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Top Ten All-Time Scariest Travel-Themed Movies
The Top Ten All-Time Scariest Travel-Themed Movies
1. The Exorcist -- It all goes to Hell (somewhat literally) when Father Merrin is leading an archaeological dig in Iraq and pulls Pazuzu out of the sand. Be careful what you dig up on your trips to ancient cities!
2. Psycho -- Gadling does not recommend the showers at the Bates Motel.
3. The Shining -- This Kubrick classic starring Jack Nicholson takes place in a hotel which gets snowed in for the winter. All hotel hallways have a similar look to them, and all will feel a little more dangerous when you've seen what little Danny sees.
4. The Strangers -- The most recent scary flick on our list (2008) stars Liv Tyler and Australian supermodel Gemma Ward. You know that isolated vacation home, or perhaps cabin, that you long to escape to? Watch this first. (Or don't.)
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre -- Oh my gosh, people. Don't pick up hitchhikers, and don't enter strange houses in isolated towns where you're investigating graveyard vandalism and corpse defilement. This is Not Getting Killed 101.
6. The Descent -- Spelunking is cool and all, with the stalactites, stalagmites and fascinating species of animals who've evolved to live underground, but first, find out what the name of the cave is ...
7. The Hills Have Eyes -- If someone invites you on a road trip and you don't want to go, pop this 1977 Wes Craven hit into their mailbox. They may reconsider.
8. Hostel -- Ah, backpacking. It's all fun and games until you visit the wrong hostel. Just remember: if you're abroad and someone invites you somewhere promising loose women and good times, you are not that good looking. Run for your life.
9. Vacancy -- Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson may not be your idea of a good horror film duo, but the concept of this movie will freak you out next time you visit an isolated hotel with no cell reception -- oh yeah, and, you probably shouldn't do that.
10. The Blair Witch Project -- Ten years later, we are still laughing about the one sentence review: "Three potty mouths in a thicket." Still, if investigating local ghost stories or taking extensive hikes is part of your regular vacation fare, make sure you've seen this cult favorite.
You'll note that in all cases, we've linked the originals, not the remakes. That wasn't an accident. Just sayin'.
Happy Halloween!
6. The Descent -- Spelunking is cool and all, with the stalactites, stalagmites and fascinating species of animals who've evolved to live underground, but first, find out what the name of the cave is ...
7. The Hills Have Eyes -- If someone invites you on a road trip and you don't want to go, pop this 1977 Wes Craven hit into their mailbox. They may reconsider.
8. Hostel -- Ah, backpacking. It's all fun and games until you visit the wrong hostel. Just remember: if you're abroad and someone invites you somewhere promising loose women and good times, you are not that good looking. Run for your life.
9. Vacancy -- Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson may not be your idea of a good horror film duo, but the concept of this movie will freak you out next time you visit an isolated hotel with no cell reception -- oh yeah, and, you probably shouldn't do that.
10. The Blair Witch Project -- Ten years later, we are still laughing about the one sentence review: "Three potty mouths in a thicket." Still, if investigating local ghost stories or taking extensive hikes is part of your regular vacation fare, make sure you've seen this cult favorite.
You'll note that in all cases, we've linked the originals, not the remakes. That wasn't an accident. Just sayin'.
Happy Halloween!
Filed under: Video, Travel Trivia
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jmbertuc Oct 27th 2009 10:23AM
You forgot one that has made me scared of flying for years! If I even have a thought that the plane may go down before I get on, I'm freaked out the whole flight.
Final Destination
Even the 2nd one's car accident has scarred me for life.
Another plane thriller: Snakes On A Plane
Snakes are scary.
I should also add Event Horizon. Be careful when traveling in space that your ship doesn't go to Hell and possesses you and your crew to kill each other.
Annie Scott Oct 27th 2009 10:36AM
All good points. Event Horizon was actually on this list for awhile, but Blair Witch finally beat it out, because I decided people were more likely to be out in the woods with a witch than traveling in space on a ship from Hell.
Deep thoughts.
Craig Oct 27th 2009 12:23PM
'Taken' is a suspense film, not intended to be Halloween-scary, but it has sure scared a lot of people who never travel. Too many times I've heard wide-eyed retellings of the movie's plot (girl goes to Paris by herself, gets abducted) by one non-traveler to another.
Kate Oct 27th 2009 1:11PM
Brokedown Palace. Not horror/gory scary, but VERY scary nonetheless. Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale are 18-year-old girls who get wrongly (?) arrested for drug possession in Bangkok.
But seriously...what about The Ten Commandments?
Rachel Nov 6th 2009 2:45PM
What a great list! The Hostel and Taken do totally prey upon people's fears of being out of the "safety" of the US and then bad things happening to them. Luckily all the hostels I've stayed in have been full of loud Australians and totally safe :) I truly hope people don't let movies like that dissuade them from traveling!! We wrote a similar post over at the NileGuide blog about where classic horror movies were filmed around the world. If anyone's interested they should take a look! http://blog.nileguide.com/2009/10/28/6-classic-horror-flicks-and-where-they-were-filmed/