Survival film

Film genre

Films by genre

* Action
* Adventure
* Animation
* Stop motion
* Apocalyptic
* Avant-garde
* Biographical
* Children and family
* Animation
* Comedy
* Crime
* Disaster
* Documentary
* Drama
* Erotic
* Fantasy
* Horror
* Natural horror
* Independent short
* LGBTQ
* Melodrama
* Mockumentary
* Monster
* Musical
* Live musical
* Mystery
* Noir
* Neo-noir
* Religious
* Romantic comedy
* Satire
* Science fiction
* Sci-fi horror
* Sports
* Superhero
* Survival
* Teen
* Thriller
* Sci-fi
* War
* anti-war
* Western

* v
* t
* e

The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival.[1] The genre focuses on characters' life-or-death struggles, often set against perilous circumstances. Survival films explore the human will to live, individual motivations, and personal desires, prompting audiences to reflect on broader aspects of humanity and personal values. They balance realism and believability with slow-burning suspense to maintain a sense of urgency. While some survival films may have epic scopes and lengthy running times, their effectiveness lies in creating an atmosphere where every moment poses a passive threat to the protagonist's existence.[2]

Survival films are darker than most other adventure films and usually focus their storyline on a single character, usually the protagonist. The films tend to be "located primarily in a contemporary context", so film audiences are familiar with the setting, and the characters' activities are less romanticized.[3]

In a 1988 book, Thomas Sobchack compared the survival film to romance film: "They both emphasize the heroic triumph over obstacles which threaten social order and the reaffirmation of predominant social values such as fair play and respect for merit and cooperation."[3] The author said survival films "identify and isolate a microcosm of society", such as the surviving group from the plane crash in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) or those on the overturned ocean liner in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Sobchack explained, "Most of the time in a survival film is spent depicting the process whereby the group, cut off from the securities and certainties of the ordinary support networks of civilized life, forms itself into a functioning, effective unit." The group often varies in types of characters, sometimes to the point of caricature. While women have historically been stereotyped in such films, they "often play a decisive role in the success or failure of the group."[4]

## List of films

[edit]

Film  | Year  | Ref.

|
|

12 Years a Slave | 2013 | [2]
The 33 | 2015 | [5]
127 Hours | 2010 | [6]
2018 | 2023 | [7]
Adrift | 2018 | [8]
Against the Sun | 2014 | [9]
Alive | 1993 | [10]
All Is Lost | 2013 | [8]
Apollo 13 | 1995 | [11]
Arctic | 2018 | [12]
Back from Eternity | 1956 | [13]
Battle Royale | 2000 | [14]
The Blue Lagoon | 1980 | [8]
Buried | 2010 | [6]
Captain Phillips | 2013 | [15]
Cast Away | 2000 | [6]
Cliffhanger | 1993 | [16]
Cold Meat | 2024 | [17]
Crawl | 2019 | [8]
A Cry in the Wild | 1990 | [16]
Cube | 1997 | [18]
Dances with Wolves | 1990 | [16]
Dante's Peak | 1997 | [16]
The Day After Tomorrow | 2004 | [16]
The Deep | 2012 | [19]
Deliverance | 1972 | [10]
The Descent | 2005 | [18]
Eden | 2024 | [20]
The Edge | 1997 | [10]
The End We Start From | 2023 | [21]
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition | 2000 | [16]
Escape from Alcatraz | 1979 | [22]
Escape Room | 2019 | [18]
Everest | 2015 | [23]
Fall | 2022 | [18]
First Blood | 1982 | [8]
Five Came Back | 1939 | [13]
The Flight of the Phoenix | 1965 | [4]
Frozen | 2010 | [24]
Gerald's Game | 2017 | [2]
Gravity | 2013 | [15]
Green Room | 2015 | [2]
The Grey | 2011 | [25]
A Hijacking | 2012 | [11]
I Am Legend | 2007 | [8]
The Impossible | 2012 | [2]
In the Heart of the Sea | 2015 | [26]
Inferno | 1953 | [13]
Infinite Storm | 2022 | [27]
Into the Wild | 2007 | [6]
Iron Will | 1994 | [16]
Jaws | 1975 | [16]
Jeremiah Johnson | 1971 | [28]
Jungle | 2017 | [29]
Jurassic Park | 1993 | [16]
Kon-Tiki | 2012 | [8]
Last Breath | 2025 | [30]
Life of Pi | 2012 | [31]
Lifeboat | 1944 | [32]
Lone Survivor | 2013 | [15]
Lord of the Flies | 1963 | [13]
Marooned | 1969 | [32]
The Martian | 2015 | [8]
Man in the Wilderness | 1971 | [32]
Meek's Cutoff | 2010 | [28]
Misery | 1990 | [18]
My Side of the Mountain | 1969 | [13]
The Naked Prey | 1965 | [32]
No Blade of Grass | 1970 | [13]
Nobody Wants the Night | 2015 | [33]
North Face | 2008 | [34]
Nowhere | 2023 | [35]
The Omega Man | 1971 | [32]
On the Beach | 1959 | [32]
Open Water | 2003 | [6]
Oxygen | 2021 | [36]
Panic in Year Zero! | 1962 | [32]
Panic Room | 2002 | [2]
The Perfect Storm | 2000 | [16]
Planet of the Apes | 1968 | [32]
The Poseidon Adventure | 1972 | [4]
Predator | 1987 | [16]
Quest for Fire | 1981 | [6]
A Quiet Place | 2018 | [2]
Rabbit-Proof Fence | 2002 | [6]
Red Dawn | 1984 | [16]
Rescue Dawn | 2006 | [6]
Resident Evil | 2002 | [6]
The Revenant | 2015 | [8]
The Road | 2009 | [11]
Robinson Crusoe | 1954 | [13]
Robinson Crusoe on Mars | 1965 | [37]
Room | 2015 | [2]
Sanctum | 2011 | [38]
Sands of the Kalahari | 1965 | [32]
The Savage Is Loose | 1974 | [32]
The Secret Land | 1948 | [13]
Seven Waves Away | 1957 | [11]
The Shallows | 2016 | [8]
Sisu | 2022 | [39]
The Snow Walker | 2003 | [16]
Society of the Snow | 2023 | [40]
Southern Comfort | 1981 | [28]
Soylent Green | 1973 | [32]
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains | 2007 | [11]
Sukkwan Island | 2025 | [41]
Survival Quest | 1989 | [10]
Swiss Family Robinson | 1960 | [25]
Teenage Caveman | 1958 | [32]
Titanic | 1997 | [2]
Touching the Void | 2003 | [6]
Tremors | 1990 | [16]
The Ultimate Warrior | 1975 | [42]
Underwater | 2020 | [43]
Vertical Limit | 2000 | [16]
The War Game | 1965 | [32]
Walkabout | 1971 | [11]
The Way Back | 2010 | [6]
White Water Summer | 1987 | [16]
Wild | 2014 | [2]
The World, the Flesh and the Devil | 1959 | [32]
Z.P.G. | 1972 | [32]

## See also

[edit]

* Battle royale genre
* List of apocalyptic films
* List of disaster films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sobchack 1988, p. 12
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Foreman, Alison (August 24, 2023). "The Best Survival Movies, from 'Cast Away' and 'The Revenant' to 'The Martian' and 'Alive'". IndieWire. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
3. ^ a b Sobchack 1988, p. 14
4. ^ a b c Sobchack 1988, p. 15
5. ^ Long, Tom (November 13, 2015). "Review: 'The 33,' true story of struggle for survival". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Staff (January 23, 2012). "The 10 Best Survival Movies". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015.
7. ^ Ntim, Zac (September 27, 2023). "Oscars: India Selects Survival Thriller '2018' For Best International Film Race". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lascala, Marisa (April 20, 2020). "The 20 Best Survival Movies to Show You What Grit Truly Is". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
9. ^ Laskin, Nicholas (November 18, 2014). "Watch: Trailer For WWII Survival Film 'Against The Sun' Starring Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
10. ^ a b c d Ferguson, Lee (November 12, 2010). "127 Hours and five other great survival movies". cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
11. ^ a b c d e f Staff (October 17, 2013). "20 Survival Films That Will Take You Into The Abyss". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
12. ^ Barraclough, Leo (May 22, 2017). "Mads Mikkelsen on Surviving the Polar Wilderness in 'Arctic'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
13. ^ a b c d e f g h Fristoe, Roger (December 22, 2017). "Survival Movies: Fridays in January". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
14. ^ Crandol, Michael (2021). Ghost in the Well: The Hidden History of Horror Films in Japan. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 3\. ISBN 978-1-350-17874-8.
15. ^ a b c McGrath, Charles (November 1, 2013). "Tales of Danger for You to Survive". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Robinson, Alex; Farabee, Kelsey (November 22, 2010). "The Best Survival Movies Ever". Outdoor Life. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
17. ^ Hoad, Phil (February 19, 2024). "Cold Meat review – two-handed survival thriller goes deep into the icebound Rockies". The Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
18. ^ a b c d e Kurland, Daniel (February 13, 2024). "10 Best Survival Horror Films Of All Time, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
19. ^ Kaufman, Amy (September 3, 2015). "Fall Movie Guide: Making 'Everest' was a tall order for filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
20. ^ Lenker, Maureen Lee (September 8, 2024). "Eden is an uneven survival drama with compelling performances from Jude Law and Daniel Brühl". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
21. ^ Wilkinson, Alissa (January 18, 2024). "'The End We Start From' Review: A Watery Apocalypse and a New Beginning". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
22. ^ Vanhala, Helena (2011). "International Terrorism and the Commercial Hollywood Film Industry". The Depiction of Terrorists in Blockbuster Hollywood Films, 1980–2001: An Analytical Study. McFarland. p. 105\. ISBN 978-0-7864-3662-0.
23. ^ Adams, Sam (September 2, 2015). "First Reviews of 'Everest': Stunning Spectacle, So-So Drama". Criticwire. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
24. ^ Wood, Jennifer M. (February 9, 2010). "Adam Green Reaches New Heights With Frozen". MovieMaker. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
25. ^ a b Guzman, Rafer (January 27, 2012). "Survivor films: Which live, which die – and why?". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
26. ^ Chang, Justin (December 2, 2015). "Film Review: 'In the Heart of the Sea'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
27. ^ Ehrlich, David (March 23, 2022). "'Infinite Storm' Review: Naomi Watts Tries to Save an Unwilling Hiker in Tedious Survival Drama". IndieWire. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
28. ^ a b c Mertes, Micah (November 1, 2013). "The 10 best survival movies". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
29. ^ Abele, Robert (October 19, 2017). "Review: Daniel Radcliffe fights terror and reality in problematic survival story 'Jungle'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
30. ^ Ward, Cassidy (February 18, 2025). "The True Story of Last Breath: What Really Happened in the 2012 Underwater Rescue?". NBC News. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
31. ^ Holden, Ed (December 19, 2012). "Life of Pi review". MSN Movies. MSN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Yacowar, Maurice (2003). "The Bug in the Rug". In Grant, Barry Keith (ed.). Film Genre Reader III. University of Texas Press. pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-0-292-70185-4.
33. ^ Roddy, Michael (February 5, 2015). "Arctic survival film, from female perspective, kicks off Berlin fest". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
34. ^ Holden, Stephen (January 28, 2010). "'Because It's There' Is the Least of Their Reasons". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
35. ^ De La Fuente, Anne Marie (November 15, 2023). "Spain's 'Nowhere' Rules as Netflix's Most-Viewed Non-English Title of 2023". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
36. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (May 12, 2021). "'Oxygen': Alexandre Aja & Mélanie Laurent On Why Making Netflix's Confined Thriller Was A Breath Of Fresh Air". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
37. ^ Leskosky, Richard J. (February 2, 2014). "A new film genre: Solitary survival". The News-Gazette. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
38. ^ Burr, Ty (February 4, 2011). "Sanctum". The Boston Globe.
39. ^ Baughan, Nikki (September 10, 2022). "'Sisu': Toronto Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
40. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (December 19, 2023). "Review: 'Society of the Snow' review – cannibalism in the ice in incredible real-life survival tale". The Guardian. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
41. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (January 26, 2025). "Sukkwan Island review – a survival drama takes an ill-advised left-turn". The Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
42. ^ Shapiro, Jerome F. (2001). Atomic Bomb Cinema: The Apocalyptic Imagination on Film. Routledge. p. 160\. ISBN 978-0-415-93660-6.
43. ^ Lawson, Richard (January 8, 2020). "Underwater Sinks Fast". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 4, 2025.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Sobchack, Thomas (1988). "The Adventure Film". In Gehring, Wes D (ed.). Handbook of American Film Genres. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-24715-6.

* v
* t
* e

Film genres

By style|

* Action
* Heroic bloodshed
* Hong Kong action
* Adventure
* Art
* Biographical
* Comedy
* Action
* Black
* Commedia all'italiana
* Sexy
* Dramedy
* Gross out
* Horror
* Parody
* Mo lei tau
* Remarriage
* Romantic
* Sex
* Screwball
* Silent
* Slapstick
* Cyberpunk
* Japanese
* Documentary
* Animated
* City symphony
* Direct cinema
* Docudrama
* Mockumentary
* Mondo
* Pseudo
* Semi
* Travel
* Video essay
* Drama
* Calligrafismo
* Dramedy
* Historical
* Legal
* Erotic
* Category III films
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Pink
* Sexploitation
* Thriller
* Educational
* Social guidance
* Epic
* Sword-and-sandal
* Experimental
* Exploitation
* see Exploitation film template
* Fantasy
* Comedy
* Contemporary
* Fantastique
* High
* Historical
* Magic realism
* Science
* Film noir
* Neo-noir
* Pulp noir
* Tech noir
* Gothic
* Romance
* Southern
* Space
* Suburban
* Urban
* Horror
* Arthouse
* Black
* Body
* Cannibal
* Chinese horror
* Christmas horror
* Comedy
* Eco
* Fantastique
* Found footage
* German underground
* Ghost
* Giallo
* List of films
* Holiday
* Japanese horror
* Korean horror
* Lovecraftian
* Melodrama
* Korean
* Natural
* New French Extremity
* Psycho-biddy
* Psychological
* Science fiction
* Slasher
* Splatter
* Satanic
* Maximalist film
* Minimalist film
* Mumblecore
* Musical
* Arthouse
* Backstage
* Jukebox
* Musicarello
* Operetta
* Sceneggiata
* Mystery
* Detective
* Occult detective
* Whodunit
* Giallo
* Crossover
* Pornographic
* Hardcore pornography
* Softcore pornography
* (Malayalam)
* Propaganda
* Reality
* Romantic
* Comedy
* Bromantic
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Paranormal
* Thriller
* Science fiction
* Art
* Comedy
* Fantastique
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Horror
* Military
* New Wave
* Space opera
* Steampunk
* Tokusatsu
* Western
* Slice of life
* Iyashikei
* Slow cinema
* Survival
* Thriller
* Comedy
* Erotic
* Financial
* Giallo
* Legal
* New French Extremity
* Political
* Psychological
* Romantic
* Techno
* Transgressive
* Cinema of Transgression
* Extreme cinema
* New French Extremity
* Trick

By theme|

* Animals
* Beach party
* Body swap
* Buddy
* Buddy cop
* Female
* Cabrito
* Cannibal
* Chicano
* Colonial
* Coming-of-age
* Concert
* Crime
* Detective
* Gangster
* Gentleman thief
* Gokudō
* Gong'an
* Heist
* Heroic bloodshed
* Hood
* Mafia
* Mafia comedy
* Mumbai underworld
* Poliziotteschi
* Yakuza
* Dance
* Disaster
* Apocalyptic
* Drug
* Psychedelic
* Stoner
* Dystopian
* Ecchi
* Ero guro
* Ethnographic
* Exploitation
* Blaxploitation
* Mexploitation
* Turksploitation
* Extraterrestrial
* Food and drink
* Gendai-geki
* Ghost
* Goona-goona epic
* Gothic
* Romance
* Space
* Suburban
* Girls with guns
* Harem
* Hentai
* Lolicon
* Shotacon
* Tentacle erotica
* Homeland
* Isekai
* Jidaigeki
* Samurai
* Kaitō
* LGBTQ
* Yaoi
* Yuri
* Luchador
* Magical girl
* Martial arts
* Bruceploitation
* Chopsocky
* Gun fu
* Kung fu
* Ninja
* Wuxia
* Mecha
* Anime
* Monster
* Giant monster
* Kaiju
* Mummy
* Vampire
* Zombie
* Zombie comedy
* Mountain
* Mouth of Garbage
* Muslim social
* Nature
* Environmental issues
* Opera
* Outlaw biker
* Ozploitation
* Partisan film
* Prison
* Women
* Race
* Rape and revenge
* Road
* Rubble
* Rumberas
* Sageuk
* Sexploitation
* Bavarian porn
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Mexican sex comedy
* Nazi exploitation
* Pornochanchada
* Nunsploitation
* Sex report
* Shoshimin-eiga
* Slavery
* Slice of life
* Snuff
* South Seas
* Sports
* Spy
* Eurospy
* Superhero
* Surfing
* Swashbuckler
* Sword-and-sandal
* Sword and sorcery
* Travel
* imaginary voyage
* Trial
* Vigilante
* War
* Anti-war
* Euro War
* Submarine
* Western
* Acid
* Contemporary Western
* Dacoit Western
* Fantasy
* Florida
* Horror
* Meat pie
* Northern
* Ostern
* Revisionist
* Science fiction
* Singing cowboy
* Space
* Spaghetti
* Weird Western
* Zapata Western

By movement
or period|

* Absolute
* American eccentric cinema
* Australian New Wave
* Auteur films
* Berlin School
* Bourekas
* Brighton School
* British New Wave
* Kitchen sink realism
* Budapest school
* Calligrafismo
* Cannibal boom
* Cinéma du look
* Cinema Novo
* Cinema of Moral Anxiety
* Cinema of Transgression
* Cinéma pur
* Commedia all'italiana
* Czechoslovak New Wave
* Documentary Film Movement
* Dogme 95
* Erra Cinema
* European art cinema
* Film d'art
* Film gris
* Free Cinema
* French Impressionist
* French New Wave
* German Expressionist
* German underground horror
* Nigerian Golden Age
* Grupo Cine Liberación
* Heimatfilm
* Hollywood on the Tiber
* Hong Kong New Wave
* Indiewood
* Iranian New Wave
* Italian futurist
* Italian neorealist
* Japanese New Wave
* Kammerspielfilm
* L.A. Rebellion
* Lettrist
* Modernist film
* Mumblecore
* Neorealist
* New French Extremity
* New German
* New generation
* New Hollywood
* New Nollywood
* New Objectivity
* New Queer
* No Wave
* Nuevo Cine Mexicano
* Pan-Indian film
* Parallel cinema
* Persian Film
* Philippine New Wave
* Poetic realist
* Polish Film School
* Poliziotteschi
* The Prague film school
* Prussian film
* Pure Film Movement
* Remodernist
* Romanian New Wave
* Slow cinema
* Spaghetti Western
* Socialist realist
* Social realist
* Kitchen sink realism
* Soviet parallel
* Structural
* Surrealist
* Sword-and-sandal
* Taiwan New Cinema
* Telefoni Bianchi
* Thai New Wave
* Third Cinema
* Toronto New Wave
* Vulgar auteurism
* Yugoslav Black Wave

By demographic|

* Adult
* Black
* Children and family
* Anime
* Men
* Seinen
* Stag
* Teen
* Shōnen
* Shōjo
* Women
* Chick flick
* Josei

By format,
technique,
approach,
or production|

* 3D
* Actuality
* Animation
* Anime
* Art
* Cartoon
* Computer
* Stop-motion
* Traditional
* Anthology
* Art
* B movie
* Behind-the-scenes
* Black-and-white
* Blockbuster
* Cinéma vérité
* Classical Hollywood cinema
* Collage
* Color
* Compilation
* Composite
* Computer screen
* Cult
* midnight movie
* Database cinema
* Direct-to-video
* ONA
* OVA
* Docufiction
* Ethnofiction
* Experimental
* Abstract
* Feature
* Featurette
* Film à clef
* Film-poem
* Found footage
* High concept
* Hyperlink cinema
* Independent
* Guerrilla filmmaking
* List of American independent films
* Interstitial art
* Live action
* animation
* Low-budget
* Major film studios
* Masala
* Maximalist film
* Message picture
* Meta-film
* Minimalist film
* Mockbuster
* Modernist film
* Musical short
* Mythopoeia
* Neorealist
* No-budget
* One-shot
* Paracinema
* Participatory
* Poetry
* Postmodernist
* Reverse motion
* Satire
* Sceneggiata
* Semidocumentary
* Serial
* Shinpa
* Short
* Silent
* Slow cinema
* Socialist realist
* Sound
* Television film
* Underground
* Video nasty
* Vulgar auteurism
* Z movie

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template