15 Post-Apocalypse Movies To Watch If You Loved The Last Of Us

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is a modern gaming masterpiece that’s taken the world by storm. Its emotionally engaging story causes players to feel for its lead characters and the rollercoaster of their journey together can leave a big hole in people’s lives once it’s finished.

With the much-delayed sequel finally becoming available and bringing in even more fans to the series’ post-apocalyptic universe, here are 15 great post-apocalypse sci-fi movies with similar qualities to help fix that big Joel and Ellie shaped hole in your heart that the games left.

Updated on October 1st, 2020 by Mark Birrell: The franchise has never been more popular and new fans to the series may be wondering what else there is that out there than match The Last of Us’ striking tone and explosively thrilling world, so we’ve added 5 more movies to our list for fans to fall in love with.

15 Logan (2017)

James Mangold’s Oscar-winning comic book movie is, in quite a rare instance, generally considered a cut above the rest by both critics and fans thanks to its emotionally affecting father/daughter story.

Hugh Jackman bade farewell to his 17-year stint as X-Men icon Wolverine with this bloodily violent Neo-Western set in a literal post-Apocalypse version of America that’s full of all those stoic moments and hard life lessons that The Last of Us fans know so well.

14 Maggie (2015)

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin star as father and daughter in this post-zombie-apocalypse movie where society has learned to live with the undead menace in some semblance of normality.

Things become complicated, however, when the young daughter, Maggie, is bitten and knows she will turn within a matter of weeks. The movie is one of a number of more dramatic turns from Schwarzenegger in recent years and he makes an interesting choice for a Joel figure, to say the least.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

13 The Survivalist (2015)

A much colder and more pragmatic kind of post-apocalyptic survival movie than is the norm, The Survivalist sees a young man surviving on his own thanks to his rigorous isolation and untrusting nature.

When an elderly woman and young girl approach his small farm looking to earn his trust, he’s forced to assess their true intentions and strike some kind of deal with them. But the harshness of their situation means that everyone has to keep their cards close to their chest until they make their move and it produces some thrilling moments of tension.

12 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Set after the global health pandemic of an accidentally man-made flu that’s reduced humanity to next to nothing, a small group of makeshift engineers from the remnants of San Francisco must form a shaky alliance with a burgeoning society of superintelligent apes in order to try to repair a hydroelectric dam and restore hope for civilization as we know it.

With young families on either side, cooperation is in everyone’s best interest but old prejudices threaten the peace between the two worlds and forever alters the fate of their world. With a strikingly similar environment to The Last of Us in certain spots, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has far more emotional drama than the usual cutting edge effects-driven blockbuster whilst compromising on none of the wow-factor in terms of action and suspense.

11 Monsters (2010)

Set in a world that has seen large areas of Mexico become dominated by huge alien creatures that arrived on a crashed space probe, Gareth Edwards’ famously high-concept/low-budget debut movie has a lot of impressive technical ingenuity on display but even that pales in comparison to the odd, bittersweet, emotions in its story about a journalist transporting his employer’s daughter to safety across the alien ‘infected zone’.

Though not so much of an action-adventure movie due to its budget, Monsters is packed with atmosphere and the unspoken feelings of its characters, reflected in the beautiful landscapes, make it a must-see for fans of The Last of Us‘ character building treks through the wilderness.

10 The Battery (2012)

Micro-budgeted zombie movies should usually make a movie fan run for the hills. There are few talentless indie filmmakers who can resist the instant production value afforded by the small amount of makeup it requires to turn an extra into a zombie.

Jeremy Gardner’s story of two former baseball players surviving the zombie apocalypse together, however, delivers completely on the fronts of drama, tension, and ingenuity to create something uniquely memorable.

9 A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinksi’s quietly crowd-pleasing hit depicts a world overrun by monsters that hunt purely by sound with humanity either all but gone or content to live in silence.

Despite some flashy monster frights, the heart of the movie sticks to the kind of intimate family drama that fans of The Last of Us will no doubt appreciate.

8 It Comes at Night (2017)

Trey Edward Shults’ take on life after the apocalypse focusses far less on the causes of the world’s collapse and more on its results. Chiefly the severe paranoia and isolation felt by two families that have to coexist together in a secluded house in the woods.

Though bluntly effective with its action and horror, so much of what sticks with you about It Comes at Night comes from what the audience doesn’t see and, as Last of Us fans know all too well, that unspoken grey area is the cut that’s felt most deeply.

7 28 Days Later (2002)

Danny Boyle’s seminal revamping of the zombie apocalypse movie quickly became as essential to the genre as Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead and played a huge part in elevating the genre to what it is today in popular culture.

The apocalypse in 28 Days Later, as the title implies, may be a little fresher than you’re accustomed to but that only adds to its haunting authenticity.

6 The Road (2009)

John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalypse novel is a bittersweet experience made up of outstanding performances across the board mixed with unrelenting horror and darkness.

Viggo Mortensen plays the father attempting to protect his son in a totally collapsed civilization and ecosystem filled with roving gangs of cannibals. The brief moments of respite in this world always being preludes to harsh, complex, life lessons that have the power to stick with viewers for a long time.

5 Cargo (2017)

Martin Freeman plays the father of a young baby girl traveling through the Australian outback to avoid the worst of a zombie apocalypse. But a string of mistakes leaves him alone with his child and with only a short time before he, himself, turns.

Cargo certainly goes for the approach of having the zombies in a zombie apocalypse be the least of people’s worries and it pays off in the form of the entire movie being anchored by Freeman’s performance, with a great turn from young Australian Simone Landers as an Aboriginal girl whose fate becomes tied to his character’s.

4 Stake Land (2011)

Jim Mickle’s vampire apocalypse movie adds a level of restraint to something that sounds like one of the most overly-stylized concepts you’ve ever heard of. Stake Land is far less a slick sci-fi excuse to put models in tight leather outfits and much more of a moody road movie in the vein of Terrence Malick.

Vampires are meant to be purely scary rather than scintillating in this take on the apocalypse that will win over many Last of Us fans with its slower, more mournful, feel of Americana.

3 I Am Legend (2007)

The long-gestating adaptation of Richard Matheson’s iconic sci-fi novel ultimately relied far more on Will Smith’s talents as an actor than anything else but that’s really all you need to make a great movie.

Smith plays a scientist in the ruins of a desolate New York City who believes he may be the last human being alive who has yet to turn into a vicious, vampire-like, creature. I Am Legend certainly loses something in its translation to blockbuster scale but also gains a lot through its impressively-realized post-apocalypse landscapes.

2 Bird Box (2018)

Expanding on A Quiet Place‘s world without speech or sound comes a post-apocalypse without sight. At least when you’re outside. Susanne Bier’s Netflix hit starring Sandra Bullock depicts a world overrun by a malevolent force that causes anyone who lays eyes on it to become violently mad or uncontrollably suicidal.

Like The Last of Us, the protagonist’s physical journey mirrors their emotional journey towards accepting love in their heart for the children under their care and that dramatic factor makes the deadly stakes all the higher.

1 Children of Men (2006)

Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation of P.D. James’ novel depicts a more muted apocalypse than any of the other movies on this list, in which human beings have simply lost the ability to procreate. With no new lives coming into the world, humanity’s bleak outlook for the future becomes increasingly lawless and violent but Clive Owens’ civil servant is given a slither of hope in this cruel world when he must protect a miraculously pregnant refugee.

Cuarón pulls out all the stops to make his vision of the end of the world feel all too real and it completely works. Children of Men is an indisputable modern classic that, sadly, appears to grow more and more relevant with each passing year.

NextThe 10 Most Confusing Sci-Fi Movies, According To Reddit

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *