20 Movies Where Almost Everyone Meets Their Doom

Some stories build toward a rescue or a reunion. These movies head straight for the edge, then keep going. The setups vary from space missions to small town panics to end times scenarios, yet the result is similar across the board. By the time the credits roll, the cast lists have been thinned to almost nothing.

This roundup spans different genres and eras and leans on clear plot details and production facts. You will find ensemble pieces that erase their teams, disaster tales that run out of lifeboats, and apocalyptic endings that leave no one to carry on. Each entry explains what the film does and who made it, without giving you a pep talk about it.

‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ (1964)

A rogue American general sets off a chain of events that moves a nuclear strike from possible to unavoidable. The story follows the war room, a bomber crew, and a Soviet response that includes a doomsday device that cannot be switched off.

Stanley Kubrick directed and co wrote the film with Peter George and Terry Southern. Peter Sellers plays multiple roles, including the title character, with support from George C Scott and Slim Pickens, and the production used large scale sets built at Shepperton Studios.

‘On the Beach’ (1959)

After a global nuclear exchange, a submarine crew reaches Australia, where a last pocket of life waits for fallout to arrive. Attempts to find hope include a long radio search and a journey north that confirms there is no safe place left.

Stanley Kramer directed the adaptation of the Nevil Shute novel. The cast includes Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins, and location work used Melbourne streets and coastal sites to ground the final days.

‘Threads’ (1984)

A strike on the United Kingdom triggers immediate devastation and a long collapse that extends through years. The narrative tracks families in Sheffield as food, healthcare, and civil order disappear and birth defects and famine follow.

Mick Jackson directed from a script by Barry Hines and the production involved extensive research into civil defense planning. The BBC financed and aired the film and later released it internationally, where it was screened in theaters as a feature.

‘Miracle Mile’ (1988)

A chance phone call convinces a man in Los Angeles that missiles are already on the way. Efforts to escape turn into chaos across the city and the final attempt to flee in a helicopter ends with the water rising and the sky lighting up.

Steve De Jarnatt wrote and directed the film, which stars Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. The production used multiple LA locations for real time movement and relied on controlled practical effects for the closing sequence inside the La Brea Tar Pits area.

‘Melancholia’ (2011)

A newly discovered planet drifts closer to Earth while a family gathers at a country estate. Scientific reassurances fade as visible evidence shows that a direct collision is coming and no technology or plan exists to prevent it.

Lars von Trier wrote and directed and the film stars Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard, and Kiefer Sutherland. The production combined location photography in Sweden with visual effects that depict orbital movement and atmospheric entry.

‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (2012)

A group of students visits a remote cabin while a hidden facility manipulates events to complete a ritual. When the ritual fails, the overseers lose control and the ancient powers they were trying to appease arrive to end everything.

Drew Goddard directed and co wrote with Joss Whedon, and the film stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Fran Kranz, and Richard Jenkins. The shoot took place in British Columbia, and the effects blend practical makeup with large scale digital destruction.

‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (2016)

A small rebel unit steals the plans for a planet killing weapon by infiltrating an Imperial archive on Scarif. The team completes the transmission while ground forces and starfighters hold off an assault, and the station fires on the base as the fleet withdraws.

Gareth Edwards directed and the cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, and Ben Mendelsohn. The production used locations in the Maldives and the United Kingdom, and industrial design and visual effects link directly into the opening moments of ‘Star Wars’.

‘The Thing’ (1982)

An Antarctic outpost unearths a shape shifting organism that copies its victims on a cellular level. Trust fails, tests are improvised, and containment efforts remove shelter and power until the base burns and the cold closes in.

John Carpenter directed and the story is based on the John W Campbell Jr novella ‘Who Goes There’. Effects artist Rob Bottin led the creature work using animatronics, puppetry, and makeup, and the ensemble includes Kurt Russell, Keith David, and Wilford Brimley.

‘The Mist’ (2007)

Residents of a Maine town take shelter in a supermarket after a strange fog rolls in with predatory creatures. Attempts to escape lead to casualties in the parking lot and on the road and a final choice in a stalled car ends with an abrupt reversal.

Frank Darabont directed and adapted the Stephen King novella. The cast features Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, and Toby Jones, and the director later issued a black and white version that emphasizes the practical creature photography.

‘Battle Royale’ (2000)

A class of students is forced into a state program that drops them on an island with a set of rules and a countdown. Collars enforce compliance, supplies are limited, and designated danger zones push the group into final confrontations.

Kinji Fukasaku directed the adaptation of the Koushun Takami novel and the cast includes Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, and Takeshi Kitano. The production shot around Japan with real locations and used practical effects to stage the elimination rounds.

‘The Belko Experiment’ (2016)

Office staff in Bogotá are locked in their building and ordered by a voice on the intercom to reduce their numbers. Explosive devices detonate when quotas are not met and floors become contested as tools and office equipment turn into weapons.

Greg McLean directed from a script by James Gunn and the ensemble includes John Gallagher Jr, Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, and Michael Rooker. The film shot in Colombia and uses practical blood effects alongside in camera stunts for close quarters fights.

‘Cube’ (1997)

Strangers wake up inside a maze of connected rooms, some safe and some mortally trapped. Math clues, movement patterns, and timing lead them forward while injuries and conflicts reduce the group to one person who reaches an exit as the structure resets.

Vincenzo Natali directed and co wrote with Andre Bijelic and Graeme Manson. The production built modular sets on a soundstage in Toronto, re lighting and re dressing panels to create hundreds of rooms with limited resources.

‘REC’ (2007)

A television reporter and her cameraman follow firefighters into an apartment building where a resident shows violent symptoms. Authorities seal the site and infection spreads through the residents and responders until only the camera records what is left.

Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza directed and the star is Manuela Velasco, a real life TV presenter cast to heighten the news format. The film uses found footage techniques and a single building location in Barcelona to keep the action confined.

‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)

A small group boards up a farmhouse as the dead return to life and surround the property. Outdoor rescue reports promise a sweep, yet infighting and mistakes allow the house to fall and the last survivor is mistaken for a threat.

George A Romero directed and co wrote with John A Russo and the film used locations around Pittsburgh. Duane Jones and Judith O Dea lead the cast and public domain distribution later helped the film reach a wide audience.

‘The Wild Bunch’ (1969)

A group of aging outlaws crosses into Mexico and accepts a job that places them between a corrupt general and a bandit. A rescue attempt becomes a final stand that leaves the gang and a large part of the garrison dead in the street.

Sam Peckinpah directed and the cast includes William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, and Warren Oates. The production filmed on location in Mexico and used multiple cameras and carefully timed squibs to create complex sequences.

‘Beneath the Planet of the Apes’ (1970)

A second astronaut tracks a lost mission to a future Earth ruled by apes and discovers a human cult living under New York. The humans worship a cobalt device and trigger it as a last act, erasing the planet and the conflict above.

Ted Post directed the sequel, which features James Franciscus and returns Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison from ‘Planet of the Apes’. The production reused and expanded exterior sets and added underground chambers built on soundstages.

‘Sunshine’ (2007)

An international crew carries a device meant to restart a fading sun and faces mechanical failure, isolation, and a violent threat. Crew losses mount as the mission leaves the ship damaged and the final detonation proceeds with no chance of return.

Danny Boyle directed from a script by Alex Garland, with Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne, and Chris Evans among the cast. The production worked at 3 Mills Studios in London, with physicist Brian Cox consulting on mission design and ship systems.

‘Cloverfield’ (2008)

A farewell party in New York stops when a shockwave hits and a skyscraper collapses. Friends attempt to cross the city during an ongoing monster attack and the last video shows the group under a bridge during an air strike.

Matt Reeves directed and the film stars Michael Stahl David, Odette Yustman, and Lizzy Caplan. The production used a found footage format, a viral marketing campaign that hid plot details, and extensive digital work to show destruction and creature movement.

‘The Descent’ (2005)

Six friends enter a cave system and become trapped when an entry collapses and light sources and food begin to run out. Underground predators track them through the chambers and only one version of the ending allows a single person to reach a vehicle.

Neil Marshall wrote and directed and the cast features Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza. Sets were constructed at Pinewood Studios to create tunnels and caverns and regions of the film were released with different endings in the United Kingdom and the United States.

‘The Hateful Eight’ (2015)

Bounty hunters and passengers take shelter in a Wyoming roadhouse during a blizzard and carry old grudges and secret ties. Poisoning and gunfire settle disputes and the last two awake characters decide to finish the job while the storm continues.

Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed and the ensemble includes Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Walton Goggins. A roadshow presentation used 70 mm prints with overture and intermission and Ennio Morricone provided an original score.

Share your favorite bleak endings in the comments and tell us which films you think belong on this list.