Plot Some years after an unspecified apocalypse which has killed all animal and plant life on Earth, a man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) trudge wearily through a devastated, lawless America, now overrun by gangs of redneck cannibals. Verdict One of the most chillingly effective visions of the world’s end ever put on screen — and a heart-rending study of parenthood, to boot.