• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Archive
    • London Blogs
  • Blog
  • Travel
    • London Theater Tickets
    • Shopping
    • Tips
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Maps
    • Parks
    • Resources
    • Restaurants
    • Top 10 London
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Buildings
    • Food
    • London Books
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Pubs
  • Londonism
    • Reviews
    • Fun London
    • Iconic London
    • Life in London
    • London Realities
    • Moving to London
    • Politics
  • The Tube
  • London History
    • Great London Buildings
    • Great Londoners
  • Contact
  • Guidebooks
    • 101 London Travel Tips – Guidebook
    • 101 Free Things to do in London

Londontopia

The Website for People Who Love London

You are here: Home / Site News / Featured / This is the End: The London Film Fiver – Five London Apocalypse Films

This is the End: The London Film Fiver – Five London Apocalypse Films

May 10, 2016 By John Rabon

There are lots of ways that civilisation can end, especially in movies.  Sometimes it’s through disease, a disaster, or man trying to play god.  In any event, the cataclysm results in the breaking down of society.  Sometimes it comes back and turns into a dystopia, but in the meantime, it’s generally every person for themselves with everyone just trying to survive.  Over the decades, London has been ground zero for any number of catastrophes that brought our precious little world to its knees.  Have a look at five apocalypse films that take place in London and let us know some of your favourites in the comments.

Reign of Fire

434582-reign-of-fire

Perhaps one of the more unusual selections on this list, the apocalypse doesn’t come from the traditional means of invasion, nature, or cataclysm, but from the simple act of digging a tunnel for the London Underground.  When workers breach a cave, they unleash dragons upon the unsuspecting populace. Flash-forward to the future, and Christian Bale’s protagonist Quinn is leading a ragtag community to survive and fight off the mythical beasts.  Matthew McConaughey’s group shows up with weapons and knowledge of how to fell the beasts and together they venture from Northumberland back to London to destroy the nest once and for all.

28 Days Later

28days_01

Zombies tend to be a popular means of bringing about a fictional apocalypse, though the reasons behind their emergence can vary.  In this case, it comes as a result of a virus and a group of animal rights activists who free some diseased chimps, get bitten, and then go into a rage-induced frenzy that leaves them mindless instruments of violence.  Much like with American programme The Walking Dead, Cillian Murphy’s protagonist Jim wakes up from a coma in a hospital in London to find a deserted city, a handful of survivors, and the rage zombies.  Fleeing London for promised safe haven in the North, they find the only monsters worse than the ones outside the military camp are the ones inside it.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

day-the-earth-caught-fire_19

In the 1960s, the thought of global warming seemed like science-fiction.  Beginning in another deserted London, 1961’s The Day the Earth Caught Fire features an Earth that has been knocked from its orbit as a result of Cold War nuclear testing, bringing the planet closer to the Sun and rapidly increasing the world’s temperature.  Told from the prospective of a small group of journalists, they can only prepare headlines of “World Saved” and “World Doomed” as they await the results of the proposed solution—more nuclear explosions.

Shaun of the Dead

Quality: Original. Film Title: Shaun Of The Dead. Photo Credit: Oliver Upton. Copyright:  © 2004 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The first of Edgar Wright’s “Cornetto Trilogy” of parody films, Shaun of the Dead takes on the zombies as the at-first oblivious Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) come to realize that the zombie apocalypse is happening around them.  Trying to collect their friends and family, Shaun’s only mission is to hold up in their local pub until “this all blows over”.  As one might expect, that doesn’t go terribly well the group and their journey is fraught with danger until the end of the film.  To play with the idea of origins of the zombism, Wright provides no real explanation, even blowing off several other films’ origins as preposterous in-universe.  With the tragedy under control, Britain comes to accept the zombies in the most British ways possible.

Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 AD

daleks-invasion-earth-2150-06

While this could have easily fit in the Fiver “Invasion Film” article, what marks this is different is that, at the time Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) arrives in 2150 London, the Daleks have already won.  Based on the Doctor Who serial “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”, the story largely follows the exact same plot but with some differences.  Gone are Barbara and Ian, replaced by Dr. Who’s niece Louise and hapless Police Constable Tom Campbell (future Doctor Who actor Bernard Cribbins), respectively, as well as not leaving his granddaughter Susan behind.  The Daleks have effectively reduced London to rubble and enslaved much of the population, with the exception of rebels that find the TARDIS crew.  After they team up to beat the Daleks, Dr. Who returns Tom to a moment slightly before they left, helping him capture some jewel thieves that he would have arrested if he hadn’t stumbled into the TARDIS thinking it was a real police box.

John Rabon
Author: John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

close

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Featured, Movies

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

About John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Get the Anglotopia/Londontopia App

Our Advertisers

If you are a mobile gamer, you may want to take a look at UK’s new mobile casinos and slots reviewed by NewCasinoUK.

Join the London Forum

  • MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN LONDON
  • What's Your Favorite Place in London?
  • Paddington Station

London Guide

  • London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission
  • Trip Planning: Top 10 Exhibitions To Plan Your 2018 Trips to London Around
  • London Guide: Our Favorite Restaurants in London – London Restaurant Recommendations for Americans – What’s Your Favorite?

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Support Londontopia

Search our Extensive Archive

Top 10 London

  • Ten Unusual Exhibits to See in London
  • London Pubs: Ten Thameside Pubs for a Pint and a View
  • Top 10 London: Ten More Things to Do Along the River Thames
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Shopping Centers in London
  • Museums of London: Ten Overlooked London Museums
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haggerston
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haringey
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Redbridge
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Hillingdon
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to Do in Canonbury

Recent Posts

  • Exhibition featuring 40-meter animations to open at National Gallery next year
  • Match Girls’ Strike of 1888 commemorated with blue plaque in east London
  • British Museum launches hieroglyphs exhibition to mark special anniversary
  • New giant waterlily and ‘botanical wonder of the world’ discovered in Kew
  • Wacky racers descend on Alexandra Palace for soapbox challenge
  • Eurostar boosts train services between London and Amsterdam
  • London City Airport bids to ease Saturday flight ban
  • London Alert: Announcing the Beautiful London Annual for 2023 – Special Holiday Weekend Pre-order Offer!
  • Freddie Mercury’s childhood stamp collection to go on display this summer at The Postal Museum
  • Heathrow Airport told to reduce passenger charges

Best Posts on Londontopia

  • 101 London Travel Tips
  • Top 100 London Attractions
  • How to Find the Cheapest Airfares to London
  • 10 Things NOT to do in London
  • Best London Guidebooks
  • 101 Free Things to do in London
  • London Lingo – A London Word Dictionary
  • Top 7 Tips for Doing London on the Cheap
  • Top 11 Myths American Believe about London
  • Guide to Eating in London
  • Best Times of Year to Travel to London
  • London Packing Tips
  • Top 11 Movies Set in London
  • Top Attractions off the Tourist Track
  • Top 5 Most Amazing London Hotels
  • Top 10 Hostels in London
  • Best Views in London Restuarants
  • London Taxi Ettiquette
  • Top 12 London Views
  • Great Fire of London
  • A Guide to Five of London’s Bridges
  • 10 Random Facts and Figures about Trafalgar Square
  • Top 100 British Slang Words

London Places to Explore

Bloomsbury Buckingham Palace Canary Wharf City of London Covent Garden Cutty Sark Greenwich Hampstead Hampton Court Palace Heathrow Houses of Parliament Hyde Park Imperial War Museum Islington Kensington Kensington Palace Leicester Square London London Eye London Transport Museum Museum of London National Gallery Notting Hill Piccadilly Circus Putney Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Regent's Street Royal Academy Selfridges Somerset House Southbank Southwark St Pancras St Paul's Cathedral Tate Britain Tate Modern The City Tower Bridge Tower of London Trafalgar Square V&A Wandsworth West End Westminster Westminster Abbey

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Recent Videos

Walk Around London Virtually Right Now – Watched Walker is the YouTube Channel We All Need Right Now

Jason Hawkes Shares a Beautiful Video of London From Above That We All Need Right now

London Tube: You’ve Got to Watch This Amazing Mesmerizing Animation That Shows the Real Geography of the London Underground

Video: The Basics of Crossrail – London’s New Underground Line

London History: The Place Where Old London Double Decker Buses Went to Die

London Video: A Look at the Great Smog of London

London Alert: Announcing Our latest book – London Tube 101 – History, Culture, and Travel on London’s Transport Network

Tube Histories: A Brief History of Docklands Light Railway

London Alert: Passengers told to avoid Tube on Monday during 24-hour RMT strike

Tube Histories: A Brief History of the District Line

It’s a hit! More than one million journeys were made on new central section of the Elizabeth line

Laura’s London: Elizabeth Line Opening Day First Person Report

Footer

About Londontopia

Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!

When We’re in London Next

We don’t currently have any travel plans to London but hope to visit at some point in 2021.

  • SEO Backlinks
  • Travel Blog

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Copyright © 2022 Anglotopia, LLC · Website Developed by Anglotopia, LLC · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.