Entertainment
The Best Horror Movies About Deserted Islands
Looking for horror movies that take place on an island? Thankfully you've stumbled upon our list of the best island horror movies, including cult classics, modern thrillers, and even a great horror comedy movie. Not all of these films are necessarily horror movies about islands, but they all either take place on an island or have significant scenes involving being isolated on an island.
It turns out that most of the best deserted island horror movies came out a long time ago. Good choices include Hour of the Wolf, The Wicker Man, and And Then There Were None.
If you're in the mood for a laugh, check out Broken Lizard's Club Dread, a comedy horror film about a murderer loose on a wild party island. Who knows? You might even like it better than Super Troopers.
Ranked by
- 1Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Robin Hardy
Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. A conservative Christian, the policeman observes the residents'Â ...more - 2Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward
- Released: 1945
- Directed by: René Clair
In this suspenseful drama, based on Agatha Christie's mystery tale, 10 strangers are summoned to a remote island. While they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious ...more - 3Bill Paxton, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar
Years ago Coconut Pete (Bill Paxton) had a hit record, but now he runs a tropical island resort where he spends his days basking in hedonism with the rest of the resort's offbeat staff. The paradise ...more - 4Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: John Frankenheimer
An English U.N. negotiator (David Thewlis) becomes stranded in the tropics with a mad scientist (Marlon Brando) who makes half-human beasts. - 5Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks
- Released: 1932
- Directed by: Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff (Leslie ...more - 6Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen
- Released: 1933
- Directed by: Erle C. Kenton
In this adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau," Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) is shipwrecked on a remote island presided over by the mysterious Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton). ...more - 7Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Erland Josephson
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
On a remote island, a troubled artist (Max von Sydow) feels his mind slipping away from him. Troubled by disturbing visions and paranoid delusions, he and his wife (Liv Ullmann) begin to suspect that ...more - 8Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer
- Released: 1945
- Directed by: Mark Robson
Gen. Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) takes leave from the 1912 Balkan War to visit a small island in Greece, where his wife is buried. While there, a plague breaks out -- and along with an American ...more - 9Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: J.D. Dillard
Sweetheart is a 2019 American survival horror film directed by J.D. Dillard. Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) washes ashore a small tropical island and must spend her days not only surviving the elements but ...more - 10Michael Caine, David Warner, Angela Punch McGregor
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Skeptical journalist Blair Maynard (Michael Caine) is assigned to explore the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, where thousands of boats have disappeared in a three-year span. When he leaves the ...more - 11Ian McCulloch, Donald O'Brien, Walter Patriarca
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Marino Girolami
Zombie Holocaust, also known as Zombie 3 and Doctor Butcher, M.D., is a 1980 Italian zombie film directed by Marino Girolami. - 12Tisa Farrow, Serena Grandi, George Eastman
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Joe D'Amato
Antropophagus is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Joe D'Amato and co-written by D'Amato and George Eastman, who starred in the film as the monster. The film also starred Tisa Farrow, Zora ...more - 13Peter Cushing, Eddie Byrne, Edward Judd
- Released: 1966
- Directed by: Terence Fisher
Island of Terror is a 1966 British horror film released by Planet Film Productions. The film was released in the US by Universal Studios on a double bill with The Projected Man. The idea for the film ...more - 14Bryant Haliday, Jill Haworth, Anna Palk
- Released: 1972
- Directed by: Jim O'Connolly
When a local fisherman (Jack Watson) discovers the bodies of three murdered teenagers, private detective Evan Brent (Bryant Haliday) is sent to the remote island to investigate. With him on the ...more - 15Rod Steiger, Yvonne De Carlo, Michael J. Pollard
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: John Hough
American Gothic is a 1988 horror film written by Burt Wetanson and Michael Vines and directed by John Hough. It stars Rod Steiger, Yvonne DeCarlo and Michael J. Pollard. - 16Zoe Naylor, Adrienne Pickering, Gyton Grantley
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Andrew Traucki
The Reef is a 2010 Australian horror film. The film was written and directed by Andrew Traucki, his second feature film, and is about a group of friends who capsize while sailing to Indonesia. The ...more - 17Bobs Baines, Billy Milionis, Geraldine Hakewill
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Bill Bennett
Uninhabited is a 2010 Australian horror film directed by Bill Bennett. The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and in Australia during the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival. It ...more - 18James Best, Ingrid Goude, Baruch Lumet
- Released: 1959
- Directed by: Ray Kellogg
Capt. Thorne Sherman lands his ship on an isolated island to make a delivery, only to find that mad doctor Marlowe Craigis is experimenting on shrews in an attempt to shrink them. The opposite ...more - 19Lewis Fiander, Prunella Ransome, Antonio Iranzo
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Narciso Ibáñez Serrador
English tourists arrive on an island where the children are murdering the adults. - 20Bianca Haase, Brock O'Hurn, Michael Vlamis
- Released: 2021
- Directed by: Taylor Chien
Obsessed with the paranormal, a writer and her three friends travel to a Hawaiian island to investigate reports of a haunting at an abandoned resort. - 21Logan Miller, Kristine Froseth, Jolene Anderson
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Franck Khalfoun
Prey is a 2019 American horror film directed by Franck Khalfoun. Toby (Logan Miller), a highschool senior who is struggling with behavioral issues is put on a supposedly uninhabited island but soon ...more - 22Margit Evelyn Newton, Josep LluÃs Fonoll, Franco Garofalo
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei
Virus: Hell of the Living Dead is a 1980 horror film, specifically a zombie film, directed by Bruno Mattei. The film is also known as Zombie Creeping Flesh and Night of the Zombies. - 23Michael Caine, Mario Van Peebles, Melvin Van Peebles
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Joseph Sargent
Jaws: The Revenge, is a 1987 American horror thriller film directed by Joseph Sargent. It is the third and final sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the fourth and final installment in the Jaws ...more - 24Hildegard Knef, Nigel Stock, Victor Maddern
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Michael Carreras, Leslie Norman
The Lost Continent is a 1968 fantasy film made by Hammer Films and Seven Arts featuring Eric Porter, Hildegard Knef, Suzanna Leigh, Tony Beckley and James Cossins. The film was produced, directed and ...more - 25Edwige Fenech, William Berger, Howard Ross
- Released: 1970
- Directed by: Mario Bava
Five Dolls for an August Moon is a 1970 Italian giallo film directed by Mario Bava. It concerns a group of people who have gathered on a remote island for fun and relaxation. One of the guests is a ...more
