Lately, the post-apocalyptic genre has been everywhere again, after 28 Years Later brought one of horror’s most beloved franchises back from the dead. Before that, A Quiet Placeturned an original concept into one of the most reliable money-makers in modern cinema. And The Creator proved you don’t need a massive budget to still wow audiences in this genre. Studios clearly know there’s demand here, and they’ve been pumping out these end-of-the-world stories nonstop.
But for every great film in the genre, there are like 10 that completely miss the mark. Netflix’s The Electric State had a massive $320 million budget, a star-studded cast, and still ended up being one of the most disappointing movies of last year. That’s the risk with this genre. Building a ruined world and throwing in scary monsters isn’t that hard. Making people actually care about the characters and what they’re going through is where most films fall apart.
Which is exactly why one particular film deserves far more attention than it has ever received. Love and Monsters is the kind of post-apocalyptic adventure that did everything right and still somehow flew under the radar. The 2020 film is coming to Hulu starting May 1, and that is as good a reason as any to make the case for it.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
‘Love and Monsters’ Is the Most Fun Apocalypse You’ll Ever Watch
The reason most people have never heard of Love and Monsters comes down to its release situation. The film played in limited theaters for a single weekend due to the pandemic and only grossed around $1.1 million worldwide before disappearing. It was then quietly released on Netflix a year later, and most people wrote it off as another generic straight-to-streaming title not worth their time. That assumption could not be more wrong, though. Love and Monsters is one of the most fun and heartfelt apocalyptic movies in recent years. There’s action, adventure, jumpscares, romance, and of course, a post-apocalyptic setting with a whole lot of monsters.
The story takes place seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, when giant monsters took over the planet and forced humans to live underground. The movie follows Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien) as he reconnects with his high school girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick) over the radio and finds out that she’s now living 80 miles away at a coastal colony. With nothing left for him in his bunker, Joel decides to journey across the monster-filled wasteland to find her. It has the same wacky post-apocalyptic comedy as Zombieland, paired with a coming-of-age love story that feels straight out of a John Hughesfilm. So, for anyone looking for a lighter take on the end of the world, Love and Monsters should be right at the top of their watchlist come May.
Love and Monsters is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Starting May 1, it will also be available to stream on Hulu.
