A tormented post-apocalyptic survival thriller treks through the streaming wasteland

One of the dangers that comes with telling a post-apocalyptic survival story is that things may end up becoming bleak to the point of abject misery, but that ironically turned out to be one of The Road‘s greatest strengths. Rest assured, it is most certainly not a light and frothy adventure, but it’s nonetheless a remarkably powerful piece of cinema.

Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee headline the sparse cast as an unnamed father and son, who trek through the relentlessly downbeat and perpetually gray wastelands of America following an extinction-level event. They still hold a flicker of hope for civilization, and they’re trying to find salvation by trekking across the country in the belief things might be better by the coastline.

Along the way, they naturally come into contact with many unsavory survivors, who aren’t exactly paying it forward with kindness in the aftermath of a cataclysmic mystery that ruined the world as they knew it. Despite strong reviews and a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 74 percent, though, The Road flopped at the box office after only just recouping its $25 million budget from theaters.

Cormac McCarthy’s source novel was lauded by plenty and lambasted by some for its never-ending darkness, so it wasn’t a shock that director John Hillcoat came in for much the same criticism due to the faithfulness of his adaptation. The atmosphere is tangible, the performances are excellent, and Netflix subscribers have been more than happy to immerse themselves in the world of The Road per FlixPatrol, seeing as the film has embedded itself on the platform’s global most-watched list this week.