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.
