# Recommend me a disaster movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737 "2017-10-13T16:45:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/1 "2017-10-13T16:45:27Z")
I’m in the mood for an apocalyptic, end-of-the-world movie with buildings falling, seas rising, earth rupturing, sky opening up and showering destruction on all. Something at the quality level of _Independence Day_. Aliens may be involved, but don’t have to be. I don’t want to see animals hurt or killed (or at least not gratuitously, for emotional effect), or children, but grownups may be wantonly killed. It can end with doom or redemption; either one is okay. I have access to Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu. No cable. Thank you. I would also welcome suggestions regarding appropriate snacks and beverages to accompany the viewing, which I will be doing alone. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/2 "2017-10-13T16:47:44Z")
I say kick it old school and watch a classic disaster flick from the 70’s that hasn’t aged well at all. How about ‘Earthquake’? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/3 "2017-10-13T16:50:54Z")
I don’t know if you’d consider these as having the quality of Independence Day, but how about [2012](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190080/) and [San Andreas](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2126355/)? ps: [When Worlds Collide](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044207/) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/4 "2017-10-13T16:51:56Z")
_The Day After Tomorrow_ was pretty good and seems to meet all of your requirements. All movies should be accompanied by kettle corn or caramel popcorn, pretzel bites, and frozen lemonade. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/5 "2017-10-13T16:55:05Z")
I loved _The Day After Tomorrow_ and the stupid science and geography only made it better. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/6 "2017-10-13T17:30:37Z")
These are great suggestions! Yummm… Werther’s caramel popcorn. And would that be pretzel bites stuffed with cheese or peanut butter? Or both? 🙂 Earthquake was the one that came to mind. I think I may have seen it, but who cares. Is 2012 the one where the guy is driving madly away and the roads collapse behind him? If so, I bailed on that one due to special effects overload. I like the sound of San Andreas. I remember when the Day After Tomorrow came out, but never saw it. I wasn’t in This Kind of Mood back then. I will be checking these out! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/7 "2017-10-13T17:33:40Z")
Armageddon is streaming on Netflix. Also on Netflix is the four Sharknado movies. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/8 "2017-10-13T17:59:26Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > Armageddon is streaming on Netflix. > > … Okay! Bruce Willis! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/9 "2017-10-13T18:14:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > These are great suggestions! Yummm… Werther’s caramel popcorn. And would that be pretzel bites stuffed with cheese or peanut butter? Or both? 🙂 > > Earthquake was the one that came to mind. I think I may have seen it, but who cares. > > Is 2012 the one where the guy is driving madly away and the roads collapse behind him? If so, I bailed on that one due to special effects overload. I like the sound of San Andreas. I remember when the Day After Tomorrow came out, but never saw it. I wasn’t in This Kind of Mood back then. I will be checking these out! Thanks! Day After Tomorrow, 2012 and San Andreas are all Rolan Emmerich movies (director of Independence Day. Of those three, I would say Day After is the best and 2012 is the worst. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/10 "2017-10-13T18:17:49Z")
\*\*Crack In The World Deep Impact The War of the Worlds (1953 and 2005)\*\* There are some anticipation of the end of the world movies if you’re interested: **Knowing** (has some good visuals) **Melancholia** (same thing) **Last Night** ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/11 "2017-10-13T18:20:31Z")
Rent a copy of _Miracle Mile_. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/12 "2017-10-13T18:25:46Z")
Commenting only to subscribe because I love apocalyptic movies as well (and books!). _Deep Impact_ comes to mind. And _Armageddon_. There’s a ton of zombie movies: World War Z, Zombieland, Dawn of the Dead, Planet Terror, etc. After brainstorming and googling a little: The Road Logan’s Run Soylent Green Mad Max – All of them 28 Days Later Children of Men War of the Worlds – the original, not the later Tom Cruise one, but hell, watch that one too. The Book of Eli 12 Monkeys Cloverfield The Core – Tons of bad science! This is one of my favorites, it’s so ridiculous. The Postman Terminator – and the sequels The Omega Man Into The Forest – I read this too and the movie and the book were both terrific! Well, [Wiki has a list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apocalyptic_films). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/13 "2017-10-13T18:58:17Z")
Holy shit. This is a genre I’ve never been into much. Had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/14 "2017-10-13T19:22:38Z")
There’s a new movie, scheduled to be released later this month, called Geostorm that seems aimed at fans of this genre. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/15 "2017-10-13T19:26:06Z")
Not exactly what you’re looking for, but if you want a laugh after all that, the new MST3K did 1978’s Roger Corman-produced **Avalanche** , starring Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow. It’s a genuinely awful movie, but great MST3K fodder. It’s on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/16 "2017-10-13T19:32:34Z")
The whole movie isn’t really worth watching, but the tornado scenes are pretty cool in [_Into The Storm_](https://youtu.be/Gak8Qu3u3YY). ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/17 "2017-10-13T19:45:49Z")
As an “appetizer,” you might consider going old old school with _Deluge_ (1933) or _San Francisco_ (1936), both of which contain outstanding sequences of mass destruction. Or you could just watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnk7FidwnTA ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/18 "2017-10-13T19:56:17Z")
Some other maybe more low-key: [Meteor](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079550/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) (w. Natalie Wood and Sean Connery and awesome sound effects) [10.5](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364146/?ref_=nv_sr_5) (if you have an afternoon) [Supervolcano](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419372/?ref_=nv_sr_1) [Asteroid](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118261/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_44) (w. Michael Biehn and Annabella Sciorra) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/19 "2017-10-13T20:00:44Z")
Perhaps not _quite_ in line with what you asked for, but for sheer hackneyed fun entertainment, you would struggle to beat [It Came From Beneath the Sea](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048215/). I would also second **Dogzilla** ’s recommendation for the original War of the Worlds. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737/20 "2017-10-13T21:39:12Z")
_On the Beach_, anyone? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-disaster-movie/798737.md?page=2)