8 of my Favourite Camping Horror Movies

So you have an awesome TV hooked up in your camper van, but what to watch? Well, for the ultimate chills, it has to be a horror movie set in a remote area right? Maybe just the kind of place you will be visiting.

Horror movies are no joke. They are creepy and they can totally freak you out. But the most thrilling – and probably most horrendous – of them all are the camping horror movies that involve travellers and road trips.

If you love to travel and particularly enjoy the freedom and sense of adventure the almost endless highways give you, then you really shouldn’t be watching road trip horror movies.

Taking a road trip and probably camping in some cabin in the woods can be an adventure, it gives you a different view of the world. And getting away from the very boisterous cities can be a beautiful way to connect with nature. 

However, this beauty can be destroyed and replaces by fear by watching too many camping horror movies. Suddenly the relaxing sound of nature will sound like stalkers at your tent and all you’ll get is a very ugly and distorted view of the world.

Especially if you are an avid traveller who enjoys camping in very remote and lonely places. But, the fact you’re here suggests to me that you don’t care, you want to be freaked out, you want to live in fear you have a weird love for road trip horror movies. 

If you’re one of the die-hard fans of horror movies and are looking for some suggestions to get you ready for a camping trip, check out this list as we dish out some of the most horrifying and spine-chilling of this movie genre. These movies will have you completely transfixed and glued to the edge of your seat the whole time, and a word of caution; do not watch any of them alone.

8 top camping horror movies

1. Wolf Creek

If you’re planning a backpacking adventure, please don’t watch this movie just before you go, else you may end up not making that trip. Yes, this movies is that scary. 

In Wolf Creek, two British young ladies Lizzie and Kristy, and their Australian friend Ben are backpacking across the country. These friends first make a stop at Halls Creek where they enjoy a night of drinking and fun before setting out to Wolf Creek National Park where they intended to spend a week of hiking and surfing – a dream vacation. But the unexpected happened, their car battery died and the beautiful vacation they envisioned was gradually becoming distorted. 

When help came in the form of a man named Mick, the friends were only happy to seek shelter with their helper in an abandoned mining site which soon became their prison, while the supposed helper was now their captor. In just a few hours, the beautiful vacation has turned into a nightmare.

2. The Cabin in the Woods

Five American college students Dana, Marty, Jules, Holden, and Curt go to spend a lovely weekend in a cabin hidden somewhere in the woods, but some engineers and a group of back-wood zombies have other plans for them. This classic American road trip horror movie is packed full with gory violence, a lot of bloodshed, drug use, sex scenes, and a slice of comedy. If you think you’ve seen it all, try The Cabin in the Woods, it’ll totally blow you away.

3. Eden Lake

A lovely couple wanting to spend a quiet weekend alone found themselves in a lakeside campsite. But the beautiful romantic getaway quickly turned into a gruesome battle for survival when the couple’s campsite was invaded by a boisterous gang of violent teenagers. With the intention of proposing to his girlfriend Jenny, Steve only wanted a peaceful and memorable weekend but the teenagers had other plans. These delinquent teens anger the couple by making away with their belongings, including their car but that was just the beginning of a very long and gory fight. What was meant to be a lovely weekend by the lake became a struggle for survival as the couple tried to evade their crazy tormentors. Eden Lake is as good as they get and you won’t be disappointed.

4. Wrong Turn

Five college friends Carly, Jessie, Evan, Francine, and Scott were on a camping trip in the woods when the tyres of their SUV got punctured by barbed wires which forced them to stop to consider their options. And just then another car smashed into theirs, and it was Chris who was on his way to some other place. Horrified by the impact, the students flare up but they quickly calm down and decide to go find help. Two of the friends (Evan and Francine) stay back to watch the cars while the other four make their way through the woods and stumble upon a cabin. They go in looking for a phone but find weapons and human parts, but the desperate battle for life has just begun. 

5. Killing Ground

Another movie that will have you rethinking any plans of going into the woods unarmed for whatever reason is the Australian horror movie – Killing Ground. This horrifying motion picture features a family of four (father, mother, teenage daughter and toddler), a lovey-dovey couple (Sam and Ian) and the unsuspecting human hunters (German and Chook). Unlike many movies of the same genre, Killing Ground starts slowly and in a somewhat boring manner but it steadily and gradually leads you into a kidnapping and killing frenzy. The small family and the new couple only want to create pleasant memories but German and Chook are out for blood and they want it messy and gruesome. You sure don’t want to miss this unsettling movie.

6. Joy Ride (also known as Road Kill)

This movie is a joy ride gone south. Two brothers, Fuller and Lewis were on a cross-country road trip to pick up Lewis’s girlfriend Venna when they decided to play a silly prank on a lonely truck driver known as Rusty Nail. The prank worked and they had a good laugh but the game was far from over. The psychotic truck driver will have his revenge but this time there will be nothing to laugh about. Rusty Nail plots his sick revenge even after he practically squeezed an apology out of the brothers. And gradually his murderous plot unfolds and it wasn’t funny.

7. The Hitcher

One rainy night, college students Jim and Grace were driving through the desert of New Mexico when they decided to give one hitchhiker a ride. A very bad idea. During the ride, John Ryder (the hitchhiker) who was a serial killer couldn’t resist the urge to torment the students but the college kids did the most sensible thing, they threw him out of the car. Unfortunately for the Jim and Grace, John isn’t one to forget for he’s as psychotic as he’s murderous. And things only get worse as the students run for their lives with John always on their tail – and on a killing spree. But will the students survive?

8. Dead End

This is another movie that’ll leave you gasping for breath. The quest for a little adventure and some excitement made Frank Harrington drive his family through an unfamiliar shortcut to their yearly Christmas visit to Grandma’s house. But the shortcut turned out to be completely deserted but infested with sinister creatures. First, it was a distressed woman holding tightly to what seemed to be a baby, then it a bone-chilling black hearse and within minutes, the Harrington family members found themselves hanging by a thread and it only gets worse.