If You Loved 'Lost,' There's One Movie You Need to Watch Next

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Matthew Fox as Jack Shephard and Madison as Vincent in Lost. Credit: Courtesy of ABC.

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It’s been more than 15 years since Lost went off the air, ending a legendary run on broadcast television. Though the show could be frustratingly slow to reveal its secrets, it remains one of the best TV shows of the modern era—and one of the most influential, with a host of other series playing off a similar “mystery box” premise and shuffled timeline.

Fans of the show have never stopped looking for a viewing experience that matches it in terms of surprise and heartfelt, emotionally rich storytelling (if that describes you, you’ve probably already watched all of these streamalikes offering similar vibes), so allow me to suggest the one movie that fits the bill perfectly: Jacob’s Ladder, a 1990 psychological thriller starring Tim Robbins.

Why Jacob's Ladder has Lost vibes

On the surface, Jacob’s Ladder might not seem like an immediate match for the heady sci-fi-tinged, character-based storytelling of Lost—but once you dig deeper, the narrative and tonal parallels become clear. In the film, Jacob Singer (Robbins) is a struggling Vietnam Veteran living in Brooklyn in 1975, four years after a disturbing incident with his unit that ended with Jacob being stabbed by a bayonet. Haunted by his dead son and his wartime experiences, Jacob’s descends into a living nightmare, filled with hallucinations of monstrous figures. But something most mysterious is happening, and while the ending is a clear antecedent to Lost’s infamous finale, there are many visual echoes as well.

Jacob’s Ladder is arguably a horror movie, and is certainly more frightening and disturbing than Lost, which was more philosophical and even optimistic in its approach. But the way Jacob’s reality is plagued by a mounting sense of mystery and dread will remind you a lot of the early seasons of Lost, when the Others and the Hatch were ominous mirages hiding in the shadows of that mysterious island. And the film's ultimate payoff—and its message that sometimes, the devils we perceive to be attacking us are actually angels trying to save us—will resonate with anyone who was all-in on Jack Shephard’s inner struggles (and Lost’s overarching themes of atonement and redemption).

Finally, there’s the non-linear way Jacob’s Ladder deals with time, which echoes the flashbacks, flash-forwards, and flash-sideways moments in Lost. As Jacob’s life dissolves into an increasingly hellish chaos, his experience of time becomes shuffled and blurred, with the past (and alternate futures) intruding on the present in disorienting ways. Just like in the show, these flashes of Jacob’s life slowly paint a picture of his true present, and his ultimate fate. It’s an intense and often frightening film, but fans of Lost will love it. Stream Jacob’s Ladder on Fubo or rent it on Prime Video.

More movies to watch if you love Lost

Need more mysterious islands, heavy sci-fi concepts, and stories of survival against supernatural forces? Here are a few more movies for Lost fans.

Sweetheart (2019)

Deserted island? Check. Mysterious monster? Check. Flawed people hiding secrets? Check. When her boat sinks, Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) washes ashore on an island where the only sign of humanity is a set of old graves. At night, she’s attacked by a terrifying sea monster. When some of her friends wash up on the beach, having also survived the disaster, they don’t believe Jenn's warnings—and shebegins to wonder if she can trust them. If you loved the survival aspect of Lost’s story combined with the complex (and often hidden) relationships between the characters, Sweetheart will go down easy. Rent Sweetheart on Prime Video.

The Maze Runner (2014)

If you want more stories about a group of strangers who find themselves in an isolated and ominous wilderness, with a puzzle box mystery that has to be pieced together, this 2014 adaptation of the novel by James Dashner is the ticket. Waking up without any memory, teenage Thomas finds himself in the Glade, where the only possible escape is through a dense maze surrounding it. The maze is patrolled by dangerous biomechanical creatures called Grievers. Determined to escape, Thomas and a group of other imprisoned teens must acquire clues to the maze’s operation and eventually learn what’s really going on. Like on Lost, it involves a mysterious organization, seemingly abandoned facilities, and a mounting series of twists. Rent The Maze Runner on Prime Video.

The Beach (2000)

Part of what hooked people on Lost was just the basic premise—a group of strangers crash-land on an island and have to figure out how to survive. The Beach isn’t a mystery, but it leans into those very human dynamics as a group of young travelers (led by a baby Leonardo DiCaprio) find their way to a pristine, isolated beach where a group of people has established an ersatz community focused on keeping the idyllic place a secret. The "Others" here are the drug dealers who tolerate the group near their farms—for now—while the biggest risk may be the slow breakdown of order among the islanders themselves. If your favorite parts of Lost involved the factions forming among the survivors, the Tailies, and the Others, watch this movie. Rent The Beach on Prime Video.

https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B000I9X6BS

Primer (2004)

Lost probably sucked you in with the hints of mystery amid the human drama generated by a group of plane crash survivors with a lot of secrets, but it slowly evolved into a sci-fi show involving time travel and a lot of other speculative stuff. If you want to break your brain with a complex time travel story that pivots off of flawed humanity and emotionally-driven bad decisions, watch Primer: When two engineers stumble upon a limited way to travel backward in time, they begin experimenting—but when, exactly, the experiments started, and which version of the character you’re watching at any given time, soon becomes a complex puzzle (seriously, there are charts online trying to figure it all out). Rent Primer on Prime Video.

The Village (2004)

The Village got some hate when it was released, but if you love the eerie atmosphere and shocking reveals of Lost, this M. Night Shyamalan joint is a great match. In an isolated 19th-century village, residents keep strict watch for unnamed monsters that lurk in the surrounding woods. When one of the villagers is grievously wounded, blind Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) enters the woods on a quest to travel to the wicked, forbidden “towns” to retrieve medicine. A series of reveals lets the audience in on the secrets of the insular community in classic Shyamalan fashion, and the origins of the settlement echo the founding of the DHARMA Initiative in ways that Lost fans will appreciate. Rent The Village on Prime Video.