Best Natural Disaster Movies
2012 (2009)
There are few filmmakers who enjoy destroying the world as much as producer/director Roland Emmerich does, as he’s proven with such movies as Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. In the case of the latter, things start off with Earth’s core being heated by a massive solar flare. As a result, in the near future, the world will be rocked by cataclysmic events in the form of the biggest earthquakes and tsunamis ever experienced. John Cusack plays a struggling sci-fi writer who is determined to keep his kids alive while trying to reach a series of arks that have been designed for humanity’s survival. Will they make it? Of course, they will, but not before escaping one improbable scenario after another with the world literally collapsing around them. If you want spectacle, you’ll find it here!
Airport (1970)
Released a little over half-a-century ago, Airport is credited with launching the disaster film genre. The formula is certainly there: gather a variety of characters from different walks of life (who are, of course, played by big-name celebrities like Dean Martin, Helen Hayes and Burt Lancaster), get to know them a bit and watch as they’re thrown into an insane situation they need to survive. In this case, it’s the mid-air detonation of a bomb that has weakened a plane’s structural integrity, resulting in the need to make an emergency landing — in the middle of a terrible winter storm. Airport was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and became Universal Pictures’ biggest hit at the time. It also spawned sequels that were decidedly not nominated for Oscars: Airport 1975 (a small plane crashes into the cockpit of an airborne Boeing 747), Airport ’77 (a hijacked Boeing 747 goes down within the Bermuda Triangle, which apparently works its magic as an air pocket keeps the passengers from drowning for a limited time) and The Concorde: Airport ’79 (the title plane desperately tries to survive missiles that have targeted it). Of course, nobody has more fun at this series’ expense than the parody Airplane, released in 1980.
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
From the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, ER), this is a chilling thriller about an extraterrestrial organism that penetrates the atmosphere and crashes into a small town in Arizona, wiping out its population. Scientists desperately do what they can to get this virus under control before it spreads. Given everything we’ve recently been through, the stakes in this one — despite being sci-fi based — feel uncomfortably real. In 2008, The Andromeda Strain was remade as a TV miniseries.
A Night to Remember (1958)
We’re telling you upfront: Do not go into this film expecting an experience in any way similar to James Cameron’s Titanic (most notably, the fact that there is no Rose or Jack). That being said, this is nonetheless a powerful and dramatic look at the journey of the RMS Titanic from England’s Southampton to New York City, disrupted in the North Atlantic when the vessel hits an iceberg and quickly begins taking on water, sinking only a few hours later. Sadly, most of the passengers and crew would die due to a lack of lifeboats. Told in a docudrama format with a focus on the ship’s second officer, Charles Lightoller (Kenneth More), technical advisers included Titanic’s fourth officer, Joseph Boxhall, and ex-Cunard Commodore Harry Grattidge. Adding poignancy to the film is the fact that it was produced only 46 years after the tragedy occurred. A Night to Remember is available on Pluto TV and Apple TV.
Armageddon (1998)
There’s a huge asteroid on a direct course for Earth (don’t you hate when that happens?) which, if allowed to strike the surface, would create an extinction event in line with the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. The only solution, according to NASA’s Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton), is to land a spacecraft on the asteroid, drill into it and set off a nuclear bomb to theoretically blow it to bits. Who can handle such a task? Only Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis), the world’s foremost driller, who puts together a team to handle the situation. En route, he develops some respect for one of them, A.J. (Ben Affleck), who’s been dating Harry’s daughter, Grace (Liv Tyler). Directed by Michael Bay, so you know this is one disaster film that moves.
Cold Zone (2017)
When scientist Roger Summers (Martin Cummins) discovers frozen animal corpses in Alaska, he finds an environmentalist who had warned the scientific community of a world-threatening global freezing, but was ignored. As usually happens when such things are dismissed as being the ravings of a madman, those things play out exactly how he predicted they would. Now Summers has to come up with a solution before we’re all turned into popsicles. Sounds serious to us.
Contagion (2011)
When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) mysteriously dies, her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon), is told by doctors that they can’t figure out the cause. When others die in the same manner, it’s concluded that a virus has been unleashed and it’s a race to identify and contain it while developing a vaccine. In between, the film looks at the impact on society a pandemic has—which is all just a little too familiar at the moment.
The Core (2003)
In a way, this one sounds like old-school sci-fi in that Aaron Eckhart plays geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes, who is another in a long line of scientists discovering something that threatens all life on Earth. In this case, it’s the fact that for some reason the planet’s inner core is no longer rotating, the result of which is our atmosphere is coming apart as Earth’s magnetic field is dissipating. Our only hope is for Keyes and other scientists to drill to the planet’s center so that a nuclear device can be detonated, the belief being that it will be enough to reactivate the core. Also starring Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, Alfre Woodard and Bruce Greenwood.
Dante’s Peak (1997)
Volcanologist Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) and Dante Peak Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) realize that the greatest volcanic eruption in history is about to happen, bringing with it destructive power equal to a multitude of atomic bombs. Besides trying to get the populace to evacuate, Wando’s kids are missing on a rescue mission to get their grandmother, so she and Dalton go in search of the duo while the world starts exploding all around them. For Brosnan, this was a film he shot in between James Bond adventures.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Before he destroyed much of the world in 2012, filmmaker Roland Emmerich gave it a practice shot in The Day After Tomorrow. A big hit at the box office, the plot (which shows that these disaster films definitely fall into a formula) has Dennis Quaid’s climatologist Jack Hall being ignored by officials when he shows them proof of potential danger on the horizon — until a superstorm triggers disasters across the globe. Unfortunately, Jack can’t just sit back and laugh, “I told you so,” because his son is trapped in New York City and he has to mount a rescue … yeah, you got it: before it’s too late.
Daylight (1996)
Have a group of armed robbers who are fleeing the police crash into trucks filled with toxic waste, which explode and seals off both ends of the New Jersey Tunnel, and you’ve got a situation where only one man can lead a rescue mission of those who have survived: Sylvester Stallone’s Kit Latura. The film also stars Stallone’s late son, Sage Stallone.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
This is an early one in the genre, and pretty ambitious for its time. Edward Judd and Leo McKern are reporters, who, along with Janet Munro’s weather forecaster Jeannie Craig, make the discovery that simultaneous nuclear bomb tests conducted by America and Russia has disrupted the Earth’s rotation. The results are fires and earthquakes, with the trio of heroes trying to figure out a way to return Earth to its natural axis. Don’t know about you, but none of our weather forecasters have been tasked with saving humanity. Impressive.
Deep Impact (1998)
Okay, tell us if you’ve heard this one already: A comet is heading towards Earth and threatens to wipe out all life on the planet. The U.S. president (Morgan Freeman) announces his plan to have Robert Duvall’s former astronaut Spurgeon “Fish” Tanner and his team rendezvous with the comet so that they can set off nuclear explosives to destroy it. Yep, it’s the same plot as Armageddon: both films were produced at the same time and released within a month of each other.
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Based on a true story, when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico suffers an explosion that unleashes an incredibly large fireball, Chief electronics technician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and his team must think their way out of the flames and smoke that surround them. Also starring Gina Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson and John Malkovich.
Earthquake (1974)
This one came out right in the midst of the disaster explosion (pun only partially intended) of the 1970s. There are earthquakes aplenty in Los Angeles at the same time that architect Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) begins an affair with Denise Maxwell (Genevieve Bujold). Needless to say, all hell breaks loose on every front. One of the big selling points of Earthquake back in the day was “Sensurround,” a new sound system in which, as the ads proclaimed, “You’ll feel it as well as see it, in Sensurround!” The format didn’t last.
Flood (2007)
A deadly storm surge makes its way between England and Europe, resulting in unprecedented sea levels. A combination of barrier experts and marine engineers struggle to prevent the total destruction of London.
Geostorm (2017)
Dean Devlin, who used to be partnered with producer/director Emmerich, makes his feature film directorial debut and stays in his comfort zone in terms of subject matter. Following a number of spiking natural disasters, various countries collaborate on the creation of a satellite system able to control climate across the globe. But then something goes seriously wrong and the satellites start attacking the planet, with all indications leading to a “Geostorm” that will wipe out humanity. Satellite designer Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) discovers the truth behind what’s happening and is on a race against time.
Greenland (2020)
The focus here is not so much on spectacle as it is on a family (led by Gerard Butler) that is seeking a means of survival from a comet heading towards Earth, bringing with it enough mass to trigger an apocalyptic event. Along the way they encounter the positive and negative aspects of people, between those reaching out to each other and others concerned only with their own survival.
The Impossible (2012)
This is not about spectacle or thrilling the audience with amazing visual effects. Instead, it’s a gritty, realistic (based on a true story) tale about the impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on a vacationing family and the locals, how the attempt is made to pick up the pieces and the power of people reaching out to each other in a time of desperation. And it features an amazing cast, including Naomi Watts (in an Oscar-nominated performance), Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland and Geraldine Chaplin.
Into the Storm (2014)
While there is spectacle a plenty provided by a series of intensifying tornadoes striking the town of Silverton (and reports of more twisters on the way), there is a split focus on the townspeople and the storm-chasers who won’t step heading into the storms to try and learn more. The movie is presented in a “found footage” format, which means lots of hand-held video and people speaking directly to the camera. For previous examples, think of things like Cloverfield or The Blair Witch Project.
Krakatoa, East of Java (1969)
Set in the 19th century, the film is loosely based on the 1883 eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. In the film version, while people are doing their best to survive, a group of treasure hunters (including a number of convicts) are after a sunken treasure and willing to risk their lives in the massive destruction around them to retrieve it. Humorously, the film’s title is wrong in that Krakatoa is actually west of Java, but the movie studio didn’t want to let a little thing like facts get in the way of a catchy title.
Outbreak (1995)
The plots of these films about pandemics are usually pretty similar, though two things this one has going for it are Dustin Hoffman’s performance as contagious disease expert Colonel Sam Daniels, MD; and the directing of Wolfgang Peterson, who also helmed the powerful World War II drama Das Boot (1981). The story of Outbreak begins with a monkey from Africa that has contracted a deadly virus and is smuggled into the United States, where the virus rapidly begins to spread.
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Whatever you may think of Peterson’s directing on Outbreak, flash forward five years to this film and you’ll see him at the top of his game. Just an amazing film all around, based on a true story from 1991 focused on the fishing boat Andrea Gail and its crew, who find themselves confronting a trio of weather fronts that collide on the open ocean. The results are 40-foot waves striking the ship and the men doing whatever they can to try and survive. George Clooney leads a sterling cast that includes Wahlberg, John C. Reilly and William Fichter.
Pompeii (2014)
The setting is Pompeii in 79 A.D., and the forbidden romance between a former slave turned gladiator (Kit Harington) and the daughter of a wealthy merchant (Emily Browning). That romance is threatened by the fact she has been promised to a Roman senator (Kiefer Sutherland), is all told against the backdrop of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which is destined to destroy everybody and everything there.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
From producer Irwin Allen, one of the biggies of the 1970s as the cruise ship S.S. Poseidon is struck by a 90-foot tidal wave and capsized as a result. Most are killed, but those who have survived have to make their way to the bottom of the ship — which is now far above them — in the only hope for escape before they sink to the ocean’s bottom. And what a solid cast: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Stella Stevens, Roddy McDowall and Leslie (“Don’t call me Shirley”) Nielsen.
The Rains Came (1939)
This concept of a deadly plague has been something that movies have been dealing with for about 80 years, the earliest one we can find being The Rains Came. Myrna Loy is a British aristocrat in India with a husband who doesn’t treat her well at all, resulting in her being romantically drawn towards Indian doctor, Major Rama Safti (Tyrone Power). Just as their romance begins, a plague starts to spread.
Titanic (1997)
Considered to be director Cameron’s cinematic masterpiece, and for good reason. First, the last portion of the film, focused on the characters coping with the fact that most of them are likely going to die as the Titanic sinks — with the effects used to capture the visual elements of what plays out being genuinely astounding. But none of that would have meant a thing if Cameron had not sold the romance between Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), which he and they do. The only thing that still annoys us about Titanic all these years later is the elderly Rose throwing that damn diamond into the ocean. C’mon, Rose! Think of your family.
Twister (1996)
An estranged couple (played by Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton), who were part of a team of storm-chasers, are drawn back together when plans for an innovative tornado data-gathering device they’d developed has been stolen, and now they need to utilize it in the approaching storm (featuring the largest twister in decades) before the competition can. The script’s okay, but the effects are outstanding, which, in a film like this, means a lot.
San Andreas (2015)
If you’re going to throw something at a magnitude nine earthquake, it might as well be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. As this one unfolds, the San Andreas fault is hit with the largest quake in history, resulting in widespread destruction. Johnson is LAFD search-and-rescue helicopter pilot Ray Gaines, who is determined to get his estranged wife and daughter to safety.
Shockwave (2017)
Kate Ferris (Stacey Iristano) is a geophysicist who finds it impossible to convince the army that a new device is being used to create volcanic storms. She and her daughter (Morgan Lindholm) meet up with her estranged husband (Rib Hillis) to try and stop the destruction that she knows is intended for the San Andreas fault line.
The Towering Inferno (1974)
Yet another ‘70s classic from Irwin Allen, this one taking place in a high-rise San Francisco building that catches fire, from which an all-star cast must navigate the flames and somehow escape. Among the actors appearing are Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, William Holden, Richard Chamberlain and Jennifer Jones. Even more impressive? There’s not a computer-generated image in sight; those effects (a.k.a. flames) were done live on set. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Unstoppable (2010)
Denzel Washington and Chris Pine co-star in this film about an out-of-control unmanned train loaded with toxic chemicals that threatens the people in its path and the environment should there be a derailment and spill. Now both of their characters must board the moving train and figure out a way to bring it to a halt.
Volcano (1997)
Shockingly, a massive earthquake in Los Angeles triggers the formation of a volcano in the sewer system that erupts, sending flowing lava virtually everywhere. Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones), head of the Emergency Management Department; and geologist Dr. Amy Barnes (Anne Heche) attempt to devise a means to divert the lava. Made and released at about the same time as Dante’s Peak.
The Wave (2015)
A powerful Norwegian disaster film (yes, that means subtitles) about a rockslide that’s so massive that it creates a tsunami with waves of 260 feet in height. At the center of the film is a geologist and his family who do everything they can to survive what seems like certain death.
When the Sky Falls / Deadly Voltage (2015)
If you want to be a completest and basically see people imperiled by pretty much every form of natural disaster, then you may want to check this one out. Yes, it’s another family that’s been torn apart at the seams, but there is nothing like a massive lightning storm to take away those pains from the past and make you realize what’s important in life. Everybody say, “Awww.” Next, check out these 19 uplifting, inspiring movies you can watch on Netflix right now!
