What is it that makes us seek out disaster in filmsprimarily that most terrible of disasters, the apocalypse? Perhaps it’s because the idea is so momentous, so overpowering, that if we ignored it we wouldn’t be able to go on. What better way to investigate the possibilities of the end of the world than by putting it on the big screen? Over the years, a number of artists have done just that, and the results have been at times haunting, at times hilarious. SciFiList.com proudly presents:Top 10 Apocalyptic Movies10. WALL-E (2008): Pixar’s apocalyptic tale is one of the few suitable for kids, but its vision of an Earth overrun by trash and abandoned is eerily prophetic. Humans live in orbiting spacecraft and relegate the most basic tasks to machinery, losing the most precious parts of human existence. And oh, yeah, there’s a really cute robot in the middle of it all.9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): Visions of the apocalypse plague Sarah Connor, who unfortunately knows that she and her son John are responsible for preventing it. Aided by Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator from the original film, the trio embarks on the worst road trip of all time as the doomsday clock ticks down.8. Watchmen (2009): Superheroes are supposed to save the world, aren’t they? Unfortunately, most of them have bigger problems in this adaptation of Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel. Those problems include romantic failures, psychopathic tendencies, and, funnily enough, transcendence. The ending will shock you.7. 12 Monkeys (1995): Terry Gilliam’s magnum opus begins in a virus-contaminated wasteland and then switches gears to earlier years as convicted criminal James Cole (Bruce Willis) travels back in time to hopefully find a cure. The film is based off a little known French film from 1962 called La jetee (The Jetty).6. The Matrix (1999): The best part of this film is that the apocalypse has come and gone, and no one’s realized it, thanks to the machinations of insidiousmachines. Messianic figures and philosophical allusions abound in the first and best of the Matrix series.5. Mad Max (1979): Part of the Australian New Wave of cinema, this film starred a young Mel Gibson as an enforcer for the Main Force Patrol, the only bastion of law in a dystopian world. Of course, that law isn’t as righteous as it seems, and if falls to Max to set things rightin his own mad way.4. Escape from New York (1981): “Snake” Plissken is a cultural icon for many today, but back in 1981 he was just one man fighting against injustice. The odds weren’t very good, since all of Manhattan has been converted into a maximum security prisonand that’s where the President of the United States just crash landed. Whoops.3. On the Beach (1959): One of the few films on this list that’s not an action movie, On the Beach is a drama about life after nuclear fallout. All of the northern hemisphere and most of the southern have been devastated, and the last remnants of humanity are huddled in Australia, simply waiting out the end.2. Zombieland (2009): Zombie films have become a blockbuster industry, but Zombieland is unique for making the zombie apocalypse the backdrop to a roadtrip. Zombieland is also one of the few apocalyptic films to include a glimmer of hope. Maybe that’s why a sequel is already planned.1. Metropolis (1927): The first is still the best, especially now that it’s been restored to 153 minutes. The apocalypse here is man-made, caused by class warfare taken to its extremes, with a ruling class living in enormous skyscrapers and a working class underground. Fritz Lang’s direction is superb, and even though the film is silent, you’ll be in awe.