10 Awesome & Fun Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Movies Like Mad Max


Mad Max takes the classic genre of post-apocalyptic survival and transforms it into something fun and lighthearted, which has allowed it to forge an entire subgenre of its own that many films have aimed to replicate over the years. George Miller’s original movies were extremely forward-thinking for their time, and the recent sequels have only pushed that innovative storytelling even further. The best Mad Max movies are those that attempt to break free of convention by putting their own fun, awesome twist on the genre without losing the inherent suspense of the post-apocalyptic genre.




George Miller’s movies have a brilliant sense of scope and magnitude that really lends itself effectively to this universe, with his vision of the dystopian future varying strongly from most others that have been captured on film. In the years since the filmmaker’s success, many other projects have tried to achieve a similar style, blending bright colors and eccentric characters with more grounded, gritty worldbuilding. While few have captured the same cinematic juxtaposition, many great films come close.


10 Love & Monsters

Directed By Michael Matthews


Love & Monsters tells the story of a young man named Joel who’s been forced underground after enormous monsters took over the surface of the Earth. In the film, Joel reconnects with his high school girlfriend through scattered radio transmissions, setting out to find the love of his life despite the creatures that stand in his way. It’s a fascinating blend of action and romance that’s rarely seen in this genre, but Michael Matthews’ distinctive filmmaking flair gives it a very personal, touching side too.

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There aren’t many movies like Love & Monsters: it’s exciting and dramatic, but there’s also a self-aware undertone that runs throughout as Joel (perhaps foolishly) pursues his love in the face of a world-ending catastrophe. It’s an incredibly breezy watch, and much of this comes down to Dylan O’Brian’s charismatic performance and the incredibly stylish editing choices on display. Much like the Mad Max franchise, Love & Monsters also follows one single protagonist for the majority of the runtime, which really pushes home the themes of isolation and self-reliance.

9 Turbo Kid

Directed By Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, RKSS, and Yoann-Karl Whissell

Turbo Kid Movie Poster

In a post-apocalyptic future, THE KID, a young solitary scavenger obsessed with comic books must face his fears and become a reluctant hero when he meets a mysterious girl named APPLE. Despite their efforts to keep to themselves, ZEUS, the sadistic and self-proclaimed leader of the Wasteland, plagues THE KID and APPLE. Armed with little more than blind faith and an ancient turbocharged weapon, THE KID learns of justice and friendship and embarks on an incredible journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl of his dreams.

Director
François Simard , Anouk Whissell , Yoann-Karl Whissell

Release Date
August 15, 2015

Cast
Munro Chambers , Laurence Leboeuf , Michael Ironside , Edwin Wright , Aaron Jeffery

Runtime
93 Minutes

Turbo Kid may not be the most well-known film in this particular subgenre, but it’s arguably one of the most underrated. The story follows a young comic book fan who molds his personality after his most beloved heroes in order to save his enigmatic friend from the clutches of Zeus, the Greek God-turned-supervillain. In place of the vehicular wasteland of Mad Max, this film adopts a more retro-inspired post-apocalyptic world that takes huge inspiration from the world of Greek mythology.


Much like Mad Max, Turbo Kid understands the importance of creating a unique, distinct style that’s entirely different from anything else that came before it. This ‘90s-inspired wasteland of Greek myths and legends is something that’s never really been explored before, and as a result, Turbo Kid manages to keep the audience engaged with ease. The idea of battling against Zeus himself is something that sounds absurd on paper, but the gripping writing and engaging performances make everything seem somehow believable.

8 Hell Comes To Frogtown

Directed By Donald G. Jackson and R.J. Kizer

Hell Comes To Frogtown (1988) - Poster

Director
Donald G. Jackson , R.J. Kizer

Cast
Roddy Piper , Sandahl Bergman , Cec Verrell , William Smith , Rory Calhoun , Nicholas Worth , Kristi Somers , Cliff Bemis , Brian Frank , Eyde Byrde , Julius LeFlore , Suzanne Solari , Lee Garlington , Dan Coplan

Character(s)
Sam Hell , Spangle , Centinella , Captain Devlin , Count Sodom , Looney Tunes , Bull , Arabella , Leroy , Commander Toty , Patton , Squidlips , Runaway Girl , Briefing Officer , Frog Guard

Runtime
88 Minutes


1988’s Hell Comes To Frogtown is one of the most obvious Mad Max follow-ups, taking very obvious inspiration from Miller’s classic franchise while maintaining a distinct style of its own throughout. The film centers around a world that’s been decimated by a nuclear holocaust that renders the majority of humanity unable to reproduce – but one man seems to hold the secret to an important mission. It’s one of the most entertaining post-apocalyptic action movies to watch after the Mad Max films, and not least thanks to the many similarities.

This world isn’t too dissimilar from our own, which is crucial when trying to build a post-apocalyptic wasteland.


But despite these similarities, it’s unfair to say that Hell Comes To Frogtown is a direct copy of Mad Max. The films have much in common, but Jackson and Kizer’s ‘80s flick also managed to forge an identity of its own: it’s flashy, stylized, and often corny, but there’s also an emotional core that audiences can relate to. This world isn’t too dissimilar from our own, which is crucial when trying to build a post-apocalyptic wasteland. There have to be enough similarities for audiences to see reality in the fiction, which Hell Comes To Frogtown achieves effortlessly.

7 Juan Of The Dead

Directed By Alejandro Brugues

Andrea Duro and Alexis Díaz de Villegas in Juan Of The Dead

Juan of the Dead is much more of an all-out comedy than most other post-apocalyptic adventures, but the dramatic core of the film will be familiar to anybody who’s enjoyed Miller’s classics. What begins as a fairly simple zombie apocalypse quickly becomes something much more complex and original when protagonist Juan starts a zombie-killing business to make a living in the wasteland that Earth has become. Things quickly get out of hand, however, and Juan is forced to battle against the undead for survival, not just profit.


Juan of the Dead has the same overall spirit as Mad Max, even if the stories are very different – it’s a narrative that tries to see the light in an overwhelmingly gloomy world, dissecting the nature of humanity in the face of its extinction. Juan of the Dead is available on streaming to rent or buy, and it’s one of the most subversive examples of this particular subgenre that somehow remains criminally underappreciated.

6 Warm Bodies

Directed By Jonathan Levine

warm bodies

Director
Jonathan Levine

Release Date
January 31, 2013

Cast
Nicholas Hoult , Teresa Palmer , Dave Franco

Runtime
97 Minutes


While Warm Bodies may not have the overwhelming scope and magnitude of Miller’s Mad Max franchise, it takes the same flashy storytelling and applies it on a much smaller scale. The story follows a zombie who’s known only as “R, who falls in love with a human named Julie whom he saves from the other zombies running rampant in this post-apocalyptic version of Earth. Despite their many differences that make it impossible for them to be together, the couple tries to overcome their problems and be together.

If that story sounds familiar, it’s because Warm Bodies is essentially a horror retelling of William Shakespeare’s classic romance Romeo & Juliet. It’s a modern reimagining of the story that applies the bones of the story to a completely different situation, with this zombie apocalypse serving as a stylish backdrop to one of the most unconventional Shakespeare adaptations.

5 The Night Eats The World

Directed By Dominique Rocher

the night eats the world


Although Mad Max has a very distinct style (which usually pertains to large cars, dusty deserts, and violent criminals), the overall atmosphere can be found in a huge variety of different stories. For example, while The Night Eats The World doesn’t have the flashy action or large-scale conflict of Mad Max, the film’s unwavering dedication to style and flair is very similar.

The Night Eats the World
is a completely original spin on a well-known concept, which proves that zombie movies are never going out of style.

The story follows a French musician who wakes up in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Paris after an eventful party and finds the entire city overrun by undead zombies. Unaware of what brought the world to its knees overnight, Sam sets out to overcome the zombie hoards and figure out whether he’s truly the last survivor of the apocalypse. The Night Eats the World is a completely original spin on a well-known concept, which proves that zombie movies are never going out of style.


4 Army Of The Dead

Directed By Zack Snyder

Army of the Dead undeniably ranks among the most well-known movies in this particular subgenre, landing on Netflix in 2021 and immediately becoming one of the streaming service’s most successful projects. Directed by the hugely divisive Zack Snyder, the film follows a group of thieves and criminals who take the ultimate gamble in a decimated Las Vegas by entering no-man’s-land and attempting the most dangerous heist they can imagine.

Much like Mad Max, the film’s well-constructed narrative and intricate world-building started a prospective franchise that continued with Army of Thieves later in 2021. Although Netflix ultimately canceled the Army of the Dead franchise, its short-lived existence still proved that there’s space in today’s cinematic climate for original, stylish stories such as these, which is exactly how Mad Max became so popular in the ‘80s.


3 Night Of The Comet

Directed By Thom Eberhardt

Night of the Comet (1984)

Director
Thom Eberhardt

Release Date
November 16, 1984

Cast
Robert Beltran , Catherine Mary Stewart , Kelli Maroney , Sharon Farrell , Mary Woronov , Geoffrey Lewis

Runtime
95 minutes

Another defining post-apocalyptic adventure of the 1980s, Night of the Comet takes place in a world that’s been wiped out by a deadly projectile from space and left the surface of the planet almost uninhabitable. The story follows two sisters, played by Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart, who attempt to survive in the wasteland by battling the radioactive creatures that have begun to thrive on the surface.

Night of the Comet has the exact same sweeping, action-driven style as Mad Max, with all the exciting set pieces and cinematic visuals that go along with it. The film was clearly inspired by George Miller’s successful universe, but it manages to forge a flashy, pulpy identity of its own all the same.


2 Zombieland

Directed By Ruben Fleischer

Director
Ruben Fleischer

Release Date
October 2, 2009

Cast
Emma Stone , Jesse Eisenberg , Woody Harrelson , Abigail Breslin

Runtime
88 minutes

Zombieland may be a little saturated and mainstream for some audiences, but there’s no denying that it does a great job of bringing the exciting action of Mad Max to a more familiar, reliable narrative. It follows a group of apocalyptic survivors who undertake a dangerous road trip across America in search of the people and possessions they left behind during the incident that wiped out the majority of Earth’s population.

The film is incredibly fun to watch, with infectious performances and hilarious action set pieces that rival even the most grandiose moments of the
Mad Max
franchise.


Zombieland has a brilliant soundtrack and plenty of showy production that gives it a very bright, unforgettable style in the same vein as Mad Max and its modern sequels. The film is incredibly fun to watch, with infectious performances and hilarious action set pieces that rival even the most grandiose moments of the Mad Max franchise.

1 Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Directed By James Cameron

T2 Judgement Day Movie Poster

Release Date
July 3, 1991

Runtime
137 Minutes

While The Terminator and its immediate sequels are more frequently considered all-out action spectacles rather than post-apocalyptic survivals, there are elements of the genre that certainly bleed over and apply here too. The film takes place in an alternate version of the 1990s, after a killer robot from the future is sent back in time to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of the machines.


Terminator 2 builds upon the greatness of the original by spending more time in this post-apocalyptic future, exploring how the world came to ruin and offering some fascinating commentary on the path our own society is taking in a similar direction. In this way, it shares many similarities with Mad Max and its gripping commentary on human nature and inherent violence.



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