A genre known for producing big budget box office hits since its creation back in the 1970s, disaster movies have become a summer film staple, with this summer being no exception thanks to The Rock’s latest hit, San Andreas. While the whole world isn’t typically in jeopardy, these full-scope tragedies play out in grand cinematic fashion, from massive capsizing vessels to erupting volcanoes and massive earthquakes, each time pushing its characters to their limits.
Here’s a list of the best disaster movies available to stream, so you can stay on the edge of your seat in the comfort of your own home.
Airport (Google)
The story revolves around a Chicago airport trying to stay open during a snowstorm while a suicide bomber threatens to blow up a Boeing 747 in mid-flight. The star-studded cast was led by Dean Martin and Burt Lancaster, who’d later call it “the biggest piece of junk ever made.” The film ended up being wildly successful, so much so that it became the industry standard for the genre’s utilization of character-centric drama against the backdrop of catastrophe.
The Core (Netflix)
A disaster movie with one foot in science fiction, only the pending doom doesn’t come from the sky, but from within the planet (hence the title). Once the Earth’s core stops spinning, a group of scientists, led by Aaron Eckhart, have to drill into the planet’s center to get it started again. The group travels in style, using a special vehicle made out of unobtanium, six years before Avatar utilized the same fictional metal.
Dante’s Peak (Amazon)
Pierce Brosnan plays a volcanologist (yes, it’s a real word) assigned to monitor the seismic activity around the fictional town of Dante’s Peak. After discovering the cause, the town’s evacuation is cut short by a volcanic eruption — the expected amount of mass-destruction ensues. It was also released in competition with another movie that shared a similar plot, Volcano, which was a bigger success, despite Dante’s Peak being heralded as more scientifically accurate.
Titanic (Amazon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtSTrceeFZY
A sweeping, 3 ½ hour historical epic with a devastating final act, Titanic frames a tale of romance amidst the infamous ocean liner and its inevitable, tragic fate. Directed by the ever dedicated James Cameron, his production company built a near to-scale version of the ship itself along with a 17 million gallon water tank to hold it, which really helped convey the severity of those final moments as the ship begins to sink.
Twister (Google)
Appropriately set in the midwest, the film pits two rival meteorologists against one another — one in it for the science (played by Bill Paxton), and the other in it for the money (played by Cary Elwes) — who spend their time chasing extreme weather conditions for their respective research. Co-written and co-produced by Michael Crichton, the film ended up being the second highest grossing film of 1996, behind the disaster by-way-of an alien invasion classic, Independence Day. Twister does offer tornadoes that growl, though.
Sharknado 1 (Netflix)
A preposterous concept played off as a serious, low-budget B-movie about a freak storm that causes shark-infested cyclones to pummel Los Angeles. Originally aired on the SyFy channel, the film became a success, thanks to wildly enthusiastic support across social media, eventually cementing it as a modern cult classic.
Poseidon Adventure (Google)
Set aboard the SS Poseidon, a ship capsized by a massive wave while on its final voyage, the film follows a small group of survivors as they try to make it up (down?) to the ship’s hull. An all-star cast including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, and Shelley Winters, who did much of her own underwater stunt work. The claustrophobic feel was attained in part by being filmed on the real-life SS Mary, a ship that had undergone a similar capsizing and served as the inspiration for the novel which the film is based.
The Day After Tomorrow (iTunes)
An environmentally-conscious update to the disaster movie template, Dennis Quaid plays scientist Jack Hall who discovers climate change is pushing Earth into a new ice age. Fast. Once disaster strikes, Jack spends the film attempting to rescue his son, who is trapped in a library in New York City, which allows for shots of famous landmarks being destroyed, a favorite trope of director and co-writer Roland Emmerich.
Earthquake (iTunes)
Another sprawling epic with an equally massive cast featuring Charlton Heston in the lead role. The film takes place in Los Angeles, setting up numerous plot-lines and characters before a massive earthquake kills thousands and levels much of the city halfway through. The film is also notable for its innovative use of sound waves in theaters to replicate the sensation of an actual earthquake, which was known as Sensurround.
