13 Horror Movies Like Poseidon: Can You Make It Out Alive?
Looking for a thriller for your next movie night? If you loved Poseidon as much as I do, then you’re in for a treat. I really love films that have a finite beginning, middle and end, and this underwater thriller has all of those elements.
It’s an edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep you entertained, but if you’ve already seen it you’re probably looking for something new. These movies like Poseidon are thrilling, adventurous and should be on your list!
Best movies like Poseidon
1. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
The easy answer when it comes to movies like Poseidon is The Poseidon Adventure. This film is based on the same source material (a book also called The Poseidon Adventure), and the 2005 version is technically a loose remake.
It’s New Years Eve and the SS Poseidon is en route from New York City to Greece when the ship is taken over by a tidal wave. With the captain, crew and many passengers dead, the survivors need to find a way to get off board. It really is the same storyline with updated technology, characters, and better FX.
2. The Perfect Storm (2000)
Based on a true story, The Perfect Storm centers around a crew of commercial fishermen who get unexpectedly caught in a violet storm. Besides taking place on the open ocean, The Perfect Storm was also directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
It has a stacked cast, including George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly. This water survival flick is a thrilling interpretation of the non-fiction book that bares the same name. If you haven’t seen it and you’re looking for non-gory thrillers, add it to your “to watch” list.
3. Horizon Line (2020)
Horizon Line is Poseidon in the air. The plane’s eventually going down anyway, and it’s up to the main characters – Sara (Alison Williams) and Jackson (Alexander Dreymon) – to figure out how to get down safely.
This is one of my most-watched airplane horror films. I like a tight thrilling story with a ticking clock – and this definitely fits the bill. Sara and Jackson, exes with limited flying experience, end up in an aircraft flying over the ocean with no pilot when theirs has a heart attack.
Can they keep the plane flying for long enough to find land? And if they find land, will they be able to land?
4. San Andreas (2015)
San Andreas is another disaster horror starring Dwayne Johnson as LFAD search and rescue helicopter pilot, Ray. After the San Andreas fault triggers an magnitude 9 earthquake, the largest in history, Ray is on the hunt for survivors.
He is forced to navigate through Los Angeles’ destruction to bring his ex-wife and daughters to safety. It’s two parts disaster thriller, one-part family drama. If you love a good realistic(ish) thriller, you need to check this film out!
5. Open Water (2003)
In Open Water, Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) are on a tropical vacation when they’re left behind during a scuba dive. Upon surfacing, they learn the boat has left them behind and they’re stuck in the middle of the ocean with sharks lurking below.
This 2003 survival horror film is nail biting, but admittedly not my favorite flick featuring sharks. It’s loosely based on a true story, which makes it that much more terrifying. If you’re looking for a creepy movie that will make you think twice about diving in the open water, this is the one for you.
6. 47 Meters Down (2017)
I know what you’re thinking, Mandy Moore in a horror film? But 47 Meters Down is a good one – one of my favorites. Lisa (Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) are on a vacation in Mexico when they decide to go on a shark dive.
Unfortunately, the mechanism holding up their shark cage breaks and sends the pair of them barreling 47 meters to the bottom of the ocean. They get stuck there , with a limited supply of oxygen and their only hope for survival being to make it back up to the surface before the sharks find them.
This movie will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time, I promise.
7. Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Not my favorite movie, but definitely gets a place on the survival movies like Poseidon list. Snakes on a Plane features Samuel L Jackson as FBI agent Neville Flynn, this flick is a nightmare for anyone who can’t stand snakes (seriously, skip it).
Flynn is escorting a witness to a trial in Los Angeles when on-board assassins release deadly snakes in the plane. The passengers and crew are forced to band together to survive the flight. While this movie is a thriller, it’s also a little bit of a dark comedy too (though I’m not sure it’s supposed to be).
8. Twister (1996)
In Twister, Dr. Jo Thornton-Harding (Helen Hunt) watched her father get sucked to his death by a massive tornado when she was a child, and now she’s a storm chaser.
Jo takes her data-transmitting instruments directly into the path of a deadly storm in order to study it, and she ends up chasing the largest tornado to ever strike Oklahoma.
Will she be able to outrun it? Besides Hunt, this film features a few other famous faces you’ll recognize, including Bill Paxton and Carey Elwes.
9. Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Deepwater Horizon was an offshore drilling ring that exploded in 2010, and resulted in the worst spill in American History.
The film, starring Mark Wahlberg, follows the story of the crew and their families as they fight for their lives following the disaster. What’s exceptionally chilling about this is that it’s based on a true story.
If you’re looking for a very real scare, this is the film for you.
10. Castaway (2002)
Like a few other films on this list, Castaway isn’t technically a horror film. But it kind of is, if you think about it. What’s more fear-inducing then being stranded on an island alone in the middle of nowhere with no idea whether or not you’ll survive? Yeah, I’d classify that as a horror scenario.
After a plane crash in the South Pacific, FedEx executive, Chuck, is forced to figure out how to survive alone on an island. But this Tom Hanks drama is more survival than scary.
It’s on this particular list because of the survival factor. Like Poseidon, he needs to get out of the situation to stay alive. But, unlike Poseidon, there isn’t blood, guts and death in most of the film.
11. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Day After Tomorrow is another storm survival story. It’s not the most classic film, but it’s a standard scary end-of-the-world thriller.
In the movie, a series of freak weather events all over the world leads to a new ice age. Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) is a paleoclimatologist who tries to save his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) who’s stuck in New York City.
It’s not a classic horror film, but if the world is ending, it’s horrible, isn’t it?
12. Titanic 2 (2010)
Would you really get on a ship named after the ill-fated Titanic?
In the Titanic 2 (that has NO relation to James Cameron’s romance flick), the passengers and crew say yes. A century after the original disaster, a modern-day (circa 2010) luxury liner sets out to sail across the ocean. But will it suffer the same fate of it’s predecessor? Yes, probably.
Whereas the Titanic we all know (and some of us love) is a drama-romance, the Titanic 2 is a straight-up action thriller. When a tsunami throws an ice berg into the ship’s path, the crew and passengers are forced to figure out how to avoid suffering the same fate.
13. Into The Storm (2014)
Like Twister, Into The Storm is about Pete, a storm chaser, who heads out to film tornadoes. But, in this film, the tornado shifts course and heads towards a high school. Can Pete save the day? You’ll have to watch to find out!
If you like the cheesy disaster movies like Poseidon, this one fits the bill. It ‘s full of suspense, action, and special effects. Plus, who doesn’t love a good tornado movie? Into the Storm is the perfect film for you!
Final Thoughts: Movies Like Poseidon
For those looking for movies like Poseidon, you’re in luck, there are plenty out there.
I LOVE the concept of “will you make it out alive” and while not all of the films on this list are technically horror films, I’m lookin’ at you Castaway, they ALL put the main characters in a horrible situation that they have to figure their way out of.
My top personal pick is Horizon Line, especially if you’re looking for this story essentially in the air. However, you can also catch the original version of the film from the 70s if you want to see where it all started.
