20 Outdoors & Wilderness Horror Movies Ranked – Terror in the Trees

Welcome to Knockout Horror and to another horror movie list. Today we are bringing you 20 Outdoors & Wilderness Horror Movies Ranked.

What’s Lurking in the Woods?

This is one of my favourite themes in horror but I wanted to switch it up on you just a little with this list. Every movie here features a non-human source of mayhem. We have killer animals haunting the outdoors, mythological creatures terrorising the wilderness, and even aliens adding a touch of cosmic craziness. I think it’s a really nice mix.

I mean, let’s be honest, it’s a lot more fun to imagine that the snapping branch you just heard, or the guttural moan that haunts you while you sleep, actually came from something entirely more bestial than simply a human, right?

As always, we have watched all of these movies but only reviewed a handful. I will probably get round to them all in time but all of these movies come with my personal recommendation. Obviously my ranking is subjective and I expect yours will differ slightly so keep that in mind. With that being said, let’s head out into the wild for some seriously scary wilderness horror.

🗺️ At a Glance: Top 5 Wilderness Terrors

20. Survive The Hollow Shoals (2018) – Vlogging to Death

The Wild Factor: It’s one man alone in the middle of nowhere with only hits wits for survival and a camera for company.

Knockout Verdict: Low budget, high anxiety.

I really wanted to include at least a couple of low-budget indie wilderness horror movies in this list so here’s the first of three. A survival enthusiast challenges himself to spend 60 days in the wilds of the Georgia Hollow Shoals in this ultra low budget movie by Jonathon Klimek. Survive the Hollow Shoals isn’t going to be for everyone but it is still very watchable.

Reminiscent of a camp fire ghost story, it can drag a bit at times but it also deserves a lot of praise for how minimalist it is. Everything is presented in a found footage, vlog style as recorded by our intrepid survivalist himself. Definitely not the best movie on this list, hence its placement at 20, but still a pretty good watch for genre fans. We awarded Survive the Hollow Shoals 2.7/5 in our review.

19. Willow Creek (2013) – Bigfoot’s Backyard

The Wild Factor: This movie follows a couple who, while out camping out in the woods, are harassed by something decidedly hairy, rather curious, and super aggressive.

Knockout Verdict: Don’t poke the bear (or the squatch).

Bobcat Goldthwait, who you may know as the actor/comedian who starred as the squeaky voiced character Zed in Police Academy, or as Elliot Loudermilk in Scrooged (shameless plug for our review), is also a prolific director and a massive Bigfoot fan. Goldthwait has taken part in documentaries searching for the mysterious cryptid and has also made a wilderness horror movie based on the mythological creature.

It’s that very horror movie that has earned a spot on this list – Willow Creek from 2013. This has a pretty low rating on IMDB but I find it to be a legitimately enjoyable movie with some decent tension. Well worth checking out, especially for fans of Bigfoot and cryptids.

18. Long Weekend (2008) – Nature Fights Back

The Wild Factor: Long Weekend focuses on Mother Nature fighting back. Placing the great outdoors as both the antagonist and the hero in the story. It’s an eco horror that proves you shouldn’t mess with the wild.

Knockout Verdict: Respect the beach or die trying.

I believe this one is titled Nature’s Grave in the USA. Long Weekend is a 2008 Australian horror remake of the 1978 movie of the same name. Following the story of a couple, in a somewhat frayed relationship, heading out to the beach to spend a weekend away. This is a fairly slow moving horror story that has an important message. Only to find that disrespecting nature may end up costing them much more than their marriage.

James Caviezel and Claudia Karvan star in what can be a sometimes confused film. It’s far from perfect but it’s still fairly effective in parts and quite unsettling in others. It loses its way a little here and there and the message can get a little mixed up but this one is definitely worth checking out for something a little different.

17. Solitude (2024) – Alone in the Dark

The Wild Factor: One woman alone in the middle of nowhere dealing with the effects of hunger and the merest suggestion that something supernatural lurks in the woods.

Knockout Verdict: The silence is deafening.

This is the second low-budget indie horror movie on this list and this one should really appeal to fans of the popular survival series Alone. The story follows Kara (Sam Wren Vincent), a popular social media survival expert, as she braves the woods to take on a wilderness survival challenge. Little does she realise however, the intense hunger and loneliness will be the least of her worries as something sinister lurks in the trees.

I really enjoyed this one. Director Jeremy W. Brown actually brought in real-life survival experts (Nicole Apelian and Larry Roberts) directly from the show Alone to keep things as grounded and authentic as possible. It was well worth the effort because Solitude feels every part the believable survival horror movie. It stays true to the show’s roots and is very enjoyable for a low-budget horror movie. Check out our review of Solitude right here.

16. Significant Other (2022) – Love Hurts… and Mutates

The Wild Factor: The woods feel genuinely choking here as they keenly hide their secrets. They aren’t all the couple have to worry about as an altogether more cosmic threat lurks.

Knockout Verdict: Not your average walk in the woods.

A couple head out to the woods of the Pacific Northwest to spend some time together. An awkward marriage proposal is the least of their concerns as a series of increasingly strange and unfortunate events turns their trip into a nightmare. This is a outdoor sci-fi horror movie set in a stunning, yet oppressive location. Significant Other has a few twists and turns as well as a decent amount of suspense.

Some may find that it drags a little here and there and some may even consider it to be a little too light on the horror. With that being said, Significant Other makes for a compelling story if you desire something that doesn’t feel quite like most other horror movies.

15. Gaia (2021) – Fungal Fear

The Wild Factor: Gaia feels quite unique thanks to the deep forest location, the interesting monster designs, and the strong connection between the horror and the living world around us. These aren’t your ordinary forest creatures, let’s just say that.

Knockout Verdict: Don’t breathe the spores.

We are off to South Africa for our next movie. At 15 is 2021 fantasy horror Gaia by Jaco Bouwer. A forest ranger is rescued by a father and son who have been living off the land after being injured in a trap. Little does she realise that the father and son’s obsessive devotion to the forest, and one particular tree, hides a fiendish secret.

This outdoor horror movie owes a lot to the video game series The Last of Us when it comes to creature designs. Despite the rather familiar elements, it still manages to be a genuinely effective eco-horror with some very tense moments.

It also benefits from the performances of its lead cast including Monique Rockman and Carel Nel. It verges into the trippy at times and places a lot of weight in some of its fantasy aspects but is definitely well worth checking out. Check out our review of Gaia right here.

14. Man Vs. (2015) – Survival of the Fittest

The Wild Factor: I don’t want to spoil it but let’s just say it is something otherworldly that stalks the forests of Ontario.

Knockout Verdict: Grylls meets Aliens.

Being honest, this is perhaps a bit of a guilty pleasure here as I love these types of movies; refer back to Solitude, above. Man Vs. sees a reality television survival expert stalked by something otherworldly while spending five days alone in the Ontario wilderness to film his new show. This one is put together in a found footage, television show style and works really well for the most part.

Dialing up the suspense and isolation of the great outdoors to 11 and keying in on the paranoia that comes with being alone in the wilderness. The fantastic location and genuinely isolated nature of our protagonist offers up a sense of vulnerability that a lot of movies lack. Man Vs. takes a lot of what makes reality television shows like Alone special and turns it into prime horror fodder. The ending suuuucks, though. Not a perfect horror by any stretch but a hell of a lot of fun.

13. The Honeymoon (2014) – Til Death Do Us Part

The Wild Factor: It’s some creepy cosmic stuff out in the woods and lakes that transforms people into something altogether different.

Knockout Verdict: Marriage is scary enough.

This movie is adored by a lot of horror fans. A couple head off to an idyllic lake house for a honeymoon in the great outdoors in 2014’s The Honeymoon. Things start to go awry when Paul (Harry Treadaway) finds his new wife, Bea (Rose Leslie), wandering naked in the middle of the woods.

The changes she is exhibiting seem to suggest that something went drastically wrong while she was outside, transforming her into something Paul doesn’t recognise. The Honeymoon ventures into some creepy cosmic stuff that is actually really interesting. First time director Leigh Janiak manages some decent tension and a few scares in this rather self contained, tight, little sci-fi horror movie. Give it a try.

12. Black Water (2007) – Crocodile Rock

The Wild Factor: It’s an enormous salt-water crocodile with a very particular taste for human blood.

Knockout Verdict: Stay in the boat… oh wait, there is no boat.

We are back to Australia for this next wilderness horror movie. 2007’s Black Water is an effective and tense movie designed to keep you on the edge of your seats and to give you an everlasting fear of anything crocodilian. A massive salt water crocodile attacks a group of tourists taking a boat ride through a mangrove swamp. This one is based on the harrowing true story of two friends who spent the night stuck in a tree as a large crocodile, that had previously killed their friend, stalked them into the early hours.

David Nerlich teams up with The Reef‘s Andrew Traucki as Traucki proves that he is very adept at creating creature based survival movies. The less said about The Reef: Stalked the better. Decent stuff and, while not being one of the best movies on the list, still very watchable.

11. The Ruins (2008) – Don’t Touch the Plants

The Wild Factor: Okay so this one has a slight human element but there are some seriously freaky natural elements here that will have your skin crawling. Again, think nature fighting back and you are on the right path.

Knockout Verdict: Vegetation with a vengeance.

Our number 11 entry is The Ruins from 2008. Updating this list in 2025, I think this might be a little high but, whatever. A group of friends head out to Mexico for a relaxing holiday that is completely upended when they agree to take part in an archaeological dig deep in the forest. After uncovering some ancient Mayan ruins, it soon becomes clear that something sinister hides among them.

There are some very effective moments of body horror and some fantastic creature designs to boot that make this one really stand out from the rash of similar movies in the 2000s. Well worth checking out for a movie that eschewed many of the trends of the time. It’s easy popcorn horror viewing.

10. Rogue (2007) – River Monsters

The Wild Factor: It’s another enormous saltwater croc with a taste for blood and a very bad temper.

Knockout Verdict: A croc feature with bite.

One thing that is noteworthy about the land down under, other than the utterly lovely people, is that the environment there wants you dead and it isn’t shy about showing it. We are back to Australia next and we are being chased by another bloody big salty.

Rogue released in the same year as the above mentioned Black Water but tends to be a little more highly regarded. It follows the story of an American journalist on a job in the Australian outback finding herself stranded on a rapidly flooding island surrounded by a man eating crocodile.

To be honest, you can take this one and Black Water and interchange them as they are very similar. I would say that Rogue has a few more thrills and Greg McLean’s directorial pedigree is hard to ignore with classics like the Wolf Creek movies under his belt. Rogue is just good, old fashioned, creature horror fun with plenty of bite.

9. Loop Track (2023) – Paranoia on the Trail

The Wild Factor: I can’t tell you for fear of ruining the surprise but suffice to say it’s not what you expect.

Knockout Verdict: Is it in his head or in the bush?

Loop Track follows the story of a man heading into the New Zealand wilderness to escape from his rapidly declining everyday life. Despite wanting to stay away from people, he ends up grouping up with a couple of fellow hikers. All the while, he believes the group are being stalked by something sinister. Should he trust the fears that have caused him so many problems already or ignore them completely?

The consistent question of whether our protagonist is simply paranoid or whether the group are actually being followed really helps to up the tension, here. This is a decent little horror movie that goes in a direction you might not expect. The atmosphere remains taut throughout and the reveal is going to surprise a lot of people. This is a well acted, low budget, movie that deserves a watch. The ending may leave some people wanting but we have put together an Ending Explained article to clear some things up. Check out our review of Loop Track right here.

8. Loner (2025) – Glamping Gone Wrong

The Wild Factor: Something sinister lurks in the woods or is it just loneliness and mental illness?

Knockout Verdict: Silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly.

This is the third ultra low-budget indie movie on this list and it is coming by way of the UK. The story follows an aspiring survival vlogger who heads on glamping trip into the middle of a forest but finds himself at the mercy of something terrifying living in the woods. Now, you aren’t going to find a ton of outdoors horror movies from here because, well, we barely have any outdoors left.

That fact kinda makes Loner all the easier to appreciate. This movie is currently doing the festival circuit (December 2025) but when it releases you should seek it out. It’s funny, occasionally touching, and actually quite scary. Check out our review of Loner right here.

7. The Ritual (2017) – Kneel Before the God

The Wild Factor: An ancient evil that is both cosmic and wild in nature.

Knockout Verdict: Hiking with baggage.

David Bruckner’s The Ritual is next at number 7 in our list. A group of friends head deep into the woods on a backpacking vacation in Sweden. Little do they realise they are about to stumble upon something truly evil hidden amongst the trees. This one was a bit of a sleeper hit in 2017 that has been gaining a lot more steam in recent years. It is legitimately scary in parts too; the woods feel like they are closing in on the characters, the wilderness is violently hostile.

Gorgeous cinematography and some fantastic pacing keep the tension going throughout. I do feel like it doesn’t quite nail the landing and it missed an opportunity to be exceptional, but The Ritual is still effective horror viewing. It’s a brilliant option for anyone who is a fan of outdoors horror movies. Bruckner would go on to direct the well received The Night House as well as the remake of Hellraiser but The Ritual remains his most unique and effective outing yet.

6. Annihilation (2018) – Beautiful Destruction

The Wild Factor: A meteor has crashed into the earth creating a bizarre, anomalous, zone full of mutated flora and fauna known as the shimmer.

Knockout Verdict: Sci-fi horror at its most trippy.

Deus Ex Machina’s Alex Garland directs our next entry at number 7 as Natalie Portman stars in 2018’s Annihilation. After only one person returned from an expedition to the area, Lena joins a group to head into the shimmer and attempt to discover its secrets. While there, they encounter a wilderness that completely defies logic.

Annihilation is much more than a simple science fiction horror movie. It explores myriad themes including depression and grief as well as presenting a delightfully complex and intriguing story of cosmic terror. At times, it out paces its own ambition a bit which can lead to the movie being somewhat divisive amongst viewers. That’s why it is a bit lower on this list than it should probably be. It’s still a great movie in its own right however, and will resonate massively with some.

5. Backcountry (2014) – Bear Necessities

The Wild Factor: A huge angry bear that seems rather vengeful thanks to our leading couple disturbing its peace.

Knockout Verdict: You will never go camping again.

We have a movie that is way more enjoyable than it has any right to be at number 5 with 2014’s Backcountry. A couple goes camping in the woods to escape the hustle and bustle but their lack of experience leads them right into the territory of a massive black bear in this super effective creature horror movie. Backcountry is tense and legitimately brutal in parts, pulling absolutely no punches at all.

What makes this movie all the more significant is the fact that it is somewhat based on the true story of Jacqueline Perry and Mark Jordan. A couple who were attacked by a bear in the wilderness of Northern Ontario resulting in the death of Jacqueline Perry.

The final half of this movie is legitimately nail biting and features some of the more effective scenes in any recent creature horror. Awesome stuff and well worth checking out, despite the completely unlikable male protagonist.

4. The Descent (2004) – Going Underground

The Wild Factor: Absolutely horrifying creatures that navigate the dark cave system via sound. Terrifying!

Knockout Verdict: Claustrophobia has teeth.

This one had to be here right? It is actually one of two Neil Marshall helmed horror movies in our top 5. The Descent follows a group of women spending a vacation in the Appalachian mountains. The group, eager for adventure, decide to head into a cave system for some spelunking. While there, they encounter something truly evil deep underground. Legitimately tense in parts with iconic creature designs and full of nerve shredding moments of horror contained in the pitch black.

The Descent is widely considered to be one of the best horror movies of the 2000s and it is easy to see why. It rarely lets up once it gets going. Even to this day it is still terrifying viewers; it is hard to deny just how effective it is and how much love it gets. The Descent ticks all the boxes when it comes to this type of horror movie. Check out our review of The Descent right here.

3. Dog Soldiers (2002) – Full Moon Over Scotland

The Wild Factor: Marauding werewolves the likes of which you have never seen before.

Knockout Verdict: Soldiers vs. Werewolves. Perfect.

Dog Soldiers is number 3 on our list and is, also, the second Neil Marshall movie we are looking at today. A group of soldiers head deep into the wilderness of Scotland on a routine exercise. Only to be attacked by something that threatens to turn them all into something horrifying and extremely hairy. Marshall attempts to do something completely different with a very familiar theme and creates an energetic movie that feels nothing like most of the movies that came before it.

Dog Soldiers has gained a bit of a cult following in recent years and remains a must watch werewolf horror movie (click the link if you love werewolves and want more). The comedy elements hold up well and the movie has aged pretty nicely, despite the low budget. When everyone else was making horror films about vampires and zombies, Marshall dared to do something different and it pays off.

2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) – The Original Found Footage

The Wild Factor: Is it the haunting woods, a terrifying witch, or their own minds? It’s actually kind of all three.

Knockout Verdict: Scared of a pile of rocks.

Yes I am aware that this is predictable and I am aware that you could probably see this coming from a mile off. But I can’t possibly put together a list of the best outdoors and wilderness horror movies without mentioned 1999’s found footage, genre reviving, horror movie The Blair Witch Project.

Following the story of a group of students heading deep into the woods to make a documentary about a witch that supposedly haunts a small town. The Blair Witch Project sees our protagonists seemingly lost and at the mercy of the elements, their own minds, and a haunting entity that appears to be stalking them at night.

A lot of people bag on this film and the level of hype it received didn’t do it any favours when it comes to its place in horror history. With that being said, I firmly believe that The Blair Witch Project is a brilliant horror movie deserving of significant praise.

It does so much with so little and helped revive horror when things were looking beyond stale. An awesome movie, even if many don’t agree. It deserves its roses and it deserves a top 3 place on this list. Pretty much the entire film takes place in the woods, after all. . Check out our review of The Blair Witch Project right here.

1. Troll Hunter (2010) – Fee Fi Fo Fum

The Wild Factor: Enormous trolls the size of mountains that aren’t too happy about being disturbed.

Knockout Verdict: Found footage fantasy done right.

The brilliant and completely unique Troll Hunter from 2010 earns the top spot on our list of Outdoors and Wilderness horror movies. André Øvredal is on top form in this found footage movie that manages to still be fantastic, even with some completely ridiculous CGI. Well acted, tense, and a hell of a lot of fun. Troll Hunter is so different from everything else on this list that I truly believe it deserves the top spot.

A group of students investigating a series of bear killings, soon begin to follow a hunter around only to discover that what he is hunting isn’t exactly an animal. It is actually enormous mythological beings that haunt the wilderness of Norway and the students are going to encounter them first hand. This is one of those rare found footage horror movies that takes an absolutely ridiculous concept and makes it completely plausible.

Øvredal would go on to direct the equally excellent but completely different Autopsy of Jane Doe later on but Troll Hunter remains his best movie. Awesome stuff and worth checking out even if you hate found footage horror.

Thanks for Reading!

So that is 20 Outdoors and Wilderness Horror Movies Ranked. There were a lot of great movies here as the wilderness simply makes for a fantastically scary horror theme. There is a bit of crossover here with some of my other lists so, if this is a topic you enjoy, why not check them out?

Namely, 10 Backpacking Horror Movies RANKED,10 Creepy Camping Horror Movies RANKED and 25 Hiking, Backpacking and Camping Movies RANKED. You may see the same movie a few times but there are plenty of different suggestions as well. If you enjoyed this list, why not stick around? We have plenty more horror movie lists to check out, or you can dive into our latest horror reviews. Thanks for reading Knockout Horror!

⛺ Quick Picks: The Best Wilderness Horror Movies by Vibe

The “Creature Feature” Pick: The Ritual (2017)
For when you want monsters. It perfectly blends psychological trauma with a terrifying, ancient Norse entity stalking the trees.

The “Found Footage” Pick: Troll Hunter (2010)
For when you want fun. It takes a ridiculous concept—government-employed troll management—and makes it thrilling, funny, and visually spectacular.

The “Realistic” Pick: Backcountry (2014)
For when you want to be scared of real life. No ghosts, no goblins, just a massive black bear and a couple who lost their map.

The “Action” Pick: Dog Soldiers (2002)
For when you want guns and gore. Soldiers vs. Werewolves in the Scottish Highlands. It is quotable, intense, and practically perfect.

The “Trippy” Pick: Annihilation (2018)
For when you want to think. A beautiful, terrifying journey into an alien zone where nature—and DNA—is rewriting itself.

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