Post-Apocalyptic 

 

“You know the law: Two men enter, one man leaves.”

Bold anti-heroes fighting their way across inhospitable wildernesses, with makeshift weapons and nothing to lose.  It's the Post-Apocalyptic film, and it's hard to come up with a sub-genre which is more fun, while being devoid of meaning.  Few have political messages, unless they fall into the Dystopian sub-genre as well.  The best look at what it means to be a man (and I use the masculine purposely), and take their cue from Cambell's writings on myths.  The worst are cheap sword and dune buggy adventures. 

So, what makes a film Post-Apocalyptic?  Well, there needs to have been an apocalypse, and I don't mean in the "revelation" sense of the word.  I'm talking about Armageddon, but it can't be a complete end-of-days scenario since then there wouldn't be a "post" to film.  It's civilization that has to have fallen, and not slowly faded away; there must be an event that took it down (although a multi-year war is OK; four hundred years of slowly dwindling resources doesn't do it).

Additionally, these are films about the world in shambles.  If society has rebuilt, we're out of the Post-Apocalyptic world.  1984 and Equilibrium are Dystopian stories, not Post-Apocalyptic ones as society is well established and in control (too much control).  Only pockets of social order exist in this sub-genre.

And let's not forget the word "post."  Disaster stories of the destruction of civilization (The Day after Tomorrow and Night of the Living Dead)  is a whole other sub-genre.

Post-Apocalyptic films have always tended to feature self-sufficient males, but before 1981, they were likely to be standard heroes, and it wasn't uncommon for them to have families.  With Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, there came a stream of anti-heroes fighting leather-clad psychos in dune buggies.  With deserts within driving distance of LA, it's no surprise that the new low-budget vision of the future was sandy.  Of course, none came close to the quality of the original.

My Post-Apocalyptic film reviews are:

28 Days Later Alien Apocalypse American Cyborg: Steel Warrior Damnation Alley Dawn of the Dead '78 Dawn of the Dead '04 Day of the Dead

The Day of the Triffids The Day of the Triffids — Serial Encrypt Escape from L.A. In the Year 2889 Logan's Run Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Omega Doom On the Beach Quintet The Road Warrior Steel Dawn Tank Girl Waterworld Yor, the Hunter from the Future

    

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Sorted by year:

1950s
On the Beach (1959)
1960s
The Day of the Triffids (1962)
In the Year 2889 (1967)
1970s
Logan's Run (1975)
Damnation Alley (1977)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Quintet (1979)
1980s
The Day of the Triffids — Serial (1981)
The Road Warrior (1981)
Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Steel Dawn (1987)
1990s
American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (1994)
Tank Girl (1995)
Waterworld (1995)
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Omega Doom (1997)
28 Days Later (1998)
2000s
Encrypt (2003)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Alien Apocalypse (2005)