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Islands

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Videos & Photos

  • Trailer 1

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Jan-Ole Gerster

Producer:

Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo

Writer:

Jan-Ole Gerster, Blaz Kutin, Lawrie Doran

Release Date:

Jan 30, 2026

Runtime:

2hr 3m

Synopsis

In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom (Sam Riley) teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist (Stacy Martin) arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before.

Cast

  • Jack Farthing
  • Stacy Martin
  • Sam Riley
  • Agnes Lindström Bolmgren
  • Fatima Adoum
  • Bruna Cusí
  • Dylan Torrell
  • Ramiro Blas
  • Maya Unger
  • Ahmed Boulane
Moviegoers are saying
This enigmatic psychological thriller divides audiences with its deliberately slow-burn approach to a tennis coach's encounter with a mysterious British couple on a volcanic Atlantic resort. While some praise its Highsmith-esque identity games and Stacy Martin's magnetic performance, others find themselves lost in its opaque character study that prioritizes existential dread over traditional narrative satisfaction.
Top Mentions
Mind-Bending
Slow-Burn
Psychological-Maze
Existential-Thriller
Identity-Crisis
Volcanic-Noir
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.2
11.0K
2.9K
1.9K
RATINGS 6 FANS
3.2
  • Feb 17, 2025

    got threesomebaited again

    319 Likes
    emi 🌛
    emi 🌛
    Feb 16, 2025

    A very complicated sperm donation process

    193 Likes
    Marisa
    Marisa
    May 15, 2025

    sam riley waking up confused at random places - the movie

    165 Likes
    lisastmn
    lisastmn
  •
    Feb 17, 2025

    challengers at the white lotus

    143 Likes
    p
    p
    May 8, 2025

    the poor camel tho

    133 Likes
    Paul
    Paul
    Mar 11, 2025

    I’ve rarely been disappointed by a character turning out not to be dead but here we are.

    106 Likes
    elisa
    elisa
  •
    May 10, 2026

    The scorching sun in this film is not a source of warmth; it's a searchlight, an interrogator that refuses to let the characters hide behind the shadows of their own intentions. We find ourselves on a volcanic outcrop in the Atlantic, watching a forlorn Brit named Tom,…

    88 Likes
    Connor Ashdown-Ford
    Connor Ashdown-Ford
    Sep 20, 2025

    I've been waiting for this film for several months, and it was worth it. Stacy Martin, whom I love, plays a solid role with a level of intrigue I'd never seen before, and I loved it. Tom Riley and his raspy voice also made him perfect. The film has a slow pace that helps…

    79 Likes
    Gerardo Fabre
    Gerardo Fabre
    Feb 17, 2025

    unless the three of them are wildly making out with each other, it's not my taste in tennis-love-triangle-movies.

    72 Likes
    Vitus
    Vitus
See All Reviews on Letterboxd.com

Queue Community Reviews

92%
Community 32
❤️ LOVE
23%
👍 LIKE
69%
😐 MEH
8%
👎 DISLIKE
0%
Top Reviews
  • Rory
    Rory liked
    Islands

    Saw this at BFI. I hated the mom character, like she was demonic. The main tennis guy’s life was cute in Fuerteventura, like i want my spanish to be at his level, he was understandable by locals despite having a british accent when speaking spanish

    9M
    Hmamyf
    Hmamyf watched_neutrald
    Islands

    didn’t take the route i wanted it to take but decent nonetheless

    9M
    Simon
    Simon loved
    Islands

    This is soo good. Every single shot could’ve been an image.

    5M
  • Lilli
    Lilli liked
    Islands

    SFF 2025

    1Y
View More Popular Islands Reviews on Queue

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

76
metacritic
Based on 12 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
80
Jan 29, 2026

There’s a refreshing willfulness here to leave some quandaries lingering, and like the rough beauty of the volcanic island the movie is set on, Islands beckons and rebukes and beckons some more.

View full review
Metacritic review by Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
The New York Times
80
Sep 11, 2025

It’s a classy, glossy production that’s frequently bathed in stunning crepuscular light (the Canary Islands’ tourist board should be thrilled). And thankfully it’s one that refuses to patronise the audience.

View full review
Kevin Maher
The Times
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Islands (2026)?
The movie is 2hr 3min long.
What's Islands (2026) about?
In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom (Sam Riley) teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist (Stacy Martin) arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before.
Who's the cast of Islands (2026)?
  • Jack Farthing as Dave
  • Stacy Martin as Anne
  • Sam Riley as Tom
  • Agnes Lindström Bolmgren as Janis
  • Fatima Adoum as Amina
  • Bruna Cusí as María
  • Dylan Torrell as Anton
  • Ramiro Blas as Inspector Mazo
  • Maya Unger as Pauline
  • Ahmed Boulane as The farmer
Who's the director behind Islands (2026)?
Jan-Ole Gerster directed Islands (2026).
Who produced Islands (2026)?
Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo produced Islands (2026).