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World Gone Wild: A Survivor's Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies
A loving ode to a universal genre of film. An entire subculture of end-of-the-world themes was spawned from films like The Road Warrior, Escape From New York, and The Terminator. While those films are still being emulated today, film makers all around the world continue to produce radically unique films with startling perspectives of humanity facing the end of all things. This book offers pointers and a frame of reference on how the characters behaved when their worlds were on the brink of desolation. It covers the genre's biggest blockbusters like The Hunger Games, I Am Legend, Oblivion and World War Z, while devoting equal time and attention to smaller, more obscure films that really deserve to be discovered. Containing over 800 movie reviews, 60 exclusive interviews with filmmakers and actors who've made films in the genre, and a vast sub-genre index, this is a chronicle of humanity's struggles through nuclear war, global natural disasters, and the zombie apocalypse in film.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2014
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80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 17, 2014
I wish I liked watching tv more. I would load up on Twinkies, canned food (and beer I do have my limits) and then have a whole weekend of Zombie/End of the world fest going on.
This book actually is pretty cool. It has most every movie with the dystopian theme listed. Even some I've never heard of. Great pictures are included.
I got this copy from Netgalley but I think I will pick up a copy of this book to gift my movie loving husband.
August 26, 2016
I have to admit, I love a good post-apocalyptic movie, and so World Gone Wild is right up my devastated, bombed out, radioactive wasteland of a street. Having been a teenager in the 1980s at the height of the video rental boom, my friends and I watched an awful lot of awful movies, and discovered a number of gems as well, but even of the acting was more wooden than some of the sets, the mere fact that the movie was a post-apocalyptic movie was enough to ensure that I sat though it to the end.
Since those early days (for me, anyway) I’ve kept up my some would say slightly disturbing fascination with the end of the world and can probably count the number of these films I’ve seen in the hundreds, so trawling through David J Moore’s World Gone Wild tome is both an exhaustive (as opposed to exhausting) look at pretty much every single post-apocalyptic movie ever made and a fascinating trip down memory lane.
World Gone Wild contains over 800 reviews, accompanied by hundreds of high quality stills and film posters, and apparently took Moore eight years to complete. Reading the love and passion that has gone into the reviews, and the depth of the 60 plus interviews that are included, I can only imagine that he had great fun doing this, and now we can enjoy the fruits of his labours in this, quite simply, awesome love letter to the genre. I seriously doubt whether there’s ever been a book before this one that has even come close to the brilliance of World Gone Wild and would be surprised if anybody could ever better it.
In a nutshell, if you have any interest in end of the world cinema, this book will blow your mind!
Since those early days (for me, anyway) I’ve kept up my some would say slightly disturbing fascination with the end of the world and can probably count the number of these films I’ve seen in the hundreds, so trawling through David J Moore’s World Gone Wild tome is both an exhaustive (as opposed to exhausting) look at pretty much every single post-apocalyptic movie ever made and a fascinating trip down memory lane.
World Gone Wild contains over 800 reviews, accompanied by hundreds of high quality stills and film posters, and apparently took Moore eight years to complete. Reading the love and passion that has gone into the reviews, and the depth of the 60 plus interviews that are included, I can only imagine that he had great fun doing this, and now we can enjoy the fruits of his labours in this, quite simply, awesome love letter to the genre. I seriously doubt whether there’s ever been a book before this one that has even come close to the brilliance of World Gone Wild and would be surprised if anybody could ever better it.
In a nutshell, if you have any interest in end of the world cinema, this book will blow your mind!
May 23, 2019
I think this book would have benefitted from a narrowing of scope. If it had been just movies, the author might have gotten them all. Instead, there are television shows and porn listed while some films were left off.
May 18, 2025
When I saw this, i was thrilled! A book full of reviews about dystopian, apocalyptic and posts apocalyptic films! What? I truly wanted to give this a 5. And then... I read it. The book really needed better direction. Including TV shows and made for TV movies was a mistake. That took up some valuable space. Mixing in short films that are almost impossible to find, those should have been in an appendix. As for the trash by the asylum, who've never done a decent film ever, those craptastic films also need to be in their own appendix. Finally there's the reviews. I seriously have to question these when an absolute order of crud like 2020 Texas Gladiators gets a better rating than 1968s Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later? Snyder's horrible plot hole filled remake of Dawn of the Dead gets the same rating as the original? As for Greenland, one of the absolute most boring, stupid films I've ever seen (and I'm including ANYTHING by the Asylum here), this gets their top rating? I have to regard this book as either a joke or the reviewers were really high. So, three stars. The Creature Features Movie Guides are a better source.
June 6, 2014
My earliest action movie memory is of The Road Warrior. Every time the film played on T.V., I would watch it. Max was just such a cool character. He drove what is arguably the coolest vehicle in all of film history, sported a sweet sawed off shotgun that has the same amount of stopping power as a rocket launcher, and he hardly said anything. It also had awesome bad guys driving awesome-er cars. The film is such a unique and strong vision of a future turned to shit that it’s burned into my brain permanently. It was one of the first VHS tapes I ever bought. I still own it today. It spawned countless rip-offs and knock offs and influenced several big budget Hollywood films. The 80′s were a ripe time for post apocalyptic films with the ever looming chance of a nuclear war. Since then, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic films have been gaining ground again as small indie flicks (every zombie movie made in the last 15 years) and big budget spectacles (Pacific Rim, Godzilla, countless Tom Cruise movies). One man was brave enough, or crazy enough, to dig in and watch them. ALL of them.
World Gone Wild is a film book that covers every single apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic film ever made. Seriously. The book is filled with 800+ reviews, the writing of which took the author 8 years to complete. Imagine that. Nearly a decade of watching, researching, and tracking down every single film in the apocalyptic canon. It’s a dizzying feat, one that I can’t imagine embarking on. Thankfully, I don’t have to. With the accurate, concise, and fun reviews packed in this bundle, I can avoid the many many stinkers and hone in on the solid ones. And, knowing me, I’ll circle back and try to find the worst of the worst in the book. The book comes in a beautiful hardcover edition, thick with high quality glossy FULL COLOR pages. This thing is stunning. The book is FILLED with full color posters and lobby cards. Every single page has at least one color photo on it. Honestly I can’t believe how good the quality some of the images are. I mean, a solid chunk of the book reviews are for films that aren’t on dvd. VHS only or sometimes not even that. Films lost floating in the ether of the internet, but David somehow grabbed them, pulled them in, reviewed em, and then found awesome images for them. Incredible. Damn near every other page also contains an interview with an actor, director, crew member, writer, you get the picture. I would have been very happy with a book that simply reviewed a ton of apocalyptic films. The author goes above and beyond here with the wonderful interviews and at the back of the book are several great lists. Everybody LOVES lists, and I’m a sucker for em too. You may be saying, Lord, I don’t need another film guide. Let me tell you something buddy, you do.
World Gone Wild is a perfect book about it’s subject matter. It’s thorough, high-quality, well conceived and executed, and above all fun and informative. If you have even just a passing interest in the genre, you’ll love the book. For aficionados, there’s plenty to dig into as well. My guess is there is no one on the planet that has watched more of these films than David J. Moore, and he decided to give us the best gift he could. An awesome book pointing us in the right direction in our pursuit of a truly wild staple of exploitation cinema. Do yourself a favor and pick up the book. Who knows, the survival techniques displayed in the kaleidoscopic variety of films might just save your life should the apocalypse arrive sooner than expected.
World Gone Wild is a film book that covers every single apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic film ever made. Seriously. The book is filled with 800+ reviews, the writing of which took the author 8 years to complete. Imagine that. Nearly a decade of watching, researching, and tracking down every single film in the apocalyptic canon. It’s a dizzying feat, one that I can’t imagine embarking on. Thankfully, I don’t have to. With the accurate, concise, and fun reviews packed in this bundle, I can avoid the many many stinkers and hone in on the solid ones. And, knowing me, I’ll circle back and try to find the worst of the worst in the book. The book comes in a beautiful hardcover edition, thick with high quality glossy FULL COLOR pages. This thing is stunning. The book is FILLED with full color posters and lobby cards. Every single page has at least one color photo on it. Honestly I can’t believe how good the quality some of the images are. I mean, a solid chunk of the book reviews are for films that aren’t on dvd. VHS only or sometimes not even that. Films lost floating in the ether of the internet, but David somehow grabbed them, pulled them in, reviewed em, and then found awesome images for them. Incredible. Damn near every other page also contains an interview with an actor, director, crew member, writer, you get the picture. I would have been very happy with a book that simply reviewed a ton of apocalyptic films. The author goes above and beyond here with the wonderful interviews and at the back of the book are several great lists. Everybody LOVES lists, and I’m a sucker for em too. You may be saying, Lord, I don’t need another film guide. Let me tell you something buddy, you do.
World Gone Wild is a perfect book about it’s subject matter. It’s thorough, high-quality, well conceived and executed, and above all fun and informative. If you have even just a passing interest in the genre, you’ll love the book. For aficionados, there’s plenty to dig into as well. My guess is there is no one on the planet that has watched more of these films than David J. Moore, and he decided to give us the best gift he could. An awesome book pointing us in the right direction in our pursuit of a truly wild staple of exploitation cinema. Do yourself a favor and pick up the book. Who knows, the survival techniques displayed in the kaleidoscopic variety of films might just save your life should the apocalypse arrive sooner than expected.
July 7, 2014
Ah, the end of civilization as we know it. What better subject matter for a movie? Hollywood has long embraced the post-apocalyptic (PA) concept, and new movies are coming out every year with this as its basis. These films are fascinating glimpses into what might be, should the end arrive during our lifetime. WORLD GONE WILD is an amazing, comprehensive look at over 800 titles in this favored genre, making this book a definite Must Own for fans of cinema!
Regardless of whether your are a diehard PA Film fan or if you’re just a casual watcher, this book needs a spot in your library. It is an exhaustive guide to all things PA, and it even includes several titles you might not thing to look for. Take, for example, Disney’s WALL-E. Yup, it’s in there. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s a look at life after the Earth has succumbed to mountains of trash. This shows you the deep depths to which this book goes.
WORLD GONE WILD lists each movie in alphabetical order, gives a detailed description and review, and then rates the movie using a comprehensive scale. It’s also chocked full of interesting information about the films, as well as interviews with cast and/or crew. I can’t stress enough: there has never been a book about PA films this inclusive.
WORLD GONE WILD is the final word on post-apocalyptic cinema, and it is a book you should snatch up at all costs. There are many films in it that I have never seen, but I am certainly adding them to my To Watch list now. The book is available now, so check it out!
Regardless of whether your are a diehard PA Film fan or if you’re just a casual watcher, this book needs a spot in your library. It is an exhaustive guide to all things PA, and it even includes several titles you might not thing to look for. Take, for example, Disney’s WALL-E. Yup, it’s in there. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s a look at life after the Earth has succumbed to mountains of trash. This shows you the deep depths to which this book goes.
WORLD GONE WILD lists each movie in alphabetical order, gives a detailed description and review, and then rates the movie using a comprehensive scale. It’s also chocked full of interesting information about the films, as well as interviews with cast and/or crew. I can’t stress enough: there has never been a book about PA films this inclusive.
WORLD GONE WILD is the final word on post-apocalyptic cinema, and it is a book you should snatch up at all costs. There are many films in it that I have never seen, but I am certainly adding them to my To Watch list now. The book is available now, so check it out!
October 31, 2014
An intricate and articulately analyzed ode to the surprisingly dimensional art of post-apocalyptic movie-making that will surely please fans of the genre.
World Gone Wild: A Survivor’s Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies Book Review on Popzara
World Gone Wild: A Survivor’s Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies Book Review on Popzara
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews