Netflix’s slate over the past few months has been full of romantic comedies and Christmas treats to get viewers in the festive mood. Around this time of year, you’ll likely find fewer originals with a serious undertone, but that doesn’t mean the streamer is lacking in that department. After all, Netflix subscribers tend to eat up thrillers no matter the season, and I’m sure that’ll be the case with “The Great Flood.”
This Korean sci‑fi disaster movie first piqued my interest back in September when the trailer was released, and now that it’s streaming on Netflix, I have a feeling it will get the attention it needs to crack the service’s competitive top 10. “The Great Flood” starts as a typical disaster flick, but once the sci‑fi elements kick in, I guarantee you won’t be able to predict the seriously strange outcome.
“The Great Flood” is certainly a wild and unpredictable ride, with prominent stars Kim Da‑mi and Park Hae‑soo sure to make viewers curious enough to watch. If you need more insight into the movie, here’s everything you need to know about “The Great Flood” before adding it to your Netflix watchlist.
What is ‘The Great Flood’ about?
“The Great Flood” begins when a catastrophic flood engulfs Earth, trapping residents in a towering apartment building being swallowed by rising waters. Among them is researcher An‑na (Kim Da‑mi), caught with her young son Ja‑in (Kwon Eun‑seong) as the floodwaters rise above each floor. As they fight to survive inside the submerged building, An‑na’s survival becomes tied to a critical mission linked to humanity’s future.
Security officer Hee‑jo (Park Hae‑soo) arrives with instructions to get her out safely so she can carry out an important job. Surging waters, exploding gas pipes, and towering waves destroying the building push the group through other panicked residents, testing each character in their fight to survive the flood.
Should you stream ‘The Great Flood’ on Netflix?
Any movie trailer tends to give too much away nowadays, and that’s certainly true for Netflix originals. The trailer for “The Great Flood” didn’t need to reveal the sci‑fi elements, but it definitely helped make an otherwise ordinary disaster flick feel more compelling. The movie begins with An‑na being awoken by her son, who is eager to go swimming, but she dismisses him out of fatigue. It’s a pretty standard morning for them, until the disaster hits, with water pouring in through her living room window.
Quickly, An‑na gathers some belongings, including her son’s medication, and gets them both out of her apartment as she sees masses of residents doing the same. I was immediately intrigued, not by why this was Earth’s final day or the cause of the catastrophic flood, but by how this mother and son would survive. She goes from being a passive parent to an actively protective figure determined to get her son to safety.
The first 30 minutes are the strongest part of the movie. An‑na and her son must navigate panicked crowds to reach the higher levels of the apartment, and there’s an especially harrowing moment when he gets lost just before a massive tsunami strikes the building. Even though it unfolds like many global disaster flicks, you stay hooked because of the characters, and director Kim Byung‑woo does a solid job of creating that emotional connection.
It remains engaging when security officer Hee‑jo arrives, eager to get them both to the building’s rooftop so An‑na can be transported to a safe zone and complete a “mission,” though the details are vague at first. Unfortunately, once the story ventures into sci‑fi territory, it becomes incredibly confusing, and I found it challenging to follow the convoluted twists. The disaster element takes a backseat, and much of the initial adrenaline dissipates.
“The Great Flood” gets too ambitious, and that is its biggest downfall. The third act almost had me laughing at the sheer ridiculousness, because as the plot started to spiral, so did my attention span, and it reached a point where I just needed the movie to end. It’s a real shame considering it started off strong and these were characters you could connect with, but it’s almost as if the script was improvised.
Also, because it’s worth mentioning, the CGI is impressive in some sequences and noticeably weak in others. There are still thrilling moments when the focus returns to the actual flood, but the story quickly becomes messy, silly, and confusing, making me wish the sci‑fi element had never been added. That said, for anyone looking for a reasonable adrenaline fix, “The Great Flood” could be worth a watch. Just be ready to lower your expectations and use some serious brainpower to piece together the puzzle by the final act.
"The Great Flood" is streaming on Netflix now.
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