BY: Amanda Jane Stern

Who knew that 2020 would bring illnesses and a plague of epic proportions? We’ve got a coronavirus pandemic ravaging the globe; the avian flu has resurfaced in China, India and the Philippines; plus swarms of locusts have invaded Kenya. Did we miss something? What’s next? We’re all trapped at home, socially distancing ourselves, wondering how on Earth we’re going to get through this. In times like these, one of the best things we can do is distract ourselves with entertainment. And what better distraction is there than watching heroic tales of survival. Here are movies about people who beat the odds in the face of certain doom, right now, what is more inspirational than that? So, without further ado, here are six of the best survival movies.

127 Hours

Based on a true story, 127 Hours follows mountaineer/adventurer Aron Ralston (James Franco) as he explores a remote Utah canyon. When a boulder falls on his arm, he gets trapped. Over the next five days, Ralston has to figure out how to dislodge his arm and escape or die trying.

Adrift

Also, based on a true story, Adrift follows young couple Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) as they unknowingly sail into a catastrophic hurricane. With their boat in shambles and Richard severely injured, Tami must do everything she can to return them to safety.

Cast Away

When Chuck Noland’s (Tom Hanks) plane crashes in a storm over the Pacific Ocean, he is the only survivor. He finds himself washed ashore on a deserted island, his only companion a handmade volleyball named Wilson. Chuck must figure out how to survive and hope that someday he will be found.

Deliverance

Four friends (Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox) decide to escape their busy urban lives with a week of canoeing in rural Georgia. What was supposed to be a fun and relaxing vacation soon turns into a fight for survival after an attack by backwoods natives.

The Martian

Presumed dead after a terrible storm and left behind on Mars by his crew, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) must figure out how to survive on a hostile planet with limited resources. Meanwhile, on Earth, his teammates work around the clock to figure out how to bring him home.

The Hunt

When 12 strangers are abducted from their homes and wake up together in a clearing, they soon learn they are being hunted for sport. One of these 12 would-be-victims is the tough-as-nails Crystal (Betty Gilpin), and she vows to turn the tables on these would-be-hunters.

The Revenant

Reeling from a brutal bear attack and the murder of his son (Forrest Goodluck) by a member of his hunting team (Tom Hardy), frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) kicks into survival mode to get back to civilization. Fueled by grief, Glass braves the ice-cold and dangerous terrain to get vengeance.