ONTD Original: Must-see Films About Survival!
DISASTER IS COMING!
EXTRA-EVIL-TERRESTRIALS
THE GOOD
5 Positively reviewed and/or critically-acclaimed films
● Alien (1979)
The commercial spacecraft Nostromo investigates a distress signal from a nearby planet and encounters a parasitic alien that begins killing off crew members one by one.
● The Thing (1982)
An alien life-form thawed from the ice infiltrates an American research station in Antarctica and impersonates the researchers that it absorbs.
● Signs (2002)
A former priest discovers crop circles in his cornfield accompanied by the presence of a tall dark figure that starts harassing his family.
● War of the Worlds (2005)
Aliens invade the earth using their tripod war-machines to devastate cities around the globe.
● Cloverfield (2008)
In this found footage film, six New Yorkers struggle to survive and search for their friend in Midtown Manhattan while a monster and its minions ravage the city.
THE QUESTIONABLE
We're in "How did this get made?" territory
● Mars Attacks! (1996)
Based on a trading card series.
Glass-domed, bulbous-brained Martians invade the earth and can only be defeated by Slim Whitman's Indian Love Call.
● Starship Troopers (1997)
Loosely based on a novel.
Humans in a fascistic, militaristic future battle with giant alien bugs in a fight for survival.
● The Faculty (1998)
The teachers really are from another planet!
● Dreamcatcher (2003)
Based on the book Stephen King wrote after getting hit by a car.
Four friends encounter ass-blasting aliens on an annual hunting trip in Maine.
● Battleship (2012)
Click to viewA game of battleship featuring the US Navy and an alien armada.
NATURAL DISASTERS
including cataclysmic events
THE GOOD
5 Positively reviewed and/or critically-acclaimed films
● Tidal Wave (2009)
A mega tsunami heads straight for Haeundae, South Korea.
● Sunshine (2007)
In 2057, a team of international astronauts are sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun.
OP Note: The third act never happened!
● The Tower (2012)
A fire breaks out during a Christmas Eve party at a luxury residential building.
● These Final Hours (2013)
Ten minutes after a meteor collides with earth, twelve hours remain until the global firestorm reaches Western Australia.
● The Wave/Bølgen (2016)
The mountain pass above the scenic, narrow Norwegian fjord Geiranger collapses and creates an 85-meter high violent tsunami.
THE QUESTIONABLE
We're in "How did this get made?" territory
● Twister (1996)
The tornadoes have a mind of their own!
● Dante's Peak (1997)
A vulcanologist arrives at a countryside town and discovers that the long dormant volcano, Dante's Peak, may wake up at any moment.
● Armageddon (1998)
An asteroid the size of Texas is on a collision course for earth, so NASA recruits a misfit team of oil drillers to blow it up.
● The Core (2003)
More drilling, but this time on earth.
● The Day After Tomorrow (2004)/Global Warming: The Movie
A paleoclimatologist treks across America to save his son from bad weather.
● The Happening (2008)
Revenge of the planet of the plants.
BASED ON REAL EVENTS
5 Positively reviewed and/or critically-acclaimed films
● Alive (1993)
A Uruguayan rugby team try to survive in the snow swept Andes after a plane crash .
● Apollo 13 (1995)
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
● Titanic (1997)
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Why is this here? Y'all the ship sinks!
● Everest (2015)
Based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, the film follows two expedition groups led by Rob Hall and Scott Fischer as they attempt to descend from the summit.
● Deepwater Horizon (2016)
A dramatization of the April 2010 disaster when the offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
EPIDEMICS
5 Positively reviewed and/or critically-acclaimed films
● 28 Days Later (2002)
A group of people struggle to survive after the accidental release of a highly contagious virus turns humans into zombies.
● Children of Men (2006)
In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. A former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
● REC (2007)
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
● The Walking Dead (2010─ongoing TV SERIES)
A pizza delivery boy tries to survive in a zombie-infested world.
● Contagion (2011)
Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a worldwide epidemic as the CDC works to find a cure.
ANIMALS
including monsters and parasites
THE GOOD
5 Positively reviewed and/or critically-acclaimed films
● The Host (2006)
A strange amphibious creature emerges from Seoul's Han River and wreaks havoc.
● The Mist (2007)
Otherworldly creatures lurking in an unnatural mist trap a small group of Maine residents in a supermarket.
● The Bay (2012)
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after a mutant breed of the parasite Cymothoa exigua invades the drinking water.
● Godzilla (2014)
The world is beset by the appearance of monstrous creatures, but one of them may be the only one who can save humanity.
● The Shallows (2016)
A surfer struggles to survive an encounter with a great white shark.
THE QUESTIONABLE
We're in "How did this get made?" territory
● Tremors franchise (1990-2015)
Natives of a small isolated town in Nevada defend themselves against giant sandworms called Graboids.
● Congo (1995)
When an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong.
● Anaconda (1997)
A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by Jon Voight [channeling Al Pacino] to capture the world's largest snake.
● Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Super intelligent sharks versus scientists!
● Reign of Fire (2002)
The world is taken over by fire-breathing dragons and the remaining human survivors try to take it back.
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