Entertainment
Chris Evans’ Dystopian Sci-Fi Film Is Suddenly Clicking With ‘Silo’ Fans on Free Streaming
A post-apocalyptic sci-fi series, when done right, should hook you in, leave you with lingering questions, mounting curiosity, and a sense of unease that keeps you glued to its fictional dystopia. If there’s any show that has nailed that hard, it is Apple TV‘s Silo. With its success, the appetite for similarly high-concept, thought-provoking sci-fi has only grown. Fortunately, stories built around rigid hierarchies and claustrophobic futures are nothing new to film. One Chris Evans–led sci-fi blockbuster that hits many of the same thematic notes has recently resurfaced on streaming and is rapidly climbing the charts as a free-to-watch hit.
Silo follows Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), an engineer living among the remnants of humanity inside a vast underground bunker after an apocalyptic catastrophe. The silo hides secrets beneath its rigid rules, and Juliette’s search for answers uncovers a mystery that threatens to unravel a carefully constructed lie about the world beyond its walls. Season 2 ends on a massive cliffhanger, with an uprising brewing inside the silo as newly uncovered truths ignite growing unrest. Silo mirrors Chris Evans’ post-apocalyptic film Snowpiercer (2013) in its strict class divide and ambitious high-concept world-building.
Instead of an underground bunker, the scheming in Snowpiercer unfolds aboard a massive train that endlessly circles the globe, powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. The film imagines the aftermath of a catastrophic attempt to reverse global warming that instead plunges Earth into a devastating ice age, wiping out most life on the planet. The last surviving humans are confined to the Snowpiercer, where a brutal class system takes hold. The poorest passengers are crammed into the filthy rear cars while the elite live in comfort and excess at the front. As resentment festers, a rebellion led by Evans’ Curtis Everett breaks out. Directed by Bong Joon Ho, the film also stars Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, and Ed Harris.
‘Snowpiercer’ Was a Commercial and Critical Hit
Snowpiercer was a South Korean co-production and, with a reported $40 million budget, ranks among the most expensive films ever produced in the country. The gamble paid off handsomely. The film became an international hit, shattering multiple box office records in South Korea, including the highest opening figure for a Korean film and the fastest to reach four million admissions. It ultimately grossed more than $86 million worldwide, though its U.S. box office stalled at just $4 million, due to a post-production dispute between director Joon Ho and distributor Harvey Weinstein.
Snowpiercer was also a critical success, earning a 94% rating and a consensus that praised it as “an audaciously ambitious action spectacular for filmgoers numb to effects-driven blockbusters.” More than a decade after its release, the film continues to draw audiences, ranking among the most popular titles on streaming. It’s currently available to watch for free on Pluto TV, where, at the time of writing, it sits as the fifth most popular title among U.S. viewers. The film also spawned a four-season television adaptation of the same name, which has likewise been enjoying a recent surge on the streaming charts.
You can watch Snowpiercer for free on Pluto TV, while the Snowpiercer TV series is available to stream in the US on Starz, AMC+, and on Netflix internationally.
- Release Date
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July 11, 2014
- Runtime
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126 Minutes
- Director
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Bong Joon-ho
- Writers
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Bong Joon Ho, Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, Jean-Marc Rochette