The world can, indeed, go wild, and there’s a thousand different ways to do it. Luckily, there’s a tenaciously dedicated author who’s willing to delve into the nitty gritty and shed light on post-apocalyptic cinema, mainstream and obscure alike. If there’s anything to be said about David J. Moore’s World Gone Wild: A Survivor’s Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies, it’s that it’s very, very thorough. More films are covered in this one volume than most human beings will watch in their lifetime, all of the post-earth variety. Zombies, nuclear explosions, deadly viruses, robot takeovers, totalitarian regimes, you name it, Mr. Moore has covered it all.
From a formatting perspective, the book’s density may seem a tad daunting at first, some readers may spend their first moments wondering where to start. There really is no wrong or right answer to this question, Moore’s approach is concise and economic, no matter where you flip in the book there will be a rich trove of post-apoc gold to dig into. For the most part, World Gone Wild is a fairly straightforward encyclopedic work for genre fans, and if that sounds like you’re cup of tea you’ll be sure to enjoy this book.
For those looking for a little bit more, there are a variety of diverse interviews to be found in the text. Including notable industry workers such as Neil Marshall, Paul W.S. Anderson and Martin Campbell, the interviews are really the meat of Wild. Thorough and revealing, this component should be the hook for lovers of post-apocalyptic, or even just science fiction cinema in general.
Moore’s extensive personal knowledge of the filmographies of these artists and production histories of their films makes for excellent points of discussion and highlights elements of great interest to fans of these filmmakers and actors. It’s Moore’s own unique voice that ultimately serves as the centerpiece of World Gone Wild. Whether in interviews or simply providing nutshell reviews for an endless array of films, his vast knowledge and clear investment in the subject matter at hand provide a gateway of sorts to engage with a largely obscure material.
Even if you don’t know the first thing about post-apocalyptic movies, Moore’s writing should be enough to keep most readers involved. World Gone Wild is a fairly niche product, one that will only speak to a very specific audience of people. But for that audience there is a lot here to love. An intricate and articulately analyzed ode to the surprisingly dimensional art of post-apocalyptic movie-making that will surely please fans of the genre.
