What three things would you take with you to a deserted island? Food? A knife? A good book? This is the age-old question of childhoods past and icebreaker questions on first dates. The answer is always different depending on whom you ask: the survivalist, the romantic, or the person who would simply give up on day one.

That’s why deserted island movies are so entertaining to watch. When put in the eye of danger, every human reacts differently. Some go mad, some burn the rum to make a smoke signal, and some use every piece of sheer willpower to find a way home. Being stranded on a deserted island is both terrifying and exhilarating, no matter how many ways you’ve thought about whether you’d be able to survive or not. These legendary island survival movies showcase just how terrifying, exhilarating, and transformative that experience can be, all from the comfort of viewers’ couches.

25

‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1997)

Directed by Rod Hardy and George T. Miller

Pierce Brosnan stars in the adventure drama, Robinson Crusoe, as a Scottish gentleman who is on the run from the law and being pursued by British authorities after killing a man during a duel. When Crusoe is shipwrecked and stranded on a deserted island, he must fend for himself, fighting against the harsh elements as well as the struggles that come with his isolation and memories of his former life.

Robinson Crusoe is based on the famous 1719 novel by the same name written by Daniel Defoe and features Brosnan in one of his most overlooked performances. The movie had a limited release that resulted in very little media and press attention, but through the years, many have credited it as one of the best adaptations of Defoe’s story and have also commended Brosnan for his mainly one-man performance. —Andrea Ciriaco

24

‘The Most Dangerous Game’ (1932)

Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel

When a big game hunter, Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea), is shipwrecked on a strange island, he finds himself in the company of a reclusive and eccentric man, Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks). Initially, Rainsford is grateful for Zaroff’s hospitality, but when he and several other shipwreck survivors are forced to participate in the Count’s sadistic game of being hunted, he realizes they are all in mortal danger and tries to find a way off the island before it’s too late.

The Most Dangerous Game is a pre-Code horror film based on the 1924 short story written by Richard Connell. The movie follows an intense game of cat and mouse and is regarded as a thrilling melodrama with unwavering suspense, leaving audiences in unbearable anticipation. At the time, some of the film’s more gruesome moments were not held in high regard, but today, The Most Dangerous Game is more than suitable for a modernized audience and ranks as one of the best deserted island classic movies. —Andrea Ciriaco

23

‘And Then There Were None’ (1945)

Directed by René Clair

When eight strangers are invited to a small remote island by an unknown host, they arrive only because they are led to believe the host has damning information on each of them. As the guests sit down for dinner, a staff member plays a record with a man’s voice informing them that he has evidence of them all being guilty of murder. With their mysterious host nowhere to be found, the guests’ confusion soon turns to hysteria as each one of them is killed off, one by one.

Based on Agatha Christie’s iconic 1939 murder mystery, And Then There Were None is a tedious thriller that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The movie features the eerie child’s nursery rhyme, “Ten Little Indians,” which plays not only a crucial role in the story but also provides a ghostly and unsettling tone throughout the movie. With the ominous setting of the isolated island and the web of mystery and suspense, And Then There Were None will make being stranded on a deserted island somewhat appealing. —Andrea Ciriaco

22

‘Hell in the Pacific’ (1968)

Directed by John Boorman

During World War II, a Japanese naval officer, Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda (Toshirō Mifune), becomes stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. Initially, Tsuruhiko believes he is alone, but he soon discovers an American pilot (Lee Marvin) who has crashed his plane into the island. Due to a language barrier, the two men are unable to verbally communicate, but instead, the enemies taunt one another and refuse to work together to find a way off the island. When they are both faced with starvation and dehydration, they put aside their differences and decide to help each other.

Hell in the Pacific is a war drama centered around the importance of human connection and the bond that can form between enemies in an isolated environment. This particular deserted island movie contains an insightful theme of acceptance and understanding that is rarely seen in such caliber. Despite the cast only containing two actors, both Marvin and Mifune deliver exceptional performances, each bringing a different perspective to a controversial topic and finding common ground as human beings, making Hell in the Pacific a must-see deserted island classic. —Andrea Ciriaco

21

‘Uninhabited’ (2010)

Directed by Bill Bennett

A dream vacation turns into a fight for survival in the 2010 survival horror film Uninhabited. In the movie, Beth (Geraldine Hakewill) and Harry (Henry James) decide to vacation on a secluded island, not knowing that it’s haunted by the ghost of a young woman named Coral (Tasia Zalar). The island’s natural beauty masks a dark history, and the couple soon finds themselves trapped in a supernatural struggle against a malevolent force.

While Uninhabited didn’t do anything revolutionary within the genre, it offers a fun viewing experience that horror movie enjoyers can appreciate. Hakewill’s performance as Beth is a standout, since she made Beth’s terror palpable with every line and expression. However, the film’s true star might be the island itself, with its stunning yet desolate beauty that elevates the sense of isolation and fear that both the characters and the viewers will feel.

20

‘Paradise Lagoon’ (1957)

Directed by Lewis Gilbert

Ever wondered what would happen if a group of posh Brits were suddenly forced to fend for themselves? In Paradise Lagoon, the Loam family, a group of hilariously inept aristocrats, and their unflappable butler, Crichton (Kenneth More), navigate the challenges of island life after a shipwreck. The social order and dynamics of the group are then turned on its head, since the family has to count on Crichton’s survival skills.

Without a doubt, More’s performance as Crichton will captivate viewers, bringing to life a resourceful butler who becomes the unlikely leader of the shipwrecked group. The movie is also incredibly funny with its satirical portrayal of the Loam family, particularly Lord Loam (Cecil Parker), who fully personifies the cluelessness of the upper class. With its witty dialogue and side-splitting moments, Paradise Lagoon is a fun deserted island film to watch for movie night.

19

‘Horrors of Spider Island’ (1960)

Directed by Fritz Böttger

Horror fans shouldn’t overlook terrifying and thrilling B-movies because there are real gems like Horrors of Spider Island. The movie follows a group of dancers and their manager Gary (Alexander D’Arcy), who find themselves stranded on a remote island after a plane crash. Their worries about rescue are quickly overshadowed by a far more terrifying threat—Gary has been bitten by a giant spider and he transforms into a violent half-human, half-spider monster.

Despite its initial critical reception, which focused on its low-budget aesthetic and implausible plot, Horrors of Spider Island has garnered a devoted following over the years. That’s because it fully embraces B-movie tropes, such as laughably cheesy special effects and melodramatic dialogue. Horrors of Spider Island should be brought up when campy horror films are mentioned, since it checks off all the boxes for gloriously bad cinema.

18

‘Retreat’ (2011)

Directed by Carl Tibbetts

Retreat follows a couple who seek recovery from a personal tragedy that has shattered their lives. And they do so on an isolated island, away from any sort of news or civilization. Their retreat is ruined though when a stranger washes ashore to tell them that an airborne disease has rattled Europe.

Retreat is a creative twist on the deserted island genre, moving the film into the realm of the small-scale apocalyptic subgenre. It certainly brings the anxiety of a couple experiencing shocking world news after being detached from humanity for a while. And while the execution is far from perfect, it’s worth commending the intriguing premise.

17

‘The Blue Lagoon’ (1980)

Directed by Randal Kleiser

One of the quintessential and staple stories of sexuality and growth on a deserted island, The Blue Lagoon has been a staple of the genre for generations, with a multitude of different adaptations over the years. The 1980s version is easily one of the most successful and recognizable versions of the story, following Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins as Emmeline and Richard, two children who find themselves shipwrecked and stranded on a seemingly perfect tropical island. As they adjust and live out their new lives on this island, the duo slowly begins to fall for one another as they build a new home.

The Blue Lagoon does a good job of adapting the themes and legacy of the classic novel to the big screen, with a powerful and timeless portrayal of love and the sanctity of youth, no matter the circumstances. While it’s certainly guilty of having levels of schmaltz and cheese that were more prevalent for these types of adventure films of the 80s, the undeniable strengths and feats of the original novel help make this adaptation stand the test of time. – Robert Lee

16

‘Six Days, Seven Nights’ (1998)

Directed by Ivan Reitman

Six Days, Seven Nights combines the typical deserted island survival movie situations and puts them together into one film: pirates and a plane crash. Harrison Ford plays the grumpy and reclusive charter pilot who is hired to fly the more straight-laced Anne Heche to an emergency photo shoot in Tahiti. Soon, it turns into a movie about a couple stranded on an island, desperately trying to survive.

Their plane crashes during a storm on an uninhabited island where the two are thrown together to survive. The onscreen chemistry between Ford and Heche is what truly makes this admittedly flawed film so fun to watch—they both play their respective characters so well, leading to the perfect opposites-attract relationship in the end. The two fight off the environment, snakes, and pirates in this heartwarming, and often funny, deserted island movie.

15

‘Swiss Family Robinson’ (1960)

Directed by Ken Annakin

Swiss Family Robinson is a classic family adventure film that follows the plucky Switzerland family of the Robinsons, who, on a trip to New Guinea to escape the Napoleonic Wars, end up being attacked by pirates and marooned on an uninhabited island. Accompanied by only themselves and their pet dogs, they are forced to do what they can to fight against the new environment and set up a new home in the name of survival. However, just as they begin to get their footing in their new island home, the pirates seem to have returned to finish the job.

Swiss Family Robinson easily stands out as one of the most iconic family and adventure films of the era, with its usage of real-life animals on a massive scale being wholly revolutionary for the era. However, the simple family dynamics and sense of swashbuckling adventure have helped the film become a classic for many households over the years. While it certainly has several aspects that haven’t aged the best after 60 years, its biggest strengths and fantasy adventure still make it a compelling watch in the modern day. – Robert Lee

14

‘Extortion’ (2017)

Directed by Phil Volken

What happens when someone comes to rescue you off of a deserted island, but only if you give them one million dollars? One of the most underrated island movies, Extortion tells this tale in a high-stakes, anxiety-riddled journey of the protagonist’s instincts to survive and save his family.

Eion Bailey plays the protagonist of Kevin with the incredible ingenuity of a man with nothing left, contrasting Barkhad Abdi‘s cruel Miguel perfectly. The movie shows the men as two sides of the same coin, both trying to make sure their families survive, but one willing to go one step further. Every scene towards the end becomes riddled with more dread, as you wait to see what Kevin is willing to do next to make sure his family gets home alive.

13

‘Sweetheart’ (2019)

Directed by J.D. Dillard

While many stranded island movies have their executions follow a sense of adventure or drama as they follow those stranded attempting to escape the island, Sweetheart is one of the rare few that instead uses a horror approach to the premise. The film follows the story of Jenn (Kiersey Clemons), a woman who has washed ashore on a small tropical island and is completely alone in her struggle for survival. On top of surviving the elements day by day, she is also forced to fend off a vicious and mysterious force that appears on the island each night.

Sweetheart is easily one of the most underrated films in Blumhouse’s catalog, able to combine the dread and terror of being stranded on an island with a creature feature twist that only further adds to the terror and suspense. It easily makes for one of the most unique and singular experiences, not only when it comes to stranded island movies, but horror movies in general, with its numerous twists and turns being sure to leave audiences at the edge of their seats. – Robert Lee

12

‘Madagascar’ (2005)

Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath

Taking the classic stranded island premise and transforming it into a silly, pop-culture-filled animated experience for audiences of all ages, Madagascar instantly became a worldwide smash hit that would spawn numerous sequels and spinoffs. The film follows a group of animals who have been living simple, pampered lives at New York’s Central Park Zoo, but when zebra Marty has aspirations of living life in the wild, the group ends up on a wild chase that ends up getting them stranded on the island of Madagascar. As they attempt to readjust to their new surroundings, it doesn’t take long before their animal instincts begin to kick in.

Much like many other animated movies of the early 2000s, the major selling point and benefit of the film comes from its A-List voice cast, including the likes of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, and David Schwimmer. However, even with the sequels mostly abandoning the island of Madagascar as its setpiece, the impact and legacy of the original film and its desert island premise are still largely felt by fans and audiences to this day. – Robert Lee

11

‘Lord of the Flies’ (1990)

Directed by Harry Hook

Lord of the Flies explores the darker side of humanity and the pure animalistic instincts that reside in even the most modern humans. The film revolves around a group of schoolboys whose evacuating plane is shot down from the sky. They become stranded on an island and try to govern themselves to disastrous results.

Each of the boys represents a different aspect of society, morals, and politics—whether it’s the charismatic leader, Ralph, and his wishes for a better humanity, or, Jack, the violent, ego-maniac who believes everyone should be out for themselves. While the movie misses some crucial points of the book it’s based on, it’s still a riveting watch.

10

‘The Beach’ (2000)

Directed by Danny Boyle

The Beach takes on a much darker tone than most movies set on an island. It follows Richard (one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s lesser-known characters), who wants to escape his boring life and travel the world, looking for his perfect paradise-lost. He is given a map that leads to a “tropical paradise” and joins up with a French couple to join the island commune.

This commune turns out to be a bit of an island prison instead, run by a woman who collects people to work for her. Richard causes the island’s downfall when he tells outside people about the map. He also tries to escape several times, always leading to someone else’s injury or death, and never realizes that his own narcissistic tendencies ended up causing much more harm to the island community. While The Beach has some notable flaws like DiCaprio’s questionable acting, its intriguing premise and beautiful setting make it worth seeing.

9

‘Triangle of Sadness’ (2022)

Directed by Ruben Östlund

The best picture nominated satire that made efforts to completely destroy the culture of the high class, Triangle of Sadness sees an extremely wealthy luxury cruise trip go completely haywire, as everything goes wrong in an array of unending chaos and destruction. The passengers soon find themselves marooned on a desert island, with none of them having anything close to the survival skills necessary to survive their predicament. It soon becomes up to Abigail (Dolly de Leon), a cleaning woman on the cruise, to assume a leadership role in an attempt to survive on the island.

While only the second half of this film is dedicated to the desert island, it’s difficult to deny the hilariously dark impact and praise that the film has received, showing an amazing satirical portrayal of the vicious cycle of power and control. Director Ruben Östlund‘s signature style of risque, boundary-breaking comedy and satire works perfectly in a desert island setting, with consistently hilarious dialogue and a pitch-perfect ending. It has helped the film become what is easily the most successful of his career so far, and will only continue to grow in praise and appreciation in the years to come. – Robert Lee

8

‘Swiss Army Man’ (2016)

Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

An unconventional genre-buster from the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Swiss Army Man is a wonderfully weird film about a man stranded on a deserted island, Hank (Paul Dano), who is about to give up all home until he finds a corpse. It’s not just any corpse, it’s an enchanted corpse portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe who soon becomes the protagonist’s closest friend.

The film depicts a heartfelt and often surreal adventure that may not be for everyone, but those who love quirky humor and a dose of bizarre aspects should consider it essential viewing. It’s a fantastic movie that defies norms, and a hint at what the Daniels were capable of before their Oscar-winning masterpiece, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

7

‘The Red Turtle’ (2016)

Directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit

A Studio Ghibli film unlike any other, director Michaël Dudok de Wit‘s The Red Turtle revolves around the poignant story of a castaway who finds himself stranded on a deserted island. Every time he tries to escape, he’s stopped by a mysterious (and huge) red turtle. Soon, magical moments help him realize his deeper connection to the turtle and the island.

Aside from the animated movie’s stunning visuals, what makes The Red Turtle stand out is the deliberate lack of dialogue throughout the film. Instead, visual cues, music, and a simple story are used to create a wholly unique viewing experience that can easily leave audiences with tears in their eyes.

6

‘Battle Royale’ (2000)

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

The original death game movie before blockbusters like The Hunger Games and hit shows like Squid Game, Battle Royale is a classic Japanese film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The film follows the twisted fates of a class of high school students who are thrust into a deadly game of survival on a deserted island.

As one of the best island survival movies, the movie does a fantastic job of portraying truly horrific situations that make audiences question their own views on morality. The fact that such young characters are at the forefront makes each action sequence a high-stakes and nail-biting scene, and they just keep escalating until the movie’s dark conclusion.