Silent Survival: How Year 10 Quietly Climbed Prime Video’s Charts
A little-known, dialogue-free post-apocalyptic film from 2024, Year 10, has unexpectedly surged in popularity on Prime Video, drawing attention despite scant promotion and a mixed critical reception.
It’s not every day that a film slips past almost everyone, only to resurface and cause a stir long after its release. Year 10, a 2024 post-apocalyptic drama, managed just that. For over a year, it languished in obscurity, barely registering a blip on the cinematic radar. Now, against all odds, it’s found itself among the most-watched titles on Prime Video, outpacing a host of high-profile releases with far more fanfare and star power.
Directed by Ben Goodger and featuring performances from Toby Goodger, Duncan Lacroix, Hannah Khalique-Brown, and Luke Massy, the film’s premise is as bleak as they come. The official synopsis sets the scene: “10 Years after the fall of civilization, cannibalism has become the only option for humanity's dwindling survivors. When a violent tribe murders his father and steals the medicine keeping his love interest alive, our protagonist must embark on a treacherous journey battling the elements, packs of vicious wild dogs, and the cannibal group, or else lose the only thing he has left.”
Unusual Approach, Divided Opinions
What truly sets Year 10 apart isn’t just its grim setting, but its total absence of spoken words. While recent years have seen a handful of films experiment with minimal dialogue—think A Quiet Place or Motor City—this one takes the concept to its logical extreme. Not a single line is uttered throughout. Some have called this a bold move, a way to distinguish itself in a crowded genre. Others, however, are less convinced, suggesting it’s more a shortcut than a statement.
Reactions have been anything but uniform. On Letterboxd, one unimpressed viewer wrote,
“Of all the post-apocalyptic/individual survival movies, this is one of my least favourites. Why isn't anyone talking? The plot was unclear - without the movie description I'd have no idea what was happening - still confused even with it.”
Another, slightly more generous, offered,
“The no-dialog thing is kinda cool. But the movie itself needed more to it. It felt weak and unfinished. But decent idea.”
A third simply wondered,
“Were they too lazy to write a script?”
Small-Scale Ambition
Not everyone has been so dismissive. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, a rare positive review described the film as “riveting,” commending it for avoiding the “cookie-cutter” approach so common in the genre and for showing “actual imagination.” Another viewer praised it as “a great example of what can be done on a small-scale independent production budget.” Yet, even among these more favourable takes, there’s no shortage of detractors, with one calling it the “worst movie I’ve watched in my adult life.”
Despite the polarised feedback and a near-total lack of marketing, Year 10 has managed to carve out a place for itself. Its sudden popularity on Prime Video is as unexpected as it is intriguing, especially for a film with just a single critical review and no promotional push to speak of.
Curiosity on Demand
For those curious to see what all the fuss—or lack thereof—is about, the film is currently available to stream in the UK and US. Whether it’s a hidden gem or a misfire best left forgotten seems to depend entirely on the viewer’s taste for silence and survival. Either way, Year 10 has managed to do what many bigger productions have not: get people talking, even if the film itself never utters a word.