‘Society of the Snow’ Trailer Shows Plane Crash Survivors’ Fight to Stay Alive

The Big Picture

• Spanish film Society of the Snow is set to compete for an Academy Award and has released a new trailer showcasing the terrifying survival story of Chilean plane crash survivors.
• The film does not shy away from depicting the traumatic experiences of the group.
• Directed by J.A. Bayona, known for his work in haunting stories, Society of the Snow explores themes of unity and dependence among the survivors in a visually and narratively compelling way.

It’s hard to think that 2024 is just five weeks away, but once you do, you can easily get excited about one of the next year’s earliest releases. Spanish film Society of the Snow – which is the country’s choice to compete for a coveted spot in the Best International Feature at the next Academy Awards – just got a new trailer unveiled by IndieWire to remind us of the kind of story we’re gearing up to watch. Netflix premieres the survival drama on January 4.

While the first trailer focused on the relationships formed between the rugby players before going through a horrific plane crash, this one provides a bigger overview of the story and the abhorrent situation which the Chilean survivors had to endure in the middle of nowhere in a freezing cold environment. It’s always shocking to realize, but it needs to be stressed: The story is based on terrifying real events.

The new trailer also makes it clear that Society of the Snow won’t shy away from depicting the truly traumatic experience that the group had to endure, from the plane crash itself to doing whatever they can to stay alive – and that included having to eat body parts of people who didn’t survive the crash. If it sounds like something out of a horror movie, it’s because it was.

J.A. Bayona Was The Perfect Choice to Direct ‘Society of the Snow’

Not by chance, Society of the Snow is directed by J.A. Bayona, a filmmaker who has experience with haunting stories both in horror and in real-life stories. He helmed the critically acclaimed Spanish film The Orphanage and the unforgettable drama The Impossible. In an interview to IndieWire, the director explained how deep he wanted the story to go and what it meant for the characters involved:

“The people in the plane, the people who went through that story, were offering their bodies to their friends, in case they need them. And in that idea, there is something transcendent because it’s this unconscious realization that you and I are the same thing. That if you leave, I leave. And I thought how interesting it would be to tell a tale that starts with one character. And this character gives the chance to the other people to finish the story. And you create a visual metaphor or a narrative metaphor, where the character is allowed to leave and to get to the end, thanks to his friends, and his friends are able to get there thanks to him, which is basically what the essence of the story is about.”

Netflix releases Society of the Snow in select theaters this December before debuting it on the platform worldwide on January 4.

You can watch the new trailer below:

Watch on Netflix