As human beings, we often take comfort in telling ourselves and each other, it's not the

end of the world.

But what if it is?

Going back as far as the Bible, and even earlier than that, humans have told stories

about an impending apocalypse, plagues, floods, fire and brimstone.

Similarly, filmmakers have also presented us with apocalyptic scenarios writ large on screen,

whether they're dystopian sci-fi films like Children of Men, big blockbuster disaster movies

like Armageddon or 2012, or zombie

apocalypse films like Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later.

So what's our fascination and obsession with stories about the end of the world?

In 2011, two respected filmmakers Jeff Nichols and Lars von Trier both used apocalyptic scenarios to tell

more personal stories linking the end of the world with internal psychological states. These

movies proved to be two of the best films from that year and two of the most celebrated works

in both filmmakers' careers.

Join me as we continue exploring the evolution of nature in horror and we look into the

abyss at the end of the world, with Take Shelter and melancholia.

Welcome back to the evolution of horror. My name is Mike Munzer and as ever, I am your host.

In this podcast, we explore and dissect the history and the evolution of the horror genre, one subgenre at a time. We are currently in the midst of our 10th season exploring

the evolution of nature biting back in horror, and this is part 31. It's a cheery week this week,

because we're talking about the end of the world.

As that intro suggested, we're going to be covering Jeff Nichols Take Shelter and Lars von Trier's Melancholia from 2011.

Both of these discussions will be spoilerific.

...