A road trip always feels incredible in theory. You're out on the open road with freedom stretched out endlessly before you, fueled by all the pit-stop junk food you can handle. It’s the ultimate American freedom fantasy.

It's no wonder that filmmakers love using the isolation of the open highway to send cold terror straight down our spines. Strip away the crowds, turn off the highway lights, and that sense of boundless freedom quickly curdles into vulnerability.

These five films feature ordinary drivers who head out on the road only to cross paths with a terrifying driver — or creature — that turns a long journey into a living nightmare. They’ll make you think twice before tailgating, chatting up a stranger, or passing a slowpoke on the right. And if you have any holiday travel on the horizon, they might just convince you to book a flight instead.

Don’t let the low IMDb ratings fool you. The UK indie horror flick "Shortcut" (2020) is a surprisingly entertaining thriller that hooks your attention almost immediately. The film opens abruptly on a young boy sprinting through the woods, collapsing from sheer exhaustion before cutting to unsettling sketches of a monster. From there, we meet our main cast: five teenagers heading out on a school field trip. Their journey grinds to a halt when their bus driver is forced onto a dirt detour around a fallen tree.

A second interruption sends everything sideways when the driver stops to clear a deer carcass from the road.

Source link