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- The Quiet Earth
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Underrated Sci-Fi Movies Where There’s Only One Person Left Alive
An interesting sci-fi subgenre is the "last man on Earth" story. Typically, films about a lone survivor on the planet Earth reveal a desperate person who ultimately finds other survivors. Even the television series The Last Man on Earth featured a large cast of characters, though, like the films, it began with a lonely guy looking for other people. One book, Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, actually inspired three movies in three different decades (all are on this list): The Last Man on Earth (1964), starring Vincent Price; The Omega Man (1971), starring Charlton Heston; and I Am Legend (2007), starring Will Smith.
Of course, the genre isn't limited to men alone, as there are several impressive selections focusing on women (plus lovable robot Wall-E, although he's too well-known to make this list). The "last being on Earth" genre (to phrase it more inclusively) has been around for a long time, and there have been some strong entries over the years. Here are 14 of the most underrated "last person left alive" films ever made. Make sure to upvote your faves!
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Who's Left?: Jack Harper and his housemate and communications expert, Victoria "Vika" Olsen, are two of the only people left on the planet. Their job is to repair a network of drones tasked with hunting any "scavs," aliens who made an incursion 60 years previously. They also ensure the security of fusion generators that extract energy from the ocean water. A woman named Sally works from a station in orbit, and after a five-year mission, they will return to humanity's new home on Titan.
Are They Really Alone?: As it happens, they aren't alone at all. The scavs aren't aliens; they're actually human survivors who hide and fight against the drones.
What Happened To Earth?: In the year 2017, aliens encroached upon the planet, and while Jack believes the ensuing conflict resulted in the ruination of Earth by atomic devices, in reality something far darker occurred. The aliens cloned Jack and Vika after capturing them in Earth's orbit. They made armies of the clones, who swept across the planet, slaying most of humanity. Jack and Vika are themselves clones who believe the nuclear conflict story but are merely caretakers of the equipment being used by the aliens to extract every usable resource from the planet.
Is There Any Hope?: Yes. The film concludes with Jack and the scavs targeting the mothership, so the alien menace is taken out. This should leave the planet open for the survivors to rebuild their civilization, though it will likely take a long time.
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Who's Left?: Col. Robert Neville, MD, is the lone surviving human in all of Los Angeles. He is immune to a disease that turns people into mutant albinos who are vulnerable to sunlight.
Are They Really Alone?: At first, Neville appears to be alone, but he eventually meets three survivors named Dutch, Lisa, and Richie. However, they lack Neville's immunity and begin to succumb to the disease shortly after meeting him. Neville is able to save them by creating a serum derived from his own blood.
What Happened To Earth?: In March of 1975, a conflict between the Soviet Union and China resulted in the deployment of biological weapons. The majority of the Earth's population perished as a result, and Neville was only able to survive thanks to an experimental vaccine he took as the plague was devastating the human race. Those who survived were mutated and became a new race, calling themselves "The Family." They go after Neville night after night, and he puts up a fight throughout the duration of the movie.
Is There Any Hope?: The movie ends with Neville having perished at the hands of The Family and Dutch leading a group of survivors. They take the serum Neville developed and leave the city, planning to make a home for themselves in the wilderness. Their hope for survival is fairly high, so long as they don't come into conflict with The Family sometime in the future.
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Who's Left?: Lt. Col. Robert Neville works desperately to stay alive and find a cure for a genetically reengineered measles virus, which has wiped out 90% of the world's population. Of the remaining 10%, 9.8% have mutated into vampiric mutants who are vulnerable to sunlight but otherwise incredibly tough. Neville appears to be the only human left in Manhattan - and possibly even the world.
Are They Really Alone?: Just as it appears he has lost all hope, Neville is saved by a woman named Anna and a young boy named Ethan. The two are making their way to a survivors' camp in Bethel, VT, but Neville doesn't believe the camp truly exists.
What Happened To Earth?: The virus was developed to cure cancer, and it did. The nasty side effect nobody saw coming was the mutation of a small number of survivors and the demise of 5.4 billion people. The world is essentially left uninhabited, as the surviving "Darkseekers" are holed up in dark places throughout the day.
Is There Any Hope?: Yes, but one version of the film is a bit darker. In the theatrical release of the film, Neville sacrifices himself so Anna and Ethan can take the cure he engineered to the survivors' camp, thus saving humanity. In the director's cut, the original ending sees Neville come to realize that he is the one terrorizing the Darkseekers, snatching them up during the day to experiment on them. He then joins the two other survivors, and they all head to the camp to hopefully save the human race.
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Who's Left?: Regina "Reggie" Belmont is working in a movie theater when a cataclysm of epic proportions - a comet's tail passing over the Earth - devastates life around the globe. She is saved alongside her sister, Samantha (AKA Sam), because the two happen to be in a steel room at the time of the comet's passing. There are other survivors, but not many.
Are They Really Alone?: Not entirely. Reggie's boyfriend survives as well, though he is soon finished off by a zombie. Reggie and Sam meet up with other survivors, including a group of scientists who have survived the initial cataclysm but are slowly expiring.
What Happened To Earth?: The film reveals that a comet passes by the planet every 65 million years; and the last time, the dinosaurs were wiped out. When it passes, the comet litters the atmosphere with deadly red dust that disintegrates any living thing it touches. Others who are partially protected are turned into mindless zombies.
Is There Any Hope?: Yes, thanks to the rain. When the rains finally come, the dust is washed away, and the zombies crumble into dust. The survivors can rebuild, although their descendants will have to pay attention to the night skies in about 65 million years - or suffer the same fate.
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Who's Left?: Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the sole surviving human left in the world, and every evening, he hunkers down in his home. Every day, he goes out into the world to slay vampires - and he's gotten very good at it.
Are They Really Alone?: Yes and no. The world is populated with vampires, and he is the last uninfected person in the world, so he is technically alone. He does eventually meet a woman named Ruth. She informs him that she is a member of a community of infected people who managed to keep the infection at bay with a serum they developed, and that Morgan had apparently been targeting them along with the vampires. Ruth also says this made Morgan an enemy to her people, and she was sent in to spy on him. Learning this, Morgan creates a cure and gives it to Ruth, but he is captured and slain soon afterward.
What Happened To Earth?: Three years before the events of the film take place, a plague tore through humanity, eliminating most and transforming some into undead vampires. The vampires, in accordance with traditional rules, are vulnerable to garlic and sunlight, and can only be slain permanently via a wooden stake through the heart or by cremation.
Is There Any Hope?: When the film comes to an end, Morgan is deceased, but Ruth's blood can cure the rest of her people, offering some hope that humanity will survive.
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Who's Left?: At first, the movie shows only one person: Zac Hobson. He appears to be the only person left in the world after the catastrophic malfunction of an experiment he was involved with. He doesn't cope well with the event he refers to as "The Effect," and after a few days, his mental state breaks down completely. He goes on a rampage after the power fails, then devolves into a maniac who proclaims himself the "President of this Quiet Earth!"
Are They Really Alone?: Fortunately, Hobson is not alone; he meets up with a woman named Joanne. The two pair off and head out into the countryside to see if anyone else is around. Eventually, they find a third survivor, a Maori man named Api, and a love triangle ensues.
What Happened To Earth?: The experiment that resulted in The Effect was called Project Flashlight, and it was meant to create a global energy grid. It removed almost all of humanity from the world instead and began altering several physical constants, including the energy output of the sun.
Is There Any Hope?: There doesn't appear to be. The three realize they survived The Effect because they were all moments from their own demises when it happened. To keep it from happening again, Hobson attempts to wipe out the facility where the experiment was conducted, but when he succeeds, The Effect triggers once more, and Hobson wakes up to find himself on an alien world.
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Who's Left?: This film treats the "last man on Earth" trope a little differently, placing the story in a still-ongoing apocalypse. There are numerous people still alive, though the situation is bleak across the world, and most people north of Australia have lost their lives. The main characters include Commander Dwight Lionel Towers, Moira Davidson, Julia Osborne, Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes, Mary Holmes, and several others.
Are They Really Alone?: They have each other, but the world is fading away, and humanity won't be spared. An attempt to find people in San Francisco after a strange Morse code message is received results in disappointment. Upon their return to Australia, they find that radiation spreading across the planet has already made it there, and people are expiring.
What Happened To Earth?: World War III erupted in 1964 (five years in the future from when this film is set), resulting in the irradiation of the entire Northern Hemisphere. All life north of the equator is wiped out, and the radiation is making its way south towards Antarctica.
Is There Any Hope?: There doesn't appear to be any hope at all. Most of the characters elect to slay themselves rather than expire from exposure to radiation. When the film ends, nobody appears to remain anywhere on the planet.
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Who's Left?: Vic and his telepathic dog, Blood, scour the wasteland for food and women for Vic to take advantage of. The boy, having grown up without any education, has no understanding of ethics or morals. The pair work with one another to ensure their mutual survival, as Blood cannot forage for himself, and Vic cannot find what he needs without Blood's help.
Are They Really Alone?: No. They are just two survivors of an apocalypse that has left most people either deceased or mutated in some way. Few survivors are normal humans, but there are many spread about the wasteland.
What Happened To Earth?: The movie doesn't go into detail, but it's clear the world was wiped out by a nuclear apocalypse some time before the film's setting, which is 2024.
Is There Any Hope?: When the movie ends, Vic escapes imminent peril and sacrifices the woman who helped him so his dog can have a nice meal. Yes - he feeds the woman to his dog. The two walk off into the sunset to continue their existence as scavengers on the wasteland, so there's definitely hope for them, though it could be argued there isn't much hope for humanity given how badly society has crumbled.
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Who's Left?: Davos Hanich plays a nameless prisoner in a time after World War III. He is held in a post-apocalyptic Paris, where scientists work to invent time travel with the hope that a subject can travel to the past and future in an attempt to save the present.
Are They Really Alone?: Hanich isn't alone, but there are few people left in the world. He is able to travel through time because of a memory he retains from childhood, in which he witnessed a man perishing. In the memory, he focused on a beautiful woman, and those memories help to transfer him to the past, where he met and fell in love with that same woman. He then travels to the future, where he is given a device to save and rebuild his society. When he returns, he learns he is to be executed, so he escapes with the help of his friends from the future. In the past once more, he finds the woman, but is chased by one of his jailers, who slays him in front of his childhood self. As he's expiring, he realizes he witnessed his own demise so long ago.
What Happened To Earth?: A nuclear conflict ended the lives of most people in the world.
Is There Any Hope?: Absolutely. The future helped to save the present (its past); since the future scenes show a thriving society, it's clear that humanity will survive the apocalypse.
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Who's Left?: Ann Burden is the only survivor of a nuclear conflict. She lives in a valley spared from radiation and has managed to make a home for herself there. She farms and manages the land with a sizable store of supplies, which helps her to remain secure.
Are They Really Alone?: As it happens, she isn't alone. She observes a man in a strange radiation suit but keeps her distance from him. When he bathes in a radioactive stream, she continues to stay away, but when he takes ill, she gives in and reveals herself to the man, whose name is John. A third survivor, Caleb, arrives, and the three form a domestic partnership of shared survival. Tensions rise as the two men vie for Ann's affection, and this eventually results in a confrontation, which leaves Ann and John as the only two people left in the valley. (It's funny how often the apocalypse seems to lead to an awkward romantic triangle.)
What Happened To Earth?: The movie doesn't go into much detail other than to imply that a nuclear conflict wiped out civilization, leaving few, if any, other survivors.
Is There Any Hope?: John informs Ann that Caleb left to travel south, but she is unable to find him. The film comes to an end with Ann and John remaining in the valley, where they had moved the church's organ into the barn. Tensions remain between the two, but it looks as if their survival is ensured - at least for the time being.
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Who's Left?: Ralph Burton is working as a mine inspector when he becomes trapped inside a mine in Pennsylvania. After languishing there for days as a rescue crew attempts to dig him out, Ralph notices the sounds of rescue have stopped. He eventually claws his way out, only to find there are no people left at all and no bodies strewn about to explain what happened.
Are They Really Alone?: At first, yes, but after scouring New York City for other people, Burton meets up with another survivor, Sarah Crandall, and the two become friends. A radio signal from France shows that others have survived elsewhere, and the pair eventually meet another survivor named Benson Thacker.
What Happened To Earth?: An unnamed nation launched a radioactive device containing sodium isotopes that spread around the globe for five days, eliminating everyone on the planet who wasn't underground.
Is There Any Hope?: The movie does end on a hopeful note, suggesting a new beginning. Despite some conflict and a love triangle of sorts, the three characters set off into the sunset to begin anew. In time, if enough people did survive, there is hope for the human race.
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Who's Left?: Harry Baldwin and his wife, Ann, have a son, Rick, and daughter, Karen; they are on their way to a camping trip when the world comes to an end. They attempt to travel back home to Los Angeles to rescue Ann's mother, but are unable to enter the city because of the fallout.
Are They Really Alone?: No. They encounter numerous survivors en route to their vacation spot in the mountains, which will become their refuge in the post-apocalyptic world. As they attempt to survive in a cave, a group of hoodlums continually harasses them, ultimately overpowering and taking advantage of Karen. Eventually, the family regroups with another survivor, and they head to a safe zone where Rick can receive treatment for a wound.
What Happened To Earth?: WWIII broke out, and most of the planet's cities were wiped out. The government declares it to be a new "Year Zero," and the conflict ultimately comes to an end thanks to a truce between the US and its enemy.
Is There Any Hope?: Yes. The Army is working to restore the nation amid the destruction, and the movie concludes with a title card that says: "There must be no end - only a new beginning."
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Who's Left?: Harold Gern, Evelyn Gern, and Martin Joyce are the only people left on Earth. Harold and Evelyn are married, but their marriage is loveless, as Harold sees his wife as mere property. Martin is the couple's attorney who accompanied them on vacation to Puerto Rico.
Are They Really Alone?: By all accounts, they are, though it's possible more people survived and are scattered about the globe somewhere.
What Happened To Earth?: The film never clearly states what happened, but from what is shown, it appears that the atmosphere somehow became oxygen deprived, resulting in the asphyxiation of all oxygen-breathing life forms. The three were scuba diving when the atmosphere switched off its supply of oxygen, and they only survived because of their air tanks. When they went into the jungles of Puerto Rico, they found that the plants gave off enough oxygen for them to survive, but everyone else on the island had perished.
Is There Any Hope?: There is some hope for the human race in the short term, as there should be small pockets of people who survived in a similar manner. That being said, it's unlikely anyone will survive in the long term if the atmosphere is truly depleted of oxygen.
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Who's Left?: Nobody is left on Earth, and the entire planet exists in a quarantine zone. Cypher Raige and his son, Kitai, land on Earth. They must survive and fire a beacon so they might be rescued.
Are They Really Alone?: Yes. They are the only two humans on the entire planet.
What Happened To Earth?: An unexplained environmental cataclysm made the planet uninhabitable. The story is set a thousand years after the human race relocated to a new world called Nova Prime.
Is There Any Hope?: Not for Earth. The film concludes with the pair's rescue, and nobody is left behind to stay on the planet, which contains flora and fauna that have evolved mostly to off humans. The film's title, After Earth, is an apt representation of how people have survived and evolved outside of Earth's environment. Earth, to them, is an alien world.
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