The End of Us All

So there you have it: a small portion of apocalyptic texts to stir the imagination.

Scepticism aside, the many different versions of the end of the world really do show different aspects of human nature. Of course, our number one instinct of survival is the main one. Another aspect that seems to make a regular appearance is the idea of loneliness. The idea of being the last human…well I’m sure there are not words to describe it. It’s amazing that in most, if not all texts, the person who believes they are alone in the world doen’t kill themselves out of extreme misery. Maybe they don’t because they think there are others out there still.

That’s why I prefer the texts where there are a group of survivors, because it really shows just how much you need others around you, to help you survive, to talk to, to keep you sane. To rely on.

For the record, my favourite type of apocalypse is the zombie apocalypse. There is so much to play on, so much imagination to glee from these sorts of texts. They have even inspired me to write a fiction story of my own.

My advice, just in case it does happen next year, or even in the distant future, is to not think you are invincible; have a team with you. Work as a team and be prepared for anything. That’s why I have an open mind, so I can be prepared for anything!

I hope you have enjoyed looking at this imaginative and perhaps liable topic as much as I have. I say goodbye to you all, and I hope to see you all on the other side.

Anger Will End Us All

Want a more adult film involving the end of the world? Look no further than Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. It is another epidemic in the form of a virus, but not one that turns you into a zombie or even a vampire-like creature. It turns you into a very angry thing, not necessarily human either. This is why this film falls into the category of ‘other’.

The virus, known as Rage, gets released from a science laboratory, thanks to British animal rights activists who have broken in to free chimpanzees being used for medical research. They also find and free Rage virus victims, which attack and infect the activists. Hence we have our apocalypse, or at least an apocalypse of Great Britain.

We then meet one of our protagonists, Jim, who has been in hospital during the whole outbreak, waking up 28 days after it starts. Hence the title of the film. Clever, ay? Anyway, he wakes up to find London in devastation and all too quiet. He gets attacked by a horde of the ‘infected’ and is saved by two survivors.

A lot of drama happens and they end up finding a group of survivors, military who are based near Manchester. We find out that they have a cure, but it is nothing like you expect. Basically it is to wait for the infected to die of starvation and then force ‘sexual servitude’ on the female survivors, in a bid to repopulate. Lovely.

Our protagonists escape, leaving all the military survivors infected. But Jim has been shot and is therefore hospitalised…again. He wakes up to find his friends making a banner to catch the eyes of other survivors. We are left on a cliff hanger.

Of course, there is a second film called 28 Weeks Later, which sees Great Britian being repopulated by outsiders and the virus returning after people thought it to have died out. This then turns into a proper apocalypse of the entire world.

For me, these films show the true desperation of humans to survive, particularly in regards to the military’s plan for a ‘cure’. It also shows true devastation, at the capable hands of humans. And let’s face it, we don’t need to have a virus to be destructive…we have proven that at the very least.

Gollum Vampire Things!

Continuing with the theme of ‘other’ let us look at the film I am Legend by Francis Lawrence, which is an adaptation from the book by Richard Matheson.

In the book everyone in the world turns into a vampire, which is different from the whole zombie stuff. The film, however, shows that everyone has turned into these creatures that look like a cross between Gollum out of Lord of the Rings and vampires, with just a hint of zombie. Can you see why I have put this film in the category of ‘other’ yet?

Our main character in the film, Dr Robert Neville, seems to be the only human left and is desperately looking for a cure, all with the help of his companion, his dog Sam, who we actually find out is female late in the film when, I’m afraid, the poor thing dies. Up until that point we presume she is a boy.

After losing his only companion in this grim new world Robert goes crazy and attempts to kill as many of the beasts as he can, and hoping he can kill himself in the process. But he is saved by a woman and her son, who take him back to his place. Only the creatures have found them: there is a clever one in the pack, a leader. And he leads them in an attack against the house.

Dr Neville heads down to his laboratory with the woman and her son and makes a shock discovery. One of his tests for a cure has come back positive. He has a cure…but the creatures are in. He makes the woman and her son hide in a hole with the cure in a tube, then takes out a grenade and blows himself up, taking all the creatures with him.

Which leaves the woman to find the civilization she had told him about, where there are survivors. She takes the cure to them and the film ends on another cliffhanger. Will they cure the human race? Well you are never going to find out! Hahaha!

For me, this film really hits home the idea of loneliness, particularly when Robert loses his furry friend and tries to kill himself. The end of the world and your the only human left…could you imagine that?

And Your Hero Is…A Skeleton Detective

We are going to move on to the type of apocalypse I like to call ‘other’ or ‘unknown’, as the next few texts do not fit a specific type as they are a bit random. But hey, random is good, don’t knock it until you have tried it!

For those of you who, like myself, love Doctor Who and a few other texts like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ghostbusters then you should really love this next text. I give you the fantastic Skulduggery Pleasant series by Irish author Derek Landy.

In the first six books alone, which is the number Mr Landy has currently written, there have been two different threats for the end of the world. So far we have been saved by our skeleton detective and his young side kick. Thanks guys.

In the first book, simply known as Skulduggery Pleasant here in the UK and Ireland (it is known in America as Skulduggery Pleasant: Sceptre of the Ancients), we see the evil Serpine trying to bring the Faceless Ones into our world. The Faceless Ones are these evil gods that date back to the first ever sorcerers and mages, who are said to destroy our world if ever they were to return. Of course, Skulduggery, our skeleton detective, and Valkyrie, his side kick, save the day and kill Serpine.

The second book, Playing With Fire, sees the duo come up against Baron Vengeous as he tries to bring back the Faceless Ones by using the Grotesquery, which is a Frankinstein-like monster, stitched together from different creatures, including parts of a Faceless One. He fails, thanks to our heroes.

The third book, The Faceless Ones, actually sees the dark gods come through, but only three of them. Our daring detective duo and there friends drive them back to their world before they can destroy ours…but at a great cost: Skulduggery gets dragged into their world with them, and the portal closes and cannot be reopened…or so they think.

Book four, Dark Days, sees Valkyrie finding a way to rescue Skulduggery. After piecing together a plan, just like her skeleton friend tought her, she goes to the Faceless One’s world to rescue him. And what a devastated world that is. Anyway, the rescue is a success. But back in our world the Sensitives, basically psychic people, are all having a vision about the end of the world by the hands of a female sorcerer known as Darquesse. And what they are seeing is complete devastation, on a global scale. Darquesse means business. Then at the end of the book Valkyrie finds out that she is Darquesse. Typical.

Book five, Mortal Coil, sees Valkyrie trying desperately to stop the future from happening, all the while keeping it from Skulduggery. Meanwhile, the Remnants, evil shadow things that possess you and make you evil, have escaped and are possessing people all over Ireland. And they have seen the vision of Darquesse destroying the world, and they want in. The duo save Ireland from the plague of shadows, but at a cost: their friend Tanith Low was possessed at the last minute and now the Remnant has bonded with her permanently.

The current book, book six entitled Death Bringer, sees the world being terrorised by the Death Bringer, which is supposed to be the Necromancer’s saviour, but she has turned rogue. Meanwhile, Darquesse is pulled out of Valkyrie’s sub-conscience, and we get a taste of her power. And a shock revelation reveals Skulduggery to be Lord Vile, an evil necromancer. It’s all very complicated. You will have to read the books yourself. Basically, in the end, Skulduggery releases Lord Vile from his sub-conscience to stop the Death Bringer, but goes a little too far resulting in Valkyrie letting Darquesse out and the two having a fight, returning to their nice, normal selves afterwards (please note the sarcasm here).

Told you it was complicated. A lot goes on in these books! But I do love them.

Gambling and Mutant Lizards

With the success of Fallout 3 another game was released in October 2010, entitled Fallout New Vegas. It is simply a progression in the already complicated story from Fallout 3.

Of course, the game centres around New Vegas, an attempt to restore what was once Las Vegas. That means there is a lot of gambling about, with gangs trying to kill your character. These games always resort to violence.

You actually start out in a desert area, much like the Wild West. Turns out a gang buried you alive, then you were found by a nice robot who brought you back to a nearby town to recover. You, of course, don’t remember much at first, and the quest is to sort out your muddled memory and, typically, kill the gang who tried to kill you.

Attention: No robots were hurt in the making of the video below.

Everything in New Vegas is pretty much an uprade from the previous game. There are better weapons, more creatures, more skills to learn, more quests and above all a brilliant storyline that looks at the idea of trying to make your own way in a scary post-apocalyptic world.

Again, you can choose your own destiny, whether that be good or evil. And again the environment you wonder around in portrays the effects of the nuclear war and a post-apocalyptic world in perfect, devastatingly beautiful clarity. But don’t stop to look at this new world, or you may just get eaten by a mutated lizard!

An Alternative Dimension

Sticking with the whole idea of man-kind ending the world through war, let’s look at the Xbox 360 game Fallout 3. Now bear with me while I try to explain how the world came to be destroyed. It is a little complicated my dears.

Basically, the Fallout universe is a seperate one from ours. It was supposedly split from ours after the Second World War, and is a universe locked in the cultural norms of the 1950s with faster progressing technology than our own. But then in the year 2077, at a climax of a long war with China, things turned to hell in a Earth-shattering nuclear war. Hope you got that.

Most of the world is now destroyed, but some of humanity has survived because they hid away in underground vaults. Now, 200 years later in the year 2277 the world still lies in devastation, with mutants – beings that have mutated due to exposure to the radiation left from the nuclear war- raiders, gouls and all manner of weird creatures roaming the lands. Humans have been forced to live in their underground vaults for their own safety, save for those brave souls who have ventured out to live in the “Capital Wasteland”. Makes you just that little bit proud.

Warning: the video below contains severe violence and gore, with much American patriotism. I do not condone the violence or gore, but the patriotism is absolutely fine.

Enter you, a character who wakes one day to find his dad missing from one of these vaults - vault 101. You go on a quest to find him, across these dangerous lands, creating your own destiny along the way.

The game is set in America, in a completely destroyed Washington D.C. It really captures the devastation of war and the aftermath for the people who have survived it. Fallout 3 really shows us what man can do to itself, the chaos and destruction we may one day bring upon ourselves. Above all the art of survival is portrayed beautifully.

The Root to All Evil: Human Emotion

If you want a film that shows a post-apocalyptic world with fight scenes worthy of The Matrix Trilogy look no further than Kurt Wimmer’s Equilibrium.

It is set in the early years of the 21st century, following a devastating third world war that saw the countries of the world brought to their knees in chaos. The leaders of the world realise that a forth war could completely destroy humanity, so they decide that they must get rid of human emotion and anything that could make you feel an emotion. Basically they remove what makes us human. Very clever idea…I don’t think!

Anyway, they have this special serum that they must inject into their bloodstream that stops them feeling. Of course there are people who hate this idea and hide away with all the stuff that would make you feel, like artwork and poetry books. There are ‘police’ that find these people and kill them, then destroy the stuff they were hiding with.

But then our main character, John Preston, doesn’t take one of his injections because it gets smashed. Oh those breakable viles. So he starts to feel, realising it is a fundamental part of being alive and human and continues to not take the serum.

He then realises that he must take down this new regime. Cue some epic fight scenes involving guns.

You see, Preston is actually part of the ‘police’ and realises he has an advantage at getting into the main control centre. Using his incredible skills with guns and fighting, pretty much Matrix style, he eventually gets the job done and the film ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, with Preston claiming it to be a new world.

I think this film really looks at the idea of ‘what if this happened, or that happened’. It also shows a post-apocalyptic environment where a lot of buildings have been destroyed, and rubble is lying everywhere. Of course the people who are trying to change have built their own city, which looks pretty futuristic. The film captures passion really well too, and looks at the idea that yes, human emotion could destroy us, but without it we are something less than living. No zombie jokes here please people.

An Upgrade In Everything

Left 4 Dead 2, also for the Xbox 360, sees the zombie apocalypse in a different part of America, in Savanna. It also sees four new characters and a few new special infected. If that wasn’t enough you get new weapons and you get to explore new campaign levels.

We don’t have a time frame for the apocalypse in this game, but we can guess that it’s after the first Left 4 Dead. The characters in this one have much more of a personality and in the beginning seem to be complete strangers to one another…in other words they have just met. We have Nick, who travels around a lot, gambles and likes to look sharp in his white suit. Shame for him that it’s going to get very messy fighting all those zombies. Then there is Ellis, an ex-mechanic. He loves horses. He’s not exactly the brightest crayon in the box though, bless him. Then there’s Coach, who is, as his name suggests, a coach, of football. He just seems to want a cheeseburger and some chocolate. Finally, we have Rochelle. She was a small-time journalist, and before the apocalypse was trying to make it big. Now the only way she can make it big is by surviving.

Alongside the Boomer, Smoker, Hunter, Witch and Tank we have three new special infected to deal with. We have the Charger, who has a giant arm that he uses to smash you repeatedly into the ground after catching you in his charge. The only way to stop him is to kill him. Then we have the Spitter, similiar to the Boomer, but instead of vomiting on you she spits acid at you and will die leaving a puddle of acid behind. My advice, stay out of these puddles! Finally we have the Jockey, that annoying little…thing, who runs at you, then leaps on your back and is able to steer you wherever it wants. We also have a female version of the Boomer, which is exactly the same as the male version… except female.

I find this game, just like it’s prequel, captures the environment of a zombie apocalypse really well. The art of survival is still there and so is the idea of working as a team to stay alive. Let’s face it, if the world did end by the clammy, rotting hands of the undead there isn’t much hope of you surviving by yourself. You need a team, and preferably one that you can rely on to have your back.

Survival, Strangers and Mutant Zombies

For pure nitty-gritty survival in a zombie apocalypse you should look no further than the Xbox 360 game Left 4 Dead.

We don’t know much about how the apocalypse came to pass in this game. All we know is that it’s two weeks after the first infection. Four survivors have banded together to survive and get to safety, despite being strangers to one another.

We have Zoey, a college student, who decided to waste her first year watching zombie movies. As it states on her character bio in the game handbook ‘she has some quiet satisfaction that she studied up on the right subject after all.’ Then there is Louis, an IT tech, who was actually looking for a way to get out of his job. What better way than a zombie apocalypse? Then there is Francis, who is a drunk, loud and pretty much hates everything, from stairs to helicopters (which sucks for him because that is one method of escape for them in the game). Finally we have Bill, an ex-soldier who is only looking for another war…which he has now got.

They have to fight through hordes of zombies, although there aren’t just your everyday standard zombies. We have the ‘Special Infected’, who all have some kind of power that is intended to hinder the survivors on their journey.

There is the fat Boomers, who throw up on you, which then attracts the horde (yes I know it’s disgusting, but it is the zombie apocalypse we are looking at). When they are shot they blow up and if they blow up over you or another survivor it also attracts the horde. Next we have the Hunters, who very much look like chavs in hoodies with masking tape around their arms. They have the ability to leap and pounce onto you and then tear you to shreds until they are knocked off by another survivor. The Smokers have long tongues that they can grab you with from long distances. When they are killed, or re-killed, they leave behind a cloud of smoke that obscures vision slightly. As long as you stay out of this smoke you should be fine. Then we have the Witches, who sit and cry, but if you get too close and you disturb her she will attack. My advice: stay away! Finally there is the Tank, a huge gorilla-like zombie that relies on brute force to chuck cars and rubble at you and then punch you if it can be bothered. It takes a lot to take one down. They are really scary…take my word for it.

Hordes can also be attracted by loud noises, like car alarms…and bombs. Which are also good for blowing them up!

I find the game really captures the apocalypse well, with the the destroyed environment of New York and surrounding areas, the sense of loneliness with no other humans around and the whole idea of the game: survival. It’s brilliant in its simplicity.

A Murder of Crows and Zombies

Let’s go back to the more morbid, but also the more classic in the form of Resident Evil, but more specifically Resident Evil: Extinction by director Russell Mulcahy (film number three in the series). This is the film in the series where the world ends thanks to the T-Virus turning everyone into flesh eating corpses.

Following on from the second film, the T-Virus escapes from the outbreak in Racoon City, spreading across America and then the rest of the world, as usual. The Umbrella Corporation are looking for a cure, in the form of our heroine Alice. So far they have only managed to make many clones of her, which all seem to be useless.

Alice has developed telekinesis powers which are alerting Umbrella to her whereabouts, although they are not sure it is her. She decides to join some of the other characters who have been giving out messages on a communications device. She ends up saving some of them from some murderous crows in the desert. These crows have been feasting on infected flesh and therefore are like the zombies themself.

After the crows the remaining survivors decide that they need to find the Umbrella Corporation, but first they need to get fuel, in Vegas. But they fear the city has been over-run by zombies. They go anyway and find that Vegas has been attacked by sand-storms and is partly buried. These sand-storms have happened all around the world because the T-Virus has destroyed all plant life as well as animals and humans, causing the environment to go crazy. They find a huge crate blocking their way…which turns out to be the hiding place of a horde of zombies. The survivors are whittled down some more as a few are bitten or killed in the battle that follows.

Sacrifices are made and eventually Alice gets into the Umbrella Corporation and encounters her clones. She realises she may have an army against Umbrella.

This film really shows the hardship of survival. It looks at sacrifices and the idea of trust. Resident Evil may be one of the first zombie apocalypse texts to also look at the idea of what happens to animals during the end of the world. Would they too become zombies? Or zombie chow?