Body horror, supernatural thrillers, and zombie flicks often spring to mind while reflecting on the most unsettling films ever made. However, it’s easy to overlook another genre entirely: natural disaster flicks.
Even though movies involving avalanches, asteroids, and earthquakes are meant to serve as the ultimate form of escapism, they often reaffirm how freaking terrifying mother nature can be. After watching a tornado uproot a town or a tidal wave wipe a city off the map, being chased by a slow-moving serial killer or an evil clown doesn’t sound too bad by comparison.
Although disaster features sometimes don’t qualify as outright horror, there are times when the two feel intertwined. Dante’s Peak contains more haunting imagery than the average slasher, watching civilians being melted alive in Volcano is enough to give anybody nightmares, and despite Twister being classified as an action-movie blockbuster, it left many viewers afraid of being sucked into the sky (and of flying cows).
The natural disaster films on this list may not be fully considered horror, but that doesn’t change the fact each of them left countless moviegoers well and truly rattled.
Directed by Michael Jackson (not that one), Volcano centres around Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones), a seismologist tasked with diverting a lava path in LA.
Volcano is amazing at highlighting how scorching hot volcanic gases and lava can be. For this reason, there’s a great sense of danger anytime the characters are remotely close to molten rock. In fact, one of the first scenes depicts a poor soul having half his face melted off simply by being near a volcanic vent.
Even though lava moves slowly, the threat it poses is clearly apparent. One of the most heartbreaking moments is when two firefighters get trapped in their fire engine while lava oozes towards them. With no means of escape, all the pair can do is scream helplessly before being incinerated.
Of course, it’s impossible not to talk about Volcano without mentioning that scene. When a train is derailed, a MTA chairman, Stan, tries to carry an unconscious passenger off while the boiling heat sears the soles of his shoes. With magma surrounding the disintegrating vehicle, Stan realises there’s no way he can jump to safety. Nevertheless, he leaps into the lava flow, allowing him to toss the passenger to safety while he himself is cooked alive.
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