The human race can never again reproduce, and so basically everyone is waiting around for the imminent end to all humanity. Violence is rampant, and rule of law and moral standards have decayed, to the extent that illegal immigrants are summarily executed within moments of arrest.
The "The World Has Collapsed - Only Britain Soldiers On" ad in the train.
Quietus, a publicly-marketed suicide drug; it speaks volumes of the utter hopelessness that has gripped the world.
Early on, during a montage of news clips one that stands out is the image of New York City having been nuked.
In that same montage, it appears as though Paris has been reduced to a swamp.
The scenes where Julian and Jasper are murdered were so chilling in their swiftness.
The second one wasn't so swift...
The opening scene really sets the tone for the rest of the movie — an explosion inside of a shop that Theo was just in, followed by the sight of a woman screaming and holding her own arm staggering out.
In the background of the shot, just before the explosion, a couple greets one another and embraces on the sidewalk just by the shop entrance, much closer than Theo is. One second later, both of them are knocked to the ground by the blast. Just the total and utter Mood Whiplash that they must have gone through, even more so than the audience.
The scene where the bus is pulling into the Bexhill Refugee Camp. The antics in the prison area are deliberately and viscerally reminiscent of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse incidents, with prisoners being sworn at, stripped down, beaten, threatened with attack dogs, and sexually humiliated by sadistic guards running riot while The Libertines' 'Arbeit Macht Frei' plays in the background. To those who are aware of the full extent of the abuse at Abu Ghraib and Camp X-ray, the fate that awaits Miriam is all the more horrifying.
The scene where Theo and co. are running away from Syd but are stuck at a door that won't open all the way. Theo, Marichka, and Kee desperately squeeze through the door frame while Syd reloads his pistol, shouting obscenities at them from across the other side of the hallway they're in. The look of sheer terror on Theo's face as he looks back at Syd taking aim really sells how tense the whole situation is.
The Battle of Bexhill is a chillingly realistic recreation of a warzone, as Action Survivor Theo attempts to rescue Kay and her baby while dodging the attacks of both the Refugees and British Army (including a tank) by hiding in cars and behind corners, all filmed in one take.
