The Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Is The #1 Movie On Streaming

Leave the World Behind is an apocalyptic, psychological thriller that follows two families during a nationwide crisis that was possibly caused by a massive cyberattack across the US. The nature of the crisis isn’t entirely defined, and the audiences are given partial information to piece the narrative’s background together.It reflects realistic situations involving imminent and coordinated societal collapse. The movie garnered plenty of attention from audiences and political commentators, considering that its production company was founded by Barack and Michelle Obama.

Needless to say, as with nearly every remotely realistic depiction of the end of the civilized world as we know it, the tensions between characters in Leave the World Behind escalate as the world collapses, the dynamic between the main characters of the movie, the Sandford family and the Scott family, takes center stage.

There’s plenty of chaos and misinformation, but also a great deal of mistrust among the lead characters, which ultimately provides the movie with its base in reality.

The film’s director, Sam Esmail, managed to invoke Hitchcock in confidently terrifying ways thanks to the reality-based setting, providing the audiences with a sense that what they’re witnessing on the screen could just as easily happen in real life any second now.

The film’s quality stems from the questions that are generally very uncomfortable to ponder since a rare few of us are actually ready for the doomsday scenario—and we usually laugh at preppers.

Leave the World Behind asks the important question of what we would do when the world collapses. Where will we run in our EVs, and which app are we going to turn to for directions once the powerplants stop working and all communication is lost?

It could easily happen with a well-coordinated and planned intervention or as a result of a nuclear attack—which actually emits bursts of electromagnetic radiation, killing nearly all electronics in the vicinity. For example, the American test Starfish Prime caused electrical damage over 1,300km or 800 miles away.

While Leave the World Behind doesn’t ask some of these questions directly or deal with the consequences of a nuclear attack, it does ask interesting and uneasy questions no one of us would like to have to answer. Ultimately, it provides a quick glimpse into a civilization collapse that’s very rarely felt this real on a small screen.

The fact that the movie was exec produced by Barack and Michelle Obama through their Higher Ground Productions banner only adds fuel to the gas tanks of tinfoilers who believe that the political elites secretly communicate their plans through the media.

Whatever the case might be, Leave the World Behind is a really surprising and well-crafted masterpiece that features a fantastic cast and asks the important questions. Those interested in the movie can watch it on Netflix.