Apocalyptic Films 2020: Subgenres of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

Included in this book are 50 reviews of horror and horror-adjacent apocalyptic films.

Apocalyptic films depict destruction, violence, fear, famine, and the terror that precede the end of civilization.

Each book in the Subgenres of Terror 2020 collection contains a ranked thematic watchlist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Mar 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778871252

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

Book preview

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Tales of Terror’s

Subgenres of Terror 2020

Apocalyptic Films

INTRODUCTION

Included in this book are 50 reviews of horror and horror-adjacent apocalyptic films.

Apocalyptic films depict destruction, violence, fear, famine, and the terror that precede the end of civilization.

Each book in the Subgenres of Terror 2020 collection contains a ranked thematic watchlist.

#50

Resident Evil: Afterlife

2010

6/8

Survivors of a zombie apocalypse attempt to find more of their own.

This is the first time screenwriter Paul W. S. Anderson directs since the original installment and it’s not a bad thing. He gifts us with extreme visual effects including bullet-time plane crashes, big scale explosions, high altitude stunts, terrifying computer generated monsters and larger than life martial art sequences. Moreover, he reclaims his characters and makes them sympathetic again.

A sense of confinement is just what the series needed after the last two films. After traveling from Tokyo to Alaska, Milla Jovovich’s character suffers a rough landing at a Los Angeles correctional facility where she spends most of the second act. We’re led to conclude she is human again and her character is no longer rigid. We get decent character exposure for the first time since Part 1.

Resident Evil: Afterlife has a bit of every installment in it. You can expect the same astonishing photography the franchise has provided so far, but the film has the weaknesses of its strengths. As always, Anderson sabotages potential for chills with high budget experimental camera tricks. This said, he sure knows how to craft a cool action scene and raises the bar higher than ever before.

#49

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

2004

6/8

A group of people attempt to evacuate a city plagued by zombies.

After some background story describing what destroyed Raccoon City, we pick up right after the events of Part 1 with Milla Jovovich’s character attempting to survive a new hell. We now have two lead characters; two strong women, whose storyline eventually converge. The movie doesn’t hold back on zombies and throws us right back in the mayhem before we can take our breath.

Action scenes are now more prominent, cooler and more elaborate but at the expense of build-up, atmosphere and suspenseful horror. The zombies are in greater number and there are virtually no slow moments. The subtle change in directing results in numerous jerky shots of monsters we’d rather watch unedited, and the occasional slow motion stunt right out of The Matrix. Sometimes, less is more…

The newly introduced villain, Nemesis, is a force to be reckoned with and redefines the word fear. The photography is still of the highest standards, the acting irreproachable and the set design completely immersing. Though it sometimes indulges in post-production effects and vapid subplots, all things considered, Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a worthy sequel that meets most expectations.

#48

28 Days Later...

2002

6/8

Survivors of an infectious plague travel to find sanctuary.

The writers make