Survival Thriller backdrop

Survival Thriller movies

Imminent danger and extreme conditions where staying alive matters more than solving a puzzle.

Plane

21. Plane

Action Adventure Thriller Military Action Survival Thriller
6.5

20231h 47min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Jean-François Richet

After a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in a war zone, a fearless pilot finds himself between the agendas of multiple militias planning to take the plane and its passengers hostage.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Survival under siege, Risk and improvisation, Plane as battleground, Rescue under fire, Militia power dynamics

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

22. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Science Fiction Action Drama Thriller Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi
7.6

20142h 10min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Matt Reeves

A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.

Themes

Loyalty under threat, Intergroup conflict, Leadership under pressure, Trust and betrayal, Survival under collapse, Alliance and deception

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Gravity

23. Gravity

Science Fiction Thriller Drama Space Sci-Fi Survival Thriller
7.7

20131h 31min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

During a routine mission on a space station, debris from a destroyed satellite strikes, killing part of the crew and sending the rest drifting into open space. Alone, Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski fight for their lives, hoping to find a way back to Earth.

Themes

Survival under pressure, Memory and longing, Isolation in space, Trust and dependence, Human connection under crisis, Improvisation under crisis

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Son of Saul

24. Son of Saul

War Drama Thriller World War II Historical Drama
7.4

20151h 47min

Hungary

Director: László Nemes

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival trying to save from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son, seeking to give him a proper Jewish burial.

Themes

Disguise and deception, Resistance under oppression, Survival under atrocity, Duty vs kin, Rituals under duress, Sonderkommando role

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

X

25. X

Horror Thriller Home Invasion Horror Survival Thriller
6.5

20221h 46min

United States

Director: Ti West

In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.

Themes

Exploitation by elderly couple, Predatory hospitality at farm house, Deception in isolated farmhouse, Gas station danger, Power and coercion in filmmaking, Commodification of porn star bodies

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

10 Cloverfield Lane

26. 10 Cloverfield Lane

Thriller Science Fiction Drama Horror Survival Thriller
7.2

20161h 44min

United States

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman wakes up in a survivalist's underground bunker, where he claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable.

Themes

Survival under captivity, Trust and betrayal, Deception and control, Confinement and autonomy, Jealousy and power dynamics, External threat and isolation

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Monos

27. Monos

Drama Thriller Crime War Modern Conflicts
6.8

20191h 43min

Argentina, Colombia

Director: Alejandro Landes Echavarría

On a faraway mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow.

Themes

Deception and loyalty, Military discipline under duress, Leadership turnover and legitimacy, Independence vs obedience, Romance within hierarchy, Youth violence and captivity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Oxygen

28. Oxygen

Science Fiction Thriller Horror Bio-Genetic Sci-Fi Survival Thriller
6.5

20211h 40min

United States, France

Director: Alexandre Aja

A woman wakes in a cryogenic chamber with no recollection of how she got there, and must find a way out before running out of air.

Themes

Survival under pressure, Isolation and confinement, Deception and secrecy, Memory loss and reconstruction, Cloning ethics and identity, Technology driven control

Available on

Netflix
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Sadness

29. The Sadness

Horror Thriller Gore Horror Survival Thriller
6.5

20211h 39min

Taiwan

Director: Rob Jabbaz

A young couple is pushed to the limits of sanity as they attempt to be reunited amid the chaos of a pandemic outbreak. The streets erupt into violence and depravity, as those infected are driven to enact the most cruel and ghastly things imaginable.

Themes

Survival under siege, Pandemic desperation, Fear of unseen virus, Mass murder dynamics, Cannibalism implications, Fight for survival

Available on

Amazon Video
AMC Plus Apple TV Channel
AMC+ Amazon Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Hunt

30. The Hunt

Action Thriller Horror Survival Thriller Slasher Horror
6.6

20201h 30min

United States

Director: Craig Zobel

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing and learn they’ve become part of the ruthless elite’s entertainment—a thrill-seeking “quest” built around hunting people. A woman named Krista refuses to accept that fate and is ready to do anything to survive.

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Survival under coercion, Spectacle of violence, Elite-controlled game, Misinformation and rumor, Conspiracy politics

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Peacock Premium
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.