Blast From the Past, a 1999 film starring lovable goofball Brendan Fraser, was an awakening for me. The plot is simple: in the 1960s an eccentric scientist builds an underground bunker, which he and his family retreat to during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Believing a nuclear apocalypse has happened, Fraser grows up underground and emerges 30 years later – with hilarious consequences.
But it wasn’t the plot that mesmerised me. It was the bunker. A Mid-Century underground palace, it featured a garden with a pool, a multi-roomed house, simulated sunlight and even a fake supermarket to pick up groceries. In short, it was a dream home for any nervous child who’s watched Deep Impact too many times.
Nearly 60 years on from the Cuban Missile Crisis, fears about the end of the world are no less widespread. Rising sea levels, asteroids, nuclear war, a viral outbreak, rogue AI – you name it, it’s coming to get us.
The huge number of zombie films and TV series confirms our obsession with the apocalypse – and what we’d do if it happened. But preparing for the worst is no new thing. Bunkers have featured in the homes of ultra cautious folk for decades. However, 21st-century versions have taken things to the new levels.