Summary

• Lost at sea films bring a new level of suspense and terror due to the vastness of the ocean and the isolation of its characters.
• Many of these films are based on true stories, adding to their chilling realism and making them more terrifying for viewers.
• Visual elements play a crucial role in depicting the threats faced by characters in lost at sea films, adding to the intensity and impact of the stories.

Survival films already do a great job at inciting fear in audiences, but when the films are set in the middle of the ocean, there's a whole other layer of suspense and tension that gets introduced. Unlike survival films that involve collapsing buildings or natural disasters, films where characters are lost at sea tend to feel severely threatening. The best lost at sea films have brilliant visual elements that translate to audiences just how vast the ocean is and how alone its characters are.

Just like survival films set on the ground, lost at sea stories feel uncomfortably realistic. For audiences fearful of being in a similar situation themselves, the fact that many lost at sea films are based on true stories doesn't help. Both real-life and fictional encounters with harsh storms and large, frightening sea creatures appear plausible when they are brought to life on the big screen. No matter the source of these stories, the best lost at sea films prove why the subgenre has some of the most chilling and gripping films to watch.

10 In The Heart Of The Sea (2015)

Crew Survive In Open Waters Among Threatening Whales

A whaling ship dubbed Essex was attacked by a large whale in 1820. The historical event partially inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea, an adventure film starring Chris Hemsworth and Benjamin Walker. After the ship is destroyed in the film, the surviving crew sail to a small island with limited supplies.

From that point on, In the Heart of the Sea continues as a survival film with the crew traveling in a desperate search for refuge. In the Heart of the Sea doesn't have the power such a story requires and performed poorly at the box office. Still, the visual elements in the film are striking and successfully portray the threat such an unpredictable enemy brings. Ultimately, In the Heart of the Sea does a decent job of telling a part of American history.

9 The Perfect Storm (2000)

Fishermen Disappear Amidst A Severe Hurricane

Inspired by the events of the Andrea Gail fishing expedition, The Perfect Storm is an exaggerated telling of the disaster. The crew of the Andrea Gail sets sail into unexpected hazardous weather conditions that slowly tear apart the vessel bit by bit. In real life, the crew's final radio serves as the last known evidence of the expedition, as Andrea Gail and its crew ’ bodies have never been found.

With that in mind, the events in The Perfect Storm that occur after the crew's radio breaks beyond repair are speculative. Still, The Perfect Storm does a great job of depicting the distressing nature of being lost at sea during tumultuous weather. For its technical accomplishments, The Perfect Storm earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.

8 The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

engers Attempt To Escape A Sinking Liner

Grouped with other disaster films in the '70s, including Airport, The Poseidon Adventure is a star-studded race to survival. Starring actors like Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, and Jack Albertson, The Poseidon Adventure follows a group of engers aboard a luxury liner, the SS Poseidon, which gets overturned by a tsunami. The Poseidon Adventure has a few flaws, but in the years following its release, it became a cult classic.

The film doesn't stray too far from the formulaic structure within the genre. Instead, what makes The Poseidon Adventure truly great is its skillfully crafted tension and impressive special effects. For its various feats, The Poseidon Adventure earned several Academy Award nominations and won in two categories: Best Original Song — "The Morning After" sung by Maureen McGovern —and Best Visual Effects.

7 Adrift (2018)

A Couple Is Lost At Sea During A Hurricane

Falling under both the romance and survival genres, Adrift follows the journey of Tami and Richard as they sail via yacht from Tahiti to San Diego, California, and is based on real events and Tami's book Red Sky in Mourning. During their travels, the couple gets caught up in Hurricane Raymond and changes their destination to Hawaii in hopes of getting out of the storm alive. Adrift has a non-linear structure, alternating between the early days of the couple’s relationship and their present-day disaster scenario.

Some critics felt this choice chipped away at the gravity of the couple's situation, while others felt seeing Tami and Richard's happier days allowed audiences to become more invested in their safe landing on shore. There are multiple instances in Adrift where the cinematography shows just how dire Tami and Richard's situation is, adding an eerie feeling to the film.

6 Open Water (2003)

Two Scuba Divers Are Stranded In Shark Infested Waters

Though horror movies often get things wrong about sharks, the sea creatures are established as the antagonists of quite a few films, including Open Water. Loosely based on the story of real-life couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan, Open Water follows Daniel and Susan, a couple who a scuba diving group and unintentionally get left behind. It's scary to be stranded with no way to others but to make matters worse, Daniel and Susan are surrounded by sharks.

Like The Perfect Storm, the bodies of the film's real-life subjects have never been found. As a result, much of Open Water's story is the doing of its writer and director, Chris Kentis. An avid scuba diver himself, Chris' low-budget film has a stronger element of realism than most survival thrillers and adds to the extreme fear felt by audiences.

5 Dead Calm (1989)

A Woman Is Trapped On A Yacht With A Killer

Many films that revolve around characters being lost at sea typically have something to do with severe weather or the threat of large sea creatures. However, in Dead Calm, John (Sam Neill) and Rae Ingram (Nicole Kidman) are a married couple that gets lost at sea after coming across a man, Hughie (Billy Zane), who claims he needs help with his sinking ship. It soon becomes clear that Hughie has malicious intentions when he takes the Ingrams' yacht and holds Rae captive.

Because the married couple is trying to reunite with one another and Rae is finding ways to outsmart Hughie and stay alive, Dead Calm plays out more like a typical thriller than a survival film. Yet, the terrifying feeling that comes with nature's unpredictability in other survival films is still present in Dead Calm. Moments where the vast ocean surrounding Rae is shown make it clear just how alone she is.

4 Cast Away (2000)

A Man Tries To Survive On An Island For Years

Earning Tom Hanks an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, Cast Away tells an inspiring story of a FedEx employee who gets stranded on an island for years. Hanks' character Chuck Noland is aboard a FedEx cargo plane and is the sole survivor when it crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Chuck spends most of his time alone on the shore and Cast Away details the ways he survives, such as using items from FedEx packages and befriending a Wilson volleyball.

Most lost at sea films have an unfortunate ending where there are no survivors or those that do survive make it to safety in a short time frame. Cast Away differs as it illustrates a realistic outcome where Chuck doesn't make it home for years. Cast Away is one of the few survival films that isn't based on a singular event, but rather multiple instances in which people have been lost at sea and had to survive for an extended amount of time.

3 Lifeboat (1944)

Tensions Rise Among engers Stranded On A Lifeboat

Set in one location for the entirety of the film, Lifeboat is an underrated film by Alfred Hitchcock that sees its characters stranded on a lifeboat. After a ship carrying various British and American citizens was sunk by a German U-boat, they found themselves aboard a lifeboat, wishing to return to land. Like a few other entries on the list, the threatening presence in Lifeboat isn't that of a hurricane or sea animal, but rather a German man who the other characters feel should be thrown off for having sunk their ship.

Because of Lifeboat's singular setting, creative visual techniques are required to keep the film engaging, which Hitchcock has no issues with.

Lifeboat's setup creates a claustrophobic film, in the most effective way, and is largely character-driven as hostility forms and dynamics shift among the group. Because of Lifeboat's singular setting, creative visual techniques are required to keep the film engaging, which Hitchcock has no issues with. Various framing and camera techniques depict the fluctuating relationship between the lifeboat’s engers.

2 Life Of Pi (2012)

A Young Boy And A Tiger Are Lost At Sea

Based on Yann Martel's novel of the same name, the feature film adaptation of Life of Pi earned Ang Lee his second Academy Award for Best Director. The film centers around the 227-day journey of the titular character and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker after they're stranded at sea on a lifeboat. Throughout his venture to make it to shore, Pi (Suraj Sharma) encounters a few obstacles, including a bloodthirsty hyena and acidic pools of water.

Though Pi's journey and growing bond with Richard Parker is entertaining to watch, Life of Pi earned much of its critical acclaim for its visual elements and technical achievements. Utilizing 3D, Lee's already accomplished directing style was elevated in Life of Pi. Scenes including a variety of sea animals look stunning without 3D effects, but with the illusion, the animals appear to be magical, such as a swarm of flying fish coming in the lifeboat's direction and hundreds of jellyfish illumining the dark ocean water at night.

Life of Pi (2012) won multiple prestigious awards, including 4 Oscars and accolades from the Golden Globes, BAFTA, Saturn Awards, and Annie Awards.

1 All Is Lost (2013)

One Man Is Left Out At Sea

One might imagine a film with one actor and minimal dialogue isn't worth seeing, but Robert Redford in All Is Lost proves otherwise. In All Is Lost, the beloved actor takes on the role of an unnamed man who must survive on his inflatable life raft after his boat is damaged in a collision with a shipping container. However, despite there being no dialogue, All Is Lost is not a quiet film — the action expected of such a survival story is present.

Redford's highest-rated films, and for good reason. Thanks largely to Redford's subtle, yet powerful performance as an actor, the film is suspenseful and succeeds in pulling audiences in as there is a large cloud of mystery surrounding the man.