The post-apocalypse can often be one of the most intense and dynamic settings for a film. There have been many excellent post-apocalyptic films over the years but also plenty of not-so-good ones. Sorting through the deluge of ’80s Mad Max knockoffs and contemporary low-budget, straight-to-DVD apocalyptic films can make finding the gems a little tricky. Today we present you with a list of the best post-apocalyptic movies ever made.

Setting the ground rules

Let’s set a couple of quick ground rules before getting into it. We’ll be ranking these films based on overall quality as an entry into the canon of post-apocalyptic cinema, meaning the degree to which the end-of-the-world scenario factors into plot will make a difference. We will also be scoring each film on the individual strengths of their storytelling, filmmaking, and apocalyptic world-building.

It’s important to draw a distinction between post-apocalyptic films and dystopian films as the two sub-genres do occasionally get mixed up or grouped together. A dystopian movie showcases an undesirable society that, while awful, is still functioning to at least a moderate degree. Post-apocalyptic films have little semblance of what could be called a functioning society. 

Many zombie films double as apocalyptic films. While there are many great visions of the apocalypse showcased in zombie films like 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead, we won’t be including them in this list. This is a list made specifically for non-zombie apocalypses. But, if you are looking for a rundown of the best zombie movies ever made, we have you covered.

A Quiet Place stands out from other post-apocalyptic movies through it’s unique creature and world rules. This is the only apocalyptic movie where all of the danger is driven by sound. It’s a compelling hook, executed exceptionally well on a technical front but less impressively on the narrative front.

There are some plot holes/inconsistencies and much of the conflict seems like it could be resolved or sidestepped entirely if the protagonists were just a little bit more clever. The PG-13 rating also leaves the film feeling a little bit toothless and overly sanitized. These are issues the sequel may be able to address.

Embers is a smaller post-apocalyptic film, touring the film-festival circuit but not receiving a full theatrical release. It stands out from other, bigger post-apocalyptic films with a dynamite premise and wholly unique world-ending cause.

In Embers, the cause of the apocalypse is a neurological epidemic that causes frequent, total memory loss. Imagine if everyone in the world tried to live life the way Guy Pierce’s character does in Memento at the same time. Unfortunately, Embers doesn’t fully live up to the incredible premise, and the vignette structure means that parts of the film are far less engrossing than others, but it is still worth a watch regardless.

If you prefer comedy in your post-apocalyptic films, then This is the End might be the film for you. It’s a little less “post” apocalyptic than most of the films on this list and a little more “mid” apocalyptic, or “rapturous” you could call it. This comedy gets great mileage out of the apocalyptic conceit and is very funny throughout.

Another hilarious film from the same year and with a very similar title is The World’s End directed by Edgar Wright, which is arguably a much higher quality film but features the apocalypse in only a few quick moments at the very end, so it does not quite qualify as a post-apocalyptic movie and This is the End grabs this spot on the list instead.

A cool-as-hell Denzel Washington in the lead role and a fun villain performance from Gary Oldman slightly elevate The Book of Eli from being a run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic movie.

The wasteland world of the film looks great but also feels perhaps a little too familiar or uninspired, as do the plot points and the various threats the protagonist comes across. It’s just one notch above generic, almost like the most palatable version of the stock-standard post-apocalyptic tropes and archetypes.

Terry Gilliam’s wonderfully imagined films covered the full spectrum of movie genres and settings, and with Twelve Monkeys, he tackled both science fiction and the post-apocalypse. In Twelve Monkeys, the apocalyptic world came about when a man-made pathogen wiped out the vast majority of human life on earth.

We might not get to see too much of the apocalyptic world given the time-travel storyline, but what we do see of the end-times exteriors is a frozen landscape fully slipped from the clutches of mankind.

Find out where Twelve Monkeys ranked on our lists of Terry Gilliam's best movies and the best sci-fi films ever made.

The Terminator is an excellent action, sci-fi, slasher film. The post-apocalyptic future of the Terminator franchise is the looming threat of what could happen if our heroes fail in their missions, or what might be inevitable no matter how you slice it if you go by the logic of the sequels.

The Terminator would rank higher on this list if the post-apocalyptic elements were more prominent on screen. The first and second Terminator films can be thought of as sharing this spot as they feature about the same amount of attention paid to the post-apocalyptic future. Some of the sequels focus much more heavily on the post-apocalyptic elements but take a major dive in the film-quality department.

See where T2 ranked on our lists of James Cameron's best movies and the best action films ever made.

Joon-ho Bong’s sci-fi action flick Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic film not quite like any other. The final survivors on earth outlast the harsh, frozen wasteland by perpetually traveling around the planet in a custom-built train designed to run forever.

Snowpiercer is well-constructed and overflowing with the same social commentary later tackled somewhat more subtly in Bong’s film Parasite.

The Rover tells an extremely simple story but tells it with wonderful commitment to its violent world and grimy aesthetic. The apocalyptic wasteland of The Rover feels fully realized and familiar but just idiosyncratic enough to feel distinct.

Guy Pearce is excellent in the lead role and Robert Pattinson really impresses with his grungy performance, one of the first as he rebranded himself following the Twilight films.

Arriving just two years after the original Mad Max, The Road Warrior feels like a huge step up all around and completely eclipses the preceding film, which didn’t feel particularly post-apocalyptic due to the minimal budget.

The Road Warrior saw George Miller’s full vision for the Australian apocalypse take life. The action is great, the world design is unforgettable and stands tall as the best of the Mad Max trilogy by far… but it didn’t stay a trilogy forever...

Few works of end-of-the-world fiction are able to legitimately convince audiences that the world is truly ending, but that is exactly what the original 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds did for listeners all across the country.

If a radio play sounds too much like cheating on this film list to you, then consider this spot going to the 1953 film adaptation. The story penned by H.G. Wells is a monumental work of fiction and the narration from Orson Welles is positively sublime.

After 30 years away from the series, George Miller returned to the world of Mad Max and blew all of the previous entries out of the water. Mad Max: Fury Road is a filmmaking masterclass on so many fronts.

The action, stunts, world-building, special effects, and spectacle are all awe inspiring. The simplistic there-and-back-again story structure disguises a surprisingly deep story of allegorical parallels.

Mad Max: Fury Road is an incredible piece of action and post-apocalyptic filmmaking.

Threads is infinitely better than it had any right to be given it took life as a made-for-TV docu-drama with a small budget. The docu part of this post-apocalyptic film is what gives Threads its greatest strengths. This is likely the most realistic and intensely terrifying apocalyptic film you will ever see because it is so frighteningly plausible.

The film tackles nuclear annihilation in a matter of fact, play-by-play account of how exactly everything would most likely shake out, and the results may make you feel sick to your stomach.

The Road is the single best piece of post-apocalyptic fiction ever created. The novel by Cormac McCarthy stands at the top of the heap of post-apocalyptic books, and John Hillcoat’s 2009 film is a perfect adaptation of the source material.

The grimy, shoot-on-sight world of The Road has never been topped and the thematic exploration is thought provoking and timeless, and speaks to the human condition on a deep level.