7. The Natural Disaster Apocalypse
Speaking of getting wiped out, sometimes nature itself takes exception to mankind's shenanigans. In these types of situations, there's nothing we can do except ride out the storm or get the hell off of Planet Earth! In The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, both by whizz-bang auteur Roland Emmerich, this is due to natural changes in the environment - an encroaching ice age or solar flares -, or perhaps a comet or asteroid from deep space (Armageddon, Deep Impact); like the dinosaurs before us, humanity is likely to be next on the long list of casualties. While a plucky team of misfits can usually prevent the hunk of alien rock from smashing into terra firma, as with the viral apocalypse we are, for the most part, helpless. Sure, you can probably save a few of your friends and family, take up refuge in a mine, but chances are grandma's still going to end up taking a dip in the acid lake... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPglegvitJo Most natural disaster apocalypse films are just destruction porn, an excuse to what man-made monuments swept away by flood tides or roaring tornadoes - because mankind didn't cause it and can't stop it, it's pretty much chaos for chaos' sake. If you like you cinematic apocalypses with a little more overt meaning, however...