Disaster films have the distinction of being one of the
most popular film genres of all time. Starting at the beginning of the century
with films like Fire! and Night and Ice, to the mid-20th century
with films like War of the Worlds and King Kong, and on to more recent titles
like Independence Day, The Road, and Melancholia, this genre has done
its job of captivating audiences on a global level.
But I’m not going to talk about disaster films.
Today I will tackle another lesser known genre lovingly-known
as the Minimalist Disaster film. A Google search of this genre may return very
few results so I guess before I go any further I should mention…I made this
genre up.
My reasoning for creating this genre was two-fold.
Fold One: I got tired of people referring to certain
films as disaster films and lumping them into the same category as those
mentioned at the beginning of this post when they are clearly different in many
ways.
Fold Two: The films included in this niche category
are some of my all-time favorite films and therefore I felt a need to segregate
them and honor them with their own specific genre.
I think the best way to describe these films is to name
some rules that a film must adhere to in order to be considered a true
Minimalist Disaster film. These rules are non-negotiable and all must apply in order for a film to be
considered a true Minimalist Disaster.
Official Rules of a Minimalist Disaster Film:
