Road trips can be the complete opposite of idyllic bliss; enjoying the scenery can only last so long before hands are batted away from the radio, and bickering over which exit to take and where the nearest bathroom break is begins.

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Then, there’s the added stress of speeding through unfamiliar territory; when night falls and the journey becomes a little quieter. It can be terrifying. Hitchhikers, car troubles, and creepy motels are the pinnacle of success for most 00s horror movies. From vindictive truck drivers to spooky myths, there are plenty of reasons why that staycation may not be a bad idea after all.

The Hitcher (2007)

The Hitcher

Grace (Sophia Bush) and boyfriend, Jim (Zachary Knighton), put themselves in grave danger by picking up hitchhiker John Ryder (Sean Bean) only for him to reveal his malicious intentions for the pair.

It’s perhaps common knowledge everywhere that picking up a stranger on the side of the road is a huge no-no; and at first, Grace and Jim come close to sticking with their gut, but empathy gets the better of them. The Hitcher isn’t exactly a realistic take on what could happen through hitchhiking; John evades capture – even under police custody – far too easily. The horror-thriller is effective, however, in its attempt to steer drivers away from being a roadside hero; no matter how friendly the person may seem, it’s not worth risking a John Ryder-type situation.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Hills Have Eyes

In this 2006 remake to Wes Craven’s 1977 film of the same name, the Carter family find themselves terrorized by merciless cannibalistic mutants after they are left stranded in the middle of the New Mexico desert.

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The Hills Have Eyes relies on morbid depictions of brutality and gore and is enough to make even the toughest of horror fans quiver. There are a lot of heavy themes presented throughout the film which give it a disturbing edge. No one is around for miles; the sun is glaring down; an infant child is amongst the family, raising the stakes immensely in overcoming both the heat and the grotesquely frightening antagonists. It’s not the thought of breaking down that will scare viewers, it’s the lengths these cannibals are willing to go to torture the Carters.

Dead End (2003)

Dead End

Christmas is a time for joy, and nothing says joy quite like spending hours stuck in a car with the entire family. The Harringtons come to realize the holiday season will be less than merry after patriarch Frank (Ray Wise) drives them down a shortcut, pursued by a mysterious hearse and woman in white.

Dark humor meets horror as The Harrington are picked off in grisly fashion. The plot unfolds in a way that keeps the audience on their toes, trying to solve the enigma of the endless road and who is behind the wheel of the hearse. With a clever twist, Dead End switches from horror to tragedy, wrapping up the narrative using an all too real explanation. It’s a tough teaching moment that hits viewers fast; if the driver’s eyes start to drift, cut the engine.

Joy Ride/Roadkill (2001)

Joy Ride

The Silence of the LambsTed Levine amps up the creep factor as murderous truck driver, Rusty Nail, who begins stalking brothers, Steve Zahn and Paul Walker, after a prank gone wrong. The phrase ‘Candy Cane’ has never been more chilling to hear.

Lewis (Walker) and Fuller (Zahn) aren’t entirely innocent in this one; however, their actions are down to some habitual banter that only siblings can enjoy, and they certainly don’t deserve to see the repercussions Rusty Nail has in mind. Joy Ride (known internationally as Roadkill) serves as a lesson in toying with a stranger – two strangers in the brothers’ case – and something as playful as messing around with CB radio can lead to a potentially dangerous scenario.

Vacancy (2007)

Vacancy
Image via Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group

Married couple, Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, seek refuge in a remote motel after their car breaks down and uncover a sadistic plot that involves them becoming the victims of a snuff film.

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Wrong turns are an essential ingredient to this sort of movie; Vacancy is less about the car journey and more about the aftermath of finding somewhere to help – and it’s usually never at the deserted motel. The film’s greatest strength is how it utilizes psychological fear before the couple actually encounters their attackers. If there’s anything to learn from Vacancy, it’s to always pay attention to your surroundings lest you end up on an unfamiliar mountain road and fulfill every Hollywood nightmare imaginable on tape.

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers

Driving back home for spring break, sibling duo, Derry (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Philips), learn to keep their noses out of where they don’t belong during the height of a flesh-eating creature’s feeding frenzy.

While later installments have received their fair share of criticism, the first Jeepers Creepers lives up to its namesake and is bound to give viewers a bought of the creeps. The appearance and mere presence of the creeper are eerie, but it’s the actual motive behind his killing spree that sets the audience on edge. It literally smells out fear, seeking out its victims in order to harvest their best organs – which it uses to regenerate itself! Once it catches wind of you, there’s no escaping.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

Texas Chainsaw

Set before the events of 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s reboot, this prequel sees four friends fall into the clutches of the twisted Sawyer clan and are hunted down by a chainsaw-wielding maniac. Indeed, the former film would have been the obvious choice here, but The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning reflects on a bleaker battle against Texas’ infamous family.

Watching how Leatherface transforms into the killer fans know is as close to sickening as it gets. Rather than the hitchhiker trope of the original, the group in this film has their car break down (shocker), which could hit a tad closer to home seeing as the odds of car troubles are a higher probability. Unlike its predecessor, there are no survivors, and that final image is all we need to commit to that staycation.

House of Wax (2005)

House of Wax

After their car is tampered with during a late-night pit stop, a group of friends is stranded with only an abandoned wax museum to turn to for help. Nothing screams the early 00s quite like Chad Michael Murray, Jared Padalecki, and Paris Hilton, and they’re all here in the one place.

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House of Wax plays into a conventional slasher formula but heightens the tension with stomach-churning, inventive kills. Maybe the only thing worse than being speared by a jagged pipe is being immortalized as a wax figure within the eponymous attraction – or facing the same fate as Padalecki’s Wade, sitting helplessly as his friend tries to peel him free.

Wrong Turn (2003)

Wrong Turn

Frequent horror flyer Desmond Harrington and Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Eliza Dushku run into more than car troubles when a disturbing trio of cannibals sets their sights on the group.

The ole barbed wire laid across the road is a classic maneuver, especially in cannibalistic horror it seems – The Hills Have Eyes also features this trick. Though Wrong Turn might feel like a slighter tamer version of The Hills Have Eyes, it’s not short of any suspense. The likelihood of colliding with a pack of people eaters is probably very slim (we hope); but when all promises of safety are slowly eliminated one by one, being isolated in a forest without knowing the area or what lurks nearby is pretty scary.

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