There’s nothing quite as relaxing as an island vacation. Far from the stress of modern life, one can kick back and enjoy life.
What can be better than lounging in a beach chair, sweet drink in hand, next to crystal clear water, while listening to birds calling to one another? But this can also be the perfect setting for murder and mayhem…
Separated from the rest of the world, an island can be a world to itself, full of hidden and not-so hidden dangers. Being stranded on a dangerous island amps up the tension precipitously.
It's as wonderfully delicious as that sweet sugar drink. So here’s a list of seven thriller movies about being stranded on an island!
Sometimes the characters are literally stranded; sometimes it’s more psychological than physical.
But it’s clear: these characters are stuck, and there’s no guarantee they’ll survive.
Send Help
Directed by Sam Raimi, Send Help is about a woman and her boss who find themselves stuck on a deserted island when their plane crashes.
Linda, played by Rachel McAdams, was up for a promotion, but instead of reaping the benefits of hard dedicated work to the company, Bradley Preston, her new boss, played by Dylan O’Brien, gives it to an old friend instead. Linda objects to this turn of events and gets herself invited with Bradley and other executives on a business trip.
But everything changes when the plane crashes and Linda and Bradley are the only survivors. Now the tables are turned as Bradley is hurt and has to rely on Linda’s survival skills to stay alive.
Will they get rescued, or will the rising tensions and elements take them both out?
In theaters now!
Islands
This German film is directed by Jan-Ole Gerster and stars Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, and Jack Farthing.
Tom works as a tennis instructor on the island of Fuerteventura. It’s not quite the thrill of professional tennis, but it’s a job.
That is, until he meets married couple Anne and Dave, who want lessons for their son. They take a liking to him and he finds himself spending more time with the couple who both hold secrets over one another.
When Dave goes missing, evidence points to Anne as the culprit, even as Tom realizes he’s falling for this woman.
Did she kill her husband? Will Tom look the other way at her mounting guilt?
The Vanishing
Based on a true story, The Vanishing was directed by Kristoffer Nyholm.
Three lighthouse keepers, played by Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan, and Connor Swindells, start their 6-week shift taking care of the lighthouse on a remote Scottish island. Things go awry when they find a chest filled with gold and a man they presumed is dead on the shore after a large storm.
Soon they learn that there are other people looking for the gold and will do anything to get it.
Tensions rise, bodies fall. Will they get off the island alive?
Shutter Island
Directed by Martin Scorsese, this film is based on Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel.
US Marshalls Edward “Teddy” Daniels and Chuck Aule, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient from an asylum on an island in the Boston Harbor. But Teddy has other reasons for taking the case.
He soon learns that there are dark secrets on Shutter Island. Will he be able to get to the bottom of them, or will he find himself lost forever on the island?
Mindhunters
Directed by Renny Harlin, Mindhunters stars Kathryn Morris, LL Cool J, Christian Slater, and Val Kilmer.
Jake Harris has been teaching his recruits everything they need to track serial killers. Now it’s time to put the skills to the test.
They go to an island that houses a small fake village, used for other military training exercises, where he’s sent them off to find his created serial killer, “The Puppeteer.”
But when the members of the group start dying from traps, they realize that they are actually tracking a real serial killer…who might be one of their own.
And Then There Were None
Directed by René Clair, this is the movie adaptation of Agatha Christie’s quintessential book.
Eight strangers are invited to a tiny island, by a mysterious Mr. Owen. When they arrive, they only find two recently hired servants and no hosts.
They learn the real reason for their invitation: their unknown host wants justice. Each guest is accused of murder, and one by one they start dying, matching a creepy nursery rhyme.
Can the remaining guests escape their extrajudicial murder, or will they all fall before the boat returns?
The Most Dangerous Game
It’s an oldie, but a goodie.
Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, this film focuses on Robert “Bob” Rainsford, an author and big game hunter who survives a shipwreck. He finds himself on a remote island owned by Count Zaroff, who is a big fan of Robert’s work.
He is welcomed, along with a few other shipwrecked survivors, to Robert’s surprise.
However, they soon learn their esteemed host has decided that animals are boring; he prefers to hunt humans. And Robert is next.
The hunter now becomes the hunted.
It’s based on a 1924 short story by Richard Connell.
