The Submarine Kid

The Submarine Kid

Year: 2016

Runtime: 109 mins

Language: English

Director: Eric Bilitch

Drama

After returning home from a traumatic wartime experience, Spencer Koll, a United States Marine, finds himself drawn to a captivating woman also navigating a challenging path. Their connection deepens into a complex and intense relationship, blending elements of magic and destruction as they confront hidden truths about themselves and each other. The experience tests their limits and ultimately forces them to face difficult realities.

Melancholic
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Steady pacing
Moderate complexity

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – The Submarine Kid (2016)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Submarine Kid (2016). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

21st century

Set in contemporary times after recent military conflicts, the film follows a veteran's difficult return to civilian life. The story opens with a homecoming that exposes fragile mental health and the pull of past battles. Dreamlike sequences and flashbacks mingle with present moments, indicating a time period that feels current but unsettled.

Location

Thunder Lake, War-torn foreign country

Thunder Lake anchors the story as a quiet lakeside setting where memory and fear surface. The boardwalk and shoreline become liminal spaces that blur between waking life and nightmare. The narrative also traverses the war-torn foreign country where Spencer's squad operated, grounding his trauma in a concrete past.

🌊 Lakeside ⚔️ War zone 🧭 Memory-driven

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:19

Main Characters – The Submarine Kid (2016)

Meet the key characters of The Submarine Kid (2016), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Spencer Koll (Finn Wittrock)

A Marine freshly returned from war, Spencer is fragile, haunted by vivid memories, and prone to panic. He struggles to reconnect with his friends and girlfriend while navigating flashbacks that pull him toward danger. The weight of his experiences strains his sense of self and his willingness to engage with ordinary life, revealing a stubborn, hopeful will to heal.

🪖 Veteran 🧠 PTSD 🌫️ Memory

Emily (Jessy Schram)

Spencer’s girlfriend and a source of care, Emily tries to bridge the gap between his frightening memories and their shared life. She grows increasingly worried as his symptoms intensify, yet she remains part of his social circle and emotional anchor. Her patience and concern highlight the strain a relationship meets when love confronts trauma.

💑 Relationship 💬 Communication 🤝 Support

Alice (Emilie de Ravin)

Alice appears as a beacon of light who also carries a haunting presence, a ghost tied to the war and Spencer’s memories. She offers comfort but also represents a risky lure away from the living world, challenging him to confront rather than escape his trauma. Her revelation links Spencer’s current fear to a past tragedy connected to the Submarine Kid.

👻 Ghostly presence 🪄 Supernatural 💘 Unattainable connection

Mr. Koll (Jack Coleman)

Spencer’s father, a steady, protective presence who watches his son’s deterioration with concern. He embodies the hope that family can anchor a veteran back to safety and normalcy. His protective instincts underscore the family’s role in the healing process.

👨‍👦 Family 🛡️ Protection

Mrs. Koll (Nancy Travis)

Spencer’s mother, similarly anxious yet supportive, she presses for his safety and well-being. Her worry reflects the broader fear of losing him to his memories and to the pull of the past. She represents the care that comes from a home trying to hold a fractured son together.

👩‍👦 Family 💬 Supportive family

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:19

Major Themes – The Submarine Kid (2016)

Explore the central themes of The Submarine Kid (2016), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💭 Memory

The narrative constantly folds memory into the present, making what is remembered feel as alive as what is real. Alice and the Submarine Kid’s memories act as living presences that press on Spencer’s perception. The line between dream and waking life becomes a battleground where past actions haunt current choices. Memory is both a refuge and a burden, shaping how Spencer sees himself and the world.

🧠 Trauma

Trauma drives Spencer into fear, isolation, and impulsive behavior, revealing the fragility of a soldier returning home. The near-drownings and driving sequences externalize his internal panic. The ghostly figures and visions reflect the persistence of wartime guilt and grief. Healing emerges only when he faces these memories rather than trying to drown them.

🏡 Homecoming

Spencer’s return to civilian life tests his relationships with friends and Emily, highlighting the distance that trauma can create. The movie contrasts ordinary moments with moments of sudden instability, underscoring how fragile a sense of home can be. Family members, especially Mr. and Mrs. Koll, embody the pressure to keep him attached to the living world. Home becomes a contested space where memory and love must share the room.

⚖️ Guilt

A pivotal moment involves a morally ambiguous act during combat, forcing Spencer to confront the consequences of actions taken under extreme stress. The film interrogates guilt, responsibility, and the cost of survival. Ghosts of the past demand accountability, even as Spencer longs for a world where such choices never happened. Acceptance, not avoidance, becomes the path to healing.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:19

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Psychological Trauma Stories Like The Submarine Kid

Stories where the past bleeds into the present through haunting psychological wounds.Discover movies that, like The Submarine Kid, explore the deep psychological scars of trauma. These films use introspective and often haunting narratives to depict characters wrestling with PTSD, survivor's guilt, and fractured memories, creating a powerful and emotionally heavy viewing experience.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a protagonist whose present life is dominated by unresolved trauma from a past event. The story structure often interweaves reality with fragmented memories, hallucinations, or symbolic encounters, forcing the character to confront their pain in order to find a fragile path forward, which may not be a cure but an acceptance.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared commitment to portraying the internal, psychological reality of trauma. They share a heavy emotional weight, a melancholic tone, and a focus on character introspection over external plot, creating a cohesive and deeply affecting type of drama.

Bittersweet Acceptance Journeys Like The Submarine Kid

Emotional stories where healing is a painful step forward, not a happy ending.If you appreciated the nuanced ending of The Submarine Kid, explore more films about bittersweet acceptance. These movies follow characters who, after facing heavy emotional trials, find a fragile peace that acknowledges their scars rather than erasing them, offering a realistic and often hopeful conclusion.

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Narrative Summary

The emotional journey is defined by a heavy burden—grief, trauma, or a profound personal failure. The climax is not a reversal of fortune but a moment of painful clarity where the character lets go of a destructive illusion or expectation. The ending feels bittersweet, acknowledging the pain while finding a sliver of hope in the mere act of moving forward.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their specific emotional arc and conclusion. They resonate with viewers seeking stories that reflect the complex reality of healing, where endings are emotionally resonant mixtures of sadness and hope, rather than neatly packaged solutions.

Unlock the Full Story of The Submarine Kid

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The Submarine Kid Summary

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The Submarine Kid Summary

The Submarine Kid Timeline

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The Submarine Kid Timeline

The Submarine Kid Spoiler-Free Summary

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The Submarine Kid Spoiler-Free Summary

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