The film concept is simple, yet fascinating: eat, or be eaten. When pitted against an unstoppable force of nature, how would the average person respond? Luckily, Hollywood has tested this question in several high-paced, heart-pounding films, with the latest iteration being the Idris Elba-led action flick Beast.
But whether it be lions, aliens, dinosaurs, or sharks, humans lack the physical speed and power to go toe to toe with just about any creature, however, the protagonists in these man vs. wild movies will not go down without a fight.
Anaconda (1997)
“When you can’t breathe, you can’t scream”, Is a fitting tagline for this suspense thriller. It follows a “National Geographic” style film crew that is taken hostage by a reckless, dangerous hunter. The hunter, played by Jon Voight, sets them on a quest to capture the world’s largest, and deadliest snake.
Similar to Beast, this film takes its crew into an isolated region, far away from the help of modern-day civilization. In a normal situation with a large group of hunters, these creatures could be taken down. However, isolation puts both casts into the predators’ environment. As the lion uses grass, the anaconda uses water to quietly stalk its prey.
The Thing (1982)
Arguably one of the best human vs. creature movies ever made, The Thing is consistently rated as one of the greatest horror films and top 100 films of all time, and the franchise origin is one horror movie that needs a miniseries. A research team in Antarctica is being hunted by a shape-shifting alien. However, this creature is not normal even by “alien” standards: it assumes the appearance of its victims.
The Thing’s practical effects are to be marveled at. They may have been a reason why the acting was as superb as it was, the creatures felt real. A consistent theme with these survival thrillers is isolation. Similar to Beast, the crew is isolated in one of the most remote regions in the world, all while dealing with a predator that has no empathy, and no remorse.
Tremors (1990)
The cult classic, Tremors (starring Kevin Bacon) revolves around the natives of a small, isolated town, who must defend themselves after strange creatures begin killing them one by one. While this film features a number of creatures as opposed to a singular being, the stalking and predatory behavior remain the same.
As viewers may have noticed, survival thrillers do well when the “survival” factor is put to the test. Had many of these creatures been in a highly populated area, the issue may have been resolved. Unfortunately, in Tremors, the city is located in the desert, with poor reception and little chance of outside help. Alone, the citizens have no chance against these monsters, however, with the ability to devise a plan, humans can always gain the upper advantage over whatever is hunting them.
Lake Placid (1999)
Starring Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman, Lake Placid is one of the more “grounded” movies about intimidating animals. After mysterious deaths in Black Lake, Maine, hunters and researchers are on the waters looking for whatever creature could have committed the killings. What they are unaware of is the forgotten creature, a large crocodile, is one of the biggest ever seen and now has a favor to human flesh.
Beast and Lake Placid share many similarities, however, and the most prominent one is the reality behind them. Both films feature creatures that are apex predators in their own environments, and the situations each group encounters are plausible given the right circumstances. Sometimes, the reality is scarier than fiction.
Cujo (1983)
Sometimes, dogs are not man’s best friend. In the horror classic Cujo, a St. Bernard contracts rabies and begins to unleash terror on a small American town. Adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name, Cujo is a pop culture icon that is famous for his bloody, maimed snout.
While aliens and other-worldly beings have a tendency to make viewers think of what could be out there, films like Beast and Cujo, show what is already here. The St. Bernard and lion are monstrous beasts in their own regards, however, sometimes all it takes is a “push” to fully unleash their rage.
Alien (1979)
Considered director Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, Alien changed the way audiences saw space forever. In the horror movie, a spaceship crew is woken up after picking up a distress call. After finding eggs, they begin to hatch into specimens that have evolved to survive and destroy almost anything.
The primitive nature of the lion in Beast and Xenomorph in Alien is what the two films share most in common. The need to survive and hunt anything that threatens that is instinctual for these creatures. On top of that, both antagonists use stealthy stalking as their main method to hunt.
Jaws (1975)
The film that catapulted this genre to blockbuster status is Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. A local sheriff and marine biologist are on the hunt for an enormous Great White shark that has been terrorizing the beaches of their community off Cape Cod.
Needless to say, almost any survival thriller, especially Beast, owes their success to Jaws. The film showcased how nature can send creatures that have evolved into perfect killing machines over the course of many years, and how humans are often no match.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Jurassic Park, once the highest-grossing film ever, centers around a group touring an almost complete theme park in Central America. However, the park is home to cloned dinosaurs, and after a power outage causes them to escape, the group must fight for their lives.
Similar to Tremors, this survival thriller has multiple “beasts”. Yet, the themes between Beast and Jurassic Park resonate as much as any other film. Both creatures in the films are apex predators in their own rights, and when humans encroach on their territory, it’s a matter of primal instinct to feed and hunt.
The Birds (1963)
A classic by Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds was after his massive success with Psycho. As most survival thrillers are, the plot is simple. A San Francisco socialite travels to a northern California town in pursuit of a potential boyfriend. However, things take a bizarre turn as birds begin attacking everything and everyone in sight.
Similar to Beast, this is when nature attacks. While the animal kingdom for the most part has its set of rules, sometimes things can go awry. Lions could go after villagers in remote towns every day if they wanted to, birds could flock together to hunt citizens of a small town. Humans tend to believe that nature bends to their will, however, nothing can be further from the truth.
Life (2017)
Similar to Alien, Life takes place on a spaceship far away from Earth’s shores and jungles (for the most part). A crew aboard the International Space Station makes a groundbreaking discovery of an alien creature. While friendly at first, the creature, named “Calvin”, becomes intelligent and hostile at a rapid pace. Now, the crew is stuck on board with a man-killing extraterrestrial organism.
Beast and Life share similarities in their creatures. Both creatures do not understand the full situation they have been brought into, however, the primal instinct to survive kicks in. This unfortunately means that any threat to survival will be attacked, like the family in Beast, and the crew aboard the I.S.S.
