The term automotive horror, also referred to as "car horror" or "highway horror," refers to horror fiction where the primary source of dread, isolation, or violence is directly linked to vehicles and the culture of the open road.
It essentially exploits the psychological terror of a machine turning malevolent or the vulnerability of being isolated on a desolate road.
Automotive horror utilizes several distinct concepts to create terror:
The Sentient/Evil Vehicle: The car itself is the monster. Christine (1983), anyone? It's often possessed, cursed, or supernaturally alive, acting with malevolent intent to kill, terrorize, or corrupt its owner. The topic of evil cars represents Technophobia, an underlying theme where technology, which is supposed to represent freedom and convenience, instead betrays you.
Turns on you like a dirty street whore in the night.
The Highway Hunter: The vehicle is simply a tool used by a human serial killer or psychopath who uses the open road as their hunting ground. The car becomes an extension of their malice, providing speed, anonymity, and a means to stalk victims.
Isolation and Vulnerability: The car breaks down in a remote location, trapping the protagonists and cutting them off from help, leaving them vulnerable to external threats. Zombie movies have perfected this concept.
One rainy winter saturday, a day filled with fog, sludge and supercooled rain making cars misbehave and slide into ditches and each other, the rookies at the Horror Rookie Academy decided to dive into the topic of automotive horror movies.
We decided to expand the topic a little bit, also including movies with scenes and/or concepts where motorized vehicles play a key role without the movies themselves necessarily being typical car horror movies. Like in The Mist (2007)... 💔💔
Below, you can find no less than 38 movie tips on the topic of automotive horror. Remember, dear reader: we do this for you.
This is all for you. 😘