13 Best Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Movies
5. The Terminator
The Terminator franchise has taken fairly direct dives into the post-apocalyptic. Terminator: Salivation is set the Skynet-destroyed future, while Terminator 2: Judgement Day has Sarah Connor dream about some pretty graphic nuclear explosions.
Yet the original Terminator takes the cake. The post-apocalyptic looms over Sarah Connor, as her escort Michael attempts to keep her as far as possible from the titular murder machine. The futuristic scenes are incredibly impressive, as man and machine clash with jeeps, hovercraft, and lasers. But Michael also shares the extreme measures humans have to take to remain undetected, living in squalor with barely any hope.
As the film progresses, the apocalyptic seeps into the 1980s as the Terminator wears down to his metallic form and wreaks havoc on the streets of LA. Streets lay in tatters, devoid of any humans; entire police headquarters are wiped out. It may not be the most in-your-face with the genre, but it certainly leaves you with a dark, empty feeling in your stomach.