18 thriller films with backpackers (and a lot of trouble!)

The imagery that permeates the world of backpacking is a real treat for cinema, which seems to love producing thrillers with backpackers getting it wrong around the world. In this list, we have selected some of these cinematic gems that show intrepid travelers going through colossal hardships (some based on real events). It’s clear proof or notthat backpacking is not for the faint of heart! Check it out!

The Loneliest Planet

The 2011 independent thriller features Gael García Bernal and Hani Furstenberg, a duo who form a happy couple backpacking through the mountains of Georgia.
With a local guide, they travel through the region until a momentary gesture that cannot be undone changes everything and threatens what the couple thought was true.
The film is directed by Julia Loktev and was shown at several film festivals.

Note on IMDb*: 5.5
Trailer:

Chernobyl Diaries

From the same creator of “Paranormal Activity” (the trailer highlights and I don’t know if it would be an example of an incentive to watch the new production), the story features 6 travelers in search of a different itinerary: Pripyat, a city in northern Ukraine, where the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is nearby, where in 1986 the biggest nuclear accident in history occurred.
When they realize that they are “not alone” “terrifying” things begin to happen.
The film premiered in July 2012 and according to Roberto Cunha’s review on the website Quero Cinema, the idea of ​​shooting the film using Chernobyl is a good one, “…because it touches on the subject (the effects of radiation) that causes curiosity and, secondly, because it is something concrete, that it happened…”. The film’s author, Oren Peli, doesn’t innovate and is scary because it’s so “predictable and boring”, according to the critics (which can be read here).

Note on IMDb: 5.3
Trailer:

Hostel (I, II and III)

The first film, from 2005, features three backpackers in a city in Slovakia, which promises to meet their hedonistic expectations. They had no idea of ​​the “hell” that awaited them in the hostel.

Node Hostel Part II Three American backpackers are attracted by an offer from a model they meet on their way to Slovakia: Relax and have fun in an exotic spa.
They accept the invitation without imagining that they will be victims of a sick auction in which people from different countries participate.
Already in Hostel Part II (released only on DVD in December 2011 in the USA) Slovakia gives way to Las Vegas, and the story takes place during a (“terrible”) bachelor party.
Hostel I and II were directed by Eli Roth, who appears in III as producer.

Notes on IMDb (respectively): 5.8, 5.4 and 4.7.

Trailer: (Hostel Part I)

Tourists

The 2007 film tells the story of foreign tourists who survive an accident on a Brazilian bus (they emphasize the fact that the setting is Brazil, which generated a lot of controversy at the time of its release due to the stereotypes and pejorative connotations given to the country). On a beach in the country they are robbed and stop “kindly invited” by a Brazilian in a house in the forest. They accept the accommodation without imagining that in the village there are people who use brutal methods against tourists.

Note on IMDb: 5.1.
Trailer:

Wolf Creek – Journey to Hell

Three backpackers traveling through Wolf Creek National Park in Australia observe the landscape of the 2nd largest crater in the world. Strangely, the clocks and the car stop working and in an attempt to get away, they have the help of a truck driver who offers them a ride. The nightmare begins when they are taken (unexpectedly of course) to an abandoned mine camp.
The 2005 film is based on true events.

Note on IMDb: 6.3.
Trailers:
(Wolf Creek I):

(Wolf Creek II):

Still set in Australia, the film below does not necessarily feature backpackers, but takes place in one of the countries most visited by them in the world, in addition to being true events.

Snowtown Murders

The Australian independent film that premiered in May 2011 has as its background a series of (real) murders that occurred in the 90s, in the Adelaide region, Australia, more precisely in Snowtown.
The mix of hopeless youth and dysfunctional family appears in the film by Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant.
Four people involved in the case were convicted of murder (or accomplices thereof).

Note on IMDb: 6.6.
Trailer:

Journey of Fear

The 2010 film is a remake of the 1970 film And Soon the Darkness. Two North American girls travel by bicycle in a remote part of Argentina. During the trip, one of them disappears and the other has to find her before her worst fears come true.
Note on IMDb: 5.1.
Trailer:

The ruins

The 2008 film tells the story of a group of friends on vacation in Mexico who decide to take part in an archaeological excavation in the jungle, but something evil lives among the ruins.
Note on IMDb: 5.9.
Trailer:

The Trail

In the 2009 film, a newly married couple is traveling on an isolated island in Hawaii when they meet another couple, in this case, two psychopathic killers who kill tourists for fun.
Note on IMDb: 6.5.
Trailer:

The Human Centipede

In the 2009 film, a trio of backpackers fall victim to a “mad scientist” who wants to show them his new creation, a “human centipede.” (Toasqueira from beginning to end.)
Note on IMDb: 4.6.
Trailer:

Blair Witch

The 1999 film features a trio of film students who go camping in the Maryland woods to make a documentary about the local legend of the “Blair Witch.”
Note on IMDb: 6.3.
Blair Witch 2 – The Book of Shadows received a 3.9 rating on IMDb.
Trailer:

An American werewolf in London

The 1981 film shows 2 American backpackers traveling through England, where they are attacked by a Werewolf.
Note on IMDb: 7.6.
Trailer:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The original 1974 film and the 2003 remake show a group of young people traveling through rural Texas and there they will become victims of an “unbalanced family” and their killer and his chainsaw.
Note on IMDb: 7.5 for the original and 6.1 for the 2003.
Trailers:
(1974)

(2003)

Brokedown Palace (The trip)

The 1999 film shows two young travelers in Thailand, who end up in a brutal prison in that country after being accused of drug trafficking.
Note on IMDb: 6.2.
Trailer:

A Lonely Place to die

The 2011 film tells the story of a group of mountaineers who, while climbing in Scotland, find a child trapped in a chamber in the middle of the forest. In an attempt to save the child, the group ends up in a terrifying game of chase with their kidnappers.
Note on IMDb: 6.3.
Trailer:

*IMDb: the Internet Movie Database is an online database with information about movies, television shows, actors, producers, celebrities, fictional characters, etc. It is one of the most popular fonts in the sector on the web. On July 19, 2012, it cataloged 2,257,258 films in its database.

Notice: horror and suspense films, as well as other genres, have their fans; for them the list will certainly be incomplete, but for the general public, who may or may not like films of this type, it can be a little push towards “initiation”. It can also scare, make you sick and even make you laugh. Have fun!

And you (genre aficionado or not), which film would you add to the list?

Also leave your comments on the ones listed that you have already watched, this way it will be easier to encourage (or not) other travelers to look for the films.