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.

17 ‘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.

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16 ‘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

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15 ‘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.

14 ‘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

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13 ‘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.

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12 ‘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

11 ‘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

10 ‘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.

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9 ‘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.

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8 ‘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

7 ‘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.

6 ‘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.

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5 ‘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.

4 ‘Isle of Dogs’ (2018)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Director Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs is a whimsical stop-motion animated movie that transports viewers to a dystopian version of Japan in the future, where all dogs are sent to a trash island because of an outbreak. Eventually, a young boy named Atari decides to go to the island to find his missing dog. There, he encounters a pack of helpful dogs with Chief at the helm. On their journey, the odd group soon discovers a massive conspiracy that could change the dogs’ fates.

Considering that the island is full of garbage and the dogs only recently moved in (or were thrown in), this counts as a deserted island movie. Fans of Wes Anderson’s movies have likely already seen this, but even those who are unfamiliar with his work will likely enjoy the quirky characters, energetic soundtrack, and heartfelt story in Isle of Dogs.

3 ‘Castaway on the Moon’ (2009)

Directed by Lee Hae-jun

In the magical Korean rom-com, Castaway on the Moon, a hopeless man riddled with debt decides to end his life by jumping into the Han River. His world is shaken when he awakens washed up on a deserted island in the middle of the Seoul River. He searches the island to find nothing but flora and vegetation and begins to enjoy his time alone there, choosing to stay. Even though it is difficult, he finds anything to be better than the worries of city life.

The film takes a turn when Kim begins sending for help and exchanging messages with a woman who spots him while photographing the moon. Jung Jae-young plays the dejected Kim in such a heart-warming way that it’s hard not to root for the happy ending he so longs for.

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2 ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Every Jurassic Park movie takes place on an island far, far away from human civilization to keep them away from the monsters that have been created. The 1993 film is still the best Jurassic Park movie, though, as Steven Spielberg showed some of his most prolific work. He created real dinosaur robotics and filmed some of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history, like the water rumbling scene.

The most interesting thing about this film as a deserted island movie is that, realistically, they aren’t even on a deserted island. They accidentally create one themselves, as workers die and get eaten, and the only thing that is left is the dinosaurs and nature.

1 ‘Cast Away’ (2000)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Cast Away is the quintessential deserted island movie – it is the pioneer among movies about being stranded on an island. Tom Hanks brilliantly carries the movie by himself in one of his most legendary roles. The film was critically acclaimed and nominated for numerous awards.

Cast Away follows the character of Chuck and his loneliness after a plane crash in the South Pacific. Not only does Chuck go a little wild on his four-year journey on the deserted island, he even builds himself a new friend. The most beloved character in the movie is Wilson, the volleyball that Chuck turns into a companion, complete with the iconic bloody red handprint. In fact, the most heartbreaking part of the film isn’t watching Chuck’s endless struggle, it’s when he loses poor Wilson to the waves during his final getaway.

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