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Good morning! You may have read my post about unique post-apocalyptic movies over here. I’ve watched my fair share of fascinating, bizarre, and downright silly versions of the apocalypse in cinema. Some of them are shocking, hilarious, creative, or nauseating. The weirdness isn’t done yet! Here’s another list of unique post-apocalyptic movies that stand out from a crowded genre.
1) 9 Premise: Hostile robots eliminate all life on Earth and now a group of rag dolls have human souls. - This dark animated film takes place during an alternate version of the 1930s. Intelligent machines turned against the human race and destroyed every living creature on the planet, but a scientist used alchemy to imbue real souls in nine rag dolls before he died. These little beings are Earth’s last chance to defeat the robots and restore some component of life on Earth. 9 is a very weird movie, but it’s good for steampunk fans and provides a little bit of hope in a bleak future. 2) Blade Runner Premise: In a dystopian future, mankind uses artificial humans, called replicants, for slave labor, combat, prostitution, and dangerous occupations, but it’s hard to tell the difference between them and real people. - The original Blade Runner has quite a cult following and I find the story almost incomprehensible. Are replicants human? Can humans be a replicant without knowing it? I don’t know, but this film is definitely strange enough to belong on my post. 3) Daybreakers Premise: Vampires have taken over the world as the dominant species and they’re using the last remaining humans as living blood banks. - Apparently, vampires have been thriving as a successful civilization for many years. The last remnants of mankind are just living blood banks for vampire society, but there’s a problem. Only a handful of humans remain and the blood supply will be gone shortly. The vampires will run out of food and they’re facing a fate worse than death. Vampires can’t starve to death, but they can mutate into hideous bat-like monsters with cannibalistic hunger. I can’t recall another vampire movie like this one. 4) Dreamcatcher Premise: Human beings come in contact with extraterrestrial spores and give birth to alien worms in the most bloody and disgusting way. - Brace yourself. A hostile alien species brings spores to Earth and infects a number of humans. These spores cause alien larvae to grow inside the hosts. How do you think the aliens are born? Alien worms rip through the hosts rectums and kill them with bloody results. That’s one heck of an alien invasion! I suppose it’s like Alien, except the parasite explodes out of your butt instead of your chest. What a way to go out. 5) Dredd Premise: The Sun is slowly burning up the Earth and the surviving humans are taking refuge in crime ridden mega buildings. - So many things are going wrong in this world. Regular cities don’t exist anymore. Gigantic mega structures are supposed to be a safe substitute to keep the human race away from the Sun’s deadly heat. Unfortunately, crime has gone rapidly out of control. A new legal system dispatches mercenaries who act as judges, juries, and executioners. These judges are going to blow away criminals whenever possible to protect the public. Dredd is a super bloody, R rated film, but you should check it out. It’s surprisingly good, if you don’t mind violent action movies. 6) Godzilla: King of the Monsters Premise: Prehistoric titans woke up from hibernation and now they’re stomping all over us. - The second entry in the Godzilla revival series brought the entire cast of monsters in full swing. Godzilla has a radioactive fire breath, Rodan can send people whirling through the air while flapping his wings, and Ghidorah wants to burn down the world. Seriously, we’ve been living on Earth among these giant creatures and didn’t notice until they woke up. I guess we’re not a particularly observant species. This movie is interesting because it flips our reality upside down. The human race went from Earth’s dominant species to ants who are being squished by titans. That must be quite a humbling experience. 7) Killer Clowns from Outer Space Premise: Alien clowns invade our world to turn the human race into a buffet. - Okay, this movie is really stupid. However, it’s also funny in a campy way and these alien clowns look pretty scary. They invade our world, capture many humans, and cocoon them in cotton candy. Over time, the captives become liquified and the monster clowns drink them with straws. That’s just another embarrassing way to die. Bon appétit! 8) Mortal Engines Premise: A colossal earthquake shatters the Earth’s continents and the last remaining humans live on steampunk mobile cities. - I don’t know how they did it, but mankind found a way to survive an extinction level earthquake, build steampunk cities, mobilize them, and traverse the wasteland for resources. That means larger cities, like London, will devour smaller communities. It’s like Darwinism on steroids! I think any number of steampunk films deserve to be on this post, but Mortal Engines is definitely one of the most memorable selections. 9) Phantoms Premise: Numerous civilizations disappeared without a trace, throughout history, and it seems like a supernatural amoeba was responsible. - So many freaky creatures want to eat us. This movie features a huge, ancient, and hungry amoeba that hibernates for long periods of time and awakens to feast on human communities. If you want to know what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke, this creature was responsible. Somehow, it absorbs our memories and can dispatch shape shifting segments of itself in human form. Just go with it. Otherwise, you’ll get confused. Yeah, the shape shifting and man-eating amoeba deserves a spot on my list. 10) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Premise: The zombie apocalypse happens during the Victorian era - This movie is a comedy and a farce on Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice. It’s a refreshing take on the zombie apocalypse. I can’t think of many zombie outbreaks that take place during the 19th Century. It has a decent amount of dry humor, satire, and fun action scenes. If you’re looking for a different type of zombie flick, check it out. 11) Prince of Darkness Premise: A liquified version of Satan is possessing a number of gullible humans. - Believe it or not, this film is part of John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy. A group of clergymen and scientists find a cylinder that’s full of black goo, which turns out to be Satan. I’m not kidding. This substance infects or possesses a number of characters in an effort to corrupt mankind. I’m not giving away the ending, but this film is really strange and a bit convoluted. It’s definitely weird enough to be part of this post. 12) Raya and the Last Dragon Premise: Evil shadow creatures are turning everyone into stone and the last dragon is the key to our survival - Who knew a Disney princess could survive the apocalypse? The darkness in human hearts create a race of shadow monsters who can turn all living beings into stone. It seems like everyone is living on borrowed time, but a princess, named Raya, goes on a quest to find a dragon who can bring the light back to Earth. Honestly, Raya and the Last Dragon is potentially the best film of 2021 and it’s one of the few animated movies with apocalyptic undertones. 13) Ready Player One Premise: Earth is grossly overpopulated and mankind escapes from their unpleasant lives by spending time in a virtual video game world. - In a distant future, people take video gaming to an extreme. Mankind is suffering from overpopulation, disease, famine, and nuclear war. So, most individuals turn their attention to a virtual reality world, called the Oasis, as a pathway to escapism. This colorful and elaborate blockbuster is much less bleak than the average dystopian film. You don’t even have to care about video games to enjoy this movie. Try it out if you’re looking for a fun and high tech adventure. 14) Return to Oz Premise: Dorothy goes back to Oz and finds a post-apocalyptic wasteland. - This sequel to the original Wizard of Oz is one of the weirdest movies in Disney’s library. It’s also surprisingly dark for a children’s film. Dorothy spends time in a mental institution and escapes to Oz, but everything changed from her first visit. The yellow brick road is just rubble, the Emerald City is a ghost town, and every resident of Oz was turned into statues. Dorothy finds a new team of allies, including a talking chicken, a steampunk robot, a tall stick figure with a pumpkin head, and a sofa with a moose’s head. They take on an evil witch and the Nome King to restore life back to Oz. I’ve never seen such a psychedelic version of Oz before this movie. 15) Soylent Green Premise: Due to global warming, mankind is running out of natural food, so corporations are turning human corpses into an artificial food substitute without telling anyone. - Earth is becoming more toxic and uninhabitable. Natural food sources are scarce and mankind primarily lives on artificial sustenance that undergoes special engineering. A new product, called Soylent Green, is the tastiest food item on the market. Unfortunately, it’s being manufactured from human corpses, but people love it anyway. Would it be accurate to say you are what you eat? 16) The Thing Premise: An alien from another planet masquerades as human beings until it shape shifts into a mutant nightmare. - This film is probably the most well known entry in John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy. The Thing takes place in the arctic among a research team who becomes infested by a parasitic alien that replicates living cells and mimics them. Basically, it takes over a person’s body and masquerades for a period of time, but the disguise eventually breaks down and the creature turns into a hideous monster. It can hop into a new host at any time, which creates paranoia among the group. The alien’s ultimate plan is to escape the arctic and take over all living organisms. This cult hit is has wide acclaim to this day, especially by horror fans. Watch this movie if you enjoy good body horror films from the 1980s. 17) Thor: Ragnarok Premise: The Norse Gods are facing their apocalypse and it’s happening with 80s neon, music, and flair. - Sometimes the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes with a hardcore apocalyptic theme. Thor: Ragnarok is one of the most entertaining and memorable examples. You might not envision Marvel superhero movies as particularly weird or unique, but this film is mashing together Norse mythology’s version of the apocalypse, a musical score with 80s influences, comic relief, video game elements, flashy VFX, and Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. It has so many random elements, but the movie comes together pretty well. Ragnarok also marks a major shift in Thor’s personality, going from the most serious Avenger to the funniest one. 18) Tooth and Nail Premise: One day, the world ran out of gasoline and fossil fuels, which led to the collapse of civilization. - In the near future, the world lies in ruin with mass violence and cannibalism because we can’t function without gasoline. Cars, buses, trains, airplanes, and all motorized equipment stops working. That means important supplies like food, water, textiles, medicine, and electronics can never reach the human population. Tooth and Nail is a B level movie with a low budget and unimpressive acting, but it makes a good point. I would call this film both realistic and very unusual at the same time. 19) Us Premise: All human beings have doppelgängers who live underground and now they want to replace us on the surface world. - Great. Our government screws over the world again. Some time ago, scientists created a doppelgänger or evil twin for every human on the planet. These primitive humanoids live in underground shelters with minimal food, sanitation, and care. Our doppelgängers rebel against the surface world and go on a homicidal rampage to replace us. It seems like they became tired of living in the shadows. Yeah, the doppelgänger apocalypse is a thing. Let’s put it on my weird apocalypse post. 20) Warm Bodies Premise: Girl meets zombie and a quirky romance unfolds. - This unconventional zombie film is more like a teen romance than a horror movie. Mankind has been in the middle of a zombie outbreak for a long time and they’re coping the best as possible. One zombie becomes infatuated with a young lady and they eventually develop feelings for each other. Perhaps, there’s a way to bring zombies back to life as functional humans. I find the premise somewhat creepy, but the movie is ultimately endearing and a lot different than the average zombie fare. All right! I hope this post was unique, weird, and silly enough for you. Watch for similar posts about strange apocalyptic literature, television shows, and video games. Leave a comment if you can think of more weird and freaky apocalyptic movies. Speaking of dystopian settings, I hope you’re all safe at work, school, and the community in general. We’re not done with the Delta variant yet, but vaccines and safety measures will get us there in time. God bless and let’s survive the apocalypse together!
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Welcome back, my fellow gamers! I'm still working through my backlog of video games and trying to figure out the best releases on modern consoles. Many people are living frugally during the pandemic and there's only so much cash to go around for something like video games. Should you invest in new releases or older games that might be on sale? Here are my findings with a group of random selections.  Let's start with Tekken 7, a fighting game from a popular franchise. This game reminded me why I never appreciated the Tekken series. I suppose it's all right for hardcore fans of the series, but it seems mostly inaccessible to everyone else. Your character will always have a huge disadvantage. The computer tries really hard to make the game an uphill battle. For example, the player character moves slowly, blocking is ineffective, and a lot of moves don't even work. My fists literally went through opponents with no effect, dozens of times with several characters. On the flipside, opponents move very quickly, break through your blocks, and are impervious to many attacks. Maybe people have to play this game a certain way, but I think it has a lot of issues. Just skip this game unless you're a huge Tekken fan. It's a popular series, but most franchises have their share of strong and weak titles.  Resident Evil Village is one of the biggest releases this year and I'm happy to review it. This entry might not be a traditional Resident Evil game, but it's an impeccable example of survival horror. I really enjoy the weapon selection, enemy variety, environment, inventory management, and voice acting. It's a real scream fest with a nice balance of haunting ambiance, classic monsters, jump scares, tension, and some action to make the game a little more exciting. Village has an interesting cast of villains and a unique spin on European folklore. The story is quite bizarre, although it will maintain your attention from beginning to end. Some fans of Resident Evil might feel like this game changes too many elements, but let's face it. Resident Evil is a really old series and we need some fresh ideas. So far, Resident Evil Village is my game of the year and it's a survival horror game with very high quality. It’s definitely not a good choice for people who can’t handle scary games. Village made me jump out of my skin many times. Regarding every0one else, give it a shot, even if you’re waiting for a price drop.  New Pokémon Snap is a spinoff from the original Pokémon series. Basically, you’re only taking pictures of wild pokémon. This game doesn’t include any combat and it’s not truly an open world environment, despite the marketing. You can alter the pictures and use them for research, but don’t expect a lot of variety. Personally, I find this game completely boring, even though it’s cute. The gameplay allows players to entice pokémon with treats, but it’s mostly just a tour on a trolly in different environments. I’m saying not saying the game is bad. It’s just super niche. I believe New Pokémon Snap is a good choice for people who really enjoy photography. Honestly, this game probably won’t satisfy the majority of Pokémon fans. It’s a full priced game without a lot of incentives, so most gamers can probably ignore this one.  Hades is an innovative roguelike game and one of last year’s contenders for Game of the Year. It should be the gold standard for roguelike games in the foreseeable future. The graphics take a lot of influences from Japanese anime and the combat is amazing with fluid controls, different weapons and fighting styles, intense dungeon encounters, and a big variety of upgrades. Dying is an important part of the story’s progression. You’ll lose temporary upgrades and retain permanent ones that will make runs easier and more satisfying. Hades includes a wide cast of fascinating characters and a well developed story with a unique twist on Greek mythology. Each time my character died, I couldn’t wait to start all over again. It also includes a number of side missions and challenges that add extra variety. Hades should be part of every gamer’s library. It’s a lot of fun and a fantastic twist on the roguelike genre. This game is also cheaper than most high profile titles. I suggest making this game a priority. You can even play it on Xbox Game Pass.  Donut County is a satisfying and humorous indie puzzle game. Believe it or not, you’re a gaping hole in the ground that moves around and swallows everything in the environment. Sometimes you’ll have to solve puzzles to swallow certain items and it’s a fun experience with a delightfully silly story. Donut County isn’t very difficult and it doesn’t feature a lot of combat. However, the story, unique gameplay, and reasonably short length should make the experience worth your while. There’s just something really satisfying about gobbling up everything in sight. Some gamers might say this title is a glorified cell phone game, but I believe it has a decent amount of substance. Donut County is entertaining, inexpensive, and available on Xbox Game Pass. Definitely check it out if you want to try something different and funny.  Mortal Kombat XL is another entry in a long running and bloody fighting series. It includes all of the DLC and full character roster. I have divided thoughts about this game. Mortal Kombat XL is entirely fine if you’re a big fan of the series. This game is very intense and players already need extensive knowledge about the combat system. It’s not great for gamers like me, who only play M0rtal Kombat occasionally. You need expert knowledge about each character’s move sets, which is really annoying. It gives you the chance to spend time training and memorizing skill sets, but that process takes hours or more accurately, several days to complete. But if you’re already a master of Mortal Kombat, this game should be a very exciting and satisfying experience. I think gamers belong in two categories. Buy this game if you’re a huge Mortal Kombat fan who’s familiar with everyone’s move sets. Other gamers will find Mortal Kombat XL frustrating, so avoid this one. I would say Mortal Kombat 11 is more accessible to the general public and gamers who don’t play as many fighting titles.  Biomutant is a post-apocalyptic RPG with critters who are skilled in combat. This game has a unique premise, but the overall product wasn’t put together very well. The missions are repetitive, the combat is wonky, and the environment feels really small for an open world. On the positive side, it has a strong character creation tool. Players can customize their critter with various attributes, such as strength, agility, persuasion, radiation tolerance, and additional elements. You can also put together a vast arsenal of weapons with junk that you’ll collect from exploration. This game is tonally inconsistent with silly humor, deathly serious stakes, and a generally weird vibe. By the way, most of the humor isn’t very funny. Despite having a decent RPG system, Biomutant is a small game that’s trying to be much bigger. The most important elements lack refinement, the graphics aren’t very impressive, and the gameplay feels like a slog. You’re not missing anything by skipping this game. If you’re super curious, wait for a deep sale.  Here we go with Doom 64; another entry in the original Doom series. It’s very similar to most of the retro Doom games. This game is a first person shooter with a big arsenal of powerful weapons and frantic pacing against hoards of demons. By now, most gamers realize this formula is the typical standard for the Doom franchise. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get lost because this game doesn’t have a map. I also found it difficult to find missing keys that unlock doors and other essential components for story progression. Due to brisk walking and the camera angles, it’s also really easy to get motion sickness. Naturally, this game doesn’t have much of a plot, but I don’t think anyone plays Doom for the story.
I couldn’t get into Doom 64. It’s a bit confusing and the movement gave me nausea. I don’t think Doom 64 is a particularly important release for gamers who enjoy first person shooters. It’s fine for lovers of the overall Doom series and that’s all. However, this game is very cheap on the digital market. I saw it on the Microsoft store for $4.99 at one point. It’s also available on Xbox Game Pass. That wraps up another round of game reviews. I’ll probably post more reviews in a few weeks. Most of these games aren’t brand new, but high quality doesn’t change over time. Generally speaking, games are either good or mediocre. They’re worth your time and money or a total waste. Unfortunately, a lot great video games fall through the cracks because people forget about them. What are your favorite games of 2021, so far? Do you think a lot of good games aren’t getting enough recognition? Leave a comment. I would love to read your thoughts. Keep watching for other topics, such as movies, writing, sports, streaming, etc. The Delta variant is still running amok, so be careful. Best wishes and come back again next week. |
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May 2019
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