1 00:00:02,921 --> 00:00:06,258 - CONELRAD channel. This is a class one emergency. 2 00:00:06,299 --> 00:00:07,676 - I think everybody's fascinated 3 00:00:07,717 --> 00:00:09,261 with society falling apart. 4 00:00:11,972 --> 00:00:14,558 - Disaster movies used to just be about bridges collapsing 5 00:00:14,599 --> 00:00:16,309 and buildings blowing up, 6 00:00:16,351 --> 00:00:18,270 but now, disaster movies are about the end of the world. 7 00:00:18,311 --> 00:00:20,230 ♪ ♪ 8 00:00:20,272 --> 00:00:22,274 - Nobody wants to be in the apocalypse. 9 00:00:22,315 --> 00:00:24,025 ♪ ♪ 10 00:00:24,067 --> 00:00:25,860 But we would all hope to survive the apocalypse 11 00:00:25,902 --> 00:00:28,363 depending on what that future entails. 12 00:00:28,405 --> 00:00:30,699 ♪ ♪ 13 00:00:31,992 --> 00:00:33,451 - People that think that 14 00:00:33,493 --> 00:00:34,953 some kind of zombie apocalypse would be fun... 15 00:00:34,995 --> 00:00:38,748 ♪ ♪ 16 00:00:38,790 --> 00:00:40,417 And as soon as things shut down, 17 00:00:40,458 --> 00:00:41,668 it's like they can't even handle 18 00:00:41,710 --> 00:00:44,004 a toilet paper shortage. 19 00:00:44,045 --> 00:00:45,839 - The very foundations of civilization 20 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:47,549 are beginning to fall. 21 00:00:47,591 --> 00:00:49,384 ♪ ♪ 22 00:00:49,426 --> 00:00:50,969 - It is really every man for himself. 23 00:00:51,011 --> 00:00:53,263 ♪ ♪ 24 00:00:53,305 --> 00:00:55,140 It's like you don't know what's worse, 25 00:00:55,181 --> 00:00:58,059 the infection or each other. 26 00:00:58,101 --> 00:01:00,395 - Run for your life! They're already here! 27 00:01:00,437 --> 00:01:04,858 ♪ ♪ 28 00:01:04,899 --> 00:01:07,861 - What would it look like if that really, really happened? 29 00:01:07,902 --> 00:01:10,155 'Cause we--it feels like we're right on the edge of it. 30 00:01:11,281 --> 00:01:12,866 D) 31 00:01:18,288 --> 00:01:20,665 ♪ ♪ 32 00:01:26,338 --> 00:01:32,427 ♪ ♪ 33 00:01:42,228 --> 00:01:44,397 Narrator: Movies with post-apocalyptic themes 34 00:01:44,439 --> 00:01:46,650 used to be unusual and shocking. 35 00:01:48,318 --> 00:01:49,986 ♪ ♪ 36 00:01:50,028 --> 00:01:52,113 Now, they're a genre unto themselves. 37 00:01:52,155 --> 00:01:54,240 - I think it's a human trait that we imagine 38 00:01:54,282 --> 00:01:55,909 that we're the last civilization. 39 00:01:55,950 --> 00:01:57,994 I think every civilization throughout time 40 00:01:58,036 --> 00:02:00,872 has thought that they're probably going to be the ones 41 00:02:00,914 --> 00:02:03,792 who end it for everybody that comes to follow. 42 00:02:03,833 --> 00:02:09,589 ♪ ♪ 43 00:02:09,631 --> 00:02:11,883 So it's generated this whole genre 44 00:02:11,925 --> 00:02:14,886 where we get to see or imagine what that might look like. 45 00:02:17,889 --> 00:02:22,185 ♪ ♪ 46 00:02:22,227 --> 00:02:24,187 Narrator: You might remember a time 47 00:02:24,229 --> 00:02:27,190 when movies about the zombie apocalypse were hard to find. 48 00:02:29,818 --> 00:02:33,655 But over the last two decades, the undead have taken over. 49 00:02:33,697 --> 00:02:38,326 ♪ ♪ 50 00:02:38,368 --> 00:02:40,995 How do you stand out from the herd? 51 00:02:41,037 --> 00:02:47,961 ♪ ♪ 52 00:02:54,676 --> 00:02:56,344 With "World War 2," 53 00:02:56,386 --> 00:02:59,806 actor/producer Brad Pitt found a way. 54 00:03:03,184 --> 00:03:05,729 Making a zombie apocalypse movie 55 00:03:05,770 --> 00:03:07,856 filled with the globetrotting locations 56 00:03:07,897 --> 00:03:12,235 and spectacular set pieces... 57 00:03:12,277 --> 00:03:14,904 only a Hollywood blockbuster can deliver. 58 00:03:14,946 --> 00:03:20,577 ♪ ♪ 59 00:03:20,618 --> 00:03:23,747 "World War Z" casts Pitt as a CDC field agent 60 00:03:23,788 --> 00:03:27,125 who saves his family from a zombie outbreak... 61 00:03:30,170 --> 00:03:34,090 Then crosses the planet searching for a vaccine. 62 00:03:34,132 --> 00:03:35,216 -I'm going down! 63 00:03:35,258 --> 00:03:41,848 ♪ ♪ 64 00:03:41,890 --> 00:03:44,893 The film is very, very loosely 65 00:03:44,934 --> 00:03:48,980 based on the bestselling novel by Max Brooks. 66 00:03:49,022 --> 00:03:52,150 - I wrote "World War Z" to answer my own questions. 67 00:03:52,192 --> 00:03:54,152 And the big question I had is 68 00:03:54,194 --> 00:03:58,239 what would a zombie plague look like across the planet? 69 00:03:58,281 --> 00:03:59,783 ♪ ♪ 70 00:04:01,201 --> 00:04:02,911 What were governments doing? 71 00:04:02,952 --> 00:04:04,746 Different governments in different countries. 72 00:04:04,788 --> 00:04:07,499 How were different cultures dealing with this? 73 00:04:07,540 --> 00:04:12,629 How was one part of the planet affecting another part? 74 00:04:12,670 --> 00:04:14,172 It's like a world war, 75 00:04:14,214 --> 00:04:17,008 and I wanted to know about this world war. 76 00:04:17,050 --> 00:04:18,593 ♪ ♪ 77 00:04:21,805 --> 00:04:24,849 - If you're going to call your movie "World War Z," 78 00:04:24,891 --> 00:04:28,144 you better deliver the goods, and this film does. 79 00:04:31,147 --> 00:04:34,484 - And Brad Pitt is the kind of hero who's up to the test. 80 00:04:37,111 --> 00:04:40,406 - When you're put in a really distressing situation, 81 00:04:40,448 --> 00:04:42,742 so much about a person is revealed. 82 00:04:42,784 --> 00:04:47,038 And for me, that's why I love the apocalyptic films so much 83 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,918 because there is so much of human nature in it. 84 00:04:54,420 --> 00:04:56,923 Your fears, your-- that's your vulnerabilities. 85 00:04:56,965 --> 00:04:58,633 That's the entire movie. 86 00:04:58,675 --> 00:05:01,177 ♪ ♪ 87 00:05:05,390 --> 00:05:07,016 - That was what was so great about Brad Pitt's character 88 00:05:07,058 --> 00:05:08,601 in that movie is he's constantly just like, 89 00:05:08,643 --> 00:05:10,270 "What is happening is insane, 90 00:05:10,311 --> 00:05:12,397 "and I'm just going to do the best 91 00:05:12,438 --> 00:05:14,023 that I possibly can in this given moment." 92 00:05:15,859 --> 00:05:22,156 ♪ ♪ 93 00:05:22,198 --> 00:05:25,159 He keeps on barely making out alive. 94 00:05:25,201 --> 00:05:27,453 And I just think that's a wonderful through line 95 00:05:27,495 --> 00:05:28,413 for a character. 96 00:05:32,250 --> 00:05:36,170 - I think that future zombie historians will see that movie 97 00:05:36,212 --> 00:05:39,591 as a turning point for zombies in pop culture. 98 00:05:39,632 --> 00:05:45,263 ♪ ♪ 99 00:05:45,305 --> 00:05:48,016 The special effects are now copied in every zombie movie. 100 00:05:48,057 --> 00:05:51,352 ♪ ♪ 101 00:05:51,394 --> 00:05:54,105 Because I was just watching "Train to Busan." 102 00:05:54,147 --> 00:05:57,859 ♪ ♪ 103 00:05:57,901 --> 00:06:03,156 And the zombies coming together in a river of humans? 104 00:06:03,197 --> 00:06:04,908 That's straight out of "World War Z." 105 00:06:04,949 --> 00:06:11,080 ♪ ♪ 106 00:06:13,082 --> 00:06:18,087 Narrator: "Train to Busan" drew from "World War 2," 107 00:06:18,129 --> 00:06:21,007 but the South Korean film's relentless action 108 00:06:21,049 --> 00:06:24,385 and social commentary put it in a place all its own. 109 00:06:24,427 --> 00:06:28,181 ♪ ♪ 110 00:06:28,222 --> 00:06:29,557 - It is interesting how that genre, 111 00:06:29,599 --> 00:06:31,225 you think it's been done before 112 00:06:31,267 --> 00:06:32,852 and then a movie like "Train to Busan" comes out 113 00:06:32,894 --> 00:06:34,437 and you just go, “"Oh yeah, 114 00:06:34,479 --> 00:06:36,064 "they just-- I have never seen anything."” 115 00:06:36,105 --> 00:06:37,315 - Yeah, no. You're the one that turned me on to it. 116 00:06:37,357 --> 00:06:38,816 When "Train to Busan" came out, I was like, 117 00:06:38,858 --> 00:06:43,029 there's no way I can watch another zombie movie 118 00:06:43,071 --> 00:06:46,157 or infected people movie. I just can't do it anymore. 119 00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:47,575 And I was wrong. 120 00:06:47,617 --> 00:06:50,203 ♪ ♪ 121 00:06:50,244 --> 00:06:53,456 Just that image of the father carrying the little girl, 122 00:06:53,498 --> 00:06:57,460 running with, like, seemingly a thousand 123 00:06:57,502 --> 00:06:59,671 infected people chasing him. 124 00:06:59,712 --> 00:07:03,174 ♪ ♪ 125 00:07:04,759 --> 00:07:08,262 - "Train to Busan" is probably 126 00:07:08,304 --> 00:07:09,973 one of the greatest Korean films. 127 00:07:10,014 --> 00:07:14,060 ♪ ♪ 128 00:07:14,102 --> 00:07:19,357 There's something about Koreans where we have a lot of protocol 129 00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:21,943 in terms of, like, hierarchy and age 130 00:07:21,985 --> 00:07:26,155 and manners are so deeply ingrained in your being. 131 00:07:32,495 --> 00:07:34,706 - Part of the horror if you're Korean is watching it 132 00:07:34,747 --> 00:07:38,376 and seeing people lose all of those kind of protocols, 133 00:07:38,418 --> 00:07:40,294 all of those social niceties. 134 00:07:40,336 --> 00:07:47,260 ♪ ♪ 135 00:07:48,886 --> 00:07:51,472 - A lot of it is really sort of the relationship 136 00:07:51,514 --> 00:07:53,224 of a father and his child. 137 00:07:56,477 --> 00:08:00,481 And he basically, is too busy for her in the beginning. 138 00:08:03,484 --> 00:08:04,944 - And then ultimately, 139 00:08:04,986 --> 00:08:07,697 is as present as a parent can be for a child, 140 00:08:07,739 --> 00:08:09,323 which he sacrifices himself for her. 141 00:08:09,365 --> 00:08:11,492 ♪ ♪ 142 00:08:14,787 --> 00:08:18,708 - It's an odd commentary on Korean film and Korean society 143 00:08:18,750 --> 00:08:20,793 that I think most would consider it 144 00:08:20,835 --> 00:08:22,295 a terrible, sad, horrible ending. 145 00:08:22,336 --> 00:08:25,173 But actually, it's kind of hopeful. 146 00:08:30,553 --> 00:08:35,099 ♪ ♪ 147 00:08:35,141 --> 00:08:39,604 - Throughout the film, he finds out what's truly important, 148 00:08:39,645 --> 00:08:44,192 the lesson that he learns about what he values in life. 149 00:08:44,233 --> 00:08:49,447 ♪ ♪ 150 00:08:49,489 --> 00:08:51,741 I mean, I think that horror films are really about 151 00:08:51,783 --> 00:08:54,035 when you can get to the root of a character 152 00:08:54,077 --> 00:08:56,120 and pull out the strength of them. 153 00:08:56,162 --> 00:08:58,664 And that's what this film really is. 154 00:08:58,706 --> 00:09:00,124 Narrator: Surviving an apocalypse 155 00:09:00,166 --> 00:09:02,126 is hard and stressful work. 156 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,089 It helps to have a sense of humor. 157 00:09:13,638 --> 00:09:17,558 Narrator: They say comedy is tragedy plus time... 158 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,020 which may be why years of zombie apocalypse dramas 159 00:09:21,062 --> 00:09:24,232 were eventually followed by zombie apocalypse comedies. 160 00:09:25,817 --> 00:09:27,610 - Just get her off me! 161 00:09:27,652 --> 00:09:30,530 Narrator: The best combined humor with genuine horror. 162 00:09:30,571 --> 00:09:33,324 - Are you okay? 163 00:09:33,366 --> 00:09:34,492 Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 164 00:09:34,534 --> 00:09:36,494 - Remember mad cow disease? 165 00:09:36,536 --> 00:09:39,956 Well, the mad cow became mad person became mad zombie. 166 00:09:39,997 --> 00:09:42,583 And gave you a really, really bad case of the munchies. 167 00:09:44,836 --> 00:09:46,254 Narrator: One of the mot successful was "Zombieland”... 168 00:09:48,965 --> 00:09:51,926 ♪ ♪ 169 00:09:51,968 --> 00:09:54,554 A horror/comedy featuring a small cast 170 00:09:54,595 --> 00:09:57,932 of heavyweight actors fighting their way across America. 171 00:09:57,974 --> 00:10:00,476 ♪ ♪ 172 00:10:00,518 --> 00:10:04,313 - "Zombieland" takes place in a post-apocalyptic world 173 00:10:04,355 --> 00:10:07,483 where zombies have pretty much disposed of most people 174 00:10:07,525 --> 00:10:09,527 and there's only a handful of survivors that are left 175 00:10:09,569 --> 00:10:11,612 that we're aware of. 176 00:10:11,654 --> 00:10:13,823 There's Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson. 177 00:10:13,865 --> 00:10:15,449 You got a perty mouth. 178 00:10:17,869 --> 00:10:19,662 - Who's managed to survive 179 00:10:19,704 --> 00:10:22,707 just by simply being the most badass zombie killer there is. 180 00:10:22,748 --> 00:10:26,085 - My mama always told me someday, 181 00:10:26,127 --> 00:10:27,587 I'd be good at something. 182 00:10:27,628 --> 00:10:29,172 Who'd have guessed 183 00:10:29,213 --> 00:10:29,797 that something would be zombie killing? 184 00:10:29,839 --> 00:10:31,090 - Probably nobody. 185 00:10:31,132 --> 00:10:32,884 - Wichita and Little Rock, 186 00:10:32,925 --> 00:10:35,094 who are played by Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin... 187 00:10:35,136 --> 00:10:38,389 - We'll take your weapons, your car keys, your ammunition. 188 00:10:38,431 --> 00:10:39,849 - And if you got it, sugarless gum. 189 00:10:40,892 --> 00:10:42,518 - They've managed to survive 190 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:44,729 by just putting their own interests above anyone else's. 191 00:10:44,770 --> 00:10:46,689 - You see, you just can't trust anyone. 192 00:10:46,731 --> 00:10:48,232 The first time I let a girl into my life 193 00:10:48,274 --> 00:10:49,734 and she tries to eat me. 194 00:10:49,775 --> 00:10:52,153 - For Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, 195 00:10:52,195 --> 00:10:55,239 it's ironic, but the reason he's managed to survive 196 00:10:55,281 --> 00:10:57,950 is because he's the most afraid person in the world. 197 00:10:57,992 --> 00:11:01,662 - I survive because I play it safe and follow the rules. 198 00:11:01,704 --> 00:11:03,122 - He's so afraid that he's created 199 00:11:03,164 --> 00:11:04,498 a set of rules for himself 200 00:11:04,540 --> 00:11:07,084 that have allowed him to survive, 201 00:11:07,126 --> 00:11:08,544 and it's like a handbook. 202 00:11:08,586 --> 00:11:10,421 Rule number four... 203 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,094 ♪ ♪ 204 00:11:17,136 --> 00:11:18,846 - Fasten your seatbelts. 205 00:11:18,888 --> 00:11:21,807 - So the biggest problem with zombie films at this point 206 00:11:21,849 --> 00:11:24,602 is the idea that anyone would be surprised by zombies. 207 00:11:27,146 --> 00:11:29,190 Everyone has a zombie apocalypse plan 208 00:11:29,232 --> 00:11:31,859 and "Zombieland" is the first movie 209 00:11:31,901 --> 00:11:34,737 to sort of take that head-on... 210 00:11:34,779 --> 00:11:37,031 - Don't let them catch you with your pants down. 211 00:11:37,073 --> 00:11:39,200 Rule number three: beware of bathrooms. 212 00:11:39,242 --> 00:11:41,160 - To admit that this is a scenario 213 00:11:41,202 --> 00:11:43,329 that is almost a cliche at this point 214 00:11:43,371 --> 00:11:45,289 and that everyone is prepared for it. 215 00:11:45,331 --> 00:11:46,707 And--and here are the rules 216 00:11:46,707 --> 00:11:48,417 you need to follow to keep you alive. 217 00:11:48,459 --> 00:11:50,753 - Which leads me to my second rule: 218 00:11:50,795 --> 00:11:53,631 the double-tap. 219 00:11:53,673 --> 00:11:55,174 - The double-tap, I think is one of 220 00:11:55,216 --> 00:11:59,220 the greatest acknowledgments in all of horror. 221 00:11:59,262 --> 00:12:01,430 - I mean, one more clean shot to the head. 222 00:12:04,225 --> 00:12:07,687 And this lady could've avoided becoming a human Happy Meal. 223 00:12:07,728 --> 00:12:08,980 - Someone finally acknowledging, like, 224 00:12:09,021 --> 00:12:10,982 you have to make sure it's dead. 225 00:12:11,023 --> 00:12:13,484 Finally, someone called it out. 226 00:12:13,526 --> 00:12:16,445 ♪ ♪ 227 00:12:19,156 --> 00:12:21,951 Narrator: Much of the film follows the characters 228 00:12:21,993 --> 00:12:24,870 as they journey west across zombie-ravaged America... 229 00:12:28,124 --> 00:12:29,542 Gradually becoming a family 230 00:12:29,583 --> 00:12:32,003 despite conflicting personalities. 231 00:12:35,006 --> 00:12:36,632 - Hey, for sake. - Enough already. 232 00:12:36,674 --> 00:12:38,592 We were being chased by ravenous freaks. 233 00:12:38,634 --> 00:12:40,553 We don't have enough problems? 234 00:12:40,594 --> 00:12:42,013 - I think one of the reasons 235 00:12:42,054 --> 00:12:43,472 that it works as well as it does, 236 00:12:43,514 --> 00:12:47,476 is it--it's very well-cast with good actors 237 00:12:47,518 --> 00:12:49,770 who are not playing it for laughs, 238 00:12:49,812 --> 00:12:52,148 which is why the presence of Bill Murray 239 00:12:52,189 --> 00:12:54,358 is such an effective joke. 240 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,777 - Bill Murray, you're a zombie? 241 00:12:56,819 --> 00:12:58,821 ♪ ♪ 242 00:13:01,157 --> 00:13:03,075 narrator: Bill Murray appears as himself, 243 00:13:03,117 --> 00:13:04,452 disguised as a zombie. 244 00:13:04,493 --> 00:13:06,704 - Oh, I do it to blend in. 245 00:13:06,746 --> 00:13:09,707 You know--you know, zombies don't mess with other zombies. 246 00:13:09,749 --> 00:13:12,793 Narrator: But still living large in Beverly Hills. 247 00:13:12,835 --> 00:13:16,213 - Greatest cameo in the history of film. 248 00:13:16,255 --> 00:13:18,966 Bill Murray. 249 00:13:19,008 --> 00:13:21,010 Come get him. 250 00:13:21,052 --> 00:13:22,511 - Light 'em up, Ray! 251 00:13:22,553 --> 00:13:25,348 - Making a commentary about being Bill Murray? 252 00:13:27,224 --> 00:13:28,893 Narrator: Unfortunately, Murray's zombie makeup 253 00:13:28,934 --> 00:13:31,228 is a little too effective. 254 00:13:31,270 --> 00:13:33,105 - No! 255 00:13:33,147 --> 00:13:35,316 No, it's okay. It's okay. I got him. 256 00:13:36,567 --> 00:13:37,735 - I just love, like, 257 00:13:37,777 --> 00:13:40,112 the collective gasp of the audience. 258 00:13:40,154 --> 00:13:42,323 Like, "Oh my God, you just shot Bill Murray.” 259 00:13:42,365 --> 00:13:45,743 - Is that how you say hello where you come from? 260 00:13:45,785 --> 00:13:47,995 - Like it just, you know, people don't see it coming 261 00:13:48,037 --> 00:13:51,874 and it's a bit morbid, but certainly very funny. 262 00:13:54,835 --> 00:13:59,256 I'm sorry. It just gets me. 263 00:13:59,298 --> 00:14:01,300 But it still is sad. 264 00:14:01,342 --> 00:14:03,594 - The characters drive the story 265 00:14:03,636 --> 00:14:05,888 and it's the relationships that matter most. 266 00:14:05,930 --> 00:14:07,098 At the end of the day, 267 00:14:07,139 --> 00:14:09,100 the zombies are window dressing. 268 00:14:10,893 --> 00:14:12,686 ♪ ♪ 269 00:14:12,728 --> 00:14:15,398 Narrator: Apocalypse movies are often about 270 00:14:15,439 --> 00:14:19,735 groups of people who band together to survive. 271 00:14:21,737 --> 00:14:24,698 But what if there was no one else? 272 00:14:24,740 --> 00:14:26,409 ♪ ♪ 273 00:14:26,409 --> 00:14:29,120 What if you were the last human on Earth? 274 00:14:32,081 --> 00:14:32,998 ♪ ♪ 275 00:14:41,715 --> 00:14:46,387 - There is something about the idea of society collapsing 276 00:14:46,429 --> 00:14:48,139 and being left to fend for yourself. 277 00:14:48,180 --> 00:14:49,723 That's a little bit exciting. 278 00:14:53,227 --> 00:14:54,979 A little bit fun, you know? 279 00:14:55,020 --> 00:14:58,482 No more trying to figure out how to pay my taxes online. 280 00:14:58,524 --> 00:15:00,067 - Stop, stop! 281 00:15:00,109 --> 00:15:01,193 ♪ ♪ 282 00:15:01,235 --> 00:15:03,404 - No more with my Aunt Sally 283 00:15:03,446 --> 00:15:05,156 texting me about her gall bladder. 284 00:15:07,992 --> 00:15:09,577 ♪ ♪ 285 00:15:09,618 --> 00:15:13,873 It's just going to be me and my dog and my rifle, 286 00:15:13,914 --> 00:15:15,374 and my cans of beans. 287 00:15:21,088 --> 00:15:22,840 And it's gonna be awesome. 288 00:15:25,092 --> 00:15:27,887 Narrator: The origin point, modern post-apocalyptic horror 289 00:15:27,928 --> 00:15:32,641 is Richard Matheson's 1954 novel "I Am Legend." 290 00:15:32,683 --> 00:15:36,228 ♪ ♪ 291 00:15:36,270 --> 00:15:39,273 - "I Am Legend,” which purportedly is the novel 292 00:15:39,315 --> 00:15:41,984 that Stephen King read and said, "I want to do this," 293 00:15:42,026 --> 00:15:44,570 has been made into a movie three times. 294 00:15:47,114 --> 00:15:49,116 "The Last Man on Earth" with Vincent Price in the '60s... 295 00:15:49,158 --> 00:15:52,119 ♪ ♪ 296 00:15:52,161 --> 00:15:53,704 "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston 297 00:15:53,746 --> 00:15:55,331 in the early '70s... 298 00:15:59,210 --> 00:16:02,630 And "I Am Legend” with Will Smith in the early 2000s. 299 00:16:02,671 --> 00:16:06,759 Narrator: In all three films, the protagonist is a scientist 300 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:08,385 who spends his lonely days 301 00:16:08,427 --> 00:16:11,013 killing the zombie-like survivors of a plague 302 00:16:11,055 --> 00:16:14,725 that has wiped out most of the human race. 303 00:16:14,767 --> 00:16:17,019 - More of them for the pit. 304 00:16:17,061 --> 00:16:19,647 Every day, there are more of them. 305 00:16:19,688 --> 00:16:21,065 Narrator: Matheson wrote the script 306 00:16:21,106 --> 00:16:22,775 for "The Last Man on Earth," 307 00:16:22,816 --> 00:16:24,818 and it's the most faithful to his book. 308 00:16:24,860 --> 00:16:27,279 - I can't afford the luxury of anger. 309 00:16:27,321 --> 00:16:29,406 Anger can make me vulnerable. 310 00:16:29,448 --> 00:16:31,158 It can destroy my reason 311 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,370 and reason's the only advantage I have over them. 312 00:16:34,411 --> 00:16:36,622 - "The Last Man on Earth” is fantastic. 313 00:16:36,664 --> 00:16:39,083 I don't know why that's not as well-regarded 314 00:16:39,124 --> 00:16:42,086 as "Night of the Living Dead" or something. It's so good. 315 00:16:43,754 --> 00:16:45,756 - It's a very bleak movie. 316 00:16:45,798 --> 00:16:47,716 You watch basically the guy's entire family die 317 00:16:47,758 --> 00:16:49,635 of this disease. 318 00:16:49,677 --> 00:16:53,973 And then there's these big pits that they throw the bodies in. 319 00:16:54,014 --> 00:16:55,891 - Why are they burning the bodies? 320 00:16:55,933 --> 00:16:58,102 Why don't they bury them? 321 00:16:58,143 --> 00:17:00,312 - Because it's the best-known way to control the contagion 322 00:17:00,354 --> 00:17:03,774 to keep the germs from spreading. 323 00:17:03,816 --> 00:17:05,192 Narrator: The hero discovers 324 00:17:05,234 --> 00:17:06,735 the real reason the bodies are burned 325 00:17:06,777 --> 00:17:11,448 when he buries his wife... 326 00:17:11,490 --> 00:17:14,118 and she comes back. 327 00:17:16,453 --> 00:17:18,539 - When you look at it with "Night of the Living Dead,” 328 00:17:18,581 --> 00:17:21,834 you see that George Romero was definitely inspired 329 00:17:21,875 --> 00:17:24,044 by "The Last Man on Earth." 330 00:17:24,086 --> 00:17:26,297 ♪ ♪ 331 00:17:26,297 --> 00:17:28,632 His treatment of the zombie characters 332 00:17:28,674 --> 00:17:30,884 is extremely similar to the ones in this movie. 333 00:17:30,926 --> 00:17:33,387 They're lethargic and they're--they moan and groan 334 00:17:33,429 --> 00:17:34,805 and they call the name of the hero. 335 00:17:34,847 --> 00:17:39,935 - Morgan. Out...out. 336 00:17:39,977 --> 00:17:41,437 ♪ ♪ 337 00:17:41,478 --> 00:17:43,230 Robert! 338 00:17:46,066 --> 00:17:49,153 Narrator: In 1971, Matheson's book 339 00:17:49,194 --> 00:17:52,239 was turned into "The Omega Man." 340 00:17:52,281 --> 00:17:57,494 ♪ ♪ 341 00:17:57,536 --> 00:18:00,831 A movie that reflects the turmoil rocking America 342 00:18:00,873 --> 00:18:03,667 after the social upheavals of the '60s. 343 00:18:03,709 --> 00:18:06,920 ♪ ♪ 344 00:18:06,962 --> 00:18:08,964 - "The Omega Man" is one of the grooviest 345 00:18:09,006 --> 00:18:11,383 of all apocalyptic movies. 346 00:18:14,803 --> 00:18:19,516 ♪ ♪ 347 00:18:19,558 --> 00:18:22,853 - "Omega Man" is essentially a "Last Man on Earth" story 348 00:18:22,895 --> 00:18:24,855 starring Charlton Heston 349 00:18:24,897 --> 00:18:30,402 where he is terrorized by zombie mutant vampire-types. 350 00:18:30,444 --> 00:18:31,904 Let's just say hippies. 351 00:18:35,199 --> 00:18:37,117 - One of the first things that happens in that film 352 00:18:37,159 --> 00:18:39,703 is that Charlton Heston runs "Woodstock" 353 00:18:39,745 --> 00:18:41,246 for himself in an empty theater. 354 00:18:41,288 --> 00:18:43,707 And there's that weird kind of amazing moment 355 00:18:43,749 --> 00:18:46,752 when he has clearly memorized some lines. 356 00:18:46,794 --> 00:18:48,087 If we can't live together 357 00:18:48,128 --> 00:18:50,130 and be happy, if you have to be afraid 358 00:18:50,172 --> 00:18:51,715 to walk out in the street, 359 00:18:51,757 --> 00:18:55,719 if you have to be afraid to smile at somebody, right? 360 00:18:55,761 --> 00:18:58,639 - And then everything that happens after that in the movie 361 00:18:58,681 --> 00:19:03,519 is this total repudiation of the "Woodstock" idea. 362 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,188 - We need to cancel the world you civilized people made. 363 00:19:06,230 --> 00:19:08,649 We will simply erase history from the time that machinery 364 00:19:08,691 --> 00:19:11,527 and weapons threatened more than they offered. 365 00:19:11,568 --> 00:19:15,406 - The anti-capitalist, reformist, Utopian impulse 366 00:19:15,447 --> 00:19:19,743 turns into this racially- and sexually-integrated 367 00:19:19,785 --> 00:19:23,664 zombie horde of Luddite monsters 368 00:19:23,706 --> 00:19:25,708 in pancake makeup and fright wigs. 369 00:19:25,749 --> 00:19:27,626 ♪ ♪ 370 00:19:27,668 --> 00:19:29,712 Narrator: But if the infected have inherited the Earth, 371 00:19:29,753 --> 00:19:33,841 is Heston really the hero? 372 00:19:33,882 --> 00:19:38,011 - You are the angel of death, doctor, not us. 373 00:19:38,053 --> 00:19:41,014 - There's always that fascinating idea. 374 00:19:41,056 --> 00:19:43,100 It's so well-executed in "The Omega Man,"” 375 00:19:43,142 --> 00:19:45,686 which is well, who's the villain? 376 00:19:45,728 --> 00:19:49,940 - Last night you killed how many? Three of us? 377 00:19:49,982 --> 00:19:51,817 And today, we don't know yet. 378 00:19:51,859 --> 00:19:54,361 - So he's killing them and they're trying to kill him. 379 00:19:54,403 --> 00:19:56,447 And who is the real villain? 380 00:19:56,488 --> 00:20:00,117 - Oh, my God. 381 00:20:02,494 --> 00:20:04,663 ♪ ♪ 382 00:20:04,705 --> 00:20:07,624 - My name is Robert Neville. 383 00:20:07,666 --> 00:20:11,128 I'm a survivor living in New York City. 384 00:20:11,170 --> 00:20:13,922 Narrator: Both "The Omega Man" and "The Last Man on Earth" 385 00:20:13,964 --> 00:20:17,468 were ambitious films that suffered from low budgets. 386 00:20:17,509 --> 00:20:22,347 That was not the problem with 2007's "I Am Legend." 387 00:20:22,389 --> 00:20:24,057 - I think "I Am Legend” 388 00:20:24,099 --> 00:20:28,479 benefited so much from embracing the wish-fulfillment. 389 00:20:33,650 --> 00:20:37,237 That opening sequence whee he's in a gorgeous red car 390 00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:39,490 hunting a deer in the middle of Times Square. 391 00:20:39,531 --> 00:20:42,659 Yes, we're doing what only this movie with this premise 392 00:20:42,701 --> 00:20:44,161 can deliver a scene like this. 393 00:20:52,127 --> 00:20:55,214 - "I Am Legend” does so many things right. 394 00:20:55,255 --> 00:20:59,009 There's a brilliant scene where he is in a video store 395 00:20:59,051 --> 00:21:02,805 that he has put mannequins into to make it feel normal 396 00:21:02,846 --> 00:21:04,890 when he goes in to pick out a movie. 397 00:21:04,932 --> 00:21:06,892 And he has a breakdown trying to get 398 00:21:06,934 --> 00:21:08,227 one of the mannequins to talk to him. 399 00:21:10,103 --> 00:21:13,023 - Please say hello to me. 400 00:21:13,065 --> 00:21:14,983 - I mean, I think that movie really plays into 401 00:21:15,025 --> 00:21:17,152 one of the greatest fears that we all have, 402 00:21:17,194 --> 00:21:19,071 which is yes, of course, 403 00:21:19,112 --> 00:21:20,656 we're all afraid of the apocalypse 404 00:21:20,697 --> 00:21:22,241 and the end of the world, zombies, that whole thing. 405 00:21:22,282 --> 00:21:23,617 But also just being alone. 406 00:21:23,659 --> 00:21:27,079 - The hell are you doing out here, Fred? 407 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,706 - He's been alone for so long 408 00:21:29,748 --> 00:21:32,209 that he thinks he's actually started to go crazy. 409 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:38,674 Narrator: Neville eventually meets normal humans 410 00:21:38,715 --> 00:21:41,885 and gives them a vaccine, 411 00:21:41,927 --> 00:21:45,597 but the cure was created by experimenting on the infected. 412 00:21:45,639 --> 00:21:47,224 - This will almost certainly kill it. 413 00:21:47,266 --> 00:21:49,351 ♪ ♪ 414 00:21:49,393 --> 00:21:52,479 Narrator: Once again, is he the hero or the villain? 415 00:21:52,521 --> 00:21:57,025 - Did all of them die? - Yes. 416 00:21:57,067 --> 00:22:00,863 - All of them have the same thread that at some point, 417 00:22:00,904 --> 00:22:02,823 man is the monster, 418 00:22:02,865 --> 00:22:05,117 that science and society will keep reinventing itself 419 00:22:05,158 --> 00:22:07,202 over and over. 420 00:22:07,244 --> 00:22:09,580 And if you stay stuck in the past and don't evolve, 421 00:22:09,621 --> 00:22:11,415 you may be the source of legend. 422 00:22:11,456 --> 00:22:13,876 You may become the monster. 423 00:22:13,917 --> 00:22:16,420 Narrator: Some apocalypses are man-made, 424 00:22:16,461 --> 00:22:19,756 but the most spectacular... 425 00:22:21,925 --> 00:22:23,677 Come from beyond. 426 00:22:32,769 --> 00:22:34,146 Narrator: "The War of the Worlds" 427 00:22:34,187 --> 00:22:36,231 chronicles the devastation of Earth 428 00:22:36,273 --> 00:22:39,693 by Martian invaders with superior technology 429 00:22:39,735 --> 00:22:41,403 and a ruthless drive for conquest. 430 00:22:41,445 --> 00:22:44,489 ♪ ♪ 431 00:22:44,531 --> 00:22:46,283 When H.G. Wells conceived the story 432 00:22:46,325 --> 00:22:48,452 at the end of the 19th century, 433 00:22:48,493 --> 00:22:52,164 it was a sly critique of British imperialism. 434 00:22:52,205 --> 00:22:55,167 But by the time Hollywood took it on, 435 00:22:55,208 --> 00:22:59,087 it became a tale about the limits of American power. 436 00:22:59,129 --> 00:23:02,799 - Now fought with the terrible weapons of super-science, 437 00:23:02,841 --> 00:23:06,428 menacing all mankind and every creature on Earth, 438 00:23:06,470 --> 00:23:09,723 comes "The War of the Worlds." 439 00:23:09,765 --> 00:23:11,600 Narrator: "The War of the Worlds" 440 00:23:11,642 --> 00:23:13,977 was first brought to the screen in 1953 441 00:23:14,019 --> 00:23:17,064 by producer George Pal. 442 00:23:17,105 --> 00:23:19,358 The film is drenched in the militaristic mood 443 00:23:19,399 --> 00:23:21,944 of post-World War ll America, 444 00:23:21,985 --> 00:23:24,196 but the real draw of the film wasn't its theme, 445 00:23:24,237 --> 00:23:28,492 it was the special effects. 446 00:23:30,410 --> 00:23:33,330 No one had shown an apocalyptic attack 447 00:23:33,372 --> 00:23:34,790 like this before... 448 00:23:42,339 --> 00:23:46,426 Or created anything like the Martian war machines. 449 00:23:46,468 --> 00:23:48,220 - I remember when I was a very little kid, 450 00:23:48,261 --> 00:23:50,931 my mom telling my brothers and I, 451 00:23:50,973 --> 00:23:53,600 "Your father and I watched a movie on TV last night. 452 00:23:53,642 --> 00:23:55,435 "They had these things like manta rays 453 00:23:55,477 --> 00:23:56,812 "and they came up out of the ground, 454 00:23:56,853 --> 00:23:58,355 "and then a shake came up 455 00:23:58,397 --> 00:24:01,108 and it was shooting lasers at people.” 456 00:24:01,149 --> 00:24:04,361 And we thought, "Oh, Mom's been into the drinks again." 457 00:24:06,405 --> 00:24:09,324 - I just loved the sound design and the production design, 458 00:24:09,366 --> 00:24:11,076 and the special effects in that movie. 459 00:24:11,118 --> 00:24:13,495 The heat ray, 460 00:24:13,537 --> 00:24:15,330 the death ray that came out of the wingtips, 461 00:24:15,372 --> 00:24:17,541 and then the sort of brilliant optical effect 462 00:24:17,582 --> 00:24:19,001 of when the General gets frozen. 463 00:24:19,042 --> 00:24:20,502 He's like, "Oh." 464 00:24:20,544 --> 00:24:21,962 And he freezes and then his outline 465 00:24:22,004 --> 00:24:23,922 and then he turns green and then you see the skeleton, 466 00:24:23,964 --> 00:24:25,590 and then he disappears. 467 00:24:25,632 --> 00:24:28,260 And the miniature work is impeccable. 468 00:24:28,301 --> 00:24:32,931 There's these fascinating photos of the entire farm field 469 00:24:32,973 --> 00:24:37,686 with Martian war machines suspended above the miniature. 470 00:24:37,728 --> 00:24:40,397 The Martian war machines were, like, 38 inches across, 471 00:24:40,439 --> 00:24:42,190 so they were pretty big. 472 00:24:42,232 --> 00:24:44,401 These technicians were worried about burning the sets down 473 00:24:44,443 --> 00:24:47,320 because they were pumping the electricity through the wires 474 00:24:47,362 --> 00:24:49,239 that were suspending this-- the ships. 475 00:24:51,575 --> 00:24:53,994 Narrator: Downtown Los Angeles is thoroughly, 476 00:24:54,036 --> 00:24:56,580 some might even say lovingly destroyed 477 00:24:56,621 --> 00:24:59,082 in some of the most spectacular effects sequences 478 00:24:59,124 --> 00:25:00,250 of the time. 479 00:25:03,378 --> 00:25:05,797 Pal's film warned that military might 480 00:25:05,839 --> 00:25:07,507 and scientific know-how 481 00:25:07,549 --> 00:25:11,178 were no guarantee against a determined enemy. 482 00:25:11,219 --> 00:25:12,429 The apocalypse could happen. 483 00:25:15,307 --> 00:25:17,309 Here! 484 00:25:17,350 --> 00:25:21,271 Narrator: We could only pray for divine intervention. 485 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:34,868 ♪ ♪ 486 00:25:34,910 --> 00:25:37,537 Steven Spielberg's 2006 adaptation 487 00:25:37,579 --> 00:25:39,539 had an equally blunt message 488 00:25:39,581 --> 00:25:42,292 about American complacency and overconfidence. 489 00:25:42,334 --> 00:25:44,544 It's okay. 490 00:25:44,586 --> 00:25:46,671 - I want to go inside. - It's okay. 491 00:25:46,713 --> 00:25:48,215 Narrator: Set in New York 492 00:25:48,256 --> 00:25:50,759 and made just a few years after 9/11, 493 00:25:50,801 --> 00:25:53,762 it's a nightmare vision of a terrorist attack 494 00:25:53,804 --> 00:25:56,681 waged by shadowy enemies we don't understand. 495 00:25:56,723 --> 00:25:58,183 - Lightning doesn't strike twice 496 00:25:58,225 --> 00:26:01,186 in the same-- 497 00:26:02,562 --> 00:26:04,773 narrator: In this version, the Martian war machines 498 00:26:04,815 --> 00:26:07,943 don't fall from the sky, they emerge from the ground, 499 00:26:07,984 --> 00:26:09,778 where they've been buried for millennia, 500 00:26:09,820 --> 00:26:13,532 a tip of the hat to the classic Hammer horror film 501 00:26:13,573 --> 00:26:15,117 "Quartermass and the Pit." 502 00:26:17,244 --> 00:26:19,538 - Get back! Let's go! Now! 503 00:26:22,833 --> 00:26:26,753 - There's so many interesting visual things about it. 504 00:26:26,795 --> 00:26:30,132 I love that the whole front of the church comes off. 505 00:26:30,173 --> 00:26:34,719 ♪ ♪ 506 00:26:34,761 --> 00:26:37,806 That effects sequence of the first war machine 507 00:26:37,848 --> 00:26:42,144 coming out of the ground is absolutely stunning. 508 00:26:42,185 --> 00:26:43,228 ♪ ♪ 509 00:26:46,690 --> 00:26:49,151 Then when the little death ray comes out and starts, 510 00:26:50,861 --> 00:26:51,486 And the people are running down the street. 511 00:26:51,528 --> 00:26:53,113 And all of a sudden, 512 00:26:53,155 --> 00:26:56,908 you just see the clothes floating with the dust. 513 00:26:56,950 --> 00:26:59,995 It's definitely technically more proficient. 514 00:27:00,036 --> 00:27:01,788 You know, when they're on the ferry 515 00:27:01,830 --> 00:27:03,665 and you look over and you see the machine 516 00:27:03,707 --> 00:27:07,294 coming underneath the water up at them. 517 00:27:07,335 --> 00:27:11,756 ♪ ♪ 518 00:27:11,798 --> 00:27:15,135 I think that's a great example of what technology gives you 519 00:27:15,177 --> 00:27:18,805 in terms of the advancement over five decades. 520 00:27:18,847 --> 00:27:22,851 ♪ ♪ 521 00:27:22,893 --> 00:27:25,896 - They found a different way to tell that story. 522 00:27:28,607 --> 00:27:30,859 It's completely subjective. 523 00:27:30,901 --> 00:27:35,989 Like, you only see what Tom Cruise sees. 524 00:27:36,031 --> 00:27:38,158 - Robbie! 525 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:46,499 - It's Boschian in its vision of worldwide horror. 526 00:27:46,541 --> 00:27:49,961 There is a moment, a peaceful morning, 527 00:27:50,003 --> 00:27:52,547 when a shaken Tom Cruise takes his family 528 00:27:52,589 --> 00:27:55,300 down to the riverside to find freshwater. 529 00:27:55,342 --> 00:27:57,469 And they freeze on the banks of the river 530 00:27:57,510 --> 00:28:00,889 to watch one bloated corpse after another float by. 531 00:28:00,931 --> 00:28:03,725 ♪ ♪ 532 00:28:03,767 --> 00:28:05,769 That's, like, the whole film in a nutshell. 533 00:28:05,810 --> 00:28:08,480 Every time they think they've had to witness the worst, 534 00:28:08,521 --> 00:28:09,898 there's always something more terrible 535 00:28:09,940 --> 00:28:11,691 waiting around the next corner. 536 00:28:14,736 --> 00:28:16,655 Narrator: Every telling of "The War of the Worlds" 537 00:28:16,696 --> 00:28:19,783 ends with civilization aflame, 538 00:28:19,824 --> 00:28:24,120 but the Earth proves more than capable of defending itself. 539 00:28:24,162 --> 00:28:25,997 - So at the end, they show up, they think they're going to, 540 00:28:26,039 --> 00:28:27,832 you know, take us over, kill us all. 541 00:28:27,874 --> 00:28:30,001 But what they don't realize is that humans are filthy 542 00:28:30,043 --> 00:28:32,754 and our diseases just destroy them. 543 00:28:32,796 --> 00:28:34,756 Aliens not being prepared, that's a good feeling. 544 00:28:34,798 --> 00:28:37,676 That's a hopeful feeling. 545 00:28:37,717 --> 00:28:39,886 I like the idea that aliens don't do all the research. 546 00:28:39,928 --> 00:28:44,557 ♪ ♪ 547 00:28:44,599 --> 00:28:49,396 Narrator: There are many ways to cope with an apocalypse. 548 00:28:49,437 --> 00:28:53,566 Some hide in heavily- fortified bunkers... 549 00:28:55,610 --> 00:28:59,155 While others meet the disaster head-on. 550 00:29:03,952 --> 00:29:06,621 Narrator: How would you face the apocalypse? 551 00:29:06,663 --> 00:29:08,957 - Help, they're coming! They're coming! 552 00:29:08,999 --> 00:29:11,668 Narrator: Curse the fate that brought you to this point? 553 00:29:11,710 --> 00:29:14,170 - I've been condemned to live. 554 00:29:14,212 --> 00:29:15,797 Narrator: Play games 555 00:29:15,839 --> 00:29:18,049 in your fully-stocked survivalist compound? 556 00:29:18,091 --> 00:29:20,635 - Is that "Monopoly"? 557 00:29:20,677 --> 00:29:22,637 Narrator: Or motor to the mall and help yourself 558 00:29:22,679 --> 00:29:25,765 to some bitchin' threads? 559 00:29:25,807 --> 00:29:28,268 If you answered yes to the last question, 560 00:29:28,310 --> 00:29:30,228 you might be a betty in the mid-'80s 561 00:29:30,270 --> 00:29:32,981 apocalypse film "Night of the Comet." 562 00:29:36,735 --> 00:29:39,446 - That movie could not be more '80s. 563 00:29:42,866 --> 00:29:45,952 Down to the music and the fashion, 564 00:29:45,994 --> 00:29:48,079 and the hairstyles and everything. 565 00:29:48,121 --> 00:29:49,873 - Like, I'm 18, okay? 566 00:29:49,914 --> 00:29:51,166 And I can watch the comet 567 00:29:51,207 --> 00:29:52,667 wherever I want to watch the comet. 568 00:29:52,709 --> 00:29:58,673 ♪ ♪ 569 00:29:58,715 --> 00:30:00,425 Narrator: A mysterious comet 570 00:30:00,467 --> 00:30:03,386 reduces most of the Earth's population to dust. 571 00:30:03,428 --> 00:30:05,680 - Everybody's gone. - What? 572 00:30:05,722 --> 00:30:07,265 - I swear to God. 573 00:30:07,307 --> 00:30:08,850 You made me swallow my gum. 574 00:30:08,892 --> 00:30:11,436 - There's nobody. I mean, there's nobody! 575 00:30:11,478 --> 00:30:13,646 Narrator: A pair of sisters from the LA suburbs 576 00:30:13,688 --> 00:30:16,524 must run a gauntlet of deranged cannibals... 577 00:30:18,902 --> 00:30:20,445 ♪ ♪ 578 00:30:20,487 --> 00:30:21,946 Narrator: Mutant mall employees... 579 00:30:21,988 --> 00:30:26,284 - Let's play a game. It's called scary noises. 580 00:30:26,326 --> 00:30:28,411 Narrator: And sinister scientists. 581 00:30:28,453 --> 00:30:29,662 ♪ ♪ 582 00:30:32,499 --> 00:30:33,792 Narrator: All things considered, 583 00:30:33,833 --> 00:30:36,002 they handle it pretty well. 584 00:30:36,044 --> 00:30:37,253 - Like this is the height of, you know, 585 00:30:37,295 --> 00:30:39,297 valley girl mentality. 586 00:30:39,339 --> 00:30:42,425 This culture that's very ditzy LA women. 587 00:30:47,305 --> 00:30:49,682 - Daddy would've gotten us Uzis. 588 00:30:49,724 --> 00:30:52,602 - And to see a movie where they end up 589 00:30:52,644 --> 00:30:55,105 surviving and kicking ass, 590 00:30:55,146 --> 00:30:57,399 it just makes it really stand the test of time with how, 591 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:58,858 like, how great it is. 592 00:30:58,900 --> 00:31:00,443 - They said you were dead. 593 00:31:00,485 --> 00:31:03,530 - They were exaggerating totally. 594 00:31:03,571 --> 00:31:05,782 - Hey, that's a great outfit. - Thanks. 595 00:31:05,824 --> 00:31:08,118 ♪ ♪ 596 00:31:08,159 --> 00:31:10,203 Narrator: You could look at "Night of the Comet” 597 00:31:10,245 --> 00:31:13,289 as being an expression of the fear of nuclear war. 598 00:31:13,331 --> 00:31:15,417 - Thirsty. - Yeah? 599 00:31:15,458 --> 00:31:16,876 Well, what are you going to do when your complexion freaks up? 600 00:31:16,918 --> 00:31:19,879 Dermatologist is dead, you know. 601 00:31:19,921 --> 00:31:21,631 Narrator: That's probably overthinking it. 602 00:31:23,842 --> 00:31:25,927 If the apocalypse does come, 603 00:31:25,969 --> 00:31:28,972 you'd better hope you can spend it outdoors and free... 604 00:31:32,350 --> 00:31:34,769 Narrator: Not locked up with the doomsday prepper 605 00:31:34,811 --> 00:31:36,771 at "10 Cloverfield Lane.” 606 00:31:40,692 --> 00:31:44,028 ♪ ♪ 607 00:31:44,070 --> 00:31:45,864 Narrator: After a traffic accident, 608 00:31:45,905 --> 00:31:48,408 a young woman wakes up to find herself 609 00:31:48,450 --> 00:31:51,870 chained to a railing in a survivalist's bunker. 610 00:31:51,911 --> 00:31:53,663 He tells her that he has saved her 611 00:31:53,705 --> 00:31:55,957 from an apocalyptic attack. 612 00:31:55,999 --> 00:31:57,292 ♪ ♪ 613 00:31:57,333 --> 00:32:00,211 - Everyone outside of here is dead. 614 00:32:02,672 --> 00:32:07,677 Narrator: Leaving the bunker means certain death. 615 00:32:07,719 --> 00:32:09,512 ♪ ♪ 616 00:32:09,554 --> 00:32:10,847 Can he be trusted? 617 00:32:10,889 --> 00:32:12,807 - No one comes in or out. 618 00:32:12,849 --> 00:32:19,189 ♪ ♪ 619 00:32:19,230 --> 00:32:21,065 Narrator: The tense scenario is played out 620 00:32:21,107 --> 00:32:23,276 between three actors: 621 00:32:23,318 --> 00:32:26,571 Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle, 622 00:32:26,613 --> 00:32:29,449 John Gallagher Jr. as Emmett, 623 00:32:29,491 --> 00:32:32,952 and John Goodman as the inscrutable Howard. 624 00:32:32,994 --> 00:32:35,038 ♪ ♪ 625 00:32:35,079 --> 00:32:37,248 - It's quite a still movie. 626 00:32:37,290 --> 00:32:40,502 Purposefully, we are--we have very specific compositions 627 00:32:40,543 --> 00:32:42,504 to make our characters feel boxed in 628 00:32:42,545 --> 00:32:45,715 and, like, we're watching a little diorama unfolding. 629 00:32:45,757 --> 00:32:47,550 Then there are moments where things get more unhinged 630 00:32:47,592 --> 00:32:49,594 and the camera loosens up and we're more handheld. 631 00:32:51,095 --> 00:32:54,098 Stop! 632 00:32:54,140 --> 00:32:56,559 Narrator: One of those moments comes when Michelle, 633 00:32:56,601 --> 00:32:59,437 convinced that Howard is a dangerous predator, 634 00:32:59,479 --> 00:33:03,650 tries to escape and discovers the apocalypse is real. 635 00:33:11,616 --> 00:33:16,746 ♪ ♪ 636 00:33:16,788 --> 00:33:20,917 - The obvious reference points that we had were "Misery." 637 00:33:20,959 --> 00:33:25,046 - You did it! You did it! You murdered my Misery! 638 00:33:25,088 --> 00:33:26,923 - Which we could homage because it was a remake 639 00:33:26,965 --> 00:33:29,133 up until our final act. 640 00:33:29,175 --> 00:33:32,387 I kept on saying to everyone is that we're sort of the inverse 641 00:33:32,428 --> 00:33:36,057 and that in "Misery," you meet Kathy Bates 642 00:33:36,099 --> 00:33:37,934 and you like her and you trust her. 643 00:33:37,976 --> 00:33:39,769 And then you're not sure if there's a darkness. 644 00:33:42,647 --> 00:33:44,023 ♪ ♪ 645 00:33:45,316 --> 00:33:47,026 - In our movie, we meet this guy 646 00:33:47,068 --> 00:33:50,697 and we are immediately going, "He's trouble.” 647 00:33:50,738 --> 00:33:53,491 - You think I sound crazy. 648 00:33:53,533 --> 00:33:55,827 Crazy is building your ark 649 00:33:55,827 --> 00:33:57,829 after the flood has already come. 650 00:33:57,870 --> 00:33:59,080 - "I've seen this horror movie before. 651 00:33:59,122 --> 00:34:00,582 I got to get out of here." 652 00:34:00,623 --> 00:34:02,000 And then it flips on us and we go, "Oh wait, 653 00:34:02,041 --> 00:34:03,793 maybe he's not trouble,” you know? 654 00:34:03,835 --> 00:34:08,590 ♪ ♪ 655 00:34:08,631 --> 00:34:12,176 - You gonna walk out on me? 656 00:34:12,218 --> 00:34:14,512 Narrator: But as time passes, Michelle realizes 657 00:34:14,554 --> 00:34:17,599 she is in a worst-case scenario 658 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:20,393 because Howard is a homicidal maniac. 659 00:34:23,104 --> 00:34:25,648 And when she finally gets out of the bunker, 660 00:34:25,690 --> 00:34:28,735 she sees the apocalypse is still in progress. 661 00:34:28,776 --> 00:34:33,573 ♪ ♪ 662 00:34:33,615 --> 00:34:35,617 - Come on. 663 00:34:35,658 --> 00:34:38,995 Narrator: And the audience sees why this film is a sequel 664 00:34:39,037 --> 00:34:41,581 to the giant monster movie "Cloverfield." 665 00:34:41,623 --> 00:34:48,129 ♪ ♪ 666 00:34:48,171 --> 00:34:50,256 -It's a psychological thriller 667 00:34:50,298 --> 00:34:53,426 that becomes an apocalyptic horror at the end 668 00:34:53,468 --> 00:34:55,928 because you don't know if any of it's real. 669 00:34:55,970 --> 00:34:59,223 ♪ ♪ 670 00:34:59,265 --> 00:35:01,309 And then this is a great reveal of, 671 00:35:01,351 --> 00:35:04,187 like, no, not only is it real, it's infinitely worse 672 00:35:04,228 --> 00:35:05,480 than what you thought. 673 00:35:11,277 --> 00:35:13,237 There is an apocalypse. There are aliens. 674 00:35:13,279 --> 00:35:14,864 It's super up. 675 00:35:14,906 --> 00:35:18,493 And I think Trachtenberg did a really fantastic job 676 00:35:18,534 --> 00:35:23,206 making a movie that was really more spiritually a sequel 677 00:35:23,247 --> 00:35:24,457 to the first one. 678 00:35:24,499 --> 00:35:30,171 ♪ ♪ 679 00:35:30,213 --> 00:35:32,048 Narrator: Most movie apocalypses 680 00:35:32,090 --> 00:35:33,466 arrive with a bang. 681 00:35:33,508 --> 00:35:37,512 ♪ ♪ 682 00:35:37,553 --> 00:35:41,474 But what if the end of the human race comes quietly 683 00:35:41,516 --> 00:35:44,894 and we don't realize it until it's far too late? 684 00:35:50,233 --> 00:35:52,735 narrator: "Planet of the Apes" 685 00:35:52,777 --> 00:35:54,195 gave us one of the most indelible images 686 00:35:54,237 --> 00:35:57,699 of post-apocalyptic Earth ever recorded: 687 00:35:57,740 --> 00:35:59,617 when Charlton Heston comes across 688 00:35:59,659 --> 00:36:03,121 the centuries-old ruin of the Statue of Liberty. 689 00:36:03,162 --> 00:36:05,540 - You blew it up! 690 00:36:05,581 --> 00:36:08,793 Ah, damn you! 691 00:36:08,835 --> 00:36:13,089 God damn you all to hell! 692 00:36:16,050 --> 00:36:18,094 Narrator: And in "Soylent Green," 693 00:36:18,136 --> 00:36:21,723 the bleakest of Heston's '70s-era apocalypse movies, 694 00:36:21,764 --> 00:36:25,435 a world ravaged by climate change and overpopulation 695 00:36:25,476 --> 00:36:28,479 resorts to a high-tech form of cannibalism 696 00:36:28,521 --> 00:36:30,356 to feed the masses. 697 00:36:30,398 --> 00:36:33,943 - Soylent Green is made out of people. 698 00:36:33,985 --> 00:36:37,655 Next thing, they'll be breeding us like cattle. 699 00:36:37,697 --> 00:36:42,702 You gotta tell 'em! Soylent Green is people! 700 00:36:42,744 --> 00:36:44,996 ♪ ♪ 701 00:36:45,037 --> 00:36:46,831 Narrator: But the end of the human race 702 00:36:46,873 --> 00:36:48,416 doesn't always require ruined cities 703 00:36:48,458 --> 00:36:50,126 and blighted countrysides. 704 00:36:52,503 --> 00:36:55,131 There is the quiet apocalypse of being stealthily replaced 705 00:36:55,173 --> 00:36:58,885 by things that look like us, but are utterly alien. 706 00:36:58,926 --> 00:37:02,638 ♪ ♪ 707 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,349 That's the paranoid premise of Jack Finney's novel 708 00:37:05,391 --> 00:37:06,809 "The Body Snatchers.” 709 00:37:06,851 --> 00:37:09,604 - They're like huge seed pods. 710 00:37:09,645 --> 00:37:11,939 Narrator: Which has been adapted and ripped off 711 00:37:11,981 --> 00:37:15,359 countless times since it was published in 1955. 712 00:37:18,237 --> 00:37:19,906 - "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"” 713 00:37:19,947 --> 00:37:21,324 is a movie that gets remade, like, every generation. 714 00:37:21,365 --> 00:37:23,159 I mean, we all get the 715 00:37:23,201 --> 00:37:24,619 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" that we deserve. 716 00:37:24,660 --> 00:37:25,995 - Miles. - Miles. 717 00:37:26,037 --> 00:37:27,914 ♪ ♪ 718 00:37:27,955 --> 00:37:29,540 - For mine, it was the 1956 version 719 00:37:29,582 --> 00:37:31,626 which was an almost film noir. 720 00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:34,295 - Listen to me! We're in danger! Danger! 721 00:37:34,337 --> 00:37:35,838 - Get out of the street! Go on! Get out of here! 722 00:37:37,381 --> 00:37:38,966 Narrator: In a small California town, 723 00:37:39,008 --> 00:37:41,594 people are being replaced by duplicates. 724 00:37:41,636 --> 00:37:44,222 ♪ ♪ 725 00:37:44,263 --> 00:37:46,933 Emotionless creatures grown from pods 726 00:37:46,974 --> 00:37:49,435 that all think identically. 727 00:37:49,477 --> 00:37:53,022 - No emotion. And you have no feelings. 728 00:37:53,064 --> 00:37:54,607 Only the instinct to survive. 729 00:37:54,649 --> 00:37:56,818 Narrator: Clearly, there's an allegory here 730 00:37:56,859 --> 00:37:59,862 about conformity and political extremism, 731 00:37:59,904 --> 00:38:01,405 but the targets of the critique 732 00:38:01,447 --> 00:38:03,282 depend on your point of view. 733 00:38:03,324 --> 00:38:06,577 - Desire, ambition, faith. 734 00:38:06,619 --> 00:38:08,871 Without them, life's so simple. Believe me. 735 00:38:08,913 --> 00:38:10,456 - The genius of the first 736 00:38:10,498 --> 00:38:11,999 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"” 737 00:38:12,041 --> 00:38:16,420 is that it can be interpreted as anticommunist. 738 00:38:16,462 --> 00:38:19,757 And it can be interpreted as anti-McCarthy witch hunts. 739 00:38:19,799 --> 00:38:22,552 - He's been talking day after day about the way he wants to 740 00:38:22,593 --> 00:38:26,097 get anyone tainted with communism out before sundown. 741 00:38:26,138 --> 00:38:27,473 - It's a malignant disease 742 00:38:27,515 --> 00:38:29,183 spreading through the whole country. 743 00:38:29,225 --> 00:38:32,228 ♪ ♪ 744 00:38:32,270 --> 00:38:34,146 - So that's a really clever thing is that the, you know-- 745 00:38:34,188 --> 00:38:35,523 like, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"” 746 00:38:35,565 --> 00:38:36,899 is like a double whammy. 747 00:38:39,861 --> 00:38:46,742 ♪ ♪ 748 00:38:52,582 --> 00:38:55,126 Narrator: Phillip Kaufman's 1978 version 749 00:38:55,167 --> 00:38:57,545 is more of a sequel than a remake. 750 00:39:01,340 --> 00:39:03,301 narrator: Set in San Francisco, 751 00:39:03,342 --> 00:39:06,554 it's a chilling horror film and a satire 752 00:39:06,596 --> 00:39:08,264 of the baby boom generation's drift away 753 00:39:08,306 --> 00:39:11,225 from the free-thinking values of the '60s. 754 00:39:11,267 --> 00:39:14,061 - Matthew, I've lived in this city all my life, 755 00:39:14,103 --> 00:39:17,064 but somehow today, I felt everything had changed. 756 00:39:17,106 --> 00:39:18,149 People were different. 757 00:39:20,318 --> 00:39:22,153 Narrator: Donald Sutherland, 758 00:39:22,194 --> 00:39:24,447 a one-time symbol of the counterculture, 759 00:39:24,488 --> 00:39:28,242 stars as a health department inspector who slowly realizes 760 00:39:28,284 --> 00:39:31,203 his friends are being replaced by pod people. 761 00:39:31,245 --> 00:39:37,335 ♪ ♪ 762 00:39:37,376 --> 00:39:40,421 - All right. Let's back up and go through it once more. 763 00:39:40,463 --> 00:39:43,382 Narrator: In one of many clever bits of casting, 764 00:39:43,424 --> 00:39:46,427 Leonard Nimoy appears as a pop psychologist 765 00:39:46,469 --> 00:39:49,430 who at first seems to be the voice of reason. 766 00:39:49,472 --> 00:39:52,099 - You're jumping into a very bizarre conclusion 767 00:39:52,141 --> 00:39:56,020 that this man you live with has been replaced by somebody else. 768 00:39:56,062 --> 00:39:58,773 Isn't it more likely that want to believe that he's changed 769 00:39:58,814 --> 00:40:01,442 because you're really looking for an excuse to get out? 770 00:40:01,484 --> 00:40:05,488 - Nimoy who up until then had always been seen as a good guy, 771 00:40:05,529 --> 00:40:08,866 as Spock from "Star Trek," suddenly playing a villain, 772 00:40:08,908 --> 00:40:11,410 made that film extra frightening. 773 00:40:11,452 --> 00:40:14,705 - You will be born again into an untroubled world. 774 00:40:14,747 --> 00:40:17,541 Free your anxiety, fear. 775 00:40:17,583 --> 00:40:21,712 - But he also was, like, a strange sort of ambassador 776 00:40:21,754 --> 00:40:23,965 or emissary for their point of view. 777 00:40:24,006 --> 00:40:27,301 He almost made becoming a pod person 778 00:40:27,343 --> 00:40:30,012 sound somewhat appealing. 779 00:40:30,054 --> 00:40:33,432 - We don't hate you. There's no need for hate now. 780 00:40:33,474 --> 00:40:35,643 ♪ ♪ 781 00:40:35,685 --> 00:40:37,353 Narrator: In keeping with the bleak spirit of the times, 782 00:40:37,395 --> 00:40:39,105 the hero ends up being absorbed 783 00:40:39,146 --> 00:40:42,191 into the emotionless collective. 784 00:40:42,233 --> 00:40:48,030 No, no! 785 00:40:48,072 --> 00:40:49,490 - I mean, that last shot of Donald Sutherland 786 00:40:49,532 --> 00:40:51,117 is absolutely terrifying. 787 00:40:51,158 --> 00:40:52,702 And the way Veronica Cartwright screams. 788 00:40:52,743 --> 00:40:56,330 It has the scariest ending to any horror film in the '70s. 789 00:40:59,875 --> 00:41:01,752 - Horror films are fun 790 00:41:01,794 --> 00:41:04,463 when they take the kind of paranoid fantasies 791 00:41:04,505 --> 00:41:07,383 that skitter around our brains and say, 792 00:41:07,425 --> 00:41:08,926 "But what if it was true?" 793 00:41:08,968 --> 00:41:10,720 Jack! 794 00:41:10,761 --> 00:41:13,055 - Reality, however, becomes a little less fun 795 00:41:13,097 --> 00:41:14,432 when we can't parse the difference 796 00:41:14,473 --> 00:41:17,977 between truth and paranoid fantasy. 797 00:41:18,019 --> 00:41:24,233 ♪ ♪ 798 00:41:24,275 --> 00:41:26,277 Narrator: Someday, the end will come. 799 00:41:28,029 --> 00:41:29,739 ♪ ♪ 800 00:41:29,780 --> 00:41:32,199 Civilization will collapse. 801 00:41:32,241 --> 00:41:34,785 ♪ ♪ 802 00:41:34,827 --> 00:41:37,788 Will you be a victim? 803 00:41:37,830 --> 00:41:41,042 Or a survivor? 804 00:41:41,083 --> 00:41:45,171 ♪ ♪