The Last of Us is already becoming an enormous hit as a show, just like it was as a game, after only a few episodes of release. The show has breathed new life into the zombie genre, which hasn’t done as well cinematically or on TV in several years.
For this show to have garnered the level of success that can relaunch a genre in such fashion is laudable. While fans will be excitedly watching and re-watching each new episode, they should also be taking a look as well at some of the great zombie and post-apocalyptic movies that have helped shaped these genres over the years.
7 A Quiet Place
Not featuring zombies, but filled with the kinds of exciting post-apocalyptic, tension-filled moments that fans relate with the zombie genre, A Quiet Place was an incredible thriller. John Krasinski stars and directs this family-themed film set in a post-apocalyptic world where alien creatures have begun to hunt humanity based on sound.
Staying quiet became an art form in this movie, and A Quiet Place managed to subvert expectations and tropes along the way, becoming one of the best horror films of the decade in the 2010s. Whether it was an emotionally-charged moment between the family, chilling sci-fi elements, or an epic, tension-filled chase scene, the entire film was an incredible statement.
6 28 Days Later
Pivoting back to the zombie genre, it was Danny Boyle that made the idea of zombies moving quickly feel like more of a threat into a mainstream theme. From that terrifying thought came an epic and hugely memorable film for the genre in 28 Days Later.
Waking up in a deserted London, a bicycle courier played by Cillian Murphy discovers that a virus has ravaged the United Kingdom and left most of the population infected after only 28 days. Trying to survive and escape these horrors becomes a true story of survival which has gone down in history every bit as much as Night of the Living Dead.
5 I Am Legend
This film sits on the edge of the zombie genre, as the infected aren’t quite considered to be zombies. I Am Legend leaves Will Smith’s character Robert Neville alone in New York City, trying to survive with his dog against the infected hordes who come out only at night.
This sort of post-apocalyptic film moves far past the initial plague and tries to deal with the mental struggle of the loneliness that one could experience in such a scenario. As such, I Am Legend is also remembered for the poignant moments and the great performance of Will Smith. Comparable to the serious themes of The Last of Us, this is a great watch for any fans who have never seen it.
4 Train To Busan
The sheer terror, blinding speed, and strength of the zombies in Train to Busan are reminiscent of the level of a shake-up that 28 Days Later gave the genre. It didn’t fear to make a single zombie seem like a dire threat to humans, but simultaneously went further into the terror of what it would look like if almost every human in the overpopulated world turned.
The impressive scale and skill of Train to Busan are on the level of the highest-caliber Korean movies to date. While the hordes attack and the train journeys onwards, the heart of the film is in the heart-wrenching father-daughter relationship between the leads. Death and sacrifice still manage to mean something in the heart of the madness, making this a definite need-to-watch for fans of The Last of Us.
3 Finch
A more recent film, available on Apple TV and starring Tom Hanks, Finch is about a sweet relationship between a man and his creation, a robot named Jeff. One of the last people left alive after an apocalyptic event, Finch has created a robot merely for the purpose of looking after his dog once he dies.
The sweet relationship and journey that the three share together is the incredible heart of this film. While it is quieter and less action-packed than some of the post-apocalyptic movies fans are used to, this nevertheless has the emotional core that sets The Last of Us apart from other zombie and apocalyptic tales.
2 Mad Max: Fury Road
In a somewhat terrifying moment of thought, Mad Max as a franchise asks: what if instead of turning into zombies, everybody just went crazy? The insanity of most people stands in stark contrast to Max, Imperator Furiosa, and the young women they are trying to protect as they work to escape Immortan Joe and his armies of lunatics.
Mad Max: Fury Road is essentially one long chase sequence in a massively-scaled post-apocalyptic world. If the most edge-of-your-seat moments during The Last of Us are the things that really entice about the show, then this is the best post-apocalyptic film to check out next for sure.
1 Maggie
Dealing with similar themes to The Last of Us, Maggie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin as a father and daughter trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. When Maggie is bitten and is revealed to only have a matter of weeks before she turns, her father tries to take extreme steps to protect her.
This film had horror and thriller elements, but it also dealt with a similar emotionally charged relationship to that of The Last of Us. Schwarzenegger would never be able to play Joel as Pedro Pascal does, but his turn in this film was one of his better dramatic efforts, and it was intriguing viewing.