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Island of Lost Souls poster

Movies that feel likeIsland of Lost Souls (1932)

An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

If you loved Island of Lost Souls, the closest films we have are Son of Frankenstein (1939), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and The Invisible Man (1933). All three share Island of Lost Souls' cerebral and dread feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is White Zombie (1932).

🍅 88% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Erle C. Kentoncerebraldreadunsettling
9 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Peacock Premium

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If Island of Lost Souls hit the spot, these will too

Son of Frankenstein poster
Son of Frankenstein
1939 · dir. Rowland V. Lee
🍅 95%★ 7.1horror · science fiction

Both land ideas and dread at once

One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1931 · dir. Rouben Mamoulian
🍅 91%★ 7.6horror · science fiction · dramaMax

Both are built on the same subject: pre-code

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Island of Lost Souls does

Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.

The Invisible Man poster
The Invisible Man
1933 · dir. James Whale
🍅 95%★ 7.6horror · science fictionPrime VideoPeacock

The same preoccupation in both: mad scientist

After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.

White Zombie poster
White Zombie
1932 · dir. Victor Halperin
🍅 77%★ 6.2horrorPrime Video

One thread runs through both: pre-code

The difference: Takes it somewhere less cerebral than Island of Lost Souls does

A wealthy landowner living in Haiti convinces a sorcerer to lure the woman he has fallen for away from her fiancé. The madman later betrays their agreement by keeping the woman for himself…as a zombie.

The Thing from Another World poster
The Thing from Another World
1951 · dir. Christian Nyby
🍅 87%★ 7drama · horror · science fiction

Both lean on unease more than on science fiction

Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.

The Fly poster
The Fly
1958 · dir. Kurt Neumann
🍅 95%★ 7.1science fiction · horror · dramaPrime Video

Horror with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1950s, in a different era of the craft

Industrialist François Delambre is called late at night by his sister-in-law, Helene, who tells him that she has just killed her husband. Reluctant at first, she eventually explains to the police that he invented a matter transportation apparatus and, while experimenting on himself, a fly entered the chamber.

Phase IV poster
Phase IV
1974 · dir. Saul Bass
🍅 50%★ 6.4horror · science fiction

Dread-soaked science fiction in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.

The Phantom of the Opera poster
The Phantom of the Opera
1925 · dir. Rupert Julian
🍅 90%★ 7.5horror

Horror built on unease, twice over

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

Plan 9 from Outer Space poster
Plan 9 from Outer Space
1957 · dir. Edward D. Wood Jr.
🍅 66%★ 3.9science fiction · horror

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

In California, an old man grieves the loss of his wife, and dies the day after she is buried. However, the space soldier Eros and his mate Tanna use an electric device to resurrect them both, alongside the strong Inspector Clay, who was murdered by the alien-controlled dead couple. When the populations of Hollywood and Washington D.C. see flying saucers on the sky, a colonel, a police lieutenant, a commercial pilot, his wife, and a policeman try to stop the aliens.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky poster
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky
1991 · dir. Lam Ngai Kai
🍅 89%★ 7action · science fiction · horror

Both keep coming back to the same thing: held captive

In 2001, where all correctional facilities have been privatized, martial artist Ricky finds himself victim to the corrupt system, found "guilty" of the manslaughter of an infamous crime boss.

Phantasm poster
Phantasm
1979 · dir. Don Coscarelli
🍅 72%★ 6.6horror · science fictionPrime Video

Dread-soaked horror, and it commits to that

A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.

The Most Dangerous Game poster
The Most Dangerous Game
1932 · dir. Irving Pichel
🍅 100%★ 7.1thriller · adventure · horrorPrime VideoMax

The same two preoccupations: stranded, and remote island

When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.

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The best-reviewed films that share Island of Lost Souls’ defining feeling.