Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Snow Storms. More tornadoes. Giant asteroids. The possibilities are endless for calamitous cinematic weather events that devastate Earth. Why not add some killer sharks, scrap metal, and tidal waves into the mix? After all, what’s more exciting than watching the world’s most populous cities and most iconic landmarks being destroyed in films that feature freak natural disasters?
The answer: natural disaster films that employ cheap special effects, terrible actors, and dialogue that makes anyone cry from laughter. Some of the worst natural disaster flicks, it turns out, are actually the best - especially for moviegoers who live campy B-movies.
Titanic II (2010)
Despite its title, Titanic II isn’t a sequel to the 1997 romantic epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Instead, it’s a film that pokes fun at Titanic by following the crew and occupants of a replica ship 100 years after the ill-fated maiden voyage.
The Titanic II must contend with global warming, tsunamis, and (of course) icebergs as it traverses the Atlantic Ocean from New York to England. Replete with disaster movie antics and histrionic acting, this flick is definitely so bad it ends up being pretty good.
Deep Core (2000)
Does a disaster movie about a team of working-class drillers who must save the world sound familiar? That’s because Deep Core is an unrepentant, low-budget rip-off of 1998’s blockbuster hit Armageddon.
Instead of an asteroid, a multi-million dollar mining company digs too deep with its lasers, causing the stability of Earth’s core to become compromised. As the planet is wrecked by volcanoes and earthquakes, it’s up to one geologist and his team to keep Earth from becoming completely uninhabitable.
Tycus (1999)
Dennis Hopper and Peter Onorati do some of the worst acting of their lifetimes in Tycus, which centers around a comet on a crash course for Earth’s Moon. When the massive rock impacts the Moon, all bets are off for humanity.
The best way to save the species, according to Tycus, is to build an underground city beneath the Sierra Nevadas Mountains. Will the city become habitable in time for enough people to retreat into it, or will everyone be annihilated by pixelated, computer-generated fiery rocks?
NYC: Tornado Terror (2008)
A SyFy production through and through, NYC: Tornado Terror explores what would happen if Earth’s upper and lower atmospheres separated because of climate change. The electrical charges generated by these changes lead to massive electrical tornadoes that descend upon New York City.
Cue a lot of junk weather science, shotty CGI storms, and millions of urbanites who aren’t prepared for super tornadoes. Fortunately, a group of renegade scientists is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep NYC intact.
Metal Tornado (2011)
What would happen if attempts to turn solar flares into renewable energy went astray, creating a colossal, magnetic vortex that attacks metallic objects of all shapes and sizes? Metal Tornado, of course.
In this one-of-a-kind disaster movie, the titular maelstrom devastates suburban Pennsylvania as it makes its way for Philadelphia. As if that isn’t tantalizing enough, Metal Tornado stars Lou Diamond Phillips as the heroic scientist who tries to figure out a way to drain the twister of its electric force.
The Hurricane Heist (2018)
A group of thieves in The Hurricane Heist decides the best time to rob the US Mint in the town of Gulfport is when the city collides with a Category 5 hurricane named Tammy. As Tammy bears down on the city, the thieves begin their stickup.
What ensues is a film involving bank robbers with bad Southern accents, dark clouds that morph into misty skulls, and non-sensical conversations about climate science. What The Hurricane Heist lacks in intelligence it makes up for with novelty.
100 Degrees Below Zero (2013)
Good thing there’s a newlywed American couple onboard a private plane to Europe just as Earth is threatened by an Icelandic volcano whose eruption sets off a series of unfortunate weather events around the world. US Air Force Officer Steve Foster and his new wife Lacey are forced to land their plane in London, which is ground zero for the first wave of disaster.
The ash in the atmosphere, pushed east by a tropical cyclone, causes temperatures to drop while freak storms descend upon the planet. Steve and Lacey are ready to save the day, along with a small group of survivors that includes John Rhys-Davies of Indiana Jones fame.
Sharknado (2013)
Sharknado is a prime example of so-bad-its-good. This SyFy venture about a shark-filled tornado is the best kind of disaster flick: hilarious, unpretentious, and full of mind-bogglingly bad special effects.
Los Angeles is under siege after a maniacal hurricane somehow makes its way to the city, scooping up hungry sharks off the coast via powerful waterspouts that converge downtown. The unexpected popularity of Sharknado launched a franchise consisting of five additional films.
Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997)
In Tidal Wave: No Escape, Corben Bernsen plays a frustrated former oceanographer who is brought out of retirement to find out who is responsible for generating a series of man-made tidal waves that are devastating coastal towns in California. As the oceanographer joins forces with a naval scientist, the culprit demands one billion dollars in order for the devastation to stop.
A made-for-TV romp, Tidal Wave: No Escape plays into ’90s fears about death and devastation from natural disasters. It does so while taking itself way too seriously.
500 MPH Storm (2013)
Forget 100, 200, 300, or 400 miles per hour winds from a storm system. 500 MPH Storm ups the ante for insanity as one hurricane piles up on top of another to create a “hypercane” capable of ending every life in the United States.
500 MPH Storm, like other films on this list, is full of poorly explained science and disaster logic. Leave it to Casper Van Dien to put himself in the center of this swirling mess.
