Four Horsemen in Pop Culture

In history and film alike, when Four Horsemen precede anything it’s usually not a good sign. These ominous omens have popped up in films and television throughout the ages such as, Now You See Me and Sleepy Hollow. With the release of X-Men: Apocalypse on May 18^th, we have decided to look back on how these horsemen are portrayed in film and television.

The Simpsons

Maybe one of the funnier adaptions of the Four Horsemen, this is The Simpsons take on Judgement day. After falling asleep in church, the Simpsons wake to the end of the world after dreaming about bible stories. You see the Four Horsemen galloping across the skies, raining fire down upon Springfield. Unfortunately, the Simpson’s constant sinning means they are not taken up to heaven unlike the Flanders.

Now You See Me

Again, a nice take on the Four Horsemen rather than the usual doom and gloom. Now You See Me looks at magicians, rather than the post-apocalyptic bringers of death. Four magicians are bought together by an unknown source to pull off a bank heist but rather than keep the money, they give it to their audience. It’s the FBI’s job to figure out a logical way in which this happened but the farther they investigate, the more the plot thickens and things aren’t what they seem to be.

Sleepy Hollow

The American TV show looks at the Four Horsemen in the classic literary way. Each horseman represents War, Famine, Conquest and Death and proceed the coming of something far worse. Only Ichabod Crane, raised from the dead himself, can prevent this from occurring and save the world as we know it with the help of local police Lieutenant, Abbie Mills.

X-Men: Apocalypse

The X-Men are finally confronted by one of the most powerful foes they’ve ever faced. Apocalypse, one of the oldest known mutants, has awoken to a world in which humans have taken control. He looks to reclaim the world as his own, flanked by his Four Horsemen (Storm, Archangel, Magneto and Psylocke).

Horsemen

This relatively unknown Dennis Quaid film centres on a widowed detective, sauntering through life, still reeling from his wife’s death. A case arises that he makes a connection to, a connection that no one else has made yet. Could a serial killing spree be connected to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? This is a modern take on the Four Horsemen but none the less, a chilling rendition that makes a thrilling watch.