2024 saw the worldwide release ofSociety of the Snow, the Netflix production of Spanish director J.A. Bayona’s survival drama about the Miracle of the Andes. The film has been hailed as the best dramatic adaptation of the true life story, and in recent days, it wasrecognized by the Academywhen it got two nominations (Best International Feature Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling) for the Oscars to be handed out in 2024.
The Miracle of the Andes was a tragedy that occurred in October 1972 when a plane carrying 45 passengers fell in the middle of the Andes Mountains. The plane crash survivors hoped to be rescued, but when they were able to fix a radio and listen to the message of rescue missions being called off, things changed. Resorting to cannibalism, they were able to survive for more than two months and eventually “walk” out of the mountains. Exactly. They walked out of one of the most hostile environments on the planet without any gear or appropriate clothing.
Society of the Snow
Read our Review of Society of the Snow
A very realistic adaptation of the story,Society of the Snowhas been acclaimed for being an emotionally powerful journey with a lot of heart. It feels like one of the mosthonest portrayalsof the various stories that have been reflected in books and documentaries since the events took place. Bayona’s direction is essential to keeping the emotional and religious aspects of the story intact, considering how close the film feels to the disaster and survival subgenres.
So, in that regard, it was only natural to dig around the bins and shelves and come up with a list of similarly themed films for your enjoyment. These are some survival and disaster films you can watch if you liked Spain’s selection to participate in the Academy Awards,Society of the Snow.
Stream on Netflix
10Alive (1993)
Frank Marshall’s survival film of 1993,Alive, tells the same story of the Miracle of the Andes. It’s a Hollywood-esque adaptation of the book of the same name by Piers Paul Read, which was definitely an upgrade from the first film made in the ’70s in Mexico.Alivefollows the same storyline of the survivors who had to find a way to escape a certain death by staying in the mountains. It’s led by notable actors of the ’90s, including Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton.
A Thrilling Spectacle of Special Effects
The film’s mostly known for its state-of-the-art special effects that offer a realistic version of the plane crash. It’s the best shot sequence of that kind of accident and sets the tone for the rest of the film, whose dramatic element fades away slowly because of a general tone of “safety.” It’s hard to imagine that these are the survivors of such a tragedy because they look great. Nevertheless, it’s the filmyou should watch beforeSociety of the Snowto get in the spirit of Bayona’s vastly superior approach.
Rent on Vudu
9All is Lost (2013)
all is lost
J.C. Chandor’sAll is Lostis a very underrated survival film that tells the story of a man who suffers an accident while sailing on his boat. When the vessel collides with a shipping container, the man must find a way to survive in the middle of the sea. The isolation is staggering, but his will to live is much stronger than he thought at first. The film stars Robert Redford in a single-man performance that’s among his best roles.
One-Man Survival Journey Led by Robert Redford
Stream on Tubi
8Cast Away (2000)
InCast Away, Chuck Noland is a systems analyst for FedEx who’s on a last-minute flight to another country. The cargo plane gets stuck in the middle of a storm, and the pilots can’t control it. It crashes in the middle of the ocean. Noland survives and actually makes it to a deserted island. Unfortunately, no rescue mission arrives. Is there a future for him? It appears he will have to find a way to make it out of the island by himself and get rescued in the middle of nowhere.
Accurate Depiction of a Great Fear
Zemeckis' film was instantly acclaimed because of Tom Hanks' exceptional performance as Noland.Cast Awayis an emotional experience that consists mostly of Noland’s ability to find some resources to survive, an aspect of the film thathas been consideredaccurate. In any case, it’s also a very realistic film that’s born out of a representation of humankind’s greatest fears: going through a plane crash and being stranded on an island with no food and, yes, an infected tooth.
Stream on The Roku Channel
Related:The 10 Best Survival Anime of All Time
7Everest (2015)
Baltasar Kormákur’s very underrated adventure survival film,Everest, is a harrowing depiction of the Mount Everest disaster that took place in 1996. A total of eight climbers died when a blizzard hit the mountain as commercial expedition groups tried to survive the hazardous conditions during the descent. The film is told from the perspective of those who survived what many consider to be the accident that speaks against the commercialization of the Everest climbs. This one will leave you out of breath, just likeSociety of the Snow.
A Very Realistic, Tragic and Exciting Survival Film
Undoubtedlyone of the best man-against-nature filmsever made,Everestwas an ambitious project led by an ensemble cast that helped increase the dramatic aspect of what we already knew was going to be a jarring experience. The film stars Jason Clarke, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, and Michael Kelly, among others. Though it was a very successful film, author Jon Krakauer, one of the survivors and an author who wrote a memoir about the events, stated that the film wasn’t very accurate in its depiction.
Stream on Peacock Premium
6127 Hours (2010)
127 Hourstells the real-life story of Aron Ralston, the daring rock climber who one day stared at his own mortality during an unfortunate accident. During a hike that he starts without telling anyone, Ralson falls in the crevice of a canyon in Canyonlands National Park and gets his arm stuck in a boulder. A few hours pass, and Ralston realizes he’s by himself and will probably have to find a way to escape.
A Real-Life Survival Film that Will Make You Grimace
Thehighly claustrophobicfilm 127 Hours was directed by Danny Boyle and is one of the director’s most intimate and simple films. Led by James Franco, the film works as a buildup to a moment that people found controversial but inevitable. Ralston has to sever his arm in order to escape, and that he does in a sequence that will leave you gasping for air, nervously munching on popcorn, or getting the bucket to relieve yourself. In any case, Boyle leaves nothing to the imagination in this survival film that got nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
Rent on Apple TV
5The Wave (2015)
Roar Uthaug’s 2015 filmThe Waveis a Norwegian production of a disaster film that many people failed to see because of subtitle fear. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most interesting approaches to the subgenre to come out in recent decades because it’s extremely well-shot, and the special effects look truly amazing. The film tells the story of a family going through a mountain collapse that generates an enormous tsunami that puts the entire city underwater.
Extremely Well-Made Disaster Film that Doesn’t Get Enough Love
Unfortunately,The Waveisan underappreciated disaster film, but we don’t see how this can’t be remedied. The film’s centered around a father who never surrenders when looking for his family, and this adds a lot of dramatic fuel to a film that surely doesn’t need to indulge in these often secondary elements of the disaster film subgenre. While the film’s not based on a specific story, it’s eerily similar to what was documented about a disaster in Norway that took place in the 1930s. Trust us when we say you won’t regret seeking this one out.
Stream on Hulu
4The Impossible (2012)
The Impossible
The Impossibletells the true story of the Belón family as they’re vacationing in Thailand in 2004 and a horrific natural disaster occurs. To help the popularity of the film, the last name is switched to the Bennetts, and the film narrates the events as a tsunami hits a resort in Khao Lak, and they all get injured and separated. What follows is a very emotional film (starring a young Tom Holland alongside Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts) that shows a family’s resilience during a chaotic disaster and their will to find each other again in the most improbable of moments and places.
Another One of Bayona’s Gems
Bayona’sotherdisaster film is among the best of the genre. The visual effects are extremely well done and combine perfectly with a plethora of practical sets that couldn’t have been easy to use in the production. But Bayona isn’t the average director who conforms to his films looking good. He wants them to be the very best, andSociety of the Snowis also great proof of this. This is a very uplifting film that, curiously, people feel keen towatch when they’re bored.
3The Perfect Storm (2000)
The Perfect Storm
Wolfgang Petersen’sThe Perfect Stormis a 2000 film based on a book of the same name by Sebastian Junger. In the story, the commercial swordfishing vessel known as the Andrea Gail is forced to head back into the ocean after a very poor season. The crew is reticent at first about going back again, but the captain convinces them. This is how they enter the No-Name Storm of 1991, in which a cyclone turned into a hurricane that hit the Andrea Gail, leaving no survivors in its path. This isone of the best disaster filmsin recent history.
A Heartbreaking Ride About Resilience
Starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Diane Lane, William Fichtner, and John C. Reilly, among others,The Perfect Stormis a high-profile dramatic film that swiftly enters its disaster film scenario. In other words, it doesn’t waste any time exploring subplots or the context itself. This is just a film about an unfortunate incident that subjected the crew of the Andrea Gail to something otherworldly, an event that’s dramatized by the speculative view of an author who dared to write his own version of what took place in the fishing boat during the storm. You probably remember its trailer that showed the boat surfing up a wave that could only exist due to very good CGI.
2The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
The Poseidon Adventure
The Poseidon Adventure is a disaster film directed by Ronald Neame. It follows a group of passengers as they struggle for survival after their luxury cruise ship capsizes in the open sea. Starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, and Shelley Winters, the film showcases their desperate journey to safety amidst perilous conditions. The Poseidon Adventure is based on Paul Gallico’s novel and emphasizes themes of bravery and human resilience.
Where else can you find five Oscar winners participating in a disaster film? Well, during the era ofover-the-top disaster films of the ’70s, of course. Gene Hackman, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine, and Jack Albertson are the stars of the film that tells the story of the SS Poseidon, a Titanic-like liner that’s hit by a tsunami during the New Year’s Eve celebration aboard the ship. The capsizes, and everything gets turned upside down as survivors attempt to escape the sinking monster.
A Classic Disaster Film that Still Looks Great
The Poseidon Adventureis actually a pretty solid disaster film, coming from a period where these kinds of films weren’t exactly memorable. It’s a show of great special effects that was actually nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1973, winning two of them. The premise isn’t absurd until you hear about the sequel, where something similar happens and people also attempt to escape. The film got remade in 2005 in one of those Hollywood decisions that’s hard to understand because of the box-office disaster it represented (no pun intended).
Stream on Starz
Related:10 Heart-Pounding Wilderness Survival Movies
1Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Deepwater Horizon
On June 30, 2025, the crew of the oil rig known as Deepwater Horizon faced their worst nightmare. While drilling at a prospect in the middle of the ocean, an uncontrolled mass of oil made the rig explode and instantly killed several men. What happened underwater turned out to be uncontrollable (it was the largest oil spill in history), but the efforts to rescue some of the survivors were the plot for a Peter Berg film calledDeepwater Horizon.
An Extremely Emotional Experience
Starring Mark Wahlberg inone of his finest performances, the film is a realistic and ambitious production that shows what led to the events of the Deepwater Horizon’s explosion. It was apparently an issue of human greed. The aftermath is a gripping film that puts the viewer inside a ticking time bomb in which Mike Williams (Wahlberg) tries his best to reach safety. LikeSociety of the Snow, the film is a white-knuckle experience that will keep you strapped to your seat from beginning to end.
Rent on Prime Video
To find out more about the true story of the Miracle of the Andes, the events depicted in Society of the Snow, here’s a video about it:
