10 Utterly Bleak Post Apocalyptic Movie Worlds

Wastelands like Mad Max's are undoubtedly grim. But, hey, at least there's a chance of riding on top of a big rig playing a flamethrower guitar. The Road is what you get when you take Max's barren world and rinse out all the colour and even the slightest bit of fun.

Whatever cataclysmic event left the world cold, grey and full of ashy rubble is left unexplained, because at this point explanations are irrelevant. It's just about surviving, keeping on the move and hoping that wherever you end up is better than the hellhole where you started.

As ever, there's violent gangs of scavengers and cannibals to contend with. But here it is with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and cynicism. This is a world so bleak that using a gun to save yourself from intruders is seen as a waste of a good suicide bullet. And even the good guys must be harsh to survive in such a dog-eat-dog environment.

Some post-apocalyptic worlds end with a glimmer of hope for the future. A baby is born or the gang lord defeated. In The Road, though, each moment of survival just seems like prolonging the inevitable. That's what makes it the bleakest of the bleak.