The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Into the Inferno
Documentary · 2016
With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.
Movie details
Into the Inferno
“What we worship can destroy us”
2016 Documentary 1h 47m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.2 / 10
10.5K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
92 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
76 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Into the Inferno?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Documentary · 2010
Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.
The Endless Summer
Documentary · 1966
Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.
180° South
Documentary · 2010
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead
Documentary · 2019
Forensic experts scan Pompeii’s victims to investigate why they didn’t escape the eruption.
Powaqqatsi
Documentary · 1988
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos
Documentary · 2008
In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
Documentary · 2017
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes—in moments private and public, funny and poignant—as he pursues the empowering notion that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.
Fire of Love
Documentary · 2022
A doomed love triangle between intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, and their beloved volcanoes.
Earth: One Amazing Day
Documentary · 2017
An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.
Ghost Elephants
Documentary · 2026
In Angola's mist-shrouded highlands, three KhoiSan master trackers embark on a spiritual quest to rediscover the legendary "ghost elephants" of Lisima, creatures presumed lost but remembered in ancestral trance, ritual, and memory.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Werner Herzog
Written by
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Self
Clive Oppenheimer
Self - Volcanologist
M
Mael Moses
Self - Chief, Endu Village
S
Sri Sumarti
Self - Volcanologist
Tim D. White
Self - Paleoanthropologist
K
Kampiro Kayrento
Self - Fossil Hunter
Y
Yonatan Sahle
Self - Archaeologist
Court is in session
Put Into the Inferno on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.