Best movies like The Impossible
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 238000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Spain, Thailand, USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: suspense, emotional, heartbreaking, motivational, touching, inspirational, realistic, sad, sentimental, tense
Best tv shows and movies like The Impossible (2012):
Similar in 86%
Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by true accounts, this HBO miniseries focuses on a group of fictional characters caught up in the harrowing aftermath of the tsunami that devastated the coast of Thailand two years ago.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, disaster movie
Similar in 77%
In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
Plot Summary:
In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. But that told only half the story. “Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 147000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA, Australia, Spain
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: scenic, suspense, exciting, realistic, inspirational, captivating, emotional, suspenseful, harsh, factual
Similar in 84%
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Plot Summary:
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 66000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: UK, Germany, Canada, USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, tense, realistic, rough, harsh, intense, exciting, factual, serious
Similar in 86%
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Plot Summary:
In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail. Magnificent foreshadowing and anticipation fill this true-life drama while minute details of the fishing boats, their gear and the weather are juxtaposed with the sea adventure.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 176000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, suspenseful, rough, emotional, factual, bad ending, action adventure, suspense
Similar in 82%
Alive (1993)
Plot Summary:
The amazing, true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive, forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: realistic, inspirational, emotional, disturbing, suspense, sad, suspenseful, intense, breathtaking, exciting
Similar in 80%
Poseidon (2006)
Plot Summary:
A packed cruise ship traveling the Atlantic is hit and overturned by a massive wave, compelling the passengers to begin a dramatic fight for their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, suspenseful, rough, apocalyptic, action adventure, breathtaking, mindfuck, serious, realistic
Similar in 84%
Into the Storm (2014)
Plot Summary:
The town of Silverton is in one day destroyed by the unprecedented power of a series of tornadoes. The population is at the mercy of the unpredictable and deadly cyclones, while hunters warn that the worst is yet to come. Most people find shelter, but some just go to the tornado for that one, unique shot.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: stylized, talky, exciting, apocalyptic, action adventure, serious, suspense, surprise ending, mockumentary, intense
Similar in 84%
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Plot Summary:
The Poseidon Adventure was one of the first Catastrophe films and began the Disaster Film genre. Director Neame tells the story of a group of people that must fight for their lives aboard a sinking ship. Based on the novel by Paul Gallico.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, tense, serious, psychological, psychotronic, cult classic, erotic
Similar in 78%
Abandoned (2015)
Plot Summary:
When their yacht capsizes during a storm; four men face almost certain death.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, intense, serious, captivating, emotional
Similar in 79%
All Is Lost (2013)
Plot Summary:
During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and barely escapes with his life. With any luck, the ocean currents may carry him into a shipping lane -- but, with supplies dwindling and the sharks circling, the sailor is forced to face his own mortality.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: harsh, reflective, touching, suspenseful, tense, serious, minimal cast, rough, captivating, philosophical
Similar in 75%
The Finest Hours (2016)
Plot Summary:
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 70000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, serious, tense, breathtaking, scenic, stylized, suspense, factual, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Adrift (2018)
Plot Summary:
A woman and her fiancé find themselves caught in a hurricane after departing Tahiti by boat. She wakes up after being knocked out, only to discover him missing, and the elements threatening.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, Iceland, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, suspenseful, sad, inspirational, twist ending, romantic, clever, touching, intellectual, feel good
Similar in 82%
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Plot Summary:
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 179000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, Hong Kong, China
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, tense, emotional, realistic, factual, compassionate, touching, suspenseful, intense
Similar in 86%
Frozen (2010)
Plot Summary:
Three skiers are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-or-death choices that prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, scary, suspense, disturbing, psychological, atmospheric, bad ending, psychological thriller, natural horror, intense
Similar in 75%
The Wave (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on the fact that mountain party Åkneset, located in the Geiranger fjord in Norway, one day will race out and create a violent tsunami of over 80 meters that will crush everything in its path before it hits land in Geiranger. A geologist gets caught in the middle of it and a race against time begins.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Norway, Sweden
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, suspense, intense, road movie, psychological thriller, feel good, depressing, transgressive, light
Similar in 75%
No Escape (2015)
Plot Summary:
In their new overseas home, an American family soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup, and they frantically look for a safe escape in an environment where foreigners are being immediately executed.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, suspenseful, tense, scary, serious, realistic, action thriller, suspense thriller, psychological
Similar in 76%
The Mountain Between Us (2017)
Plot Summary:
Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: scenic, romantic, suspenseful, visually stunning, tense, captivating, disturbing, exciting, serious, entertaining
Similar in 82%
Hours (2013)
Plot Summary:
A father struggles to keep his infant daughter alive in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, serious, suspenseful, psychological thriller, inspirational, captivating, emotional, dramatic, apocalyptic
Similar in 79%
127 Hours (2010)
Plot Summary:
The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 395000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: suspense, inspirational, breathtaking, psychological, intense, touching, unusual plot structure, depressing, motivational, thought provoking
Similar in 85%
United 93 (2006)
Plot Summary:
A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 110000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, realistic, emotional, controversial, tense, political, rough, serious, disturbing, bleak
Similar in 87%
Hotel Mumbai (2018)
Plot Summary:
Based on the 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai about the Mumbai attacks in 2008 at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 69000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Australia, USA, UK, Singapore
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, factual, sad, tense, psychological thriller, sexy, political, social
Similar in 76%
The 33 (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story about the collapse at the mine in San Jose, Chile that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Chile, Colombia, Spain, USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: factual, touching, suspense, tense, serious, period piece, captivating, inspirational, romantic, sad
Similar in 84%
Gravity (2013)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 853000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, scenic, suspense, minimal cast, intense, breathtaking, visually stunning, visual, serious
Similar in 90%
Cast Away (2000)
Plot Summary:
Chuck, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia ditches at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and he washes up on a tiny island with nothing but some flotsam and jetsam from the aircraft's cargo.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 626000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, psychological, serious, scenic, emotional, motivational, sad, inspirational, feel good
Similar in 76%
21 Grams (2003)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of three gentle persons: Paul Rivers an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré, Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife, happily married and mother of two little girls, and Jack Jordan, an ex-convict who has found in his Christian faith the strength to raise a family. They will be brought together by a terrible accident that will change their lives. By the final frame, none of them will be the same as they will learn harsh truths about love, faith, courage, desire and guilt, and how chance can change our worlds irretrievably, forever.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 244000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: mind bending, psychological, emotional, bleak, non-linear, gloomy, depressing, suspense, sincere, sad
Similar in 83%
Greenland (2020)
Plot Summary:
A detached married couple must get their son and themselves to safety after being randomly selected to enter an underground bunker, as a massive object from space threatens to destroy the world in less than 48 hours.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, apocalyptic, exciting, scenic, psychotronic, psychological, tense, sentimental, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
San Andreas (2015)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 252000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, suspense, absurd, intense, serious, apocalyptic, romantic, breathtaking, scenic
Similar in 79%
Everest (2015)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, "Everest" documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 228000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Iceland
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: realistic, scenic, dramatic, breathtaking, tense, suspenseful, serious, suspense, emotional, inspirational
Similar in 80%
Sanctum (2011)
Plot Summary:
The 3-D action-thriller Sanctum, from executive producer James Cameron, follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea. Master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has explored the South Pacific's Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank's team--including 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and financier Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd)--are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, suspenseful, serious, breathtaking, tense, realistic, sad, entertaining, stylized
Similar in 86%
The Snow Walker (2003)
Plot Summary:
A bush pilot in nothern Canada who with the aid of modernity thinks he can handle it all & knows it all. After reluctantly agreeing to transport a local indian girl to a medical facility his light plane crashes & they have to survive whilst finding their way back to civilization. Along the journey the man finds a new respect for the native ways as they battle to survive the elements.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, sentimental, breathtaking, realistic, compassionate, touching, heartbreaking, sad, scenic