6 Best Wilderness Survival Movies

By Vlad Zakh · June 3, 2026

Surviving the wilderness is brutal and transformative. Everest has climbers caught in a catastrophic storm, Wild has a grieving woman hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and 127 Hours has a canyoneer making an agonizing choice. The Grey, Into the Wild and Alive round out the six.

Everest (2015)

TMDB ★ 7.0

Climbing expeditions on Mount Everest are caught in a catastrophic storm with devastating consequences.

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur · 2h 01m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: History Vault · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Wild (2014)

IMDb ★ 7.1 RT 88% Metacritic 74

A grieving woman hikes eleven hundred miles alone to rebuild herself from nothing.

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée · 1h 55m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars13 wins & 70 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Grey (2012)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Oil rig workers who survive a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness are stalked by a pack of wolves.

Directed by Joe Carnahan · 1h 57m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

127 Hours (2010)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 93% Metacritic 82

A climber pinned under a boulder in a remote canyon makes an unthinkable choice to get out alive.

Directed by Danny Boyle · 1h 34m · Rated R

Nominated for 6 Oscars23 wins & 150 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Into the Wild (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 83% Metacritic 73

A college graduate gives away his savings and walks into the Alaskan wilderness alone.

Directed by Sean Penn · 2h 28m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars23 wins & 106 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Alive (1993)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Survivors of a plane crash high in the snowbound Andes face unimaginable choices.

Directed by Frank Marshall · 2h 07m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Wilderness Survival Movies

Everest (2015)

Wild (2014)

The Grey (2012)

127 Hours (2010)

Into the Wild (2007)

Alive (1993)

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