It already feels like we’re living in the apocalypse, which is probably why Netflix seems hellbent on depicting the end times on film. Over the last few years, the streamer has delivered multiple movies based around the end-of-the-world, be it from an impending comet, zombie pandemic or some supernatural force that preys on the senses.
Some have enlisted casts so starry they warrant their own constellation (Don’t Look Up), while others have gone on to birth massive pop culture moments (Bird Box). Below, we’re sorting through the ten most notable end-of-the-world movies on Netflix, ranked from worst to best. The end times are nigh!
IO
Margaret Qualley stars as a scientist who, despite the earth’s increasing toxicity, remains on the planet to find a solution. While others have jetted off to colonize IO, one of Jupiter’s moons, she stays behind to research an earth-saving miracle and encounters a man just two days away from leaving earth. IO has a great concept that it sometimes fails to execute, but it’s a very fun watch.
The Silence
Given that it was released around the same period and its plot involved sound-hunting monsters, The Silence couldn’t help but draw immediate comparisons to A Quiet Place. While it’s certainly not as good as the latter film, The Silence earns points for its deeper dive into horror conventions with a cult subplot and eerie sound design. Oh, it also stars Stanley Tucci, which is always a major plus point.
The Midnight Sky
The end times stretch all the way to the Arctic in The Midnight Sky, a quieter apocalyptic film starring George Clooney as a researcher finding other hospitable planets. Directed by Clooney himself, the film features breathtaking visuals and a third-act twist that throws a spanner in the works.
White Noise
When a nearby chemical leak causes an airborne toxic event, Professor Jack Gladney (played by Adam Driver) must evacuate with his family in tow. Directed by Noah Baumbach and starring his wife Greta Gerwig, White Noise offers an absurdist and comedic take on the apocalypse and clear parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic. It might not have had the Oscar-worthiness some had hoped for, but it’s certainly a memorable entry into the genre.
#Alive
If urban parkour was a sport riddled by zombies, #Alive would be the training ground. The 2020 South Korean film follows a video game live streamer trapped in his apartment when an undead apocalypse breaks out. Claustrophobic but still packed with gore, horror, and action, #Alive feels like the spiritual cousin of Train To Busan in all the best ways.
Cargo
It’s rare for a zombie film to have heart, but 2017’s Cargo delivers on all the feels as Martin Lawrence’s character searches for a home amid an undead outbreak. Fans of the genre’s more thrilling aspects will find plenty to love, too, but Cargo is at its core a film about parenthood. Who said zombies can’t be family-friendly?
Bird Box
Audiences were swept up in Bird Box mania in 2018, when Netflix premiered the Sandra Bullock-starring film to widespread fanfare. Bullock stars as a woman surviving an apocalypse in which a mysterious entity compels people to suicide, battling hysterical fellow survivors and a perilous trip to a safe haven along the way. The film was watched by more than 45 million accounts and enjoyed the best opening week for a Netflix film in the streamer’s history.
Army of the Dead
Following his acclaimed Dawn of the Dead remake in 2004, director Zack Snyder had much to prove upon the release of his fellow zombie movie, Army of the Dead. Thankfully, the apocalyptic movie delivered on much of its promise, with stylish set design, a totally game cast including Dave Bautista AND Yellowjackets’ Ella Purnell, and a fresh take on the genre with a heist twist.
Don’t Look Up
Memorable for its A-list cast that includes Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Cate Blanchett, Don’t Look Up is Netflix’s starriest apocalyptic movie. It follows two scientists who discover that an extinction-level comet is headed towards Earth, and their attempt (and failure) to alert the public to the imminent threat. Director Adam McKay has fun with the clear parallels to the climate crisis, and scored an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Leave The World Behind
Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke star as a married couple in Leave The World Behind, an apocalyptic thriller chronicling the onset of a mysterious blackout, environmental oddities and a civil war. The film is based on the 2020 novel of the same name, and makes fascinating commentary on society’s penchant for in-fighting when faced with a foreign threat. There’s also plenty of eerie deer symbolism, and a Friends cameo.
