Australian Flooding Could Be 3rd Sign of the Apocalypse, According to Film

Yesterday, we got two omens of the apocalypse, which looked even more like omens of the apocalypse when taken in a cinematic context. Granted, movies are sometimes wrong about the future, but seriously, is the latest explanation that those 5,000 dead birds just ran into each other really more far-fetched than the explanation advanced by The Seventh Sign, in which birds falling from the sky is one of the signs of judgment day? Well, it doesn't stop there. You know those Australian floods? Yeah, there's an Oscar Nominated director who already told us exactly what those mean. Hint: It's bad news.

Yes, if you need one more reason to feel awful about the massive Australian flooding, look no further than Peter Weir's 1977 mystical horror film The Last Wave. (Some spoilers follow). As the film starts, Australia is being hit by strange weather, including massive rainstorms with enough wind to break windows and shower school children with glass. Meanwhile, an Australian lawyer played by Richard Chamberlain has just taken a case to defend a group of Aborigines accused of homicide after another Aborigine dies mysteriously during one of the storms.

As the case progresses, Chamberlain starts having bizarre, apocalyptic dreams and visits from mystical Aborigine tribesman. And that weather gets worse and worse. By the time Chamberlain (who is naturally, a very straight-laced rational man) finally adds up all the signs, it's too late. I won't say what happens but uh...read the title again.

So yes, if cinematic precedent is any indication, things are not looking good! And if the flood, the fish and the birds weren't enough, a fanatical religious group has now declared that judgement day will take place on May 21, 2011. On one hand, this same group previously declared that the end of days would occur September 6, 1994, which was a pretty uneventful day as far as I can remember. On the other hand, if the fact that I just vouched for the godawful Seventh Sign isn't a sign of the apocalypse, I'm not sure what is.

In any case, here's a trailer for The Last Wave, along with it's wet, apocalyptic ending in case you want to get a head start on buying canned food instead of watching the whole movie (which is really quite good!).