It’s the beginning of a new year that according to some popular beliefs is supposed to be the end of the world. Some directors already took advantage of these beliefs in order to portray the apocalypse (Roland Emmerich’s 2012 for example), so here’s an opportunity for us to mention some of the greatest end of the world titles.

The Mist (2007)
What I liked most about this apocalyptic horror-thriller is the fact that the apocalypse literally comes out of nowhere. One minute everything is fine, the next minute, a creepy fog covers the land and hideous deadly creatures roam the streets. Very effective and tense.

The Walking Dead (2010 ongoing)
AMC’s hit TV series, The Walking Dead, tells the story of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse and follows a small group of survivors traveling across the country in search of a new home away from the hoards of zombies. As their situation grows more and more grim, the group’s desperation to survive pushes them to do almost anything to stay alive.

The Day After (1983)
This Emmy Award-winning made-for-TV movie deals with the consequences of a total global thermonuclear war. Taking place in Lawrence, Kansas, The Day After is a bleak look at the effects that such a war would have on humanity by using the inhabitants of this small town as a microcosm of the world.

Survivors (2008-2010)
This excellent British sci-fi drama depicts the lives of a group of people who survived a deadly virus which has wiped out most of humanity. It depicts how they would then cope in a brave new world where all traditional 21st Century comforts - electricity, clean running water, advanced technology - have disappeared.

Melancholia (2011)
Lars Von Trier’s latest feature is one of the most magnificent yet disturbing visions of apocalypse I have ever seen.  Spoiler: in Melancholia the world actually ends. No survivors, no vestiges of humanity, no last hope. The absolute opposite from what we are used to in American film-making, Von Trier lets earth be vanquished, swallowed by another planet.

Yet with this Melancholic note, we must remember that an end to the world is usually followed by a new beginning: Therefore some starting over titles should also be mentioned:

Outcasts (2010)
Set in 2040 on a recently-discovered planet, this drama tells of the dilemmas, loves and lives of a group of people setting up a new world. This life-sustaining planet is now home to the surviving population from Earth. Here there is a chance to start again, to bring the lessons learned from Earth and to put them into action on a new planet.

In America (2003)
Immigrants starting over in a new country. Jim Sheridan’s autobiographical film, In America, begins as Irish immigrants Johnny, his wife Sarah (Samantha Morton), and their two daughters drive their wood-paneled station wagon across the Canadian border and into the United States. With no money to live on, they settle into the top floor of a flophouse tenement inhabited by transvestites and drug addicts.

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
This sadly underrated comedy drama tells the tale of a gay con man, who falls in love with another convict named Phillip Morris while in prison. When Morris is released from prison, his new love embarks on a series of escape attempts to reunite with his lover and start life over.

The Riches (2007-2008)
Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard star in this well-received FX series based on the concept of what happens when a family of traveling con-artists finds their way into a wealthy suburban community, fooling everyone around them into thinking they belong while trying to convince themselves of the same thing.

We bought a zoo (2011)
To conclude this list, a new ‘Christmasy’ starting over film about a man and his family, who decide to spend their life savings to purchase a zoo in the countryside. There, they hope to get a fresh start while the father cares for his wife, who is dying of brain cancer, and deals with escaped tigers.

Popularity: 1% [?]