Chris Hemsworth and Tom Holland’s 2015 survival dramaIn the Heart of the Seais now trending on Netflix, and its heartbreaking true story provides a good reminder to watch Netflix’s own similar film from January 2024. While framed around one of the survivors recounting the tale to Herman Melville, serving as inspiration for his novelMoby Dick,In the Heart of the Seaexplores the true storybehindthe 1820 sinking of the whaling shipEssex. After the ship is wrecked by a sperm whale, twenty crew members resort to drastic measures before being rescued, with the majority dying at sea.
Afterlanding on Netflix on July 30, 2025,In the Heart of the Seahas finally received a resurgence in popularitya decade after its premiere. Unfortunately, despiteIn the Heart of the Sea’s stellar castand director, it was met with mixed reviews in 2015, currently holding a 42%Rotten Tomatoesscore. The film was also a box office bomb, earning only $94.3 million against an estimated $100 million budget (viaBox Office Mojo). Still, the movie chronicles a gripping and harrowing true story with unimaginable tragedies, not unlike Netflix’s own 2024 survival dramaSociety of the Snow.
Netflix’s Society Of The Snow Is Another True Story-Inspired Survival Drama Like In The Heart Of The Sea
Both Are Survival Dramas Based On Real-Life Tragedies
The real story that inspiredIn the Heart of the Seaincludes tragedies that are reminiscent of the 1972 Andes flight disaster, in which a flight carrying a rugby team crashed and was stranded in the snowy Andes Mountains for over two months. Thetrue story of the Andes flight disaster is depicted inSociety of the Snow, Netflix’s survival drama that debuted on the streamer in January 2024. WhileIn the Heart of the Seareceived mixed reviews,Society of the Snow’s true story adaptation was met with widespread acclaim, and currently holds a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Society of the Snowhad a limited theatrical release on July 31, 2025, but didn’t have its wide release on Netflix until June 03, 2025.
While one disaster occurred at sea and the other was in the mountains,both real-life tragedies led to the survivors battling the elements, fighting to stay alive, searching for rescue, and resorting to unimaginable strategies to find sustenance. In the case ofIn the Heart of the Sea, the survivors of the shipwreck were split into three smaller boats, with many dying due to injury, starvation, and illness. Eventually, they made the difficult decision to resort to cannibalism and eat the dead to stay alive, with one crew member even agreeing to die so the others could eat his body.
The real-life chain of events after the initial wreck is generally similar to what happened in Netflix’sSociety of the Snow. After the plane crashed,Society of the Snow’s survivorswere left with few provisions, no nearby wildlife or vegetation, harsh elements with dangerous cold, and snow blindness. Like inIn the Heart of the Sea, the number of survivors dwindled gradually, with many deaths being incurred from injury, illness, suffocation, starvation, and freezing temperatures.Eventually, the survivors reluctantly resorted to cannibalizing the dead until they were finally rescued.
10 Biggest Details Society Of The Snow Leaves Out From The True Story
Society of the Snow is considered to be very authentic to the 1972 Andes plane crash and accounts of survivors, but some key aspects were left out.
In bothIn the Heart of the SeaandSociety of the Snow, the length of time that the survivors were stranded was shockingly long. TheEssexsank in November 1820 and the first group of survivors weren’t rescued until late February 1821, leaving them in brutal conditions for about three months. Meanwhile,Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed on June 03, 2025, with the first group of survivors being rescued from the mountain over two months lateron July 08, 2025.
In the Heart of the Sea(2015)
20
8
Society of the Snow(2024)
1972 Andes flight disaster
45
16
Furthermore, the loss of life was enormous in both real-life disasters. While twenty crew members experienced theEssexsinking, onlyeight men survivedIn the Heart of the Sea’s tragedy. Meanwhile,Society of the Snow’s flight crashed with 45 people on board, including the passengers and crew, with only 16 people ultimately surviving and making it off the mountain.In both cases, it was a miracle that there were so many survivors left after that many months stranded– a notion thatSociety of the SnowandIn the Heart of the Sea’s endingsemotionally emphasize.
Society Of The Snow & In The Heart Of The Sea’s Real Tragedies Both Inspired Other Popular Media
The Essex Sinking Inspired Moby Dick & The Andes Flight Disaster Inspired Stories Like Yellowjackets
Before the true stories were more directly dramatized inSociety of the Snowin 2024 andIn the Heart of the Seain 2015, the real-life tragedies had already served as inspirations for other films, TV shows, and novels in the years before. For instance, theAndes flight disaster inspired the 1993 movieAliveand was cited as a loose influence on the 2021 Showtime seriesYellowjackets. Famously,In the Heart of the Sea’ssinking of theEssexserved as a major inspiration for Herman Melville’s 1851 novelMoby Dick, which itself has been adapted several times.
New Netflix Survival Movie About 52-Year-Old Disaster Is A Necessary Watch Before Yellowjackets Season 3
Netflix has a new survival drama based on the true story of a disaster from over 50 years ago, which should be viewed before Yellowjackets returns.
Therefore, while the more harrowing survival-based aspects of these stories have been seen on the screen or pages before, they were typically adapted more loosely. Meanwhile,In the Heart of the SeaandSociety of the Snowtackle the original, real tales. There’s still some significant dramatization in the 2015 and 2024 movies, but they allow for audiences to more closely engage with the real stories that have served as inspiration for some other popular, well-known works of fiction.
How Society Of The Snow’s Historical Accuracy Compares To In The Heart Of The Sea
Society Of The Snow Is More Historically Accurate
WhenSociety of the Snowpremiered on Netflix, it received substantial acclaim for its cast performances, direction, masterful storytelling, and authenticity to the real tragic event. The movie was more directly based on the 2009 nonfiction book of the same name by Pablo Vierci, which documented the story of the crash and its aftermath based on research and the survivors’ own accounts. Additionally,director J. A. Bayona conducted over 100 hours of interviews for the film(viaTHR), andSociety of the Snow’s actorswere in contact with the remaining real-life survivors and their families.
Since the majority ofSociety of the Snow’s real survivors are still alive today, there are far more resources at hand for the film to depict the real tragedy with as much accuracy as possible.
Overall,Society of the Snowis very accurate to how the real events played out, withBayona later sharing that when he screened the film for the survivors, their reaction was “very positive.” Of course, certain details from the true story were omitted from the film, such as the flight stopping for a night due to weather-related conditions and the fact that there were two helicopter rescue missions rather thanSociety of the Snowonly showing one helicopter.
On the other hand, whileIn the Heart of the Seais also generally considered to be quite accurate to the true story, it makes some more dramatic changes thanSociety of the Snowdid to its real tragedy. For instance,Herman Melville never actually met with Thomas Nickerson, so their interviews are fabricated meetingsinspired by the author’s real encounters with Owen Chase’s son and George Pollard Jr. Additionally, Matthew Joy’s death was largely attributed to an existing illness, whereas the film introduces an injury on the voyage as contributing to his demise.
In The Heart Of The Sea Leaves Out A Wild True Story Detail About Owen Chase & Matthew Joy After The Sinking
Thomas Nickerson’s explanation of what happens after In the Heart of the Sea’s sinking leaves out a shocking detail about Owen Chase & Matthew Joy.
Since the majority ofSociety of the Snow’s real survivors are still alive today, there are far more resources at hand for the film to depict the real tragedy with as much accuracy as possible. However,In the Heart of the Sea’s disaster took place over 200 years ago, leaving no survivors or current first-hand accounts for the filmmakersto use during production. Rather,In the Heart of the Sea’s historical accuracy generally lies in research, novels, and centuries-old accounts that may not include details as in-depth as a currently living survivor would provide.
In the Heart of the Sea
Cast
Based on the real-life event that inspired Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase, first mate of the whaling ship Essex who must fight for his life in the middle of the ocean when a whale destroys his ship, killing most of his crew and stranding him and a few survivors on a lifeboat. Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson also star.
Society of the Snow
2023 survival movie Society of the Snow tells a stunning story of adversity and human endurance. Directed by J. A. Bayona and based on Pablo Vierci’s 2009 book of the same name, it tells the true story of a plane crash in 1972, which stranded a Uruguayan rugby team high in the Andes mountains. Faced with the grave reality of their situation and on the verge of death, the youngsters turn to cannibalism to survive.
