Cinema is an impactful tool. Often, watching fictional characters fighting for life and death could account for an emotional and heart-pounding experience for the audience.
That’s the power of well-made survival thrillers. Intriguing and eerie, emotional yet hopeful. A challenging emotion to crack, but filmmakers have experimented with varied tales of survival.
Survival dramas are a popular subgenre. Malayalam cinema is known to make some of the best films. If you’re a fan of survival thrillers, we’ve curated a list of 8 engaging and suspenseful movies to get hooked on. Take a look.
2018
Chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2023, Tovino Thomas’ critically acclaimed and commercially successful Malayalam film, 2018, is one of the best survival dramas to watch. Based on the 2018 Kerala floods, Jude Anthany Joseph’s film recreated terrifying moments without the use of VFX. 2018 can be watched on SonyLIV.
Manjummel Boys
Inspired by a real story, the Malayalam blockbuster Manjummel Boys follows a simple storytelling approach, but the impact is lasting. The story builds tension, fear and agony as one of the boys falls into a dangerous pit in the Guna Caves. Manjummel Boys did a business of Rs 234.25 crore worldwide. The film can be watched on JioHotstar.
Aadujeevitham
Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Malayalam movie Aadujeevitham should not be missed if survival thrillers are your favourite. The film is about Najeeb Muhammed, who goes to Saudi Arabia to earn money to send back home. However, he finds himself living a slave-like existence, herding goats in the middle of the desert. It can be streamed on Netflix.
Maryan
Dhanush and Parvathy Thiruvothu’s Tamil film follows the story of Maryan, who travels to Sudan to work in an oil company in Sudan to pay back the loans of his uncle. But, on his way back home, he is held hostage by terrorists. Maryan can be watched on MX Player.
Helen
Remade in Hindi as Mili, Anna Ben’s Malayalam survival thriller Helen, directed by Mathukutty Xavier, is about a part-time restaurant employee who gets locked in the freezer room for a night. She has to survive in the cold. Helen can be watched on Amazon Prime Video.
Lift
Lift is an engaging Tamil survival thriller. The film is about Guru, an ambitious employee, and Harini, an HR manager, who get trapped in the office, and a lift is their option escape route. The film is streaming on JioHotstar.
Tumbbad
A mythical film set in Maharashtra, Tumbbad, a bilingual movie around concepts like greed, also serves as a potential survival thriller. Sohum Shah leads the film, with Rahi Anil Barve directing it. Tumbbad released in Marathi and Hindi. It can be watched on Amazon Prime Video.
Lapachhapi
The first impression of Lapachhapi is that of a horror thriller. When explored in depth, it is a survival drama around a pregnant woman who has to protect her unborn child from the horrors of society. This Pooja Sawant-led Marathi film was remade in Hindi as Chhorii. Lapachhapi is available on ZEE5.