6 Best Roadside Motel and Gas Station Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 14, 2026

Roadside motels and gas stations are far from help and full of strangers. Identity strands ten strangers at a remote motel during a storm, No Country for Old Men has a hunter tracked by a relentless killer, and The Vanishing has a man’s obsessive three-year search for his missing girlfriend. Bates Motel, Duel and Psycho round out the six.

Bates Motel (1987)

TMDB ★ 4.5

A young man inherits the notorious, decaying motel from cinema's most infamous murderer.

Directed by Richard Rothstein · 1h 35m

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Identity (2003)

TMDB ★ 6.8

Stranded strangers at a remote motel during a storm are murdered one by one.

Directed by James Mangold · 1h 30m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

No Country for Old Men (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 93% Metacritic 92

A chase movie that refuses every genre convention it sets up.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 2h 02m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars165 wins & 139 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Vanishing (1988)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A man's obsessive three-year search for his girlfriend, who vanished at a rest stop, leads to a horrifying answer.

Directed by George Sluizer · 1h 46m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Duel (1971)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A travelling salesman is relentlessly pursued on a desert highway by a menacing, unseen truck driver.

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 1h 14m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Psycho (1960)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 97% Metacritic 97

A secretary's impulsive theft leads her to a motel run by a deeply disturbed young man.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 1h 49m · Rated R

Nominated for 4 Oscars8 wins & 14 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Peacock Premium, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+, Netflix Standard with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Roadside Motel and Gas Station Movies

Bates Motel (1987)

Identity (2003)

No Country for Old Men (2007)

The Vanishing (1988)

Duel (1971)

Psycho (1960)

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