The Road (movie) - nature of the apocalypse?

[Triumph]

What is the nature of the apocalypse in the movie The Road? Just watched it yesterday. There are random earthquakes, fires, all plant and animal life has died, the sky is constantly overcast, but the movie never explains it. I'm guessing asteroid impact which shifted tectonic plates, which caused instability in the crust of the earth, probably disrupting volcanic activity which could explain the constant cloudiness.

Does the book give any more clues?

 

[CrazyAznDriver]

I believe it was nuclear attacks. I thought it was explained in the movie, but maybe not, its been a while since I watched it. It is clear it is nuclear from the book.

 

[jman19]

The particular cause of the destruction of the earth is never explicitly mentioned, most likely so as not to distract from what the author wanted the reader to experience. Though there is a message there about the importance of protecting the planet and our environment...

 

[jhansman]

You're better off reading the book. McCarthy does a much better job provoking your imagination

 

[jman19]

You're better off reading the book. McCarthy does a much better job provoking your imagination

Yes I would also recommend that OP read the book. I haven't seen the movie but I really enjoyed the novel. It's a quick read but will stay with you for a while.

 

[KaOTiK]

Probably a good thing they didn't go into it, it would of been another 5 mins of papa papa!

 

[Gooberlx2]

I haven't read the book, but what from I've seen elsewhere, it's not explicitly explained in the book either outside something like "a series of concussions"...which could be nuclear, supervolcanoe, meteor, fire, etc...

 

[Triumph]

i have not read the book, but IMDB trivia mentioned that it is not explained in the book, either. from what the movie described, i would not think that kit was nuclear but rather something along the lines of a natural disaster.

 

[Triumph]

Probably a good thing they didn't go into it, it would of been another 5 mins of papa papa!

haha, I started getting annoyed at the constant whining of the kid, too. 🙂

 

[Baked]

What would happen if the US and USSR set off all their nuclear arsenal at one time on a single target?

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I read the book and it never says. Kinda feels like super volcano to me though.

 

[irishScott]

What would happen if the US and USSR set off all their nuclear arsenal at one time on a single target?

Would be better than randomly distributing them. We'd end up with one super-deep super-radioactive crater as opposed to tens of thousands of less deep but still deadly-radioactive craters.