Disaster movies have been a must-watch for fans of adrenaline-pumping thrillers that leave viewers on the edge of their seats, leaving some needing a paper bag to hyperventilate in. Movies filled with cataclysmic events like city-destroying earthquakes, planet-ending meteors, and extinction-level events make for high octane entertainment for many.
Netflix’s Moonfall is the most recent addition in disaster movies and leaves many fans wanting a little more. There are many disaster movies, but few rise to the top and leave strong impressions on those who make it to the end credits. From ice ages to alien invasions, here are some of the best disaster movies to watch.
10 2012 (2009)
The movie based on the 2012 phenomenon packed theaters and left viewers with an uncomfortable wonder of the impending calendar date. Starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet as a separated couple with kids, the film follows their adventure to survive a series of catastrophic events.
The phenomenon the movie is based on is a theory about the Mayan calendar that signified a series of world-altering occurrences that would bring an end to civilization on a specific date. The film is filled with chaotic events such as inner-city volcanoes and Empire State high tidal waves.
9 Geostorm (2017)
Flipping the disaster movie genre on its head, Geostorm told a unique story of a man-made disaster. In the film, science has evolved where the weather is regulated by a high-tech team of scientists above the Earth's atmosphere in a satellite.
Everything goes haywire (because, of course, it does) when the controls end up in the wrong hands in an attempt to wipe out the human race. Starring Gerald Buttler and Zazie Beetz, Geostorm is a race against the clock before a massive elemental hurricane of fire, ice, and wind tear the world apart.
8 Into The Storm (2014)
Into the Storm starring Richard Armitage and Sarah Wayne, follows a team of storm chasers that end up in the middle of a meteorological disaster, trapped in a small town surrounded by a sea of tornadoes. The film takes advantage of the “found footage” style of directing, attempting to put viewers directly into the chaos.
Cows, gas trucks, and even entire houses are potential threats as nothing is stable in the path of a tornado, let alone several. Into the Storm was praised for its visual effects and realistic scenery.
7 The Wave (2015)
The Wave is a foreign disaster Movie Starring Kristoffer Joner, a Geologist who must survive a massive tidal wave. Set in the Norwegian city of Stavenger, The Wave depicts a scenario where a decaying Fjord collapses, creating a two-hundred and sixty-foot tidal wave.
The Wave stands on the premonition that the events in the film are very likely to occur in reality, but when is impossible to say. It highlights the destruction and chaos the tidal Wave would cause to the city trying to make a case for aid ahead of the impending catastrophe.
6 San Andreas (2015)
San Andreas is another near-future disaster movie that highlights the risk of the San Andreas fault in California causing another "big one" that seeks to destroy the entire state. Starring Dwayne “the Rock,” Johnson (also starring in Black Adam) playing a helicopter rescue pilot, follows him as he tries to aid his family in surviving the massive series of earthquakes that spring up around the city with no warning.
The film is filled with devastating building collapses, collateral tidal waves, and intense panic. Each moment will have viewers hanging on the edge of their seats with each passing rumble.
5 The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The classic disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow, stands the test of time as one of the most popular films of the genre. Starring Dennis Quade and Jake Gyllenhall, the film follows the former as a young college student trapped inside a library forced in by a tidal wave that washes over New York City.
This is followed by a series of freak ecological events such as cold snaps that plunge temperatures to negative 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The Day After Tomorrow sets the standard for disaster movies and is a perfect balance of destruction and the human factor.
4 War Of The Worlds (2005)
Starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, Cruise plays a crane operator Jack Ferrier, with a troubled marriage that must save his family when a race of extraterrestrial beings invade the planet earth. War of the Worlds follows as gargantuan alien beings spring up all across the world and wreak havoc.
Ferrier tries to get his family to safety which leads them to the possible source of the invasion. War of the Worlds was praised for its special effects, bringing to life the story of the same name authored by H.G Wells.
3 Armageddon (1998)
Armageddon is the story of an impending apocalyptic event where a planet killer meteor (similar to that of Don't look Up) is headed straight for planet Earth and will collide, wiping out the entire population and turning the world to dust.
Starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, and Michael Clark Duncan, the movie follows a team of astronauts that Bruce Willis leads to blow up the asteroid before it hits Earth. Armageddon is filled with high octane scenarios where everything goes wrong more than once, sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
2 Sharknado (2013)
Sharknado was a smash indie hit that premiered on the Syfy channel as an original film. The movie followed a group of rag-tag civilians as they dealt with a tidal wave in California, followed by a tornado storm that scooped dozens of man-eating sharks released into the water by accident up into the air creating a “Sharknado.”
The film is full of mind-numbing action and over-the-top antics with a bucket of destruction to boot. The film sparked a cult fandom that went on to produce four sequels and even its own video game.
1 World War Z (2013)
Based on the bestseller by Max Brooks, World War Z is a Zombie apocalypse disaster movie in which nearly half of the entire planet's population has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. No warning causes civilization to collapse, and the world's hope is put on Brad Pitts's character, Gerry Lane, a former United Nations agent.
Gerry must discover the source and the cure to this affliction in order to save the human race and his family. World War Z is filled with devastating events such as plane crashes, mobs of rabid zombies, and intense action scenes making it a must-watch for fans to prepare for its upcoming sequel.