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- Cabin in the Woods
- Lionsgate
35 Vacation Horror Films That Will Make You Cancel Your Passport
While Wrong Turn may seem incredibly cliche for horror audiences today, back in 2003, this folk horror slow burn of cannibals and vacations gone wrong was the blueprint on how to tell a terrifying tale that will make audiences terrified to ever go on a road trip again. Set in the backwoods of West Virginia, after a group of friends has car trouble and panic about being stranded, they realize they are not alone in these woods, and that something terrifying lurks just beyond what they can see. Being hunted in and of itself is scary, but throw in being utterly stranded with mutated cannibal freaks into the mix, and nightmare fuel for every audience is born.
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Rob Schmidt
Bloodthirsty mutant cannibals, government atomic zones, and being hunted down to feast on your flesh may not seem like the perfect vacation, but in The Hills Have Eyes, it is a horrifying and vile reality that a poor family must endure. Arguably one of the most graphic, disturbing, and disgusting horror films ever created, The Hills Have Eyes shows what happens when every single thing that could go wrong on a road trip goes wrong. Showcasing some of the most horrifying and vile creatures of the 2000s, the film will leave audiences in a paranoid stance anytime they hear the slightest thing wrong in their cars.
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Alexandre Aja
- 1Doug Bukowski111 Votes
- 2Pluto116 Votes
- 3Brenda Carter95 Votes
- 4Ruby86 Votes
On the surface, The Cabin in the Woods seems like every generic would-be slasher film ever created. A group of college kids go to a creepy cabin for a mini-vacation and suddenly bad things begin to happen. However, the film has so many twists and turns it would make a roller coaster jealous. Being stranded isn't nearly as scary as being hunted by forces outside of your control, and the film showcases this fear beautifully. Nothing is as it seems, and the only way to survive is to fight.
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Drew Goddard
- 1Richard Jenkins14 Votes
- 2Chris Hemsworth27 Votes
- 3Anna Hutchison20 Votes
- 4Kristen Connolly23 Votes
Widely regarded as one of the best horror films to ever come out of the UK, The Descent is a wonderfully crafted jump scare bonanza that will ensure audiences never want to go spelunking in their lives. An uber claustrophobic experience that will leave audiences holding their breath whether they realize it or not, this terrifying adventure of cave diving just gets more tense and terrifying as the film goes on. When the group of incredibly strong and powerful female protagonists realizes they aren't in the caves alone, then a second act of utter blood-curdling terror kicks into gear that will unlock an entire new phobia in the minds and hearts of viewers.
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Neil Marshall
As most films on this list prove, Wolf Creek instills the idea that car troubles will indeed be the downfall of all tourists on vacation. When a couple's car breaks down and they are stranded in the Australian outback, a dangerous and deadly hunter decides they are his next prey, and they must fight to survive at any cost. A gritty, dirty, and low-budget film that feels almost too real for comfort that was “based on true events,” Wolf Creek shows the disgusting and vile nature of man, and the struggle to survive in a world you're unfamiliar with. Not for the faint of heart or weak-willed, the film takes great pleasure in making viewers squirm.
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Greg McLean
Possibly the greatest fear for people on a road trip is being stalked and hunted by a crazed lunatic in a car. Now replace car with massive semi-truck, and a terror unlike any other is realized to perfection in Joy Ride. Most people who have ever been behind the wheel of a car have experienced road rage in one form or another, but it just takes saying one wrong thing to the wrong person to create a living breathing nightmare from which there is no waking. Joy Ride may be a bit campy at times, but the underlying fear of being hunted by a psychopath behind the wheel is something audiences won't ever be able to shake.
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: John Dahl
A film that will crawl under your skin in more ways than one, The Ruins shows the repercussions of going against the rules, the ignorance of man, and the danger of vacationing in Mexico. A masterclass in body horror and making audiences squirm, The Ruins has managed to become a massive cult classic thanks to incredible acting, realistic depictions of tourists in terror, and a shocking and surprisingly well-crafted story. Sometimes people aren't the most dangerous of creatures, and The Ruins shows that even the smallest beings can be a deadly threat.
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Carter Smith
Every couple's worst nightmare comes to life in brutal and spine-chilling light in 2007's cult classic, Vacancy. When a couple gets stranded while traveling, they decide to spend the night at a local motel, only to realize they aren't alone, and if they don't act fast, they will be the stars and victims of a crazed killer's next snuff film. The film takes great pride in making every aspect of this stalking feel incredibly realistic and plausible, which just makes the film all the more terrifying.
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Nimród Antal
The quintessential movie about vacations gone wrong, Hostel makes sure anyone and everyone who watches it will never want to stay in these lovely little hotels ever again. While a group of college graduates travel to Europe for vacation, they soon realize that their home for the summer is not what it seems, and sex, drugs, violence, and pain lay in wait for them. This paranoia-inducing thriller and gore fest is one of the most shocking and vile films ever created, and gave way to the “torture-porn” moniker akin to Saw. Showcasing the gnarly underbelly of Hostels in Europe and how wrong things can go for tourists, this magnificent horror film will leave audiences utterly shaken.
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Eli Roth
A remake of arguably the greatest film the world has ever seen, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is arguably the perfect tourist horror movie. A group of young travelers venture to rural Texas but while driving through, they come across a corrupt police officer who has made it his mission to make their life a living hell. Throw in cannibalism, and everyone's favorite skin-wearing killer Leatherface, and one of the scariest films of all time is born.
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Heading to the tropical island of Hawaii on their honeymoon, A Perfect Getaway shows that even the most wonderful and gorgeous of areas can be home to some of the most dangerous and vile monsters in the world. An utterly terrifying battle for survival, the film showcases that just because someone seems nice, that doesn't mean they don't have a hideous monster on the inside ready to pounce. A Perfect Getaway will undoubtedly have any and all vacationers looking sideways at their guides from here on out.
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: David Twohy
The quintessential cabin in the woods horror film, The Evil Dead helped revolutionize the horror genre by showcasing a brutal, bloody, and utterly terrifying adventure of a group of college kids who are hunted down by a supernatural presence in the middle of the woods. Widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made, the film at its core is indeed a film about a group of tourists who venture to a cabin, and everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Director Sam Rami exploded onto the scene with one of the most important and genre-defining films of all time with The Evil Dead.
- Released: 1981
- Directed by: Sam Raimi
Chair lifts are a scary enough contraption in and of themselves, two tiny wires holding up dozens of people as they propel hundreds of feet in the air, but in the 2010 hit film Frozen, every skier's worst nightmare comes to life as a group of friends become stranded on the lift for weeks. A film rich in paranoia and dread, Frozen forces audiences into the shoes of the most poor unfortunate souls in the world as they slowly begin to turn on one another. Surivial is key, and when stranded with friends with freezing cold temperatures coming in for the kill, unspeakable acts unfold to make it to the next day.
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Adam Green
- Bert (James DeBello), a college student vacationing with friends in the mountains, mistakenly shoots a local man (Arie Verveen) with a skin infection while hunting in the woods. Panicking, he abandons the scene and leaves the man for dead. When the man stumbles into a reservoir, he infects the water supply, and soon one of Bert's friends becomes infected. The friends struggle to stop the contagious, flesh-eating disease while on the run from a group of ornery backwoods locals out for revenge.
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Eli Roth
During a romantic getaway in the remote woods, a lovely young couple finds themselves the prey for a vicious and malicious attack of modern youth gone wild. Showcasing the dangers of group gang mentality and the lengths individuals will go to get what they want, Eden Lake is an utterly terrifying and vicious film that shows the world that nothing is scarier than a group of deranged and bitter teenagers.
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: James Watkins
One of the surprise hit horror films of the 2010s, The Shallows is a perfectly paced and executed venture into terror, paranoia, and sharks! When a woman finds herself stranded in the middle of the ocean with a great white shark looking to take a bite out of her, she must navigate the waters of this strange land and do whatever it takes to survive. Isolation, desperation, an paranoia creep in every crevasse of this spine-chilling movie, and much like Jaws before it, after watching The Shallows, audiences will never want to go in the water again.
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
A film that helped revolutionize the dying zombie subgenre in horror, Train to Busan was a stomach-churning, pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that pulls no punches in drama, gore, and violence, and will have your palms nice and sweaty by the time the credits roll. As a zombie apocalypse outbreaks in the world, a young man must protect his daughter at any cost as their trip to Busan, South Korea became a living nightmare. Taking place nearly entirely on a train and in a train station, the film feels incredibly claustrophobic as zombies unlike anything mainstream audiences have ever seen rush in to chop on some human flesh.
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
A breakup film wrapped in a cult film wrapped in a tourist horror movie, Midsommar has quite a few layers to unpack throughout its nearly three-hour runtime, but an epic the likes of which horror rarely receives presents itself beautifully. When traveling to Sweden with her boyfriend and his group of college friends, Dani audiences quickly realize that something far more sinister is afoot here and that no one can be trusted. Nothing is scarier than seemingly everyone out to get you, and in this brilliant paranoid thriller, everyone is.
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Ari Aster
Sometimes, isolation doesn't truly mean you are alone, and I Spit on Your Grave showcased this in spine-chilling effect as one of the vilest, most disturbing, and shocking horror films of all time. A hybrid of revenge and tourist horror films, I Spit on Your Grave is not an easy watch, but one that will leave a resounding impact on audiences. The hunted becomes the hunter in this chilling and ultra-violent film of violating the wrong woman.
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Steven R. Monroe
The stereotypical tourist horror movie has dumb characters that do dumb things that the audience can relish in seeing them get just desserts, and there is no finer example of this than Turristas. A film that relishes in swiftly and vengefully dishing out justice to those who continuously break the rules, Turistas showcases that just because you are guests in a far away land, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and is the ultimate warning for those who think they can.
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: John Stockwell
Akin to the massive horror hit The Descent, The Cave also follows a group of individuals who travel into a remote undisturbed underground ecosystem, but instead of seeking thrills, this group is seeking science. On the hunt for a new species that is rumored to be dwelling deep under the world, this may not be a vacation, but the group of biologists is undoubtedly tourists in this strange new world, and the deeper they explore, the most they realize exactly how far out of there element they are.
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Bruce Hunt
Triangle stands as Australian filmmaker Christopher Smith's mind-bending masterpiece, weaving temporal loops with nautical horror aboard the mysteriously abandoned cruise liner Aeolus. When single mother Jess joins a small yachting party that encounters a devastating storm in the Bermuda Triangle, their subsequent rescue by a seemingly deserted ocean liner spirals into a psychological nightmare. The ship's endless corridors, industrial kitchens, and maintenance decks become a labyrinthine stage for Melissa George's increasingly unhinged protagonist to confront versions of herself in a time-twisted slaughter that would make the Greek Fates themselves shudder.
Yacht passengers encounter mysterious weather conditions that force them to jump onto another ship, only to have the odd havoc increase.- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Christopher Smith
The Descent Part 2 exists in that rare air of horror sequels that manage to honor their predecessor while carving out their own bloody path. Picking up mere hours after Sarah Carter's escape from the cave system, Director Jon Harris thrusts both the traumatized survivor and a heavily armed search team back into the depths of the Appalachian underground. The National Guard, local Sheriff's Department, and professional rescue crews find themselves woefully unprepared for what awaits in those bone-strewn caverns. When the pale, humanoid crawlers begin emerging from the shadows once again, the military-grade flashlights and automatic weapons prove frustratingly inadequate against creatures that have evolved for centuries in perfect darkness.
The Descent Part 2 is a 2009 British adventure horror film and a sequel to the 2005 horror film The Descent. Shot in London and Surrey, the film was released in cinemas in the UK on 2 December 2009 and on DVD on 27 April 2010 in the US. The film was produced by Christian Colson and co-produced by Paul Ritchie with Neil Marshall, the producer and director of the original, as executive producer.- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Jon Harris
Dead End transforms a traditional family Christmas road trip into a nightmarish journey down a seemingly endless forest highway. The Harrington family's decision to take the scenic route to their in-laws' house leads them into an increasingly surreal series of encounters with a mysterious black hearse and its ghostly occupants. The Massachusetts State Police become more distant with every passing mile as father Frank, mother Laura, daughter Marion, and her boyfriend Brad find themselves caught in a twilight zone where the rules of reality begin to unravel with deadly consequences.
When a family en route to a Christmas Eve gathering decides to takes a shortcut down a wooded road, an eerie sequence of events signals trouble ahead. After nearly colliding with an oncoming car, father Frank (Ray Wise) picks up a ghostly hitchhiker (Amber Smith) and her infant child. With the sudden appearance of their new passengers, the route becomes dark and treacherous -- and the family's numbers rapidly begin to dwindle in a series of seemingly connected, grisly roadside accidents.- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Open Water drags viewers into the sun-bleached terror of being abandoned in shark-infested waters, based on the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan's disappearance from the Great Barrier Reef in 1998. When the Silver Star diving boat's head count goes wrong, leaving Susan and Daniel stranded 15 miles from shore, the full horror of their situation unfolds under the merciless Caribbean sun. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's search protocols and the Indo-Pacific reef shark's hunting patterns become terrifyingly relevant as this couple realizes that their expensive diving gear and years of certification classes have left them woefully unprepared for survival in nature's largest killing field.
Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) embark on a tropical vacation with their scuba-diving certifications in tow. During a group dive, the two separate themselves from the others to dive a little deeper. An incorrect head-count suggests the entire group has returned, so the boat departs. When the pair surfaces, they make out a vessel in the distance, but it does not immediately set in that they have been left behind. With sharks lurking beneath, their survival chances grow smaller.- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Chris Kentis
Black Water plunges viewers into the murky depths of Northern Australia's mangrove swamps, where Director Andrew Traucki transforms a simple fishing tour into a primal battle for survival. When Grace, her husband Adam, and her sister Lee find themselves stranded in a tree after their tour boat capsizes, the full terrifying reality of their situation emerges in the form of a massive saltwater crocodile. The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service statistics on crocodile attacks loom heavy as these three tourists realize they're trapped in the hunting grounds of one of nature's most perfect predators, with nothing but rapidly rising tide waters and thinning tree branches between them and certain death.
In the swamps of Northern Australia, a killer crocodile stalks a pregnant woman, her boyfriend and her sister.- Released: 2007
- Directed by: David Nerlich, Andrew Traucki
Splinter showcases the horrors of parasitic infection in an isolated Oklahoma gas station, where young couple Seth and Polly find themselves trapped with an escaped convict and his girlfriend. When a seemingly innocent porcupine introduces a prehistoric organism into the local ecosystem, the Phillips 66 convenience store becomes ground zero for a terrifying display of body horror. Local law enforcement and CDC protocols prove useless against a creature that can animate dead tissue and bend human bodies to its will, forcing this unlikely group of survivors to improvise weapons from everyday items as they watch their shelter slowly crumble.
When their plans for a nature trip go awry, Polly Watt (Jill Wagner) and boyfriend Seth Belzer (Paulo Costanzo) decide to check into a motel. On their way, they're carjacked and kidnapped by low-rent crooks Dennis Farell (Shea Whigham) and Lacey Belisle (Rachel Krebs), who take the victims and their SUV to a nearby gas station. Along the way, they encounter an increasingly terrifying horde of parasites, and if any of them intend to survive, they'll have to outsmart the deadly organisms.- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Toby Wilkins
- 28
High Lane
Johan Libéreau, Nicolas Giraud, Fanny ValetteHigh Lane (Vertige) elevates alpine horror to new heights as a group of experienced French mountaineers tackles an abandoned via Ferrata in Croatia's treacherous Dinaric Alps. When the supposedly closed climbing route begins to deteriorate, the French Alpine Club's extensive safety protocols prove worthless against both the crumbling infrastructure and a far more terrifying threat lurking in these remote peaks. The spectacular vistas of Paklenica National Park transform into a vertigo-inducing nightmare as the climbers find themselves trapped between a territorial mountain dweller and the thousand-foot drops that surround their precarious position on the cliff face.
High Lane also known as Vertige is a 2009 French horror film directed by Abel Ferry. A group of friends on vacation decide to venture onto a trail high up in the mountains that has been closed for repairs. The climb proves more perilous than planned, especially as they soon realize that they are not alone. The adventure turns into a nightmare.- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Abel Ferry
The Reef submerges audiences in the sun-scorched terror of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where Director Andrew Traucki crafts a masterclass in aquatic survival horror. When five friends' sailing trip to Indonesia goes catastrophically wrong, their capsized vessel becomes a floating sanctuary that's rapidly disappearing beneath the waves. The Queensland Maritime Safety Authority's tracking systems offer no comfort as the group makes the fatal decision to swim for a barely visible shoreline, while the hunting patterns of Great White sharks in the Coral Sea turn their desperate journey into a blood-soaked marathon where every ripple could signal their doom.
The Reef is a 2010 Australian horror film. The film was written and directed by Andrew Traucki, his second feature film, and is about a group of friends who capsize while sailing to Indonesia. The group decides that their best bet for survival is to swim to a nearby island but they find themselves stalked by a great white shark.- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Andrew Traucki
Snakes on a Plane ignites the perfect storm of airborne terror when Pacific Air Flight 121 becomes a sealed coffin at 30,000 feet. FBI Agent Neville Flynn's witness protection mission devolves into chaos when a time-released crate of exotic serpents transforms the Boeing 747-400 into a flying reptile house. The FAA's emergency protocols and Samuel L. Jackson's increasingly creative profanity prove equally ineffective against this carefully orchestrated attack, featuring everything from Malaysian pit vipers to African Green Mambas slithering through the pressurized cabin's infrastructure.
FBI agent Nelville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) boards a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, escorting a witness to trial. An on-board assassin releases a crate of deadly serpents in an attempt to kill the witness. Flynn and a host of frightened passengers and crew must band together to survive the slithery threat.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: David R. Ellis
Fractured plunges viewers into the disorienting nightmare of Ray Monroe's desperate search for his wife and daughter through the sterile corridors of a Minnesota hospital. What begins as a routine emergency room visit after a minor accident spirals into psychological horror as the hospital staff insist no record exists of his family ever being admitted. The Saint Mercy Medical Center's bureaucratic maze becomes increasingly sinister as Ray's grasp on reality begins to slip, leaving both him and the audience questioning whether this is a vast medical conspiracy or something far more disturbing lurking within his fractured psyche.
After his wife and injured daughter disappear from the emergency room, a man becomes convinced the hospital is hiding something.- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Brad Anderson
US unravels the American Dream through Jordan Peele's funhouse mirror as the Wilson family encounters their terrifying doppelgängers during a Santa Cruz beach vacation. The Underground Rabbit Warren of abandoned subway tunnels and government facilities beneath America's surface becomes the staging ground for a nationwide uprising of the "Tethered" - twisted reflections of surface dwellers created through a failed government experiment. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's cheerful facade crumbles as Adelaide Wilson confronts both her childhood trauma and the horrifying truth about her own identity.
Accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, Adelaide Wilson returns to the beachfront home where she grew up as a child. Haunted by a traumatic experience from the past, Adelaide grows increasingly concerned that something bad is going to happen. Her worst fears soon become a reality when four masked strangers descend upon the house, forcing the Wilsons into a fight for survival. When the masks come off, the family is horrified to learn that each attacker takes the appearance of one of them.- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Jordan Peele
- 1The Lost Boys521 Votes
- 2Invasion of the Body Snatchers234 Votes
- 3The Goonies240 Votes
- 4Friday the 13th Part 2135 Votes
Cold Prey (Fritt Vilt) carves out its place in Scandinavian horror as five snowboarders seek shelter in an abandoned ski resort deep in Norway's merciless Jotunheimen Mountains. The shuttered Lakeview Mountain Lodge's dark history begins to surface when the group realizes their injured friend isn't the only one seeking medical attention within these frozen walls. The Norwegian Mountain Rescue Service remains frustratingly out of reach as a methodical killer, shaped by decades of isolation and mountain warfare training, begins systematically hunting the stranded athletes through the resort's labyrinthine corridors.
Eirik (Viktoria Winge) and his girlfriend, Jannicke (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), join newly coupled Mikael (Endre Martin Midtstigen) and Ingunn (Rolf Kristian Larsen) and single wisecracker Morten (Tomas Alf Larsen) on a snowboarding excursion to a remote mountainous region in Norway. When Morten breaks his leg, however, and requires medical attention, the friends take shelter at an abandoned nearby ski lodge. Little do they know it also harbors an unseen, psychopathic killer.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Roar Uthaug
X marks Ti West's triumphant return to grindhouse horror, setting a pornographic film shoot against the backdrop of a decrepit Texas farm in 1979. When the ambitious cast and crew of "The Farmer's Daughters" encounter their elderly hosts, Pearl and Howard, their dreams of adult film stardom collapse into a nightmare of geriatric voyeurism and violent repression. The rural isolation of the Lone Star State provides the perfect staging ground for a meditation on youth, beauty, and the devastating effects of time, all captured through the lens of a blood-soaked love letter to independent filmmaking.
A group of actors sets out to make an adult film in rural Texas under the noses of their reclusive hosts, but when the elderly couple catches their young guests in the act, the cast finds themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Ti West
Infinity Pool submerges viewers in Brandon Cronenberg's hallucinatory exploration of consequence-free hedonism at an exclusive resort on the fictional island of Li Tolqa. When novelist James Foster and his wealthy wife Em discover that the local justice system allows rich tourists to create clones who can die in their place, the resort's carefully curated luxury dissolves into a psychedelic nightmare of murder, orgies, and identity dissolution. The pristine beaches and security personnel of the La Tolqan Resort & Spa provide a deceptively peaceful backdrop for Cronenberg's visceral examination of wealth, privilege, and the dark desires that emerge when accountability becomes optional.
Guided by a seductive and mysterious woman, a couple on vacation venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism and untold horror. A tragic accident soon leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: either you'll be executed, or, if you're rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Brandon Cronenberg