Top 10 Movies About Isolation

Given that film is one of the most popular and well explored artistic mediums in the world, it comes as no surprise that filmmakers like to push the boundaries of the art form and see what they can or cannot do with certain restrictions or concepts fueling their movie narrative.

One of the most interesting and also difficult premises to base an entire movie around is the concept of isolation. It is an interesting idea that can be very narratively and psychologically complex, but of course, it can also be insanely difficult to create a film that can be sustained by a few characters or less in anĀ barren, desolate location. With that in mind, here are the best movies about isolation that have ever been made, ranked.

10 The Shining

All work and no play makes Jack a homicidal boy. When Jack Torrance gets the job as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel during the winter months, it seems like a cushy gig for he and his family.

Except it seems like the isolation, as well as some sort of evil force within the hotel, really gets to Jack, and he ultimately tries to murder his wife and young son.

9 Into The Wild

For some people, being completely alone is not a pleasant experience. But for others, exploring themselves while they’re completely by themselves can be a revelatory experience.

Both luckily and unluckily for Chris McCandless, the real life subject of Into the Wild, the beauty of nature and isolation drew him in, and wound up being what got him killed. After literally going into the wild, McCandless discovers himself, but ultimately sadly dies of starvation.

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8 The Thing

After being attacked by some sort of alien life form that is capable of perfectly mimicking any living thing, isolation is really the best that this Antarctic crew can hope for.

The only two surviving members of the crew hope that they’ve destroyed the mimic, but really all they can do is wait to die alone in the tundra and pray that neither one of them is now the titular alien in John Carpenter’s The Thing.

7 The Cabin In The Woods

When a group of college students decide to take off for a fun weekend in an isolated cabin, a fun weekend is all that they believe is on the menu.

However, unbeknownst to them, they are actually the sacrifices in some sort of ritual designed to keep ancient gods from destroying the world. And unsurprisingly, things don’t exactly go as planned.

6 Buried

Revolving an entire feature length film around one character who literally cannot move is a pretty tall order, but the Ryan Reynolds starring vehicle Buried does just that, and does it spectacularly well.

Reynolds stars as Paul Conroy, an American working in Iraq who suddenly wakes up to find himself buried alive with nothing but a phone and a zippo lighter to keep him company, and he must figure out how to survive before he suffocates.

5 Cast Away

Tom Hanks stranded on a deserted island with nothing but a volleyball to keep him company sounds like an incredibly depressing premise for a film, but Cast Away is both heartbreaking and inspiring.

After a violent plane crash, Hanks’ character manages to survive on said island for years, eventually building a raft and managing to escape this tropical island against all odds.

4 The Martian

For some more lighthearted isolationist fare, there is the Matt Damon starring and Ridley Scott directed movie The Martian, which tells the story of an astronaut named Mark Watney who finds himself literally stranded on Mars.

The world pulls together to rescue Watney, and Mark himself doesn’t give up hope, coming up with unique and ingenious ways to keep himself alive until his faraway rescuers can actually come and assist him.

3 Room

The premise of Room is pretty dark but also horrifyingly based on a few real life cases of women who’ve been abducted, held prisoner, and abused by people.

However, the story is told mostly from the perspective of the young son of the woman who’s being held captive, which gives the story a sense of hope and whimsy that would otherwise be lost in the grim reality of the situation.

2 Moon

Moon tells the surreal story of Sam Bell, an astronaut living alone on the moon, running a facility that is meant to mine the incredibly valuable helium-3.

Sam is obviously suffering some serious side effects after being left alone in this facility for years, and eventually it’s hard to know whether or not what the viewer is seeing is actually happening or is the imaginations of a madman.

1 Oldboy

Arguably the most shocking, unexpected, and downright insane movies revolving around isolation is the Korean classic Oldboy.

After being arrested for public drunkenness, Dae-su is abducted, locked in a room, and left completely alone for fifteen years with no explanation as to why he’s even there. He eventually escapes, and after his escape goes down a rabbit hole so shocking and bizarre that no one could have ever predicted where the story would end.

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