Is The Abyss Based On A True Story? (2024)

Netflix has added the Swedish movie The Abyss to its streaming library, and after watching it, one can't help but wonder if the horrific onscreen story was inspired by actual events (and if it could happen in real life). The 2023 disaster action film, directed by Richard Holm and written by Holm, Robin Sherlock Holm, and Nicola Sinclair, revolves around the residents of Kiruna, Sweden, struggling to survive a catastrophic rock burst that threatens to swallow the town whole. Kiruna is a real city, so its setting isn't based on a fictional town, but the movie's inspiration goes a bit deeper.

The cast of The Abyss includes Tuva Novotny as Frigga, Kardo Razzari as Dabir, Felicia Maxime as Mika, Peter Franzén as Tage, Edvin Ryding as Simon, and more as citizens trying to avoid falling into fissures. A series of seismic events affect Kiruna, and before Frigga, a security manager at the Kiruna mine, can understand the damage it has caused, it's too late. A rock burst in the mine leads to sinkholes, and Frigga must figure out how to evacuate the town and save as many people as possible. While this story may seem unbelievable, some truth is rooted in the film.

The Abyss Was Partially Inspired By A True Story In Sweden

A real-life natural disaster did not entirely inspire The Abyss in terms that the writers took creative liberty when crafting their story, which was partially based on a true story in Kiruna, Sweden. According to The Cinemaholic, an earthquake triggered by extraction activity in the local Kiruna mine hit the Swedish town on May 18, 2020. The seismic activity reportedly reached around a 4.8 reading on the Richter Scale, making it one of the largest recorded earthquakes in the Nordic country's history. However, Kiruna's proximity to the mine meant that its citizens knew of the danger of potential rock bursts and earthquakes.

As a result, the tragedy inspired the director and co-writer Richard Holm to make The Abyss. Of course, most of the events that transpired in the 2023 natural disaster movie were based in fiction rather than reality, seeing as though the 2020 rock burst didn't result in the Earth swallowing numerous Kiruna residents whole. Still, the earthquake served as the primary inspiration for the basis of The Abyss, even if the filmmakers significantly diverged from the true story and dramatized it.

The Kiruna Mine Disaster Explained

During the early morning of May 18, 2020, an earthquake, reading around 4.1 to 4.8 on the Richter Scale (depending on the source), struck the Kiruna mine in Kiruna, Sweden. The initial seismic activity occurred in the mine's footwall, one side of a non-vertical fault. According to LKAB, the 13 workers underground immediately began evacuating the mine, and, thankfully, no one was hurt. In the days following the earthquake, officials began inspecting the mine, trying to see what went wrong, while all work in the mine paused.

The inspectors noted that the earthquake resulted in rock bursts, which is how they found where the natural disaster originated. They later concluded the probable triggers of the seismic activity — pillar failures between the vertical shafts in the mine, complex geology, the stark difference in elevation between different areas in the mine, and longitudinal sublevel caving. LKAB, the company in charge of the town's mining activity, goes further in depth in explaining why the 2020 Kiruna earthquake happened in their article. Nevertheless, the event led to quick action from the city's officials and the production of the Netflix thriller film The Abyss.

What Happened To Kiruna After The Earthquake

Following the devastating earthquake in May 2020, Kiruna officials began speeding up the Swedish town's relocation. Due to the dangers of living in Kiruna (because of its proximity to the tumultuous mine), the relocation process of the city's residents began in the early 2000s. The mine's expansion meant that the perils of living in Kiruna would only get greater, meaning it was time for a move. They decided that Kiruna's citizens (and its business and homes) would relocate three kilometers to the East.

Of course, moving an entire town is a long and arduous process. So, by the time of the 2020 earthquake, the reconstruction project had not taken full effect. It will still be many more years until Kiruna, Sweden, has been relocated entirely. But those who live there still shouldn't be afraid that what transpired in The Abyss will happen in real life since most of the film's events were exaggerated and dramatized.

Source: The Cinemaholic, LKAB