16 Post-Apocalyptic Movies Not Set in America

The post-apocalyptic genre offers a rich tapestry of human decline and survival across the globe. When society crumbles, different cultures find unique ways to cling to humanity or descend into chaos. These remarkable films show that the end of the world is far more diverse than just the usual American wasteland. From the Australian Outback to a hyper-dystopian Neo-Tokyo, filmmakers worldwide explore the haunting resilience of the human spirit.

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)

The film follows Imperator Furiosa as she executes a daring escape plan from the tyrannical Immortan Joe. She smuggles the warlord’s five wives away in a massive armored tanker across the desolate Australian wasteland. Max Rockatansky, a tormented loner haunted by his past, is involuntarily dragged into the relentless highway battle. This Australian production revitalized the classic franchise with non-stop, visceral vehicular action and stunning practical effects. The spectacle pits a desperate band of rebels against a terrifying army of fanatical War Boys in a high-octane chase for freedom.

‘Stalker’ (1979)

A melancholy guide leads a Writer and a Professor through a forbidden, mysterious territory known only as the Zone. This Soviet masterpiece explores philosophical and spiritual quests over simple survival and takes place in a strange, ruined industrial landscape. The Zone is supposedly littered with lethal traps but contains a room that can grant a person’s innermost desires. Director Andrei Tarkovsky crafted a visually arresting and hypnotic film about faith, despair, and the true nature of human wish fulfillment.

‘Akira’ (1988)

The futuristic megacity of Neo-Tokyo is on the verge of collapsing once again due to government corruption and biker gang warfare. Shotaro Kaneda must race against the military and an anti-government resistance to save his childhood friend Tetsuo Shima. Tetsuo has awakened terrifying telekinetic powers after a mysterious accident and quickly spirals out of control. This Japanese animated cyberpunk landmark is acclaimed for its fluid, hyper-detailed animation and complex social commentary.

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ (1984)

A thousand years after an industrial civilization destroyed itself, humanity survives near a growing toxic jungle filled with massive mutated insects. Princess Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind seeks a peaceful coexistence with the jungle and its terrifying inhabitants, the Ohmu. Her small kingdom is drawn into a devastating conflict when a powerful neighboring state attempts to revive an ancient weapon of mass destruction. Hayao Miyazaki’s epic animated adventure masterfully blends ecological themes with an anti-war message.

‘Children of Men’ (2006)

The world has descended into chaos and anarchy after eighteen years of human infertility renders mankind incapable of producing children. The United Kingdom remains one of the last functioning governments, brutally repressing refugees who seek asylum within its borders. A disillusioned civil servant, Theo Faron, becomes tasked with protecting an astonishingly pregnant woman named Kee. He must navigate London’s desperate, war-torn ghettos and militarized zones to deliver her to a mythical scientific group known as the Human Project.

‘The War Game’ (1966)

This shocking British docudrama forensically details the imagined effects of a nuclear attack on the county of Kent. The film uses a chillingly realistic pseudo-documentary style to show the breakdown of civil authority after a limited nuclear exchange. It focuses on the grim realities of firestorms, radiation sickness, martial law, and the desperate struggle for food. The powerful, unflinching nature of the film caused the BBC to ban its broadcast for twenty years, fearing public panic.

‘Threads’ (1984)

The film follows two families in the English city of Sheffield as they navigate the escalating Cold War crisis leading up to a nuclear exchange. It provides a horrifying, unflinching depiction of the nuclear strike and its catastrophic, long-term aftermath. The narrative traces the collapse of civilization as survivors cope with nuclear winter, widespread disease, and a regression to a primitive state. This television film is widely regarded as one of the most bleak and terrifyingly accurate portrayals of a nuclear holocaust ever made.

‘Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior’ (1981)

Max Rockatansky continues his lonely journey across the lawless, petrol-scarce Australian wasteland, with only his dog and his pursuit special for company. He stumbles upon a small, isolated community protecting a functional oil refinery. Max reluctantly agrees to help the defenseless settlers transport their precious gasoline in a massive tanker truck to the coast. This leads to a spectacular, non-stop confrontation with the savage, barbaric gangs led by the menacing Lord Humungus.

‘Train to Busan’ (2016)

A massive zombie outbreak erupts across South Korea forcing a diverse group of passengers to fight for survival aboard a high-speed KTX train. The fast-moving infected pose an immediate threat as the train speeds from Seoul to the presumed safety of Busan. A workaholic fund manager and his estranged young daughter must band together with other travelers to navigate the train’s tight spaces and infected carriages. This high-energy action-horror film is praised for its social commentary and emotional family drama amidst the apocalyptic chaos.

‘Delicatessen’ (1991)

In a perpetually dreary, bombed-out French apartment building, a dire grain shortage means that meat is the only viable form of currency. The building’s landlord, who is also the butcher, posts job listings to lure in fresh victims for the hungry residents. A former clown moves in as the new handyman and quickly falls in love with the butcher’s daughter, causing a bizarre and violent rebellion. This French black comedy presents a darkly whimsical and highly stylized take on post-apocalyptic cannibalism and romance.

‘The Host’ (2006)

A dysfunctional South Korean family struggles to save their young daughter after she is snatched by a gargantuan, mutated amphibian creature in Seoul’s Han River. The monster’s emergence is the result of American military negligence leading to the contamination of the river’s waters years prior. As the government quarantines the area under the pretense of a viral outbreak, the family must brave the dangerous city to find their missing child. Director Bong Joon-ho blends creature feature spectacle with sharp political satire and dark family drama.

‘On the Beach’ (1959)

The last pockets of humanity wait out their final months in Melbourne, Australia after a devastating nuclear war has wiped out the Northern Hemisphere. A US Navy submarine arrives in port with its American crew, having survived the initial fallout. The film follows the inhabitants as they confront the inevitable fate of the spreading radiation cloud and search for some remaining meaning in life. This somber, powerful drama offers a quiet and meditative portrait of global extinction.

’28 Days Later’ (2002)

A bike courier awakens from a coma in a deserted London hospital to discover that a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus has devastated Great Britain. He soon meets a handful of uninfected survivors and they attempt to traverse a terrifying, desolate England to seek a safe haven. They are relentlessly pursued by the infected, frenzied beings consumed by pure rage. This British horror film is credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre with its terrifying fast-moving creatures and gritty digital cinematography.

‘The Quiet Earth’ (1985)

A New Zealand scientist wakes up to find himself apparently the last person left on Earth after a catastrophic global phenomenon called “The Final Day.” He wanders through the eerily empty streets of New Zealand, slowly descending into madness and enjoying his newfound solitude. His isolation is shattered when he encounters two other survivors, a woman and a Maori man. The unexpected twist of finding other life quickly turns their survival into a complex emotional struggle for companionship and power.

‘These Final Hours’ (2013)

A man travels across a lawless Perth, Western Australia, to join his lover at a last, hedonistic party as a cataclysmic event rapidly approaches. A fireball generated by an impact in the Northern Hemisphere is only twelve hours away from ending all life on the planet. Along the way, he rescues a young girl searching for her parents and is forced to confront the true meaning of his last day. The emotionally intense Australian thriller explores the moral choices people make when there is no tomorrow.

‘The Bed Sitting Room’ (1969)

This bizarre and absurdist British comedy is set in the shattered ruins of London, a few years after a nuclear war that lasted just over two minutes. The dwindling population of survivors struggles to maintain a facade of British normality amidst the surreal devastation. The comedy centers on one unfortunate man who begins to mutate into a literal bed-sitting room due to the lingering radiation. The film uses macabre humor and a Goon Show sensibility to satirize the government response to nuclear annihilation.

What other international post-apocalyptic films deserve a look in the comments?