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Theme: Disaster Movies


The disaster movie is a film spectacle that is set around some type of natural or man-made disaster – earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, planes in the process of crashing, ships sinking. There is the focus on spectacular scenes of mass destruction and drama as a crosscut of characters attempt to survive in the midst.

The original disaster movie fad began in the 1970s a series of big-budget hits featuring A-list casts. This underwent a revival in the 1990s where the advent of the CGI revolution allowed a much greater degree of depiction of spectacular mass destruction.

From the 2000s, the disaster movie has become the province of the B-budget film made for cable usually featuring a number of exotic science-fictional menaces – new onset Ice Ages, black holes, Global Warming scenarios, tornadoes of sharks and the like.

For more detail and an overview of the genre see the Theme Essay Disaster Movies.


10.5 (2004)

1 March 201624 April 2019

Rating: ★½

Disaster Mini-Series/California Super-Quake

Director: John Lafia
Actors: Kim Delaney, Fred Ward, Ivan Sergei, John Schneider, …
Category: Science Fiction

100° Below 0 (2013)

14 January 201624 April 2019

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie/New Ice Age

Director: R.D. Braunstein
Actors: Jeff Fahey, John Rhys-Davies, Sara Malakul Lane, Marc Ewins, …
Category: Science Fiction

2012 (2009)

14 November 200910 November 2019

Rating: ★★½

The End of the World/Disaster Movie

Director: Roland Emmerich
Actors: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, …
Category: Science Fiction

500 MPH Storm (2013)

1 May 201415 December 2020

Rating: ½

Superstorm Disaster Movie

Director: Daniel T. Lusko
Actors: Casper Van Dien, Michael Beach, Sarah Lieving, Bryan Head, …
Category: Science Fiction

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

9 May 199926 February 2020

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie & SF Spoof

Director: Ken Finkleman
Actors: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, William Shatner, Chad Everett, …
Category: Science Fiction

Alien Express (2005)

2 December 20076 July 2019

Rating: 0­

Alien Nasties on a Train

Director: Turi Meyer
Actors: Lou Diamond Phillips, Amy Locane, Barry Corbin, Steven Brand, …
Category: Science Fiction

Alien Tornado (2012)

21 November 201914 July 2020

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie/Extraterrestrial Tornado

Director: Jeff Burr
Actors: Jeff Fahey, Kari Wuhrer, David Jensen, Willard E. Pugh, …
Category: Science Fiction

Arctic Blast (2010)

21 October 201422 September 2020

Rating: ★

Wave of Supercold Disaster Movie

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Actors: Michael Shanks, Bruce Davison
Category: Science Fiction

Behemoth (2011)

16 July 20158 November 2019

Rating: ★★

Giant Mythological Monster Awakens

Director: W.D. Hogan
Actors: Ed Quinn, Pascale Hutton, William B. Davis, Cindy Busby, …
Category: Fantasy

The Big Bus (1976)

2 June 199914 November 2019

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie Parody

Director: James Frawley
Actors: Joseph Bolgona, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Ned Beatty, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Black Hole (2006)

25 May 200826 November 2019

Rating: ★

Black Hole & Electrical Monster Amok

Director: Tibor Takacs
Actors: Judd Nelson, Kristy Swanson, David Selby
Category: Science Fiction

The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

8 April 200112 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Plague-Infected Train/Disaster Movie

Director: George Pan Cosmatos
Actors: Richard Harris, Burt Lancaster, Sophia Loren, Martin Sheen, …
Category: Science Fiction

Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004)

20 August 200531 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Superstorm/Disaster Mini-Series

Director: Dick Lowry
Actors: Thomas Gibson, Brian Dennehy, Randy Quaid, Chandra West, …
Category: Science Fiction

Category 7: The End of the World (2005)

5 May 200731 March 2020

Rating: ★★½

Superstorms/Disaster Mini-Series

Director: Dick Lowry
Actors: Gina Gershon, Randy Quaid, Shannen Doherty, Cameron Daddo, …
Category: Science Fiction

Crystal Skulls (2014)

22 September 201531 May 2020

Rating: ★

Alien Artefacts/Disaster Movie

Director: Todor Chapkanov
Actors: Richard Burgi, Wendy Glenn, Sam Redford, David Rintoul, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

1 June 200427 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

New Ice Age/Environmental Disaster Movie

Director: Roland Emmerich
Actors: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Sela Ward, …
Category: Science Fiction

Deep Impact (1998)

31 May 19996 July 2020

Rating: ★★

Asteroid Collision/Disaster Movie

Director: Mimi Leder
Actors: Tea Leoni, Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, Morgan Freeman, …
Category: Science Fiction

Deep Rescue (2005)

2 December 200724 September 2020

Rating: ½

Space Shuttle Crash at Sea

Director: Christopher Bremble
Actors: Dale Midkiff, Tamara Davies, Stan Kirsch
Category: Science Fiction

Delete (2013)

20 January 20151 October 2020

Rating: ★

Artificial Intelligence Amok

Director: Steve Barron
Actors: Erin Karpluk, Keir Gilchrist, Ryan Robbins, Gil Bellows, …
Category: Science Fiction

Deluge (1933)

12 July 201620 July 2020

Rating: ★★

Massive Worldwide Flood

Director: Felix E. Feist
Actors: Sidney Blackmer
Category: Science Fiction

Earthquake (1974)

10 June 200230 September 2020

Rating: ★½

L.A. Devastated/Disaster Movie

Director: Mark Robson
Actors: Charlton Heston, Victoria Principal, Genevieve Bujold, Lorne Greene, …
Category: Science Fiction

Earth’s Final Hours (2011)

19 August 201225 February 2020

Rating: ★★

End of the World/Disaster Movie

Director: W.D. Hogan
Actors: Robert Knepper, Cameron Bright, Roark Critchlow, Michael Kopsa, …
Category: Science Fiction

Eve of Destruction (2013)

8 May 201415 October 2020

Rating: ½

Dark Energy Experiment Amok/Disaster Mini-Series

Director: Robert Lieberman
Actors: Steven Weber, Christina Cox, Treat Williams, Aleks Paunovic, …
Category: Science Fiction

A Fire in the Sky (1978)

14 July 201310 September 2019

Rating: ★★★

Comet on a Collision Course with the Earth

Director: Jerry Jameson
Actors: Richard Crenna, Elizabeth Ashley, David Dukes, Joanna Miles, …
Category: Science Fiction

Firequake (2014)

26 April 201614 December 2020

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie

Director: Geoff Browne
Actors: Alexandra Paul, Zoe Barker, Nigel Barber, James Weber Brown, …
Category: Science Fiction

Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane (2007)

20 June 201715 December 2020

Rating: ★★½

Zombies on a Plane

Director: Scott Thomas
Actors: Kevin J. O'Connor, Richard Tyson, Erick Avari, Derek Webster, …
Category: Horror

Flood (2007)

3 December 201430 August 2018

Rating: ★★

London Deluged/Disaster Mini-Series

Director: Tony Mitchell
Actors: Robert Carlyle, Jessalyn Gilsig, Joanne Whalley, Tom Courtenay, …
Category: Science Fiction

Geostorm (2017)

3 December 201719 November 2019

Rating: ★½

Weather Control/Disaster Movie

Director: Dean Devlin
Actors: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, …
Category: Science Fiction

Greenland (2020)

19 February 202119 February 2021

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie/Comet on a Collision Course with the Earth

Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Actors: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Scott Glenn, Roger Dale Floyd, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ice (1998)

16 December 200912 December 2020

Rating: ★★

New Ice Age

Director: Jean de Segonzac
Actors: Grant Show, Flex, Udo Kier, Michael Riley, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ice Twisters (2009)

4 December 20149 February 2019

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie

Director: Steven R. Monroe
Actors: Mark Moses, Camille Sullivan, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Robert Moloney, …
Category: Science Fiction

Jet Stream (2013)

11 August 20152 July 2019

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie/Weather Control Experiment Amok

Director: Jeffery Lando
Actors: David Chokachi, Ruth Kearney, Don Michael Paul, Preston James Hillier, …
Category: Science Fiction

Lost in the Pacific (2016)

20 June 201730 August 2018

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie/Mutant Cats on a Plane

Director: Vincent Zhou
Actors: Brandon Routh, Zhang Yuqi, Russell Wong, Bernice Jan Liu, …
Category: Science Fiction

Meteor (1979)

2 January 201319 February 2021

Rating: ★★

Meteor Collision/Disaster Movie

Director: Ronald Neame
Actors: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, …
Category: Science Fiction

Oceans Rising (2017)

28 May 201928 May 2019

Rating: ★

Global Warming Disaster Movie

Director: Adam Lipsius
Actors: Jason Tobias, Summer Spiro, DeJean Brown, Paola Menacho, …
Category: Science Fiction

Quantum Apocalypse (2010)

17 January 201321 November 2019

Rating: ★

End of the World Film

Director: Justin L. Jones
Actors: Rhett Giles, Stephanie Jacobsen, Peter Jurasik
Category: Science Fiction

Raise the Titanic (1980)

2 December 201530 August 2018

Rating: ★

Engineering Project to Raise the Titanic

Director: Jerry Jameson
Actors: Richard Jordan, Jason Robards, David Selby, Anne Archer, …
Category: Science Fiction

Rollercoaster (1977)

6 June 200412 December 2020

Rating: ★★★

Psycho Bomber

Director: James Goldstone
Actors: George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, …
Category: Horror

San Andreas (2015)

31 May 201519 February 2021

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie/California Hit by Super-Earthquake

Director: Brad Peyton
Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Paul Giamatti, …
Category: Science Fiction

San Andreas Quake (2015)

3 January 201828 May 2019

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie/The Asylum Mockbuster

Director: John Baumgartner
Actors: Jhey Castles, Jason Woods, Grace Van Dien, Lane Townsend, …
Category: Science Fiction

Seattle Super Storm (2012)

25 June 201521 November 2019

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie

Director: Jason Bourque
Actors: Esai Morales, Ona Grauer, Jared Abrahamson, Jay Brazeau, …
Category: Science Fiction

Seeds of Destruction (2011)

26 March 201424 November 2019

Rating: ★

Massive Runaway Plant Roots

Director: Paul Ziller
Actors: Adrian Pasdar, Stefanie von Pfetten, Jesse Moss, Luisa D'Oliveira, …
Category: Science Fiction

Sinking of Japan (2006)

26 August 201414 July 2020

Rating: ★★

Japanese Disaster Movie

Director: Shinji Higuchi
Actors: Etsushi Toyokawa, Tsuyoshi Kusunagi, Ko Shibasaki, Mao Daichi, …
Category: Science Fiction

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

10 November 20064 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

Snakes Amok

Director: David R. Ellis
Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Flex Alexander, …
Category: Horror

Starflight One (1983)

19 July 201312 December 2020

Rating: 0­

Plane Trapped in Orbit/Disaster Movie

Director: Jerry Jameson
Actors: Lee Majors, Hal Linden, Lauren Hutton, Robert Webber, …
Category: Science Fiction

Stonados (2013)

17 November 201510 February 2019

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie/Tornado of Explosive Boulders

Director: Jason Bourque
Actors: Paul Johansson, Sebastian Spence, Miranda Frigon, Jessica McLeod, …
Category: Science Fiction

Stonehenge Apocalypse (2010)

13 November 201024 November 2019

Rating: ★

Stonehenge Triggers the End of the World

Director: Paul Ziller
Actors: Misha Collins, Torri Higginson, Peter Wingfield
Category: Science Fiction

Supernova (2005)

24 July 200627 March 2019

Rating: ★

Solar Disaster

Director: John Harrison
Actors: Luke Perry, Tia Carrere, Peter Fonda, Emma Samms, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Swarm (1978)

18 February 200413 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Killer Bees Amok

Director: Irwin Allen
Actors: Michael Caine, Richard Widmark, Katharine Ross, Henry Fonda, …
Category: Science Fiction

Swarm (2007)

24 September 201030 August 2018

Rating: ★

Ants on a Plane

Director: George Mendeluk
Actors: Jessalyn Gilsig, Antonio Sabato Jr., Serge Houde, Ryan McDonell, …
Category: Horror

Thunderbird 6 (1968)

10 June 20028 April 2019

Rating: ★★★

Hi-Tech Rescue Organisation/Puppet Film

Director: David Lane
Actors: Peter Dynley, Ray Barrett, David Graham, Neil McCallum, …
Category: Science Fiction

Thunderbirds Are Go (1966)

18 March 200312 December 2020

Rating: ★★★

Hi-Tech Rescue Organisation/Puppet Film

Director: David Lane
Actors: Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, Alexander Davion, Peter Dyneley, …
Category: Science Fiction

Turbulence (1997)

18 February 201030 August 2018

Rating: ★

Serial Killer on a Plane

Director: Robert Butler
Actors: Lauren Holly, Ray Liotta, Hector Elizondo, Catherine Hicks, …
Category: Horror

Twister (1996)

6 December 20025 April 2019

Rating: ★★★

Tornado Chasers

Director: Jan De Bont
Actors: Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, …
Category: Science Fiction

Volcano (1997)

5 September 200422 January 2020

Rating: ★

Disaster Movie/Volcano Erupts in L.A.

Director: Mick Jackson
Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Don Cheadle, Gaby Hoffmann, …
Category: Science Fiction

When Worlds Collide (1951)

18 December 200315 April 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Planetary Collision/End of the World

Director: Rudolf Mate
Actors: Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, John Hoyt
Category: Science Fiction

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Theme Essays

  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Nazis
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Sexual Fetishism in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being Based on True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns

© Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2021

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