Despite minor details such as no supporting science or foothold in rational thought, this year will be chock-full of 2012 prophecy talk, and all the related end of the world ballyhoo. And while the likelihood of planetary collision or other cataclysmic occurrence is about the same as any other year, it is a deliciously topical chance to catch a few post-apocalyptic flicks. Nothing as obvious as Mad Max or the soulless spectacle of 2012 here — and no stark, Cormac McCarthy realism welcome.
2019, After the Fall of New York (1983)
A classic of Italian trash cinema, 2019 showcases the aftermath of nuclear fallout (infertility) and wraps it in a low-budget blanket of action and violence as our hero Parsifal endeavors to locate the last remaining fertile woman. We get needlessly intense weaponry (and outfits!), mutants and more in this gnarly clunker of an Arthurian homage.
Zardoz (1974)
If you want to blow a few movie-loving friends' minds, tell them you have a Sean Connery film you're dying to show them. Five minutes into Zardoz and you will have either demolished any respect for your taste they may have had - or forever earned it. The definition of "see it to believe it" films, Zardoz is the story of a post-apocalyptic world where the near-primal survivors worship an anti-procreation, gun-spewing stone head idol and (a scantily clad) Sean Connery discovers a secret, affluent society far removed from the violence of the outside world. Part heady sci-fi, part camp masterpiece, and part red loin cloth, Zardoz is unlike anything you've seen — for better or worse.
A Boy and His Dog (1974)
It is post-nuclear war, and the titular Boy, Vic (Don Johnson. Yes, that Don Johnson) and his dog, Blood, roam the land, scavenging for what they can to survive. That ol' Blood happens to be a telepathic pooch with a bottomless stomach and what they're scavenging for is primarily female companionship, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Darkly humorous and with a vaguely nasty streak, A Boy and His Dog is something of a cult classic and is pulp sci-fi at its ragged, eccentric best.
Solarbabies (1986)
In the new world order water is hyper scarce and orphans form friendships through competing in a rollerball/hockey hybrid - sounds realistic thus far. But when one of the Solarbabies (that's the name of their team, obviously) finds a glowing orb with supernatural powers, things get a little far-fetched. And by "far-fetched" I mean "ludicrously magnificent," because Solarbabies is a delirious ‘80s romp from start to end. Who knew all it took to rise up against your water-enslaving oppressors was a magic E.T. ball and some roller skates?
