Should Have Been a Super Villain

The Function of Disaster Movies

Disaster movies are often action-packed thrill rides that venture in the sometimes fascinating “what if that happened” side of things. While some are very over-the-top and border on fantasy, others, like Contagion, emphasize realism and actual events. These movies tend to “hit home” with the viewers because they lead them to think “this could happen to me”. Disaster movies exploit the latent fear that recent events caused on the psyche on the masses, tapping into the anxiety and trauma they cause in order to create tension and terror in the viewers. Then, the “agenda” aspects of these movies kick in as they propose to the viewers the best (and only) way these issues can be resolved. Specific groups and agencies are cast as honorable, helpful and trustworthy during the time of crisis, while others are portrayed as hindrances and even traitors. The drama that follows becomes a case of predictive programming, as the steps taken in the movie to resolve the problem will thereafter appear normal to the masses if they ever occur in real life.

Have a look at the list I’ve compiled. No I haven’t seen all of these movies, and Yes many of these are horrible movies. Some are known, others not so much. Some may include predictive programming while some may not.  Point is, look at all of these, and most are  15years young or younger… interesting!

So here is the list !

Geological

On Hostile Ground (2000 TV)
Cave In (2003 TV)
The Core (2003)
Descent (2005)
Doomsday Prophecy (2011 TV)

Avalanches

Avalanche (1978)
Avalanche Express (1979)
High Ice (1980 TV)
Vertical Limit (2000)
Avalanche Alley (2001)

Earthquakes

Earthquake (1974)
The Land Before Time (1988)
The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990 TV miniseries)
Aftershock (1998)
Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999 TV miniseries)
Epicenter (2000 TV)
10.5 (2004 TV miniseries)
Nature Unleashed: Earthquake (2004)
10.5: Apocalypse (2005 TV miniseries)
Descent (2005)
Magma: Volcanic Disaster (2006 TV)
Descent 2 (2007)
2012 (2009)
2012: Supernova (2009 TV)
Megafault (2009 TV)
Stonehenge Apocalypse (2010 TV)
Doomsday Prophecy (2011 TV)

Electrical disturbances and lightning

Lightening: Bolts of Destruction (2005 TV)
Lightening: Fire from the Sky (2001 TV)
NYC: Tornado Terror (2008 TV)
Stonehenge Apocalypse (2010 TV)
2012: Supernova (2009 TV)

Meteors, asteroids and comets

Meteor (film) (1979)
Asteroid (1997 TV)
Armageddon (1998)
Deep Impact (1998)
Dinosaur (2000)
Post Impact (2004 TV)
Anna’s Storm (2007)
Impact (2008 TV miniseries)
Meltdown: Days of Destruction (2006 TV)
2012: Supernova (2009 TV)
Melancholia (2011 film) (2011)

Volcanoes

The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
When Time Ran Out (1980)
St. Helens (1981)
Volcano (1997)
Dante’s Peak (1997)
Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Scorcher (2002)
Dragon Head (2003)
End Day (2005 docudrama)
Supervolcano (2005 docudrama)
Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York (2006 TV)
Krakatoa: The Last Days (2006 docudrama)
Magma: Volcanic Disaster (2006)
Lava Storm (2008)
2012 (2009)
Stonehenge Apocalypse (2010 TV)
Miami Magma (2011 TV)
Swamp Volcano (2012 TV)
Collision Earth(2011 TV)

Hydrological
Floods

Flood (film) (2007)
Hard Rain (film) (1998)

Tsunami

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Meteor (1979)
The Abyss (1989)
Deep Impact (1998)
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
10.5 (2004 TV miniseries)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Category 7: The End of the World (2005 TV miniseries)
10.5 Apocalypse (2006 TV miniseries)
Magma: Volcanic Disaster (2006)
Poseidon (2006)
Flood (2007 TV)
Dasavathaaram (2008)
2012 (2009)
Tidal Wave (2009)
Hereafter (2010)
Titanic II (2010 TV)

Climate

2012: Ice Age (2011)
Absolute Zero (2005 TV)
Arctic Blast (2010)
Atomic Twister (2002 TV)
Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004 TV miniseries)
Category 7: The End of the World (2005 TV miniseries)
Doomsday Prophecy (2011 TV)
Flood (2007 TV)
End Day (2005 TV docudrama)
Heatstroke (2008 TV)
Hurricane (1979)
Ice Twisters (2009 TV)
Lost City Raiders (2008 TV)
Meltdown: Days of Destruction (2006)
NYC: Tornado Terror (2008 TV)
Night of the Twisters (1996 TV)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Perfect Storm (2000)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Titanic II (2010 TV)
Tornado! (1996)
Tornado Valley (2009)
Tornado Warning (2002)
Twister (1996)
2012 (film) (2009)

Fires

City on Fire (1979)
Fire Down Below (1997 drama)
Firestorm (1998)
Knowing (2009)
Ladder 49 (2004)
On Deadly Ground (1994 Drama)
The Towering Inferno (1974)
Volcano (1997)
Firestorm (1998)

Epidemics

Absolon (2001)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
The Andromeda Strain (2008 TV miniseries)
Blindness (2008)
Carriers (2009)
The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
Children of Men (2006)
Contagion (2011)
Covert One: The Hades Factor (2006)
Darwin’s Nightmare (2004)
Daybreakers (2010)
Doomsday (2008)
Ebola Syndrome (1996)
Epidemic (1987)
Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (2006)
Flying Virus (2001)
The Happening (2008)
I Am Omega (2007)
The Invasion (2007)
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Outbreak (1995)
Pandora’s Clock (1996)
Perfect Sense (2011)
Plague (1978)
Quarantine (2008)
Smallpox 2002 (2002)
SST: Death Flight (1977)
Undead (2003)
Virus (1980)
Virus (1999)
Warning Sign (1985)

Space

Anna’s Storm (2007)
Armageddon (1998)
Asteroid (1997)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Deep Impact (1998)
Disaster Movie (2008)
Doomsday Prophecy (2011 TV)
End Day (docudrama) (2005)
End of the World (1977)
Epoch (2001)
Independence Day (1996)
Judgment Day (1999)
Knowing (2009)
Lifeforce (1985)
Meteor (1979)
Pandorum (2009)
Solar Attack (2005) AKA Solar Strike
Solar Crisis (1990)
2012: Supernova (2009 TV)
Tycus (1998)
When Worlds Collide (1951)
Where Have All The People Gone? (1974)
Without Warning (1994)

Aliens

Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe (1990)
Alien Abduction (2005)
Alien Hunter (2003)
Alien Intruder (1993)
Aliens in the Attic (2009)
Allegro Non Troppo (1977)
Alone in the Dark (2005)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
The Arrival (1996)
Attack the Block (2011)
AVH: Alien vs Hunter (2007)
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Bedtime Stories (2008)
Beware! The Blob (1972)
Breeders (1986)
Body Snatchers (1993)
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Cloverfield (2008)
Communion (1989)
Contact (1997)
Creature (1985)
The Creature Wasn’t Nice (1983)
Creepozoids (1987)
Dark City (1998)
The Day the Earth Stopped (2008)
Decoys (2004)
Doom (2005)
Enemy Mine (1985)
Epoch (2001)
Explorers (1985)
The Faculty (1998)
Gamera: Super Monster (1980)
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1998)
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Good Boy! (2003)
The Great Heep (1986)
Hangar 18 (1980)
Heatstroke (2008 TV)
Heavy Metal (1981)
Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
Impostor (2002)
I am Number Four (2011)
I Come in Peace (1990)
Independence Day (1996)
Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)
Invaders from Mars (1986)
The Invasion (2007)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Invasion of the Pod People (2007)
The Invasion (2007)
Killer Mountain (2011 TV)
Knowing (2009)
Koi… Mil Gaya (2003)
Krull (1983)
The Last Starfighter (1984)
Lifted (2007)
Liquid Sky (1982)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
Megamind (2010)
Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor (1990)
Monsters ||2010
My Stepmother is an Alien ||1988
My Favorite Martian (film) ||1999
Night Skies (2007)
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Outlander (2008)
Pitch Black (2000)
Planet 51 (2009)
Predators (2010)
Progeny (1999)
The Puppet Masters (1994)
Rebirth of Mothra (1996)
Rebirth of Mothra II (1997)
Rebirth of Mothra III (1998)
Repo Man (1984)
Returner (2002)
Signs (2002)
Skyline ||2010
Slither (2006)
Solaris (1972)
Solaris (2002)
Spaced Invaders (1990)
Species (1995)
Species II (1998)
Species III (2004)
Species IV (2007)
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
Stargate (1994)
Starman (1984)
Strange Invaders (1983)
Suburban Commando (1991)
Super 8 (2011)
Terrorvision (1987)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The Forgotten (2004)
The Fourth Kind (2009)
The Monster X Strikes Back/Attack the G8 Summit (2008)
The Shadow Men (1998)
They Live (1988)
Things Are Tough All Over (1982)
Track of the Moon Beast (1976)
Transmorphers (2007)
Transmorphers: Fall of Man (2009)
Under the Mountain (2009)
Underdog (2007)
U.F.O. (1993)
Vague (2009)
Virus (1999)
The Visitor (1979)
Within the Rock (1996)
Xtro (1983)

Man-made disasters
Hazardous materials

Daylight (1996)
End Day (docudrama) (2005)
Fire Down Below (1994)

Chemicals

Chain Reaction (1996)
Daylight (1996)
The Children (1980)
Danger Zone (1997)
Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
Fire Down Below (1997)
The Happening (2008)
Once Upon a Forest (1993)
Right at Your Door (2006)
The Patriot (1998)

Nuclear energy

The China Syndrome (1979)
Knowing (2009)
Atomic Train (1999)
Atomic Twister (2002 TV)
By Dawn’s Early Light (1990)
The Chain Reaction (1980)
Class of Nuke ‘Em High (1986)
Countdown to Looking Glass (1984)
The Day After (1983)
The Doomsday Machine (1972)
The Final Combat (1983)
The Manhattan Project (1986)
Miracle Mile (1988)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
Next (2007)
On the Beach (2000)
Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
The Peacemaker (1997)
Special Bulletin (1983)
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Testament (1983)
Threads (1984)
The War Game (1965)
When the Wind Blows (1986)

Transportation
Airplanes

Air Force One (1997)
Airport (1970)
Airport 1975 (1974)
Airport ‘77 (1977)
The Concorde … Airport ‘79 (1979)
Airspeed (1998)
Alive (1993)
Cast Away (2000)
Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501 (1990 TV) aka. Aftermath
The Day Britain Stopped (2003)
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Executive Decision (1996)
Falling from the Sky: Flight 174 (1995 TV)
Fearless (1993)
Final Descent (1997 TV)
Final Destination (2000)
Fire and Rain (1989)
Flight 93 (2006)
Flight of The Living Dead (2007)
Ground Control (1998)
Happy Flight (2008)
The Hindenburg (1975)
Knowing (2009)
Mayday (2005 TV)
Millennium (1989)
Miracle Landing (1990)
Pandora’s Clock (1996)
Panic in the Skies! (1996 TV)
Passenger 57 (1992)
Passengers (2008)
Skyjacked (1972)
Stairwell: Trapped in the World Trade Center (2002)
Starflight One (1983 TV)
Stealth (2005)
Storm Tracker (2000)
Terror in the Sky (1971 TV)
Turbulence (1997)
United 93 (2006)
World Trade Center (2006)

Cars, trucks and buses

Breaker! Breaker! (1977)
Daylight (1996)
Eagle Eye (2008)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
The Final Destination (2009)
Knowing (2009)
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
The Night the Bridge Fell Down (1983)
Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976 TV)
Speed (1994)
Super 8 (2011)
Trucks (1997)

Ships and submarines

Britannic (2000)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Deja Vu (2006)
Gray Lady Down (1978)
Hostile Waters (1997)
In Search of the Castaways (1962)
Juggernaut (1970)
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
The Last Voyage (1960)
Noah (1998)
Poseidon (2006)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
The Poseidon Adventure (2005)
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Tarzan (1999)
Titanic
S.O.S. Titanic (1979 TV)
Titanic (1996 TV miniseries)
Titanic (1997)
The Legend of the Titanic (1999)
Titanic II (2010)
U-571 (2000)
Ghost Ship (2002 film)
Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)
The Little Polar Bear (2001)

Spaceships

Apollo 13 (1995)
The Black Hole (1979)
Independence Day (1996)
Lost in Space (1998)
Marooned (1969)
Pandorum (2009)
Space Cowboys (2000)
Apollo 18 (2011)

Theme parks

Final Destination 3 (2006)
Rollercoaster (1977)

Trains

Anastasia (1997)
Atomic Train (1999)
Knowing (2009)
The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
The Day of the Roses (1996)
The Fugitive (1993)
Money Train (1995)
The Peacemaker (1997)
Runaway! (1973 TV) AKA The Runaway Train and Frozen Passage
Runaway Train (1985)
Silver Streak (1976)
Source Code (2011)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Super 8 (2011)
The Swarm (1978)
Unstoppable (2010)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)
Unbreakable (2000)

Animals and plants
Main article: List of natural horror films
Further information: List of giant monster films

The Happening (2008)
Bug (1975)
The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (-)
The Swarm (1978)
Squirm (1976)
Tarantula (1955)
Tremors (1990)
Bats (1999)
The Hive (film) (2008)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Human disappearance

Life After People (2008)
I Am Legend (2007)
The Quiet Earth (1985)
Aftermath: Population Zero (2008), documentary starting with an imaginary disaster

Monsters

Cloverfield (2008)
The Godzilla franchise (1954–Present)
D-War (2007)
The Mist (2007)
Monsters (2010)
Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009)
Sasquatch Mountain (2006)
Yeti (film) (2008)
Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus (2010)
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011)
Mega Piranha (2010)
Super 8 (2011)

……And here is a weird tidbit about the movie 2012 


North Korea fears 2012 disaster film will thwart rise as superpower
North Korea’s government is scrambling to prevent pirated copies of the film 2012 from getting into the country because Pyongyang fears the disaster movie could jinx its lucky year, according to a report.

[link to www.telegraph.co.uk]

What a twist!

The internet is weird. It suits many lifestyles (freaks, weirdos, outcasts, and average joes) and I ask you that you please leave us alone. At least consider it!

When you first came on the scene, I thought we would be able to avoid each other, I thought the masses of “average” would show up, advertise their normality, their average lifestyles, their normal haircuts and fashion sense, grow bored in a few months and then get back to being average leaving me to carry on being awesome and you to fade into the same black hole as Usenet, AOL and BEBO. How wrong was I ….

Now average people seem to spend most of their time on the internet, at least your little piece of it, updating on a weekly, daily, hourly and half hourly basis, reminding me and anyone who cares to listen of just how average they are, uploading thousands of pictures of the same things; smiling people, the beach, smiling groups of people, smiling groups of drunk people, smiling couples kissing, smiling people in or by their car, smiling drunk people at a party, smiling people on holiday, smiling people at a club, smiley people smiling. Get it?

Every profile has a hundred pictures of the same things, each new picture reinforcing the normality of the last, the same poses with slightly different faces, the same places under slightly different lighting. Etc….

I thought for a while when you took ownership of our personal content, with everything we add to our pages being yours, that you would have put us all off, i thought the prospect of our content being used in online marketing would discourage us from perpetually adding to the masses of normal things us average people do, but no, if anything we all  post more than ever.

We “Facebook “(sadly it is now a Verb) in all kinds of normal places, not just at home on our PCs because we never leave the house, now we do it on our phone, in the car, at work, up the town, at the cinema or at the pub. Iit has become a running commentary of averageness, apparently that everyone needs to be aware of. Right?

Even infants are on the internet now, even dogs and cats have their own Facebook. They have the inability to type, use a mouse, run a Google search or switch on a monitor but they have their own Facebook, containing at least a few photographs of them being average domesticated animals even though they do not understand photography or lighting in the slightest.

By facilitating this mass show of averageness  you have forced the prior inhabitants of the internet to grow even more wildly deranged and to alienate themselves even further from the normality that stalks them now into their own homes. Some spend their time looking at pictures of lolcats, others have had to find solace in the lunatic fringe, cults and conspiracy theory forums, some have even gotten off their PCs  and taken up residence underneath bridges in order to escape the mass spread of averageness. Yet even in these kind of obscure places they are not certain to evade your tentacles of normality.

So I hope you are proud Facebook, no doubt you are, no doubt there are pictures on your profile page of you smiling away with a drink in your hand, at a specifically chosen location, are you pleased now you have lots of normal people with whom you can share the averageness of it all?

Thank you for your time
Yours sincerely,

Average Internet Facebooker Person