Post-Apoc Follies

Introduction: Movies set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic milieu date almost as far back as science fiction cinema itself, in such early examples as 1933's Deluge and Abel Gance's Le fin de monde (1930). Yet this subgenre perhaps really got started with Arch Oboler's Five (1951). The formula usually revolves around a group of people trying to survive in a setting after the bomb has dropped, or some other huge catastrophe. During the atomic age, this fear became more palpable, and several films over the years reflected this unrest. Other important titles include The World, The Flesh and the Devil (1959) and No Blade of Grass (1970).

However, this subgenre really ushered back into popular culture with the 1981 release of The Road Warrior, the hit sequel to Mad Max, which was set after the bomb dropped. We often forget how much in the last years of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race, that we felt we were going to be annihilated by nuclear war. The Road Warrior ushered in dozens of films over the next decade, which capitalized on that setting, but in many cases favoured pulp thrills. For every film like 1984's Threads or 1983's Testament, which were gut-wrenching psychological dramas, we had a dozen things like Warriors of the Wasteland. These movies were usually filmed in deserts or crumbling urban settings, with no shortage of laser guns, dune buggies, motorcycles, mutants, and lots of football shoulder padding. Many of these films were (it figures) produced by Italians or Filipinos, and became video store staples. A little of these films go a long way, but at this remove one can see their popcorn appeal.