Just in case any of you happen to be in the mood for some excellent end of the world entertainment I have some suggestions for you. Yes. It is indeed a Ten Best list of apocalyptic movies. 
  
10. Damnation Alley (1977) – Giant Gila Monsters, radioactive cockroaches, and the last of the Hell’s Angels on a mission to save Boston from a plague. Based on my favorite apocalyptic book by Roger Zelazny, the movie fell far short of the novel. However, it does a tremendous job of nailing spirit and setting of the mutant-filled post-apocalyptic genre. 

9. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – An unstable Air Force General with access to nuclear weapons. The film does an excellent job of capturing the Cold War paranoia and  America’s fascination with the atomic bomb. 
 
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Visitors from  space with a message of peace, a giant robot capable of destroying the world, and an Earth population entrenched in violence. All of this makes for a thought-provoking look at the nature of man. Of course, I’m talking about the original and not the disappointing remake.



7. Night of the Living Dead (1968) – The dead walk among us looking for a snack. This is the original zombie apocalypse film. A little gory for my tastes, but it started a huge sub-genre. 

 

6. War of the Worlds (1953) – Angry Martians invade Earth  and eventually succumb to the common cold. Lots of death-ray action based on the novel by H. G. Wells and made famous in the 1938 radio broadcast with Orson Welles. 
 

5. Escape from New York(1981) – Set in the backdrop of World War III,  Manhattan Island has been turned into a maximum security prison. This is an example of John Carpenter at the top of his game. The combination of lighting and music to produce a mood truly appropriate for the apocalypse is what made him one of the best directors in Hollywoond. 
 
4. Reign of Fire (2002) – Dragons. Combine horror with the genre and you get a zombie
apocalypse. Combine fantasy with the genre and you get dragons nesting in London and burning everything in sight.




3. The Matrix (1999) – A machine-controlled Earth and men enslaved in a dream. Original concepts and some mind-blowing symbolism make this probably the best made apocalyptic film on the list. 

2. Planet of the Apes (1968) – Apes rule and humans drool. In my opinion the best
anti-establishment film of the 60s. And it stars Chuck Heston. 

1. Mad Max (1979) – A leather-clad police officer roams  the dangerous roads of an apocalyptic world. When I think about apocalyptic stories, this is the first movie that comes to mind, capturing the true essence of a world falling apart. 
 
 
What do you think? Am I on target with this list or do you think I missed one?

In response to this month's question for the Apocalypse Panel Angie Lofthouse offered what I think is probably the best response that could be given. I admit to being more than a little bit jealous that I hadn't thought of it. 

"A government for hire at a combat site."

Beautiful.

Thanks Angie.  

No fanfare this week. I’m going straight to this month’s question for the
Apocalypse Panel.  

What defines an apocalyptic story?
          
The easy answer is that an apocalyptic event at the center of the story is what defines entries to this genre, but is that really the case? More importantly for me, how far can I twist the setting of the story before it no longer falls neatly into the genre? 
             
Most of the classic apocalyptic stories have a distinct science-fiction bent to them, giving me reason to wonder if this might provide the defining aspect. Damnation Alley involves the last of the Hell’s Angels crossing the post-war America and facing giant Gila
Monsters, mutated cockroaches, and rogue biker gangs that rule the countryside. That is what comes to my mind whenever an apocalypse is mentioned. 
              
Then you have stories such as Fred Saberhagen’s Empire of the East which is set in a future where, through science, a nuclear war is averted and magic is introduced into the world. Even though that sounds like science-fiction the first book reads like fantasy. Is this an apocalyptic story? If you want to pick nits, then yes. Unlike the movie Wizards,  which has a strong blend of science and magic to create its apocalyptic world, I feel that Saberhagen’s novel rests squarely in the realm of fantasy. 
            
Reign of Fire is clearly an apocalyptic story set in the modern age, but is caused by the resurgence of  dragons. Perhaps my thoughts that stories in this genre must have a sci-fi element are ill-conceived. What makes this movie work in a genre that seldom features fantasy?
             
During recent years, a new element in the genre has risen in popularity. Zombie apocalypse stories have brought clear horror elements to what was once a sci-fi haven. World War Z uses a science-fiction storyline, but treats it as a horror story. Don’t get me wrong, I love this. Blurring genre lines opens all sorts of wonderful options to the
creative writer.


           
With fantasy and horror both represented as part of viable apocalypse stories, perhaps the key element that defines this genre is—us. Only those tales that place us in the path of disaster seem to fit. Either in the present or in the reasonably near future, as long as our society can be recognized amid the destruction that ensues it appears to qualify as an apocalyptic story. 
 
            
Now that I have that resolved, maybe I write an article on blending some
  non-traditional elements into an apocalyptic story. Doesn’t that sound fun? Oh,
  I can hardly wait to experiment with that concept. See you all next time.