timeline is important. If you’re talking 200 or 300 years after an apocalypse and there are still no farms, it makes little sense.

●      Unlimited fuels and ammunition: bad guys, who seem to have an unlimited supply of ammunition and fuels to power their thirsty bikes and cars, are great for actions. But where do the ammunition and fuels come from? Do they have refineries and automated factories somewhere?

●      Bicycles: again, motorcycles and trucks are great, but bicycles are the perfect vehicles for the post-apocalyptic world. Bicycles are fuel efficient (they don’t need fuels at all) and easy to maintain with minimum tools. And yet they simply don’t exist.

Can it be the fascination with displays of violence and ghoulish stuff that makes people like post-apocalyptic narrative?

Now that would be a stretch. We think the key factor is simplicity. When everything has been destroyed and there’s not much left in terms of wealth, people can get back to appreciating nature for what it is and live without worrying about the politics, inflation, the new iPhone, updating the Windows, doing the school homework, coming late to work, etc. To some extent, it’s a simple (and definitely cruel) life in the post-apocalyptic world.

What kind of characters with the highest likelihood of surviving an apocalypse?

Many times, everything comes down to physical strength, as defined by health and age. So, young and physically fit people have a higher chance of surviving than others. Let’s not forget about wealth as well. Rich people have the resources to build bunkers and fill them with all they need to survive; not just foods and water, but also technologies like solar-powered electricity, modern devices, and weapons. They’re resourceful to begin with, and the smart ones will use those resources to prepare for an apocalypse before too late.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post Chapter 1: Establishing Characters and Tone in a Post-Apocalyptic Journey appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.

Furiosa – Mad Max: Fury Road

Her full name is Imperator Furiosa, and probably the only post-apocalyptic heroine you’ll ever need to know. Here’s the deal with Furiosa: everybody knows that the film Mad Max: Fury Road is supposed to be about Max’s adventure or two against some of the most outlandish-looking villains to hit the screen, like all other previous films in the franchise. In Fury Road, however, Charlize Theron easily makes Furiosa the central figure throughout the entire duration. At many points in the film, you’ll even overlook how good Tom Hardy is as the hero. Hardy’s Max and Theron’s Furiosa form an explosive team, but the latter is the brightest star in the show.

Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games

Let’s put Jennifer Lawrence aside first and analyze Katniss Everdeen’ characterization. Katniss is a lot of things, and often described as a prominent character without actually being likable. Besides being impossibly good at bow and arrow to where Robin Hood would drop his jaw, Katniss is at least demanding and self-possessed as much as she is fearless and kindhearted. She’s probably too complex for her own good, but then comes Jennifer Lawrence to make everything much more tangible. According to Suzanne Collins herself, Lawrence is the only one capable of capturing Katniss Everdeen as imagined in the book.

Alice – Resident Evil

Portrayed by Milla Jovovich in all six of the Resident Evil original film series, Alice is your super-heroine in every sense of the word. You know the drill in Resident Evil: a bunch of mad scientists hired by a corporation deprived of goodwill developed a virus meant to modify human genetics. Things go wrong and everyone injected with the virus turns into a physically enhanced zombie. The infected suffer from decreased brain functions and rotting skins, with a hint of insatiable craving for human flesh. While Alice is subjected to the same experiment, she doesn’t show any of those negative symptoms at all. She is the only success story in the scientists’ portfolio. The virus makes her an unstoppable warrior, unbeatable in hand-to-hand combat and a master of firearms. She is the ultimate zombie exterminator.

The Unnamed Midwife – The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

Don’t ask us what the name of the unnamed midwife is. Sometimes she’s Karen or Alex, and at other times people call her Dusty or Jane. A strange plague nearly kills everyone, and the remaining male survivors seem to rush back to their most barbaric mindset. Some women also survive, but they can’t give birth without sacrificing their own lives and killing the newborns. Soon enough, there are much fewer women and men in the world. Women are made into sex slaves and nobody cares if they die – whether from outright violence or giving birth – except our unnamed midwife whose superpower is, well, midwifery; her ultimate weapon is the birth control pill. Throughout her journey across the country, she kills men to free women from pile after pile of misery.

The Doctor’s Wife – Blindness

Again, no one knows who her name is, but since Blindness is a film instead of a novel, at least we know that the doctor’s wife is portrayed by Julianne Moore. An epidemic of blindness hits the city. The only person who seems to have immunity to the disease is, you guessed it right, the doctor’s wife. All the blind people, including the doctor, are taken to an asylum. They barely receive any treatment here, but at least they don’t just wander around and fall into potholes, bump into sharp objects, or enter the wrong bathrooms. The doctor’s wife, despite being able to see just fine, lies to the government about her immunity so that she can accompany her husband in the asylum. And when the asylum inevitably succumbs to chaos, she rises to the occasion and leads everyone to safety.

We think everybody can agree that the post-apocalyptic genre is traditionally a testosterone-driven frenzy. Some people might argue this is unfair, but there’s actually a scientific basis for it. When the world-as-we-know-it has succumbed to an exceedingly powerful force – whether nuclear, climate, extraterrestrial species, or lethal viruses – the matter of life or death really comes down to the survival of the fittest as Darwin’s evolutionary theory suggests. Most authors would imagine that male humans are better fit to thrive than their female counterparts in a setting ruled by violence. Not that women can’t survive in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s probably the same reason wars throughout history are fought mostly by men, although it doesn’t mean there aren’t women soldiers either.

Can you name some heroines in war movies? Is it true that books written by female authors tend to have heroines as well? We’d love to hear from you.

Other Things You Might Want to Know

Some of the most iconic heroines in films, regardless of genre:

Sarah Connor, Trinity, and Ellen Ripley are arguably the most memorable ones, but there are also some other notable characters such as

• Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) – Star Wars film series
• The Bride (Uma Thurman) – Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
• Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) – Mulan
• Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) – Marvel Cinematic Universe
• Selene (Kate Beckinsale) – Underworld franchise

Do we also have remarkable female villains?

Yes, we do. Among the most brilliant ones are:

• Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) – Maleficent
• Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) – Suicide Squad
• Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) – Game of Thrones series
• Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) – Harry Potter film series
• Cruella de Vil (voiced by Betty Lou Gerson) – 101 Dalmatians

Is Ghost in the Shell Post-Apocalyptic?

Events in Ghost in the Shell are set in the near future where humans are possibly augmented with cybernetic improvements including intelligence, vision, and overall physical strength. The world and humanity have not met their demise yet, but maybe close to it. In short, it is not post-apocalyptic.

Check out other articles by month:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022

The post No Man’s Land: The Strength of Post Apocalyptic Women
 appeared first on Stories At Worlds End.