The Road (2009)
Usually, road trips in movies equal fun and trouble. This is not the case with the dystopian drama 'The Road' starring Viggo Mortensen.
In this post-apocalyptic world, all roads lead to death and destruction. 'The Road' follows a father and his son on a nightmarish road trip through a US that has been turned into a wasteland by an unspecified disaster.
Civilization as we know it has ceased to exist. There is no electricity, no petrol, no food and no medicine.
To survive, father and son must search abandoned houses and shops for canned food and jams and for warm winter clothes. At the same time, they must constantly be on the lookout for enemies who are not shy about resorting to cannibalism to get food inside.
Best prepping moment:
One of the few bright spots in the pitch-black tale takes place when the father and son accidentally find an underground shelter full of canned food.
They spend only one night there, as the father is afraid of staying too long in one place, but for a moment things look bright - thanks to an unknown prepper who had taken his precautions before disaster struck.
Can be viewed at: The film strip.
Did you know that…: in 1968 canned food was salvaged from a paddle steamer that sank in the Missouri River in 1865 that was still edible? The cans with i.a. peaches, oysters and mixed vegetables were analyzed in 1974 by the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), who found that the food was still safe to eat even though it had lost some flavor and nutritional value.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
In movies, preppers are most often characterized as paranoid conspiracy theorists with a screw loose. '10 Cloverfield Lane' is no exception.
When the young woman Michelle is involved in an accident, she wakes up in an underground bunker with two men who have rescued her from the car wreck. Manager Howard, played by John Goodman, tells her that the Earth's surface has become uninhabitable after an attack of unknown nature, and that he has therefore brought her to safety.
But has the world really come to an end, or is Michelle the victim of a madman's kidnapping?
Best prepping moment:
Although the film is pure science fiction, it gives a realistic insight into what it takes to survive a long time in a shelter.
From the storage of canned goods, frozen foods and medicine to the strict rules and safety procedures that Howard forces everyone to follow to minimize the risk of outside contamination.
In one of the film's best scenes, Michelle has to crawl through narrow passages to repair the air filtration system – an underscoring of how important it is to be able to maintain and repair critical equipment in a disaster situation.
Can be viewed at: Viaplay or Apple TV (must be rented)
Did you know that…: during the COVID-19 pandemic, did air quality significantly improve globally due to the shutdown? For example experienced Southeast Asia a reduction of 40% in the level of harmful particles, while cities such as Wuhan, Lima and Berlin saw reductions in toxic Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) and harmful particulate matter (PM₂.₅) of up to 63% and 61%.
Take Shelter (2011)
It is in the very word prepper – to prepare and be prepared for everything from large to small disasters.
But what if the disaster never comes? What if the outside threat only exists in your own head? And what if prepping becomes such an obsession that it extends beyond the family you're fighting to protect?
That is the premise of Jeff Nichols' excellent drama 'Take Shelter' – a different kind of disaster film about an ordinary American's struggle to survive his own mental downfall.
'Take Shelter' centers around hard-working family man Curtis, who has recurring dreams of a devastating storm that threatens to kill himself and his small family.
Curtis becomes obsessed with the idea of expanding and securing the family's storm cellar. But is Curtis right in his doomsday prophecy, or is he bracing himself for a disaster that springs from his own madness?
Best prepping-moment:
With the shelter complete and stocked with supplies, Curtis tries to reassure himself by testing and making sure everything is working properly. He goes over the procedures for what to do in the event of a disaster and shows his wife and daughter how to use the shelter.
The scene is central to the film as it shows how far Curtis is willing to go to protect his loved ones – and how far the fear of disaster can drive us.
Can be viewed at: The film strip
Did you know that…: the religious Russian church community, Old Believers, in the 17th century isolated itself in remote areas such as Siberia? Here they lived in self-sufficient communities and maintained traditional orthodox rituals. Despite persecution, Old Believers have survived through the centuries and are still found today in Russia.
The Last of Us Episode 3 Season 1 (2023)
Okay, 'The Last of Us' is a TV series, but no prepper list would be complete without this masterful feature-length third installment of the post-apocalyptic zombie series based on the computer game of the same name.
The episode follows doomsday prepper Bill – a loner who transforms his private residence into an impenetrable shelter when a pandemic turns most of the world's population into zombie-like monsters.
Bill's skills and preparations reflect many of the classic elements of prepping, such as gathering supplies, securing the home, and developing long-term survival strategies.
Best prepping-moment:
It's a joy to watch Bill secure his home with hidden traps, electric fences and a host of surveillance cameras. But the episode also touches on something more fundamentally human.
When Bill reluctantly allows the man Frank into his home, the narrative takes a turn and unfolds a tender love story with the two.
Suddenly, Bill is prepping not only for himself, but also for someone he loves. And with love also comes a fear of dying that he hasn't experienced before. As Bill puts it: “I was never afraid until you showed up”.
Can be viewed at: HBO Max
Did you know that …: the company Vivo's xPoint offers leasing of underground bunkers in South Dakota, USA that are built to withstand apocalyptic events? The total of 575 bunkers, formerly used by the military to store ammunition, are equipped with food, water, fuel, medicine and advanced security measures.
Cast Away (2000)
We could easily make a whole other guide with films about man's – often fatal – encounter with wild nature.
'Aguirre, the Mad Conqueror' (1972), 'Excursion with Death' (1972), 'We Live' (1993), '127 Hours' (2010) and 'Into the Wild' (2007) are all good examples of how survival instinct, ingenuity, and mental strength can help overcome extreme situations far away from the comforts of the modern world.
In 'Cast Away', Chuck Nolan (played by Tom Hanks) finds himself in perhaps the most extreme situation of all, when he crashes a plane into the sea and washes ashore on a deserted island as the only survivor. He spends the next four years in total isolation on the island like a modern Robinson Crusoe.
It's a treat for all nature lovers and preppers to see how he learns to make fire by rubbing two sticks together in best Stone Age fashion, and how he refines his skills to find, catch and store food and water and teach himself to build a shelter from scratch.
Best prepping-moment:
Tom Hanks hoards all he can find of usable materials from the plane wreckage and uses them in inventive ways to ensure his own survival. He uses the blade of a skate as a knife, builds ropes out of clothes and blankets and collects rainwater with plastic lids.
The most iconic is probably the Wilson brand volleyball, which washes ashore on the island - and becomes a much-needed "conversation partner" for the isolated and lonely islander
Can be viewed at: Netflix
Did you know that…: William Broyles Jr., who wrote the screenplay for Cast Away spent several days alone on a deserted beach on the Gulf of California to fend for themselves? He caught and ate stingrays, learned how to open coconuts, tried to make a fire - and then he found a washed up Wilson brand volleyball.
