Survival of the Fittest

Some of you might have climbed Everest. While others backcountry ski. However, the Survival Film genre does pull another crowd, who shout “could have” or “should have” remarks from a sofa, with a bucket of popcorn on their lap. Who would have thought that the 2020 Covid-19 survival strategy would in fact involve a sofa, bucket of popcorn, and films? Whichever camp you're in doesn’t matter, all are welcome. The thrill of the Survival Film Genre is being able to mentally strategize quicker than the protagonist on screen, thus making one’s self feel confident to win the title: Survival of the Fittest.

Included in this article is the perfect survival film guide. This film journey starts you off with water, moves into the unknown, gets carnivorous, and ends in the desert. Lace-up those Salomon boots, grab your Spyderco Delica 4 knife, and toss on your North Face jacket because you’re in for a wild ride!

***Warning: for maximum effect, the films should be watched in chronological order. Each film grows upon the last. For instance, if you like The Wave, The Perfect Storm is right for you. If you like The Perfect Storm..then keep reading this article, because the more you thrive, the more movies you survive.

Nature versus Man is the favored conflict in the Survival Film genre. What would you do if a 250 foot wave was headed your way? In the 2015 film The Wave, the Norwegian geologist will try to solve this dilemma. Will he save his town?! This fantastic film creates a ticking clock in which the audience has to race through scenarios of how to evacuate before it's too late. This film also has English subtitles. It’s better to have subtitles than a dubbed film; so the audience can actually hear the language the actors are speaking in. If someone has never read subtitles before, don’t worry, their experience with text messages and social media will help them catch on quickly.

Film #1 THE WAVE 2015

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3616916/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2. (IMDB is a great source for film enthusiasts. The professional film industry, literary agents, and more use this website as a resource. IMDB gives detailed information that goes beyond a cast list, such as: production company information, trivia, trailers, and more).

Director: Roar Uthaug. Writers: John Kåre Raake, Harald Rosenløw-Eeg

The trailer of each film discussed is attached within each title. However, I highly advise that you do not watch the movie trailers. I’ve said too much above already. As far as I’m concerned movie trailers in the past five years show you the entire movie! Is there anything worse?! No need to purchase the film. We should hire Amanda Woods, from The Holiday to fix this problem.

Continuing to battle the sea, the audience moves into a survival film where a fishing crew takes on the ocean with great storytelling, character development, and an all-star cast of performances by George Clooney, Mark Walberg, John C Reilly, Diane Lane, and William Fichtner. I don't rewatch many movies; however, if this ever comes up on tv, I'm sure to sit down and watch it again. By the end of the film, the director and actors make the audience care about these real-life stories, which you can read more about by clicking here.

Film #2 The Perfect Storm 2000

IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177971/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Wolfgang Petersen. Writers: Sebastian Junger (book), William D. Wittliff (screenplay).

Many fans of survival movies enjoy the great outdoors. Many skiers, hikers, bikers, and surfers go out by themselves to enjoy an almost daily practice of sport in nature. What seems like a typical day, practicing a lifelong hobby alone for a few hours, can turn in a blink of an eye. This style of a survivor film can get under the skin of the everyday athlete; reminding us all that nature is always in charge. Here are two titles to enjoy, Solo and 127 Hours.

Film #3 Solo 2019

IMDB:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6699860/

Writers: Santiago Lallana, Hugo Stuven

Directed by Hugo Stuven, Solo is a film based on the true story of Álvaro Vizcaíno, a surfer in Canary Islands beach. This film is from Spain with English subtitles. The storytelling weaves between plots forcing the audience into the role of detective.

As an avid hiker, I go into nature by myself often. When I first heard of the film 127 Hours, I thought it was the typical tourist who ends up on the 5 o’clock news. However, this is the true story of Aron Ralston's an avid mountain climber in Moab, Utah. You can read his novel, Between a Rock and Hard Place for comparison. There are moments in this film that all outdoor adventurers can relate to, like telling no one you are about to go on a hike, lol. An everyday sport, as natural to the protagonist as breathing, turns deadly.

Film #4 127 Hours 2010

IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Danny Boyle. Writers: Danny Boyle (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay).

Survival can range in many degrees. One might think a simple outing with friends would never end in tragedy. Or that one small decision or forgotten step could spin so far out of control. That is what the audience will experience with Open Water 2 Adrift. This film is supposedly based on true events.

Film #5 Open Water 2 Adrift 2006.

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470055/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writers/

Directed by Hans Horn. Written by Adam Kreutner, Collin McMahon, David Mitchell, and Richard Speight Jr.

What's better than a group of hardcore, outdoor chicks? Nothing. In this next film, The Descent, a cave splunking expedition is about to go wrong. What they find beyond the water, in the caves below the sea, will make the audience check twice behind every corner before going to bed that night. We are no longer in the true-life realm of survival but have merged into a new conflict concept Man vs Supernatural. If you enjoyed Adrift, just wait, you'll love The Descent.

Film #6 The Descent 2005

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director and Writer: Neil Marshall.

I recall reading the novel, Life of Pi while riding the light rail from downtown Denver to Arapahoe Crossing, on my daily commute for work. Time would fly by in a flash of a second, and all of a sudden my stop appeared. I remember lifting my head from the pages, wanting to shout to the other passengers about what I was reading, it was soooo thrilling! I was in another world and the amount of adrenalin I felt, was like I too was facing a tiger... on the light rail. The film did not disappoint. Director Ang Lee does a superb job with visual storytelling. The tiger looks real! This film goes beyond survival, it is a love story about humanity.

Film #7 Life of Pi 2012

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454876/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4

Director: Ang Lee. Writers: Yann Martel (novel), David Magee (screenplay).

How could I write this list and not include a plane crash? The ultimate survival theme! I recall watching the film Alive when I was in middle school with my family. Isn't that where we all encounter our first survival film? Not only is this a story true, but while you watch it, I think you should be eating some BBQ. "A Uruguayan rugby team stranded in the snow-swept Andes are forced to use desperate measures to survive after a plane crash"(IMDB).

Film #8 Alive 1993

IMDB:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106246/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Frank Marshall.Writers: Piers Paul Read (book), John Patrick Shanley (screenplay).

I don't know about you but I grew up thinking my life would be like National Geographic. I would ice pick a glacier, jump out of an airplane Point Break style, and hike Mount Kilimanjaro all by the time I turned 21. I would devour survival films like Touching the Void, in preparation for my own journey. "The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985"(IMDB).

Film #9 Touching the Void 1993

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379557/?ref_=vp_back

Director: Kevin Macdonald. Writer: Joe Simpson (book).

Man vs Man conflict. We now move into a category of survival that takes us away from nature and focuses on the survival one must face against their fellow man. Actor Owen Wilson plays a father, Jack Dwyer who just moved to Asia with his family. The move is so fresh in fact, they are still staying in a hotel. A civil war breakouts out and Jack has to determine how to keep his family safe. My favorite scene (which places this film into the survival category) has to do with Jack Dwyer while he holds his daughter. Oh, you just wait!

Film # 10 No Escape 2015

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1781922/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: John Erick Dowdle. Writers: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle

In keeping with the American family dad survival theme, we move into War of the Worlds. If you enjoyed No Escape, you are ready for a big-budget Spielberg summer film, in which the world is being taken over by creatures from beyond our galaxy. Similar to a lot of films in the late 90's early 2000's Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a divorced father, who will have to save his family from a global attack. Dakota Fanning plays Rachel Ferrier brilliantly; giving the audience a feeling of protection for her similar to Gertie (Drew Barrymore) in Spielberg's E.T. This film tosses around a multitude of scenarios as the family runs from not only alien attacks, but in seek of shelter and of course in battle against their fellow Americans: civilian and governmental.

Film #11 War of the Worlds 2005

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407304/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Steven Spielberg. Writers: Josh Friedman (screenplay), David Koepp (screenplay), H.G. Wells (novel).

Man vs Self conflict. This film gets into the mental stamina of survival. This film has mystery, man's best friend, isolation (depicted for us before we knew how to relate), future dystopia and when the sun goes down...so much more. This film is I Am Legend, brilliantly acted out by Will Smith. Buckle up buttercup because this is a ride, that if you survive, it doesn't necessarily make you the winner.

Film #12 I Am Legend 2007

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Francis Lawrence. Writers: Mark Protosevich (screenplay), Akiva Goldsman (screenplay) Richard Matheson (Novel) John William Corrington (1971 Screenplay) Joyce Hooper Corrington (1971 Screenplay).

Lucky number 13! Final number 13. This my friends is the final film. The great thing is, there are so many terrific survival films, we could all add on a few more. However, I'm proud to end our journey here. A BADASS female lead role, a methamphetamine soldier army who sprays their face with silver, a death metal guitar-wielding chariot, a grown man nursing a bottle, set design that blows your mind, costumes galore, and a chase scene as long as Tina Turner's hook in Rolling On the River. I welcome you to this masterful work of art MadMax Fury Road. The message at the end of this film helps us all remember that in order to survive we need the Earth and each other.

Film #13 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392190/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: George Miller. Writers: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris.

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