![‘Islands’ Review: Sam Reilly & Stacy Martin Lead Jan-Ole Gerster’s Captivating Lonely Souls & Holiday-As-Escape Drama [Berlin]](https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/28140449/Islands-Berlin.jpg "‘Islands’ Review: Sam Reilly & Stacy Martin Lead Jan-Ole Gerster’s Captivating Lonely Souls & Holiday-As-Escape Drama [Berlin]")
Need a sunbaked thriller this winter to distract from the winter blues? Jan-Ole Gerster‘s “Islands” may provide said escape, a steamy mystery that had a lot of champions after its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
Set in the Canary Islands, “Islands” follows a tennis coach at a beach resort who finds himself slowly embroiled in a missing persons case with a sexy, mysterious stranger he may have met before.
Here’s an official synopsis for “Islands,” courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment:
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. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband (Jack Farthing) disappears, and the police suspect Tom.
The cast of “Islands” includes Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing, and Fatima Adoum.
Jan-Ole Gerster directs “Islands,” and co-writes the film’s screenplay with Blaž Kutin and Lawrie Doran. Producers on the film include Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo, and Katrin Kreppel.
“Islands” had a buzzy world premiere at the Berlinale back in February, where it garnered positive reviews from critics. The Playlist praised the film in our review, calling it an “engrossingly observant” thriller and “fascinating in its restrained exploration of human interiority.”
Like the trailer for “Islands” below? Well, you’ll have to wait a bit until the thriller hits theaters: next year, on January 30, 2026.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://theplaylist.net/islands-trailer-vacation-thriller-starring-sam-riley-stacy-martin-hits-theaters-next-january-20251106/&media=https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/28140449/Islands-Berlin.jpg&description=Set in the Canary Islands, "Islands" follows a tennis coach at a beach resort who finds himself slowly embroiled in a missing persons case.){kind=link}