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With eerie empty street scenes akin to 28 Days Later, this 80s sci-fi flick follows a lone scientist spiralling into madness. And its psychological terror is as haunting as ever
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Film — Eleanor Burnard
Years before Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings trilogy, cementing New Zealand’s film industry as a commercial force to be reckoned with, and decades ahead of the sparse and atmospheric Backrooms , 1985’s The Quiet Earth was an early adopter of social isolation as 21st century horror – and it captured that dread and anxiety on a tiny budget.
Based on the 1981 novel of the same name, The Quiet Earth examined what happens when humans and animals seemingly vanish without a trace. It follows scientist Zac (Bruno Lawrence), whose workplace inadvertently causes an apocalyptic catastrophe, and who quickly spirals into megalomaniac madness due to his extreme isolation.
After considerable time alone (some of which is spent luxuriating in a mansion) Zac eventually runs into fellow survivors Joanne (Alison Routledge) and Api (Pete Smith), who realise they all evaded the mass disappearance because they were technically dead when the mysterious event occurred. Forming a solid (possibly polyamorous) community, they decide to destroy the laboratory Zac worked at, deducing that it will trigger a second event and universal collapse.
When Zac sacrifices himself by driving a truck full of dynamite into the research facility, he’s mysteriously transported on to a strange empty beach where a giant ringed planet is seen rising above the horizon. Our hero watches in confused awe.
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The film’s terrifyingly empty public spaces represent an early foray into the liminal horror genre; shots of once-bustling streets utterly devoid of people can easily be likened to zombie-horror 28 Days Later or psychological thriller Sunshine.
Though The Quiet Earth’s tight budget constraints led to its rather minute scope – a jumpscare featuring a cheap silicone dummy at the movie’s beginning is particularly goofy – its eerie atmosphere isn’t any less effective or compelling. The quiet stillness of an unanimated, lifeless world still makes for a chilling watch four decades later, and it’s easy to empathise with Zac during his intense lack of social interaction. After all, who among us didn’t go a little stir-crazy during lockdown?
Related: In praise of Danger 5: a delightfully stupid comedy where spies try to kill Hitler every episode
Years before we knew the pain of the pandemic, The Quiet Earth was reflecting a social paranoia of a different kind of threat: the cold war’s twilight years. You can sense the era’s anxiety, existential terror and fear of the unknown throughout its 90-minute runtime. The film’s mysterious weapon could easily be interpreted as a nuclear one.
What The Quiet Earth also hinted at, though, was a whole nation of film-makers who could tell epic stories on screen despite having access to limited funds. Before The Lord of the Rings, The Piano and Once Were Warriors showed the kind of stellar dramatic storytelling that New Zealand’s film industry would become known for, The Quiet Earth managed to craft a lingering atmosphere of isolation without expensive visual effects or CGI. Instead it relied on stellar performances and exposed shots of expansive emptiness. Its cosmic ending scene still hits hard, and it’s a film that I continually find myself returning to, not just because of my proud Kiwi status, but because it manages to capture a certain madness connected to loneliness that continues to haunt us in a post-pandemic world.
The Quiet Earth is available to stream on Prime Video in Australia and the US; and it’s available to rent or buy on Apple TV. Find more recommendations of what to stream in Australia here
Based on the 1981 novel of the same name, The Quiet Earth examined what happens when humans and animals seemingly vanish without a trace. It follows scientist Zac (Bruno Lawrence), whose workplace inadvertently causes an apocalyptic catastrophe, and who quickly spirals into megalomaniac madness due to his extreme isolation.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Eleanor Burnard. Published 25 Aug 2026, 03:00 pm.
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