Society of the Snow or La Sociedad de la Nueve is one of the latest addition to the list of survival movies on OTT platforms. It was released on Netflix on January 4, 2024, and it brings alive a new look at the real-life events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571’s crash in the Andes mountains in 1972. The film proceeds, having found its source narrative in Pablo Vierci’s book, with a humane outlook of the brutal tragedy at the hands of which, most of the passenger onboard the flight met with a painful ending, while the survivors had to stride through an equally excruciating experience for their survival in possibly coldest environs that offered no respite.
Much like this Spanish movie, OTT platforms are filled to the top with such titles that bring to light the extreme fight for one’s survival in a high-stakes scenario. Below is a list of movies like Society of the Snow that illustrate similar humane themes that border on existential elements. Most of them are also inspired by true event, while other stories, despite harbouring fictional arcs, are equally stirring.
Survival Movies on OTT Platforms
The Revenant
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2015 American Western action film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter and others is based on Michael Punke’s novel, much like how Society of the Snow also adapts the events of a book. Moreover, the overarching plot details, in addition to frontiersman Hugh Glass’ existence have also proved to be true.
Following a severe bear attack, Glass is abandoned by his hunting crew and left at his own disposal to make it out alive through the wilderness. The whole thing involves Glass to crudely tend to his wounds and whatnot, that too when he’s been left to die. The story’s name fittingly settles with the context too as it conveniently refers to a person who has risen to life again after being dead.
Everest
Streaming on: Netflix, JioCinema
The Jake Gyllenhaal starrer biographical survival adventure movie was filmed in Kathmandu, at Everest Base Camp. Also featuring Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, John Hawkes and others, Everest is directed by Baltasar Kormákur and is centred around the true events surrounding the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Two expedition groups – one led by Rob Hall and the other by Scott Fischer – venture to climb the summit. As doing so, they’re struck by a violent storm and get caught in the middle of a harsh blizzard and other extreme conditions. The stakes are high as the climbers are subjected to freezing temperatures and have to fight for their survival.
The Finest Hours
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
Unlike the former two mentions in this list, The Finest Hours takes a detour from the snowcapped winter lands. Based on Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias’s book The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue, this real-life adaptation, though set in the depths of the azure sea, is yet another focussed on a rescue attempt. With Chris Pine, Eric Bana, Casey Affleck and others leading this big-screen venture, the disaster film brings alive once again one of the most daring rescue missions of the American Coast Guard as they aim to save the survivors of a wrecked oil-tanker, but are hit by fierce storms in the process, thus exacerbating the problem.
Concrete Utopia
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Though following a fictional plot, this South Korean film also categorises itself as a survival thriller title. Herein the problems are neither situated on high ground nor at sea, but on land itself as Seoul is hit by a massive earthquake, unlike any other previous cataclysmic blow. Thereafter, only one last building – Hwang Gung Apartments – is left standing while every other establishment crumbles to the ground. Outsiders swarm in to find abode at this place, while residents have to face another issue – growing masses disrupting all regular order and routine.
Based on the webtoon Pleasant Outcast, Concrete Utopia then witnesses the rise of a resident leader Yeong-tak, who along with the other residents, goes to great lengths to preserve their final standing utopia in a crisis-stricken Seoul, by obstructing the entry of newcomers.
Love and Monsters
Streaming on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (Rent)
Love and Monsters may seem like a rather unlikely addition to this list of otherwise predominantly biographical movies. However, it still shares some similarities with Society of the Snow as both films depict the difficulties faced by people stuck in survival-themed predicaments amidst which communications across locations for backup, help or just to have a semblance of human connections and emotional support are nearly impossible to keep going due to prevailing uncertainties. Starring Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Ariana Greenblatt and others, this adventure monster film came out in 2020, and it portrays the aftermath of the “Monsterpocalypse” due to an asteroid hitting the Earth.
Years later, the survivors are able to establish a sense of unstable normalcy by setting up underground bunkers called colonies, but with the imminent threat of the monsters attacking them any minute still out there. Joel, perceived as a weak link among his group, is relegated to the kitchen due to his lacking fighting stance and abilities. But in an unlikely moment of taking a stand, he undertakes a dangerous journey out of his bunker, that brings him face to face with lethal creatures, and a journal-load of live knowledge of the new world as they know it.
Mili
Streaming on: Netflix
This particular Hindi survival film, too, is based on gut-wrenching true events, and is also touted as a remake of the Malayalam-language film Helen (which leaves you with an additional recommendation for the Survival Movies on Netflix list). Starring Janhvi Kapoor in the titular role, the film’s events follow her getting stuck in a storage freezer for hours on end as she grapples with the life or death situation and fights for her survival in harsh conditions. The temperature of the storage unit gradually plummets to -18 °C as Mili does everything and anything to fight off the cold despite experiencing frostbite in there, while everyone else thinks that she’s already clocked out and on her way to home.
Life of Pi
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
Life of Pi again leaves it eponymous leading character adrift at sea, but more than being a story about the young boy’s survival, it also takes on a philosophical route, adapting the story from Yann Martel’s novel of the same name. An unprecedented twist adds to that sombre outlook of the story, which is that, Pi wasn’t the sole survivor of the shipwreck that separates him from his family, but he was also accompanied by an unlikely partner, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Atop a lifeboat, these two creatures of contrasting lifestyles, with one posing a threat to the other, have but each other to cope with this disaster at sea as they’re unwittingly dragged into this epic adventure that also introduces them to several discoveries. The Ang Lee directorial marked Suraj Sharma’s film debut, and he had notable actors like Irrfan Khan and Tabu as his co-stars.
Cast Away
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Tom Hanks’ 2000 release isn’t particularly based on a specific real event, but it efficiently comes close to making the most of being inspired by such stories. As Chuck Noland, Hanks’ plane crash-lands into the Pacific, thus, pushing him to the shores of a deserted island. Once there, Noland has to make the most of what he’s got, and that largely relates to his presence of mind. The dark and gripping tale of survival tests him, both physically and mentally, on top of the added trauma and dreadful loneliness. Chuck’s thought process through it all will strike you as relatable, again raising significant existential questions.
Which of these survival thriller movies have you already crossed out of your watchlist, and which one will you be watching next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.