5 Best Survival Movies On Netflix Right Now

A tense thriller starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton has burst out from the wild and, in doing so, has dominated Netflix's top 10 (via FlixPatrol). "Apex" sees the former Furiosa as a daring rock climber, who, after suffering a personal tragedy five months prior, heads to the Australian outback only to bump into a local who is a lunatic with a major dental adjustment. Egerton taps into the same level of unhinged he had on full display in the brilliant 9-episode Apple TV series, "Smoke," only this time with an Australian twang, leaving Theron to go on the run and fight for her life against her crossbow-wielding co-star. 

Hitting that sweet spot of fun and thrilling, "Apex" might see your survival instinct kick in, which might not fade after the credits roll. In that case, we've put together a great bunch of survival stories that you don't need a compass to find, as you can add them to your Netflix queue as soon as you're done with this one. So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags, try to take along your best batch of trail mix, and follow us as we lead you to a brilliant collection of movies that take you from the highest peaks to the lowest lows, all with the help of some big stars who make us wonder if they're going to make it out alive. We promise most of them do. 

Director Martin Campbell might know how to handle a Bond intro after helming "Goldeneye" and "Casino Royale," but arguably one of his best opening sequences is at the start of the 2000 mountain movie, "Vertical Limit," which "Apex" looks to have taken notes from. After a jaw-dropping "Sophie's Choice"-like decision that's hundreds of feet in the air, we're sent to the base of K2, where an estranged brother, Peter (Chris O'Donnell) and his sister, Annie (Robin Tunney), have their survival skills tested when the latter ends up trapped in a crevasse during an expedition.

O'Donnell is a decent fit in the hero role leading a band of climbers up the mountain to rescue survivors, who all end up either dead or suffering some gnarly and realistic injuries. Helping him on the journey are Scott Glenn as the K2 veteran with a score to settle with Bill Paxton's business tycoon, along with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" star Alexander Siddig and a young Ben Mendelsohn in a very early role. While it might be a little hokey in places, "Vertical Limit" feels like a survival movie that's hanging onto the classic '90s era of action movies by its fingertips. Paxton is perfectly punchable as the businessman who is out of his depth and sees his team as expendable, and Glenn steps in with his signature ticked-off veteran who knows this life-threatening route. As he explains to O'Donnell's plucky protagonist, "Up there, you're not dying, you're dead." Good job, this film still has some life in it, then.

While many movies in this watchlist force their characters to face the elements, "Gerald's Game" is a horror gem on Netflix that keeps things strictly in the bedroom. From one horror master to another, Mike Flanagan adapts the novella of the same name, originally penned by Stephen King. The movie stars one of his go-to cast members, Carla Gugino as Jessie Burlingame. During a weekend trip away with her husband, Gerald (Bruce Greenwood), some bedroom antics take a terrifying turn when she finds herself handcuffed to a bed and her dearly beloved lying dead on the floor. From here, Jessie goes to some dark places in her past in order to keep hold of her sanity and remain strong enough to get through this horrific ordeal that will demand some even more wince-inducing choices.

One-person shows about survival are always a compelling draw, but Gugino's turn as Jessie feels like one that is criminally overlooked. There's a sneaking suspicion about just where this story is headed, and Flanagan does a great job of drawing it out. A few other supporting talents like Henry Thomas and Kate Siegel also drop in to lend a hand, but Gugino is the real star who keeps things going. We highly advise you to sit down and watch "Gerald's Game," but just be prepared for where it will go and the exceptionally squeamish final act that will make your fingers itch.

There's no doubt that some of the films in this batch are entertaining entries with some fun to be had, but the same can't be said for J.A. Bayona's 2023 movie, "Society of the Snow." Be that as it may, that doesn't stop it from being an incredibly moving movie about real survival. Another Netflix-made movie (and one of its best) that earned the streaming service more Oscar attention with two Academy Award nominations, this film follows the true story of the Uruguayan rugby team, whose plane went down in the Andes Mountains in 1972. 45 people were aboard the aircraft, but only 16 survived the ordeal. Bayona's bleak but beautiful glimpse into the tragedy is a raw depiction of what pushed them to the edges of their own humanity.

Such a tragic story isn't anything new for Bayona, whose big break was the 2012 film, "The Impossible," which followed a family caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It's also familiar terrain for audiences, given that the 1972 disaster was also the basis for Frank Marshall's 1993 movie "Alive," which starred Ethan Hawke. Here, though, Bayona delivers a take that feels so much more raw, tapping into the heartbreak of the harrowing ordeal, thanks to some incredible performances. Perhaps the real star, though, is the film's sets, with Bayona able to establish the nightmarish, realistic elements the team was forced to endure.

Idris Elba has held his own against some of the toughest stars in Hollywood, but here he's on the run against a very angry lion in another thriller from "Apex" director, Baltasar Kormákur. In a pretty simple story that feels like it's out of another era, "Beast" sees the "Luther" legend as Dr. Nate Samuels, who, while on a trip to a reserve in South Africa, comes face-to-face with a rogue lion that has a taste for humans. From there, Samuels is on the run from the predator, trying to keep his daughters safe, and fights tooth and nail to evade the animal, which has a serious vendetta against him.

Much like "Gerald's Game," "Beast" dares to keep most of the focus on Elba fighting a CGI but equally compelling foe that is prowling every scene. Thankfully, he's the kind of star who can keep the interest going, no matter how absolutely ridiculous things get. Throwing in some short support is "District 9" star, Sharlto Copley, who shows him that not every animal is the same and that this monster on the move can be taken down. It also hums along at a lean 93 minutes, which is just what you need for a nostalgic walk on the wild side.

Netflix has swum in shark-infested waters on its own over the years, most recently with "Thrash" and back in 2024 with French creature feature "Under Paris." However, those two and so many others don't deserve to take the same bait as Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, "Jaws." You probably know the story of three men and a fish by now. Roy Scheider is Chief Brody, a water-weary lawman of Amity Island, who has to put the locals at ease after a great white shark begins stalking the shores. Eventually, he teams up with Richard Dreyfuss' oceanographer Matt Hooper and Robert Shaw's scene-chewing fisherman, Quint.

"Jaws" might take a while for the survival instinct to kick in, but there's no question that, above all, it's simply a perfect film. Spielberg's first blockbuster is a study in adventure and tension, effortlessly balancing both on a trip out to sea that still holds up more than 50 years later. What's an equally impressive testament to the film's longevity is that, unlike a lot of films on this list, the terror lurking beneath the waves is rarely shown. Spielberg notoriously battled with a mechanical shark during production, and only lets it break the water in the final act, chomping through the horror and smiling for the camera in a nail-biting finish.