Best Desert Movies & Films Subgenre

Top 21 must-see best desert movies from desert movies, including Cargo, The Seeding, Dont Worry Darling, The Lair, and Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III ranked and rated by score.

Click any of the movies below to see that films' synopsis, plot, cast/actors, directors, full poster, movie trailer, and review.

Desert Movies List

1). Cargo (2017) (Movie Info + Poster + Trailer)

What We Thought of Cargo

Score: 6.52/10 | IMDB Rating: 6.3/10 | IMDB Votes: 51,800 | Rotten Tomatoes: 6.0/10 | Metascore: 6.5/10 | MPAA Rating: TV-MA

Survival, Zombies, Desolate, Drama, Wilderness, Desert

Cargo is Streaming on Netflix

Plot / Synopsis: In a desperate bid to outrun a violent pandemic, Andy and Kay have holed up on a houseboat with their one-year-old daughter, Rosie. Their protected river existence is shattered by a violent attack, which sees Kay tragically die and Andy infected. Left with only 48 hours before he transforms into one of the creatures they have fought so long...

Directors: Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke
Stars: Simone Landers, Martin Freeman, Marlee Jane McPherson-Dobbins, Lily Anne McPherson-Dobbins, Finlay Sjoberg

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2). The Seeding (2023) (Movie Info + Poster + Trailer)

Score: 5.3/10 | IMDB Rating: 5.0/10 | IMDB Votes: 2,367 | Rotten Tomatoes: 5.6/10 | MPAA Rating: R | Gross: $4,974

Psychological, Survival, Thriller, Desert, Desolate, Isolation, Madness, Mind Bender, Torture, Wilderness

The Seeding is Streaming on Shudder

Plot / Synopsis: A man finds himself trapped in a desert canyon with a woman living off-grid who is captive to a pack of sad**tic boys. Tagline: It follows a man who gets marooned in a desert canyon, where the inhabitants have built a society, structured around the coda of survival and procreation...

Director: Barney Clay
Stars: Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alex Montaldo, Michael Monsour, Chelsea Jurkiewicz

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3). Dont Worry Darling (2022) (Movie Info + Poster + Trailer)

Score: 4.97/10 | IMDB Rating: 6.3/10 | IMDB Votes: 173,833 | Rotten Tomatoes: 3.8/10 | Metascore: 4.8/10 | MPAA Rating: R | Gross: $45,309,403

Psychological, Thriller, Twisted Mystery, Cult, Desert, Drama, Female Revenge, Isolation, Sci-Fi, Suburbs

Plot / Synopsis: A 1950's housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets...

Director: Olivia Wilde
Stars: Florence Pugh, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll

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4). The Lair (2022) (Movie Info + Poster + Trailer)

Score: 4/10 | IMDB Rating: 4.6/10 | IMDB Votes: 6,167 | Rotten Tomatoes: 3.3/10 | Metascore: 4.1/10 | MPAA Rating: R

Aliens, Creatures, Gore, Survival, Twisted Mystery, Confined, Dangerous Exploration, Desert, Military, Mutants, Sci-Fi

Plot / Synopsis: When Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Kate Sinclair is shot down over Afghanistan, she finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker where deadly man-made biological weapons - half human, half alien - are awakened...

Director: Neil Marshall
Stars: Jonathan Howard, Charlotte Kirk, Jamie Bamber, Tanji Kibong, Leon Ockenden

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5). Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) (Movie Info + Poster + Trailer)

Read Our Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III Review

Score: 3.77/10 | IMDB Rating: 5.0/10 | IMDB Votes: 20,734 | Rotten Tomatoes: 1.3/10 | Metascore: 3.0/10 | MPAA Rating: R | Gross: $5,765,562

Slasher, Cannibalism, Desert, Desolate, Dysfunctional Family, Maniac, Road Trip

Plot / Synopsis: A California couple and a survivalist encounter Leatherface and his family. Tagline: Some tales are told, then soon forgotten. But a legend... is forever...

Director: Jeff Burr
Stars: Kate Hodge, Ken Foree, R.A. Mihailoff, William Butler, Viggo Mortensen

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