The Quiet Earth (1985)

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Although it has some flaws such as cheap special effects and a less-than-perfect premise, it is a captivating and frightening story about being alone. The power play between the two men in the 2nd half is outstanding.

Many people are turned off by the very ambiguous ending. Personally, I loved the ending. It is the ambiguity of it that is so refreshing.

Fmovies: This movie has little action, instead focussing on the realities of being put in a situation where you are the last person on Earth. It deals with the mental problems that might arise and one man's descent into, and ascent out of, madness.

The science behind the disappearance of the whole human population is best ignored as complete nonsense, but otherwise the movie is solid enough fare.

Likewise the non-Hollywood ending appealed to me, even if I haven't the faintest idea what happened, or why.

And if you find yourself sneering at what the hero gets up to on screen ask yourself this - What would you do if you were the last person on Earth?

I have not seen this movie in ages.

The ending stuns me to this day.

I honestly cannot remember how I came upon this film but it was most likely in the "$1 previously viewed bin" at the old RKO Video Store on 47th Street in Manhattan.

I still own this copy and refuse to part with it, no matter how much it fetches on ebay. I sincerely hope they release a DVD here in the u.s.

Reading the other comments brought the film back to me but I remember clearly watching his descent into madness brought about by being the only one left and that ending leaves you breathless.

The Quiet Earth fmovies. I love films with an apocalyptic theme. And this is definitely one of the better ones. Even though the basic story has been around quite a few times, e.g. "Omega Man, The (1971)", it is always interesting to see what has happened before and how it ends. Here, the emphasis is put on human relations, not so much on action. The scientific explanation for the "effect" is also somewhat implausible, but due to that rather authentic scientist Hobson I believed it anyways. And fortunately, the authors chose a non Hollywood-style ending for the movie!

This movie sticks in your mind for days. The opening scenes immediately pull you into this eerie, lifeless world as we see our hero driving around ghost towns, looking for signs of life. A terrifying concept that hooks you. There are classic moments throughout the first half of the movie as we witness the various states of madness our hero goes through before he accepts his situation and takes control. It's this part of the movie that made it a cult classic. As soon as the plot starts to thicken and the focus is taken away from his desolate existence, the magic starts to ebb. However, you are still left on the edge of your seat until you get an answer to any of the questions the story line produced. The end scene, is beautiful, perplexing but I've got to say, a bit of a cop-out. However, its' lack of answers keep you guessing. A superb, off the wall film, that stays inside you.

If you're looking for a science fiction flick that has nothing to do with little green aliens or intergalactic civil war, check out this film. A terrific story about a man waking up to find out that everybody in the world is gone. Vanished! He is the only one on Earth. A great part of the film deals with the struggle of having to be alone. Very original, very interesting, and very entertaining. Check it out.