15 Best SHTF Movies You Need to Revisit in 2022

 

One of the greatest perks of survival movies is that they can help you realize the gap in your level of preparedness and help stay on top of your survival plans, and the best shtf movies list would come in handy!

In today’s article, we’ll walk you through a list of the 15 best SHTF movies that you need to revisit in 2021. So without further ado, let’s jump right in!

 

1. 127 Hours (2010)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 35 min
• Directed by: Danny Boyle
• Written by: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
• Cast: James Franco
• Watch it Here

Let’s start the best shtf movies list with one of the grittiest survival movies out there that shows you how little some of us can be prepared in situations that require proper gear, and how far can people go in order to live another day.

In this true story, a hiker and a mountain climber, called Aron Ralston, goes on an adventure in an isolated canyon in the state of Utah. Unfortunate events then lead him to get his hands stuck beneath a large boulder.

 

2. Contagion (2011) – Best SHTF Movies

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 46 min
• Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
• Written by: Scott Z. Burns
• Cast: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet
• Watch it Here

This movie has been the talk of the news and social media in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic due to the similarities between the two.

Contagion starts when a woman and her sons die due to a new deadly virus after she returns from a business trip in Hong Kong.

As the global pandemic starts, a father tries to save his family from all the chaos, looting, and food shortages that ensue upon the collapse of society.

 

3. The Road (2009)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 59 min
• Directed by: John Hillcoat
• Written by: Joe Penhall
• Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron,
• Watch it Here

Similar to Contagion, The Road also focuses on a father that tries to lead his family through a post-apocalyptic world with all the survival elements that you can think of.

The survival story includes finding shelter, securing food, and even dodging human cannibals that roamed the streets as they head to safety in the south.

 

4. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) – Best SHTF Movies

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 43 min
• Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg.
• Written by: Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, Damien Chazelle
• Cast: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
• Watch it Here

This awesome movie has one of the textbook preppers that has a full-on bunker! After a car accident, a woman wakes up inside John Goodman’s bunker along with another stranger where she learns that a huge chemical attack has rendered the outside world inhabitable.

 

5. The Book of Eli (2010)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 58 min
• Directed by: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
• Written by: Gary Whitta
• Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Ray Stevenson, Mila Kunis
• Watch it Here

The Book of Eli is a must-watch if you’re a fan of survival movies! In this post-apocalyptic action/adventure saga, a lone man with hopes of a better future needs to find his way through a wasteland of present day America to keep a book with secrets to save mankind.

 

6. A Quiet Place (2018) – Best SHTF Movies

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 30 min
• Directed by: John Krasinski
• Written by: Bryan Woods, John Krasinski, Scott Beck
• Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt
• Watch it Here

In a world where blind aliens attacked earth, the world is left in silence after most of humanity was wiped out.

The family of Lee Abbott tries to survive by prepping on a farm where they have to deal with several issues in complete silence, including giving birth, to avoid the attraction of the monstrous aliens.

 

7. The Edge (1997)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 57 min
• Directed by: Lee Tamahori
• Written by: David Mamet
• Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin
• Watch it Here

Another must-watch for preppers and those who appreciate great acting and directing!

The movie takes place in the arctic wilderness of Alaska where a plane crash takes place, leaving two men in a brutal battle of survival against nature!

 

8. 2012 (2009)

 

• Runtime: 2 hr 38 min
• Directed by: Roland Emmerich
• Written by: Harald Kloser, Roland Emmerich
• Cast: John Cusack , Ayana Haviv, Peter Arpesella
• Watch it Here

According to the Mayan calendar, 2012 is the year where a series of catastrophic events hits the earth to mark the end of the world as we know it.

A true classic where things get really ugly to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the movie!

 

9. The Grey (2011)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 57 min
• Directed by: Joe Carnahan
• Written by: Joe Carnahan, Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
• Cast: Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney
• Watch it Here

Another movie that involves a plane crash in Alaska. In this movie, a huntsman leads a group of workers in order to survive the wilderness.

 

10. Alive (1993) – Best SHTF Movies

 

• Runtime: 2 hr 7 min
• Directed by: Frank Marshall
• Written by: John Patrick Shanley
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Bruce Ramsay
• Watch it Here

If you haven’t had enough of movies that start with a plane crash, here’s an interesting one where a team of rugby players survives a horrifying accident in the Andes. The best part is, it’s a true story!

 

11. Cast Away (2000)

 

• Runtime: 2 hr 24 min
• Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
• Written by: William Broyles Jr.
• Cast: Tom Hanks
• Watch it Here

Cast Away is one of the movies that has all the good elements of a survival movie with a lot of crafting all the while featuring a nice plot and some iconic acting from Tom Hanks!

 

12. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 48 min
• Directed by: Sydney Pollack
• Written by: Robert Bunker, Raymond W. Thorp
• Cast: Robert Redford
• Watch it Here

The oldest movie on the best shtf movies list, yet it wouldn’t be complete with this prepping masterpiece! The movie is set when a war veteran in the 19th century decides to seek solitude by living alone in the mountains.

However, he becomes quickly overwhelmed with the hardships of mountain life due to his lack of preparation. He then seeks the help of locals to learn about survival tactics!

 

13. Jungle (2017)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 55 min
• Directed by: Greg McLean
• Written by: Justin Monjo
• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Thomas Kretschmann
• Watch it Here

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An adventurous tourist and his friend hire a mysterious tour guide to explore the Amazon. However, they’re left stranded in the unforgiving jungle where they have to fight for their survival.

 

14. The Divide (2011)

 

• Runtime: 2 hr 2 min
• Directed by: Xavier Gens
• Written by: Eron Sheean, Karl Mueller
• Cast: Courtney B Vance, Milo Ventimiglia, Lauren German
• Watch it Here

 

After a massive nuclear attack on the United States, a group of 9 people rush into the basement of their apartment building in New York. Trapped in the Bunker, supplies start to run out, causing them to turn on one another.

 

15. Buried (2010)

 

• Runtime: 1 hr 35 min
• Directed by: Rodrigo Cortes
• Written by: Chris Sparling
• Cast: Ryan Reynolds
• Watch it Here

Lastly, another great survival movie from the year 2010. In this gripping thriller, Paul, a US truck driver and contractor in Iraq, finds himself 6 feet underground inside a sarcophagus after an attack on his vehicle, with only a lighter and a cellphone.

 

Wrap Up – Best SHTF Movies

 

There you have it! A brief guide that includes the best shtf movies and 15 the best survival movies that you might want to watch again to realize the gaps in your preparation and fix them ASAP!