To ring in the new year, Netflix is treating subscribers to a collection of must-watch movies — including a real-life-inspired survival thriller, Society of the Snow, that's already shaping up to be one of the first blockbusters of 2024.
Society of the Snow debuted on Netflix last week (Thursday, Jan. 4), and it's already one of the most top watched movies on the platform — an impressive feat in itself, but even more so for a non-English film lacking any major A-list stars in its cast list.
The latest from Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Impossible, The Orphanage), it's based on the harrowing true story of the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster. After a plane chartered to take a Uruguayan rugby team to Chile crashes in the heart of the Andes mountains, the surviving members are stranded in a desolate tundra with no rescue imminent. They battle to survive while dealing with freezing temperatures, intense hunger, and extreme isolation. And when food supplies dwindle, they are forced to consider the unthinkable to stay alive long enough to be found.
If you're looking for more terrifying tales of survival to add to your watch list, we've rounded up some of the best movies like Society of the Snow that you won't want to miss.
Alive
Like Society of the Snow, Alive also tells the story of the 1972 Andes flight crash. While Society of the Snow deserves credit for authenticity in casting Argentinian and Chilean actors, Alive provides a solid, Americanized popcorn version with Hollywood stars like Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton playing the survivors.
Alive doesn't shy away from all the harrowing details of survival, including the decision to eat the dead passengers to survive one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet. Much like the compliments given to Society of the Snow's J. A. Bayona, Alive director Frank Marshall was similarly praised for his handling of the story and staying true to the chilling real-world events without falling into sensationalism.
Rent or buy on Amazon and Apple TV
127 Hours
Directed by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire), 127 Hours details the real-life inspired story of canyoneer Aron Ralston and how he survived after getting his arm trapped under a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah.
Based on Ralston's memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place, the film centers on how Ralston (played by James Franco), in his increasing desperation to get free and seek help, focuses on love for his family as a motivator to keep going. In a last-ditch effort, he fashions a tourniquet from the insulation tubing in his water bottle and resorts to cutting his right arm off to free himself — a gruesome scene that mirrors the real Ralston's harrowing plight to survive.
Rent or buy on Amazon and Apple TV
Touching the Void
Touching the Void is a gripping documentary-style film that recounts the terrifying story of two friends who in 1985 set out to climb Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes via the West Face, at the time an unaccomplished feat by any mountaineer. The Society of the Snow survivors are stranded in the same mountain range, which gives you an idea of just how perilous and unpredictable the conditions can be.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, The Last King of Scotland), the film combines dramatizations with interviews with the two climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, to construct a powerful exploration of survival, resilience, and the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity. After successfully reaching the summit, their descent takes a turn for the worse when Simpson breaks his leg. Yates makes the tough call to cut the rope connecting them, believing it to be the only chance for either of them to make it back alive. Miraculously, Simpson survives the fall and begins the arduous journey back to base camp against all odds.
Stream it on Pluto TV or Tubi
Gravity
Let's take a break from the real-world inspired stories for a moment and turn to a purely fictional survival story that's nonetheless as incredible and nail-biting. Earning a Best Director Oscar for Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity ranks among the most visually stunning science-fiction movies ever made. In fact, its out-of-this-world special effects are so detailed, you’ll swear Sandra Bullock and George Clooney actually traveled to space to shoot this one.
The thriller sees Bullock play Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on their first space mission alongside Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (Clooney), a veteran astronaut counting his days to retirement after this one last expedition. It all goes off without a hitch until disaster strikes during a routine spacewalk and the duo’s shuttle is destroyed. Stranded with no way to contact Earth, Ryan and Matt face near-impossible odds of survival, and to return home they may first have to venture further into deep space.
Watch it now on Netflix
Everest
Everest recounts the true story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster that defined the mountain's deadliest season ever at the time. Expeditions from two rival mountaineering companies led by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) set out to climb the summit only to face setback after setback in an unforgiving landscape where any mistake could prove deadly.
The crews confront brutal, icy weather conditions that result in the tragic deaths of eight individuals, including Hall, who helped popularize commercial Everest missions to begin with. And, just as in Society of the Snow, Everest uses cinematography techniques to put audiences in the frostbitten shoes of the climbers, offering an unflinching front-row seat to their agonizing race for survival.
Watch it now on Peacock
