Top 6 Must-Watch Post-Apocalyptic Movies After a Pandemic

In a world ravaged by a virus that turns people into violent lunatics within 48 hours, the Rose family—Andy, Kay, and little Rosie—are surviving on a remote houseboat in rural Australia. With food running low, Andy scavenges a deserted sailboat for supplies. Meanwhile, Kay is attacked by an infected person while out searching for more provisions. On another front, a young girl named Thoomi is desperately trying to protect her infected father by feeding him wild animals and locking him away, all while her mother frantically searches for her.

After seeing Kay attempting to stop the bleeding from a bite wound on their houseboat, the family heads to the hospital, but their car crashes into a tree while swerving to avoid a man in the road. Kay is impaled, and Andy passes out from shock. When he regains consciousness, he’s bitten by Kay as he tries to escape the vehicle with Rosie. Andy soon encounters Thoomi’s father, recognizing that he's infected and preparing to defend himself. Thoomi appears and pleads with Andy not to harm her father. Andy attempts to steal a ute, but the vehicle’s owner, Vic, prevents him. Andy helps Vic out of a pit, and together, they make their way to Vic's shelter, where Andy meets Lorraine, whom he believes is Vic's wife. He leaves Rosie with Lorraine and sets off with Vic. Vic lures the infected by keeping healthy people locked in cages as bait, and Andy becomes increasingly concerned when he sees Thoomi locked up. That night, Andy tries to end his life, but Lorraine stops him and reveals that she knows he’s infected. She also confesses that she’s not Vic’s wife, but a captive he took after abandoning her husband to die. Vic later knocks Andy out, and when he wakes up, he finds himself in a cage with Thoomi. The two agree to work together to escape, using the strength of the infected to break out. They return to Vic’s shelter to find Lorraine and Rosie, but Vic shoots at them as they try to flee. Lorraine sacrifices herself to shield them, taking the bullet.

The following morning, Thoomi runs off after Andy tells her her father won’t recover. She finds her father dead at the top of a tree. Andy comforts her briefly before leaving, feeling he can’t do more. Thoomi remains on the tree, mourning, but she hears Rosie’s cries and catches up with Andy. The three set off in a motorboat toward a campsite Andy had previously spotted, and check out the family’s caravan. Andy leaves with Rosie to search for the family while Thoomi stays behind. He encounters the father, now infected, and the man attempts to hand Andy a revolver, offering him four bullets after killing his family and planning to end his own life. The father follows through, and Andy takes the gun, contemplating suicide. Thoomi arrives just as this happens, and they head toward a plume of smoke.

As they pass through a tunnel, they run into Vic again. Thoomi hides with Rosie in a car parked on the tracks, while Andy distracts Vic. The two fight, and during the scuffle, Vic grabs the gun and shoots Andy. He tosses Thoomi to the ground and cradles Rosie, mourning Lorraine’s death. Vic breaks down and hands Rosie to Andy, allowing him to continue his journey. Soon, Andy shows signs of infection, scratching at rotting flesh. With little time left, Andy makes Thoomi promise to look after Rosie and prepares for his transformation by placing a cloth in his mouth, tying his wrists, and wrapping meat around a stick. The three meet a group of indigenous warriors who’ve just killed a few infected, but Thoomi calls out to them with a whistle, drawing her mother’s attention. Thoomi and Rosie are welcomed back, and she sprays Kay’s perfume on Andy to calm him, as he seems to accept that Rosie is now safe. Thoomi allows a warrior to end Andy’s suffering.

The indigenous people take them to their sanctuary, where they are greeted warmly. As Thoomi and her mother examine Rosie, they discover a message written on the girl’s belly: ‘Thank you.’ It appears to have been written by Andy using the white paint that Thoomi and the warriors used to mask their scent from the infected.

The film opens with an intense and chaotic scene in downtown Philadelphia, USA, as people seem to fall victim to a strange disease that causes them to turn on each other. What’s even more terrifying is that the infected become as violent and uncontrollable as those who bite them.

Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former UN employee, manages to escape the mayhem with his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) and their two daughters. From what they hear on the radio and TV, it’s clear that the outbreak is not only ravaging the United States but spreading across the globe.

As the chaos spreads everywhere, humanity is driven by fear, resorting to violence and looting for survival. In the midst of this global collapse, the UN calls upon Gerry for help. He teams up with a scientist and a special ops team to travel to South Korea in search of the origins of the catastrophe. However, their journey takes unexpected turns, expanding beyond Korea to several other locations. Despite the unforeseen detours, their goal remains clear: Gerry must find a way to save humanity and return to his waiting family.

This blockbuster film is loosely based on the book *World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War*, though it only shares the title and the general zombie disaster concept. The book features a collection of survivor accounts from all over the world, while the movie primarily focuses on Gerry Lane, the UN's last hope amid a world that has lost billions.

The Cured (2017) is an intense horror-thriller set in Ireland, taking place after the devastating outbreak of the Maze Virus, which turned humans into frenzied zombies. Most of those infected have been cured, but reintegrating them back into society proves to be a difficult and painful process. Many survivors remain imprisoned and face heavy social stigma, as they may have killed loved ones while infected.

With the government considering executing all survivors to prevent a new wave of infection, activists fighting for the rights of the cured are pushing back. The film is filled with powerful metaphors, as well as the notable appearance of Ellen Page.

In a future Britain, one of the few remaining governments still operational faces a crisis of refugee influx and plague outbreaks. In response, the British military rounds up and executes immigrants. Theo Faron, an activist, is kidnapped by the Fishes, an immigrant rights group led by Julian, who enlists Theo to protect and help smuggle a pregnant woman named Kee to safety, as she is the key to humanity's future.

But when Julian is killed, and a new leader takes charge, Theo uncovers a conspiracy: the Fishes intend to kill him and use Kee’s baby as a political tool to spark an impending revolution. Theo and Kee must escape this deadly plot, facing numerous challenges along the way.

The film, though not widely released, left a strong impression on critics, particularly for its screenplay, cinematography, and editing, which earned multiple nominations at prestigious international film awards.

In 2009, a genetically engineered measles virus, initially created as a cancer cure, caused the collapse of human civilization. The virus wiped out 90% of the world's population (5.4 billion out of 6 billion), with 9.8% (588 million) transforming into mutated flesh-eating creatures known as Darkseekers. These creatures are only active after sunset, with sunlight being lethal to them. Meanwhile, the remaining 0.2% of the population (12 million people) are immune to the virus and become prey to the Darkseekers.

Three years after the outbreak, U.S. Army virologist Colonel Robert Neville lives in isolation in Manhattan, searching for survivors. Neville’s daily routine involves testing infected rats for a cure, scavenging for food and supplies, and hoping survivors will hear his radio broadcasts calling them to a South Harbor rendezvous. In flashbacks, Neville recalls how his wife and daughter died during an evacuation when the military quarantined Manhattan in 2009. Neville stayed behind with other soldiers, and his only companions now are his dog Sam, a few mannequins he converses with, and the voices in his recorded tapes. At night, he hides in a fortified home in Washington Square Park, protecting himself from the Darkseekers.

One day, Sam chases a deer into a building, and Neville follows, finding the deer’s carcass and being attacked by a Darkseeker. After narrowly escaping, Neville realizes sunlight kills the creatures. He develops a promising cure from his own blood and captures a female Darkseeker. Another Darkseeker pursues him but retreats when sunlight forces it to withdraw. Despite attempts to cure the captured Darkseeker, Neville fails. The following day, Neville spots “Fred,” a mannequin at Grand Central Station, and opens fire on it. He becomes trapped in a similar setup to the one he used to capture the Darkseeker, but escapes only to be attacked by infected dogs at sunset. He and Sam kill the dogs, but Sam is bitten during the fight.

Neville injects Sam with a serum, but when Sam shows signs of infection, Neville is forced to euthanize her. Devastated and angry, Neville attempts to take on a group of Darkseekers but is nearly killed. He’s rescued by Anna Montez and Ethan, two immune survivors. They explain they are the last of the survivors aboard a Red Cross ship bound for São Paulo and are trying to reach a survivor colony in Bethel, Vermont. Neville dismisses their claims, believing no such places still exist.

Neville adjusts his treatment approach, injecting the female Darkseeker with the serum. That night, the Darkseekers attack Neville's house. Anna, Ethan, and Neville manage to kill several of them, but they retreat to the basement, barricading themselves behind glass. Neville realizes his latest treatment has worked, but the situation escalates when the leader of the Darkseekers begins to break through the glass. Neville extracts blood from the female Darkseeker and gives it to Anna, urging her and Ethan to find safety. He then takes a grenade and sacrifices himself, taking the Darkseekers with him in an explosion. The following day, Anna and Ethan reach the survivor base in Vermont, where they are greeted by military officers and other survivors. Anna tells them of Neville's sacrifice, making him a legend in their eyes. In an alternate ending, when the Darkseeker leader attacks the lab, it creates a butterfly-shaped crack in the glass, reminding Neville of the Darkseeker female’s tattoo. He realizes the leader is trying to retrieve his mate. Neville drops his gun and returns the female Darkseeker to him. The two stare at each other, and Neville apologizes as tears roll down the Darkseeker's face.

The Darkseeker initially intended to kill Neville but accepts the apology and orders his kin to leave. Neville, reflecting on his own actions, realizes that, to the Darkseekers, he too was a monster—capturing their kind for experiments. Neville, Anna, and Ethan later drive to the Vermont survivor base. Anna’s account of Neville’s selfless sacrifice, filled with both fear and hope, ends with the words, 'You are not alone.'

In Doomsday (2008), set in the United Kingdom, a devastating plague breaks out, claiming the lives of thousands in its first week and eventually killing millions. The government and scientists rush to find the cause and a vaccine, but the virus spreads indiscriminately, with no regard for time, place, or reason – it simply appears and does its job of rapidly spreading.

All efforts to contain it fail, leading the British government to declare Martial Law and isolate Scotland behind a 9-meter wall. The trapped civilians are left hopeless, clinging to the government's promise of rescue that never comes. The film opens with a poignant image of flickering flames, symbolizing the dwindling hope of those stuck within the quarantine. The first 15 minutes serve as an introduction, setting up the main character, Eden Sinclair, and her team's quest to save humanity.

This approach is similar to other films, but more accessible, as it clearly presents the character's past and present in a concise way, allowing the audience to quickly catch up with the storyline. After Scotland is abandoned, the government seals off all information about the region, and the rest of the UK is shunned by the world. Issues like overpopulation, unemployment, poverty, and the rise of slums in London paint a picture of a post-apocalyptic world.