Movies like Ellis Island (1979)
The best movies like Ellis Island (1979) are Ellis (2015), Castaway (1986) and The Lighthouse (2019). If Ellis Island hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Lighthouse (2019)7.5/10 from 5,916 votes
- NewestWild Horse Nine (2026)Released 2026
Ellis (2015)
Ellis, a fourteen-minute film directed by JR and written by Academy Award winner Eric Roth, tells the elusive story of countless immigrants whose pursuit of a new life led them to the now-shuttered Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. Following its opening in 1902, approximately 1.2 million people passed through the facility, where the Statue of Liberty can be seen from the windows. Languishing in a sort of purgatory awaiting their fate, many were never discharged.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCastaway (1986)
Middle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island. Young Lucy Irving takes a chance on contacting him, but once on the island, things prove a lot less idyllic than in the movies. Gradually, it becomes clear that it is Lucy who has the desire and the strength to try and see the year through.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lighthouse (2019)
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWild Horse Nine (2026)
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ. Amongst the Island's iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisParadise Hills (2019)
A young woman is sent to Paradise Hills to be reformed, only to learn that the high-class facility's beautiful facade hides a sinister secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCold Skin (2017)
A young man who arrives at a remote island finds himself trapped in a battle for his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApril Fool's Day (1986)
On April Fool's Day weekend, a group of college friends gather together at a secluded island mansion to celebrate their final year of school, where they soon become prey for an unseen murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Cargo (1940)
Convicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)
The story of the insane scandals related to the remake of “Island of Dr. Moreau” —originally a novel by H. G. Wells—, which was brought to the big screen in 1996. How director Richard Stanley spent four years developing the project just to find an abrupt end to his work while leading actor Marlon Brando pulled the strings in the shadows. Now for the first time, the living key players recount what really happened and why it all went so spectacularly wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLord of the Flies (1963)
Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction regresses to savagery with horrifying consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDolittle (2020)
After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire Island (2022)
A group of queer best friends gather in the Fire Island Pines for their annual week of love and laughter. However, desires, dramas, drink and drugs push their bonds to the limits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Larva Island Movie (2020)
Back at home, Chuck relates the island shenanigans of his larva pals Red and Yellow to a skeptical reporter in this movie sequel to the hit cartoon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoana (2026)
Teenage Moana answers the Ocean's call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Damned (2025)
A 19th-century widow has to make an impossible choice when, during an especially cruel winter, a foreign ship sinks off the coast of her Icelandic fishing village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMagnificent Obsession (1954)
Reckless playboy Bob Merrick crashes his speedboat, requiring emergency attention from the town’s only resuscitator while a local hero, Dr. Phillips, dies waiting for the life-saving device. Merrick then tries to right his wrongs with the doctor’s widow, Helen, falling in love with her in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Navigator (1924)
The wealthy and impulsive Rollo Treadway decides to propose to his beautiful socialite neighbor, Betsy O'Brien. Although Betsy turns Rollo down, he still opts to go on the cruise that he intended as their honeymoon. When circumstances find both Rollo and Betsy on the wrong ship, they end up having adventures on the high seas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012)
Two high school students become stranded on a tropical island and must rely on each other for survival. They learn more about themselves and each other while falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaughters of the Dust (1991)
In 1902, a Gullah family on the Sea Islands off South Carolina decide whether to migrate to the mainland, risking their unique cultural heritage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlink Twice (2024)
When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. But despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne, and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s something sinister hiding beneath the island’s lush façade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ellis Island?
The closest matches to Ellis Island are Ellis (2015), Castaway (1986) and The Lighthouse (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ellis Island?
Start with Ellis (2015), the closest match to Ellis Island.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ellis Island?
The Lighthouse (2019), rated 7.5/10 by 5,916 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ellis Island?
Wild Horse Nine (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ellis Island?
Yes: Ellis (2015), Castaway (1986) and The Lighthouse (2019).
How are movies similar to Ellis Island chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ellis Island, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.