Chris Hemsworth and Tom Holland’s 2015 survival drama In the Heart of the Sea explores the true story behind the 1820 sinking of the whaling ship Essex. After the ship is wrecked by a sperm whale, twenty crew resort to drastic measures before being rescued, with the majority dying at sea.
After landing on Netflix on January 1, 2025, In the Heart of the Sea has finally received a resurgence in popularity a decade after its premiere. Unfortunately, despite In the Heart of the Sea’s stellar cast and director, it was met with mixed reviews in 2015, currently holding a 42% Rotten Tomatoes score. The film was also a box office bomb, earning only $94.3 million against an estimated $100 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Still, the movie chronicles a gripping and harrowing true story with unimaginable tragedies, not unlike Netflix’s own 2024 survival drama Society 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 inspired In the Heart of the Sea includes 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. The true story of the Andes flight disaster is depicted in Society of the Snow, Netflix’s survival drama that debuted on the streamer in January 2024. While In the Heart of the Sea received 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 Snow had a limited theatrical release on December 22, 2023, but didn't have its wide release on Netflix until January 4, 2024.
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 of In 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’s Society of the Snow. After the plane crashed, Society of the Snow’s survivors were left with few provisions, no nearby wildlife or vegetation, harsh elements with dangerous cold, and snow blindness. Like in In 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 s of survivors, but some key aspects were left out.
In both In the Heart of the Sea and Society of the Snow, the length of time that the survivors were stranded was shockingly long. The Essex sank 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 October 13, 1972, with the first group of survivors being rescued from the mountain over two months later on December 23, 1972.
Movie |
Tragedy Depicted |
How Many People Experienced The Wreck |
How Many People Survived |
|---|---|---|---|
In the Heart of the Sea (2015) |
1820 Essex sinking |
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 experienced the Essex sinking, only In the Heart of the Sea’s endings emotionally 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 in Society of the Snow in 2024 and In the Heart of the Sea in 2015, the real-life tragedies had already served as inspirations for other films, TV shows, and novels in the years before. For instance, the Andes flight disaster inspired the 1993 movie Alive and was cited as a loose influence on the 2021 Showtime series Yellowjackets. Famously, In the Heart of the Sea’s sinking of the Essex served as a major inspiration for Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby 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 Sea and Society of the Snow tackle 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
When Society of the Snow premiered 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 s. Additionally, director J. A. Bayona conducted over 100 hours of interviews for the film (via Society of the Snow’s actors were in with the remaining real-life survivors and their families.
Since the majority of Society 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 Snow is very accurate to how the real events played out, with Bayona 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 than Society of the Snow only showing one helicopter.
On the other hand, while In the Heart of the Sea is also generally considered to be quite accurate to the true story, it makes some more dramatic changes than Society of the Snow did to its real tragedy. For instance, Herman Melville never actually met with Thomas Nickerson, so their interviews are fabricated meetings inspired 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 of Society 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 s for the filmmakers to use during production. Rather, In the Heart of the Sea’s historical accuracy generally lies in research, novels, and centuries-old s that may not include details as in-depth as a currently living survivor would provide.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, The Hollywood Reporter
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In the Heart of the Sea
6/10- Release Date
- December 11, 2015
- Runtime
- 121minutes
- Director
- Ron Howard
Cast
Brendan Gleeson
WHERE TO WATCH
RENTBUYBased 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.
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Society of the Snow
9/10- Release Date
- December 15, 2023
- Runtime
- 144 Minutes
- Director
- J.A. Bayona
Cast
Matías Recalt-
Agustin Pardella
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming2023 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.
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