Top 250 Movies Like High Desert

Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his drinking problem and this alcoholism causes him to lose his job, as well as his marriage.

Set in the fictional village of "Ogw" in the valleys of south-east Wales. After her father Jack suffers a stroke Annie Mary Pugh is forced to take care of him but uses the circumstances to emancipate herself and find the courage to sing once again.

A mother/daughter pair of witches descend on a yuppie family's home and cause havoc, one at a time since they share one body & the other must live in a cat the rest of the time. Now it's up to the family's mother, a private detective, and a suspended police officer to try and stop the witches.

An ex-gambler hooks up with an old flame after his old habit resurfaces and drives off his wife.

Chrysty walks through the desert carrying nothing and heading nowhere. She enters a very small town called Silver City. The local community of woman is intrigued by the sudden arrival of an attractive stranger and they find out that Chrysty left a husband and three kids behind. One of the women, McGill, calls Chrysty's husband, West to tell him where his wife is and he comes to town.

Crowder is a an unethical private detective in pursuit of a gangster who's after embezzled money.

In a California desert town, a short-order cook with clairvoyant abilities encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark, threatening forces.

Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, California. He is dating local girl Ann Miller and lives a quiet life. But Jeff has a secret past, and when a mysterious stranger arrives in town, Jeff is forced to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.

It's the start of WWII in Northern Australia. The Japanese are getting close. People are evacuating and burning everything in a "scorched earth" policy. Rather than kill all their cattle, a disparate group decides to drive them overland half way across the continent, from Wyndham in Western Australia through the Northern Territory outback of Australia to pastures north of Brisbane, Queensland.

Rachel is a 35 year old school teacher who has no man in her life and lives with her mother. When a man from the big city returns and asks her out, she begins to have to make decisions about her life and where she wants it to go.

An offbeat romantic comedy about a decent guy, Ray Tuckby, with a dead-end life in the dead-end town of Trona, CA. After encouragement from a stranger whom he happens upon, Ray begins to dream again. He sheds the parasites in his life, musters the nerve to pursue his childhood love, and finally takes back his community by toppling the local teenage Meth-baron.

After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.

In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

A refugee Soviet scientist arrives at a desert airport carrying secret documents, but is attacked by a pair of KGB assassins and escapes into the desert, where he comes in range of an American nuclear test and is transformed into a mindless killing beast.

While grieving for the loss of their mother, the Connolly sisters suddenly find they have a crime to cover up, leading them deep into the underbelly of their salty Maine fishing village.

In the 1970s, a foundling lass, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her transgender nature is beyond the town's understanding.

The death of the Kimbrough family matriarch affects the three male survivors of the clan. Widower Easy tries to reconnect with his old flame, Marg. Eldest son and struggling musician Guy moves back to town, feeling guilty that he missed the funeral. His brother, Beagle, who was his mother's caretaker, falls for Marg's granddaughter, Georgia, a chronically ill girl who fears her time is growing short.

Allison and her daughter Abigail return to Allison's hometown after the death of Allison's beloved aunt. While there, they encounter Bart, a man who knew Allison when she was a teen. But Bart's friendliness soon turns into something more sinister.

A woman and young daughter escape her abusive husband by faking their deaths. Eight years later she is happily living in the upscale Palm Springs with her now-17-year-old daughter. When her husband discovers they are still alive, he tracks them down and spies on them to learn all about the new life they've created until he can exact his revenge.

John's mother was diagnosed, then his nanny. After that, his sister. And finally, his wife. This is the unbelievable (and unbelievably poignant) tale, inspired by actual events, of four courageous women who battled breast cancer, and the man who loved them all.

Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters.

A woman with a tragic past decides to start her new life by hiking for one thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.

A typical Midwest house. A sweet little old lady. When a caretaker moves in to help out, Granny's House becomes a macabre place of death - and love.

Volcanologist Harry Dalton comes to the sleepy town of Dante's Peak to investigate the recent rumblings of the dormant volcano the burg is named for. Before long, his worst fears are realized when a massive eruption hits, and immediately, Harry, the mayor and the townspeople find themselves fighting for their lives amid a catastrophic nightmare.

A seemingly good Samaritan hires a private detective to prove a teen sitting in prison on a murder charge is innocent. His investigation discovers deep corruption in a Connecticut town and finds the woman isn't everything she is pretending to be either.

Private detective Philip Marlowe becomes embroiled in an investigation involving a wealthy Californian family after a beautiful blonde hires him to track down her former lover.

In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. To seal their friendship, Mona introduces Tamsin to her born-again Christian brother and helps her spy on her adulterous father. Bound together by their secrets, the two girls see their friendship deepen and enter into dangerous waters.

Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.

The daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.

In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.

The recently deceased Mona Dearly was many things: an abusive wife, a domineering mother, a loud-mouthed neighbor and a violent malcontent. So when her car and corpse are discovered in the Hudson River, police Chief Wyatt Rash immediately suspects murder rather than an accident. But, since the whole community of Verplanck, N.Y., shares a deep hatred for this unceasingly spiteful woman, Rash finds his murder investigation overwhelmed with potential suspects.

A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.

A group of friends come of age in the asphalt desert of the San Fernando Valley, as set to a blazing soundtrack and endless drinking, drugs and sex.

Andrew returns to his hometown for the funeral of his mother, a journey that reconnects him with past friends. The trip coincides with his decision to stop taking his powerful antidepressants. A chance meeting with Sam - a girl also suffering from various maladies - opens up the possibility of rekindling emotional attachments, confronting his psychologist father, and perhaps beginning a new life.

A movie about the travails of Jason (Mark Webber), a young gas station attendant and movie projectionist living in Nebraska. His encounters with various social difficulties and with Frances (Zooey Deschanel), a beautiful and enigmatic young woman leads to dramatic changes and decisions in his life.

A single mother and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy. In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school the mom starts an unusual business – a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.

Harper is a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.

Stella Johnson is a single mother living in the town of Harper Valley. Most of the townsfolk, particularly those on the school PTA, think she is a little too liberal so they're making things tough for her and her daughter. So she runs for the position of PTA President, which infuriates them. Stella decides to get revenge with the help of her friends.

Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.

A woman and her son must leave a small South Carolina town because of her wild behavior.

The men of a small town on the edge of nowhere mysteriously disappear, one by one, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves in a desolate and dreamlike world.

After getting hired to probe a suspicious death in the small town of Wander, a mentally unstable private investigator becomes convinced the case is linked to the same 'conspiracy cover up' that caused the death of his daughter.

After she becomes stranded in a small town, a young woman discovers her arrival there was foretold a century earlier by the town's founding preacher and that she is an integral part of his impending - and terrifying - rebirth.

Three lives of three young people intersect over the course of one summer. A rich student and a young working-class man accidentally destroy a diner when their impromptu road race takes a disastrous turn. Ordered by a judge to spend the summer repairing the building, they find themselves becoming rivals for the affections of the owner's daughter.

Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.

A man with a split personality fools his small town into believing his two alter egos are a man and a wife, although a struggling young mother holds the key to his past and sparks a battle between the two personalities.

Disguised aliens set up a pet shop in a dusty Arizona town, hoping to lure local children with their adorable extraterrestrial critters.

A small New Mexican village discovers a severed hand that is considered a miracle of God, when it actually belongs to a murdered spouse with a husband in search of it.

In an updated contemporary version of the beloved stage play and 1989 film, "Steel Magnolias" chronicles the lives and friendship of six women in Louisiana. Supporting each other through their triumphs and tragedies, they congregate at Truvy’s beauty shop to ponder the mysteries of life and death, husbands and children - and hair and nails - all the important topics that truly unite and celebrate women.

In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.

When a large group of escaped convicts take Ike Slayton, a Vietnam veteran's wife hostage, Slayton enlists the help of his old army friend in a furious search to find her, while a hard-nosed National Guardsman leads a platoon of solders determined to kill or capture all the convicts, even if it means killing all the hostages in the crossfire.

Two co-workers, one a vain woman and the other an awkward teenager, share an increasingly bizarre relationship after becoming roommates.

DIRT is a quirky comedy about two simple-hearted brothers who, when abandoned by the death of their mother, search to find a replacement Mom. Junior and Scooter find themselves ill-prepared for life on their own. To ease their suffering, they search the desert dregs of West Texas for a woman to take Mom's place. Due to their social disability, they are forced to kidnap a woman from a Piggly Wiggly supermarket. They soon realize that they have gotten more than they bargained for when their "victim," Dede, turns out to be the maltreated wife of an abusive Texas Ranger. She quickly turns her misfortune into theirs, convincing the brothers to steal her baby away from her sadistic husband. Life gets even more complicated for these simple-hearted boys when the vengeful Ranger tracks them down bent on keeping them from living happily ever after.

As the elderly man visiting his wife's grave remembers how a renewed faith in Christianity help a shady businessman, a juvenile delinquent a young couple and a shiftless man find the way to righteousness.

After the early death of his wife, a mourning father moves with his teenage son across the country for a private school teaching job. Their lives begin to transform due to two unique women, who help them embrace life and love again

Kimberly Jansen is a single mother who lives in a small Canadian town. After cutting her hand at a party, she visits the hospital to seek what she assumes will be routine treatment. Instead, she falls victim to a predator in a white coat: Dr. Richard Darian, who drugs her and rapes her while she is asleep. Kimberly attempts to press charges, but the townsfolk and the local police, who regard her as a tramp and respect the doctor, dismiss her accusations.

When a woman goes missing on the eve of her wedding, her fiancee hires a detective to track her down

Based on the true story of '60s thrill-killer Charles Schmidt ("The Pied Piper of Tucson"), Skipper Todd (Robert F. Lyons) is a charismatic 23-year old who charms his way into the lives of high school kids in a small California town. Girls find him attractive and are only too willing to accompany him to a nearby desert area to be his "girl for the night." Not all of them return, however. Featuring Richard Thomas as his loyal hanger-on and a colorful assortment of familiar actors in vivid character roles including Barbara Bel Geddes, Gloria Grahame, Edward Asner, Fay Spain, James Broderick and Michael Conrad.

A politician's wife and the mortician who has secretly loved her for years plan to fake her death so they can run away together.

Private eye Philip Marlowe and his bride move to a desert town, where he uncovers a land scheme.

A young woman named Jennifer is propositioned by an older woman to have sex with her husband for money. Jennifer has trouble with this decision as it is morally wrong to her but she really needs the money to help her fiancee out of debt so they can get married. There may be more to the situation than meets the eye.

A park ranger and his lover have heated encounters with a dangerous man in Death Valley.

Deaths begin again as a body returns.

Real estate agent Maceda (Chris Sarandon) once testified against drug trafficker Orosco (Miguel Najera). Now Orosco is out of prison, and Maceda has a problem. He flees, hiding out at a near-vacant California Central Valley inn where innkeeper Kat (Mariel Hemingway) is happy to have him sign the register. His presence, however, arouses the suspicions of lone cop Gilchrist (Dennis Hopper). Meanwhile, Fed agent Gere (Peter Coyote) hopes to track Maceda before Orosco's thugs pick up the scent.

Dave and Hank ride out of Death Valley, heading for the town of Mesa, but stop to rest in Alkali Springs, twenty miles from Mesa. Walking along the saloon porch, they overhear through an open window, two unseen men plotting to rob the Mesa bank that afternoon. One is a Spanish voice and the other American. Dave and Hank head for Mesa to get there before the hold-up and, there, they see the men whose voices they had heard; Sheriff Jeffries and Ortego.

David Janssen (The Fugitive) portrays dogged detective Harry in the telefilm that was the second of two pilots preceding his memorable Harry O series. Among the highlights: young Jodie Foster as Liberty, the wise-beyond-her-years homeless waif Harry befriends.

In this pilot film to the TV series, Cannon investigates the murder of a war buddy to clear the man's wife of suspicion in his death.

Over-the-hill gumshoe in Los Angeles seeks to avenge the killing of an old pal, another detective who had gotten himself involved in a case concerning a murdered broad, stolen stamps, a nickel-plated handgun, a cheating dolly, and a kidnapped pussycat.

A divorced mother, her young son and her new boyfriend set out on a road trip through Death Valley and run afoul of a local serial killer.

A Harvard-educated, big-city lawyer moves to a small Arizona town to set up practice. His first case is defending a beautiful socialite accused of murdering her husband. This is the pilot TV movie for what would become the Petrocelli TV series.

A private detective becomes involved in a new cast when her partner's guardian is murdered.

When twenty-four-year-old Jae is released from prison for killing her mother, she returns to her childhood home in small-town Ridgecrest. The desire to go anywhere but there prompts her to agree to join her brother on a road trip out to Death Valley - which results in getting them hopelessly lost in the most stunning, but unforgiving topographical terrain on the planet.

A young woman visits the mysterious property she has inherited. While hoping to learn more about the deaths of her mother and sister, she is haunted by ghosts and so must uncover the truth behind the curse of the house, or become the next victim…

Three generations of women in a Mexican American family experience sexual awakenings over the course of a summer.

After two failed marriages, a disillusioned woman returns to her hometown to start life anew.

High school music teacher Beth Landon puts herself on the line when she invites world-famous country singer Jason Keith to perform at her rural town's Strawberry Festival. A one-hit wonder with a horrible rep for cancelling shows and copping an attitude, Jason isn't what Beth's mother, Eileen, considers a reliable musical act for the beloved festival, which she is proudly hosting with her good friend Ruth. Beth, reigning as Strawberry Queen, attempts to stick up for her favorite singer, but when she finally meets Jason face-to-face, it becomes obvious it won't be easy. But behind Jason's rock star image, he's hiding a secret about his past that could turn his tanking career around. Along with his manager Ray, Beth convinces Jason the festival gig is a great way to revitalize his career and win back his audience appeal. As Jason spends more time with Beth, his attitude starts to fade as they each encourage the other to realize their deepest dreams as talented musicians.

Despite allegations of child sexual abuse against Jody's ex-husband Marcus, the court orders joint custody of their daughter Samantha. Jody faces a choice of turning Samantha over to Marcus, or taking her on the run and risk kidnapping charges. Pursued by both the FBI and a private detective, Jody and Samantha are hunted, fleeing from town to town with the help of an underground network set up to help women and children escape from abuse. Based on a true story. 

Country singer Leana Taylor (Dolly Parton) struggles to escape from her controlling manager/boyfriend Hank (John Terry) as well as her troubled past. After turning to her guitarist (Billy Dean), Leanna finally faces her past, including her estranged mother and the death of her father. Through flashbacks, Leana deals with her past as she attempts to move her life forward and begin a recording career.

On Christmas Eve in the Arizona desert, a middle-aged man (Stephen Baldwin) and an old woman (K Callan) contemplate suicide. But through chance run-ins with strangers and perhaps some divine intervention, they cross paths and change each other's life forever.

Having lived his entire life under the watchful eye of his overbearing mother, Albert must fend for himself when an unidentified automobile suddenly kills her. Free for the first time, Albert quickly responds to the bait dangling in front of him, putting his aggressors against one another in a race for his trust. Using his skills that make him a gifted fisherman, Albert turns the tables on his seemingly doomed fate, capturing the heart of the woman most eager to deceive him, and fooling the man most intent on destroying him.

Denis went into the office Friday morning. Ten minutes later he was fired and his entire world changed. As a man in mid-life crisis, he believed there has to be more to life than this. A stray dog in the park opens his eyes.

A prominent fashion photographer returns to her small town roots at the request of a friend. Surrounded by both memories and loved ones, she must consider a choice between a successful future and rekindling both the love of her life and of her home.

Private detective Sam Ruben's clever plan falls apart with the onset of amnesia. Everyone is trying to kill him and he doesn't know why. The classic film noir milieu now comes to you in the form of an animated feature.

In 1979, a delivery truck makes its way up a lonely southern California highway in a storm, bound for the San Diego Zoo with a deadly tropical rattlesnake as cargo. When the truck suffers a blowout, the driver loses control and hits a tree, shattering the snake's aquarium in the back and the window separating the snake from the driver. The snake slithers into the front of the truck, kills the driver with its bite and then moves off into the forest. Flash forward to 1999. The small southern California town of San Vicente has grown from 6,000 to 30,000, and the rattler, which escaped nearby years ago, has bred. There are now 25,000 of these hybrid rattlesnakes, and they are slowly making their way downhill into the town, attracted by the movement of the blasting as the town paves its way toward progress. Progress, in this case, brings terror, in this tale originally penned by John Carpenter.

Sam, a young blonde from the wrong side of the tracks robs a sports memorabilia store with a friend who gets shot. She flees with the loot, some very rare cards related to baseball. When her car breaks down in a remote corner of California, she meets June, a young woman who dreams of change.

Teenage detective Xander DeWitt is the new kid at Bixler Valley High, and he's there to unravel the biggest mystery of his life- the truth about his missing father. But in order to crack this case, Xander must learn to work with a partner- fearless investigative reporter Kenzie Messina.

Two women private detectives arrive at a dude ranch in time to investigate the murder of their client's philandering husband.

Three close friends who have never left the outskirts of Dublin (much less Ireland) get the journey of a lifetime — a visit to Lourdes, the picturesque French town and place of miracles.

In Blythe, California, a small town in the remote California desert, Ethan Inglebrink is an eccentric, agoraphobic heroin addict who is obsessed with his garden. This dark comedy follows the last days of Ethan's life as he struggles to find purpose at a time when it might be too late to even matter.

Noah McManus is leaving his job with the Boston mayor's office for a dream gig in Washington, D.C. But in a single day, he finds out his new boss in Washington can no longer employ him and that his girlfriend has been cheating on him. Devastated, Noah travels to a quaint Cape Cod town and unexpectedly finds himself at home.

For years Lucy has played Santa to her small town’s community by making their holiday wishes come true. But when Lucy grants a little girl’s wish for a Christmas like she used to have with her mom, she unexpectedly finds her own wishes coming true in life and love.

When a woman learns that her father has passed away, she must confront the past (and the town) she left behind.

Small-town girl Jennifer Bradley moves to San Francisco to eke out a successful career as a photographer, and soon she gets caught up in the sexual revolution that's going on around her and becomes involved with lesbian model Belinda Frazier after her relationships with men prove to be dissatisfying.

Jake and Kyle are two boys who grew up together in rural Arizona. They are best friends, and they begin to take their relationship to the next level when Jake's father moves him and his family away to California. Jake and Kyle can never forget their strong emotional bond, and Jake, overworked and unattached, goes back to his hometown for the first time in 15 years to see Kyle and renew their special friendship.

In a drab desert town, some 200 miles south of Reno, an indecisive man with an unfaithful wife dreams of someday, someday, taking charge of his drifting life.

A ranch owner fires his ranch hands and brings in women to replace them. The owner's daughter wants the male hands back and comes up with a plan to do it.

Appraiser Rachel (Lindsey Shaw) receives the news that her top-notched client wants to buyout a small town’s beloved library to build a resort and spa on the land. Rachel is completely against the idea of leaving NYC but loses the argument to her boss. So Rachel packs her bags and flies out to California. During her first visit to the library she runs into writer, Jake (Derek Theler), who is researching the tale of Captain Black Bart’s hidden treasures for his next novel. With hopes of saving the library, Mrs. Archer (Rachel Ticotin), the librarian, pushes Jake to show Rachel what the library means to the town. Jake’s already got a lot on his plate with his research and taking care of his niece, Hailey (Chiara Aurelia), and nephew, Noah (Max Page), for the summer but he agrees to help out. As Rachel learns what the library means to the community she must find away to save it before it’s too late.

The Saturday matinee crowd got two cowboy stars for the price of one in this lavishly budgeted western serial starring former singing cowboy Dick Foran and Buck Jones. The latter contributed deadpan humor to the proceedings, making Jones perhaps the highest paid B-western comedy relief in history. The two heroes defend the Death Valley borax miners from an outlaw gang headed by Wolf Reade. An extraordinarily strong cast -- for a serial, at least -- supported the stars, headed by Charles Bickford as Reade, Leo Carillo, Lon Chaney, Jr., and silent screen star Monte Blue. Leading lady Jeanne Kelly later changed her name to Jean Brooks and starred in the atmospheric RKO thriller The Seventh Victim (1943). Universal claimed to have spent $1 million on this serial and made sure to get their money's worth by endlessly recycling the action footage in serials and B-westerns for years to come.

When cattle rancher Cheyenne Harry Henderson discovers that rustlers are attacking his herd, he informs Yucca County's sheriff but learns that the lawman is in cahoots with the outlaws.