Top Ten Disaster Movies

So, I’m a huge fan of the disaster movie genre (along with horror movies and honestly this genre fits right in there if you think about it). What I define a “disaster movie” as is an act of nature. Humans, animals, or just mother nature itself can cause this. Anything that has the planet reacting in a doomsday level threat, that is a disaster movie to me.

Over the years, we’ve gotten a handful of fantastic ones, and a lot of, well… Not so good ones. Here’s my list of my favorite Disaster Movies!

10. Geostorm. This movie asks, what would happen if humans had control over the weather? Well, this is what would happen. Because humans are idiots and we can’t be in charge of things as important as this. Clearly. The movie has some amazing cinematography to it, and the disaster scenes are on par with some of the best CGI disasters you’ll see in a movie. The only real downside is how unrealistic the whole movie feels. But it’s still a good watch, but it just comes short when you see the rest of the list.

9. Underwater. As humans, we know more about the Moon, then we do about our own Oceans. This movie explores one of the deepest pits of the ocean floor and asks: What if we poke it with a stick? Well, you awaken something that is going to basically eat the entire planet. We never get a name for the thing, but one look and you’ll know just what this creature is and why it makes this list. No spoilers but trust that it makes this list in spades with that end scene.

8. Deep Impact/Armageddon. So, this was a tough call to make one or the other in this spot, so I settled for both. They have similar plots about a meteor coming to drop onto Earth to destroy the planet, the only real difference is the way mankind goes about their end of days. One tries to save the planet, the other realizes that it’s too late and makes the most of the time left. They both have amazing cinematic shots of destroyed parts of the world, and even of the meteor itself. The cast are also excellent, though Armageddon does win out in that category because of Bruce Willis. They’re both worth the watch nonetheless.

7. San Andreas. As the title suggests, this movie focuses on the fault line that is famous in the California region of the world. While I was a little on the iffy side about it, mainly because The Rock was the main actor for it, I got past that within the first twenty minutes. He does an amazing job in the role of father and rescue worker. Like he was sort of built for this sort of role, maybe he was. Again, the images when things finally get real are just mind blowing. Most of it is obviously CGI, and of course you have the scene where they have to show the Golden Gate Bridge being destroyed, but it doesn’t take away from the movie itself.

6. Dante’s Peak. This movie about a small town at the base of a volcano is different from most movies. It focuses on the family of the mayor and her attraction to the geologist who comes to town to inspect the activity in the mountain. Sadly, like with most of these types of movies, you don’t come here for the acting. You don’t really feel anything for the characters, and are just waiting for the clock to tick down to doomsday. When it does, it’s one hit after another and that’s what puts this movie right here on my list.

Just missed this list, but they are still worth a look at. Even if it’s just to poke fun of them:

The Sharknado Franchise. Okay now hear me out. This series of movies was made to be laughed at. You aren’t supposed to take it seriously. But the movie is a laugh a minute. The scenes with the sharks are the best. The movie is just on the right side of ridiculous. The acting is subpar, but you didn’t come to the franchise for the acting, you came to see the sharks flying around in a tornado. My advice if you’re having a hard time with this one? Get a group of friends together and laugh at it all, but the movie on mute and makes up your own lines. Each person takes a turn saying one. Within the first ten minutes, you’ll be laughing so hard you’ll be hurt.

Poseidon/The Poseidon Adventure. The classic and its remake. Both of these movies showcase the dangers of the sea itself. Rogue waves are a danger to ships everywhere and sadly we know so little about what causes them and how to warn them. Ships out on the open water like this ship was, are in even worse shape. The wave itself is minute in this movie, which is why it makes it only in my honorable mentions list. The story is more about the people and their story of survival. But it’s still a good story.

The Mist. So, Stephen King is not known for disaster movies, and this was not written to be one. But it comes off as one anyways. It is set in a small town in Maine (shocker), where a strange mist has rolled in and with-it people are dying. Strange creatures have taken over the town and you assume (rightfully) the whole country as well. You focus on the survival of a group of people and you get drawn into the terror of their situation. It’s an edge of your seat sort of movie, and Mr King is known for doing those. The Mist makes this list because while it might be listed as a disaster movie, it’s more horror based than anything.

5. The Day After Tomorrow. Now this movie holds a soft place in my heart. A part of this movie shows an area I used to go to a lot with my sister-in-law. The Galleria Mall in Buffalo, New York. The movie itself has great actors and acting, and the story is something new (well at the time it seemed new anyways). The visuals are excellent, and it really makes you think about what would happen if that situation were to come true. The happy ending was worth the wait in the end, as it was needed for a movie such as thing. Most often in disaster movies, the ending is the biggest part and more often than not it’s happy.

4. Twister. Tornado movies nowadays are a dime a dozen. You can find a hundred or more B-rated disaster movies on Hulu and Netflix which star the spinning storms of death. But this movie was the first that I can remember that I really enjoyed. It’s based mostly in the science of the storm, and honestly before I decided I wanted to be a writer I was thinking of going into storm chase because of this movie. The images of the storm are brilliant, and the chases trying to get away from them are even more so. Then you have the big one, the one that destroys everything. You get to see the disaster right up close and personal, and then the aftermath and then you have a happy ending. It’s a great movie all around and if you haven’t seen it, 10/10 would recommend it.

3. Volcano. Set in Los Angeles, you wouldn’t think that it would have anything to do with an actual volcano, right? Well wrong. This movie has a running start and doesn’t slow down. Seeing the fires burning under the city, seeing the city blending together to fix the issue is heartwarming, and yet you see that even during a crisis it still brings out the worst in people. It’s a realistic movie about a disaster, and that’s what puts this so far up my list of movies.

2. The Birds. Now this one is a classic. The legend himself made this movie before I was even born, and it haunted me when I was little. Why did I watch it so young? Well because I was interested in horror things as a young kid. I was weird, what can I say? This movie didn’t have a disaster with the weather, no, this disaster was with nature itself. Birds. Like the title says, this little movie was about the flying pests of the world finally striking back at us. Some of the scenes from it still make me stop today and look at birds on the street and wonder, ‘could this really happen?’ The answer is yes. It could happen. Birds are terrifying creatures and if they wanted to, we would honestly be no match.

1. 2012. The end of days was supposed to be in the year 2012, so what did Hollywood do? They made a whole movie about it. It starts off light, with just a few hints of what could come in the future and gets you geared up for it. The acting in the movie should have been better considering who they had cast in it, but I’m not surprised that it was as bad as it was. John Cusack is an amazing actor and he’s been in some of my favorite movies, but he looks bored most of the time in this movie and you can tell this was probably about the paycheck and not about the film itself. When things finally hit the fan, they really do hit the fan and keep going right until the very end. The scenes with the disaster taking over the cities are on an epic scale as this movie doesn’t just focus on one city, it focuses on the Earth as a whole. If you’re looking for a disaster movie to watch with lots of disaster in it, this is certainly the movie for you.

Well, there you have it my little fluffles, another list down the drain for me. My next one is going to be Comic Book Movies! So, stay tuned for that!

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