Eve Of The Apocalypse - Five Psychotronic Apocalyptic Films As Fodder For Your Mutant Future Rpg Campaign & Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

Food Of The Gods 1977 

Food of the gods is one of those weird 70's apocalyptic movies that really is so awful as to be right up the alley of what I kinda envisioned the Shadow years of Gamma World or Mutant Future were like a struggle against giant rats and animals. As a kid this was hardcore stuff, as adult this is the stuff of gonzo movie magic. This film is sort of based off of the H.G. Wells novel, the way that a slasher film is based off of the works of Edgar Allen Poe and that's not a bad thing. I've used this film as the basis for a pretty long running Twilight 2000 rpg campaign way back in the early 90's when I discovered that rpg's didn't have to take themselves that seriously. If your really in the mood for this one. It might make a great jump point for a Planet Mother F$%er campaign or a gonzo Mutant Future adventure. 

There are lots of looting, random violence, and deadly encounters if this movie is used as an alternative time track or alternative Earth for adventuring. Food Of The Gods is pure 70's schlock however so consider yourselves warned. Find out more right over HERE

The Andromeda Strain is a great model for a pre apocalpytic horror campaign. The PC's teleport onto the Earth of Andromeda and find a ton of loot and artifacts then the horror of their situation begins. This movie makes a excellent apocalyptic counterpoint to the mutant madness of other films. The horror here is a very dangerous one and one that can tag along if artifacts are looted from this world.

The book contains far more details about the causes and effects of the Strain and the underground base is a perfect 70's style blue print to for a weird base and as a loot point for PCs. You can find out more about the book HERE  And the original film right over HERE



The 1970's Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is mostly forgotten today and I've used it over & over again for post apocalyptic campaigns. The spores taking over communities and the PC's stumbling right into the middle of it captures some of the high weirdness of the Seventies while leaving plenty of room to play around with the post apocalyptic world. The film also provides a chance to slip in an alien invasion during the Shadow Years. 

A cross comparison of the original Fifties film and the Seventies recently popped up on You tube. Its got plenty of potential for uses in the post apocalyptic wastelands. 

Over the years I've made the pods & space seeds a creation of the Elder Things from HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness after reading the original book of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. More info right over HERE  on the book and 1970's film HERE


Plenty of loot potential and replacing a PC with a pod person enables a DM to get in some high strangeness with a party.

Phase IV never gets mentioned and it sort of an anti 'Them' instead of giant ants we get super evolved ants with incredible intelligence capable of dominating an alternative post apocalyptic landscape.
I've used this one to great effect by transporting the events aboard the Warden of Metamorphis Alpha 1st edition fame and then using the ants to reveal the extent of their control of their corner of the Warden through their mutant cultists. 

The ants of Phase IV are capable of bio engineering any number of surprises for a group of mutant PC's and the book of the film contains a ton of background material.
 Here's the reason I've used the novel from the wiki entry on the film : 

"According to the book Future Tense, "Bass originally filmed a spectacular, surreal montage lasting four minutes, showing what life would be like in the 'new' Earth, but this was cut by the distributor." ^[3] The montage was supposed to suggest that the two surviving characters were altered by the ants creating the next step in evolution for humanity and insects. Shots from the original montage sequence appear in the theatrical trailer, which was likely prepared before cuts were made to the film.

In June 2012, a few faded prints of the original ending sequence were found in the Saul Bass Collection at the Academy Film Archive, and this excerpt screened to the public in Los Angeles at the Cinefamily cinematheque following a showing of the theatrical version.^[4] The montage ending, along with a brand new 35mm print of the released version premiered on December 1, 2012 in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse as a part of a full day of films by Saul Bass. The alternate ending had been included in preview versions (c. 1973-4) of the film, according to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences representatives on site. The original film elements for the montage were located in Paramount's holdings, then digitally scanned and color-timed for presentation.

The novelization of playwright/screenwriter Mayo Simon's screenplay, written by Barry N. Malzberg, gives a hint of the final version by Bass as it uses the uncut version of Simon's script."

You can find more information on the film right HERE