The Creepiest Film Set You'll Drive Past in Morocco (and Probably Stop At)

One of the best things about having your own vehicle in Morocco is that you can just stop. No tour schedule, no driver tapping the steering wheel, no group waiting on a coach. When something catches your eye, you pull over.

That's exactly what happened on the N10, roughly halfway between Taroudant and Skoura, when we spotted the Hills Have Eyes gas station sitting alone in the desert like it had always been there and always would be.

Ouarzazate has a well-earned reputation as a filming destination. The light is extraordinarily consistent year-round, which makes it practical in a way most locations aren't. Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, the new Christopher Nolan film Odyssey, among many others. When we visited Aït Benhaddou a few days before this, they were already building out sections of what would become the Gladiator 2 set. Film infrastructure is just part of the landscape here.

But most of what you see are partial sets, half-built structures, things that only make sense on screen. The Hills Have Eyes gas station is different. It's complete. Built for the 2006 remake, it looks like a real, functioning, long-abandoned American desert stop. Which is exactly what makes it unsettling.

We pulled in and there was one other family wandering around. That was it. The heat in September is serious, and the silence out there is the kind that has texture. Squeaking signs. A chain catching the breeze somewhere. Old cars rusting in the lot with no explanation. We spent about twenty minutes poking around and getting photos, and honestly that was the right amount of time. It's not a place you need to linger. It does its job quickly.

We put together a short video there if you want a better sense of the atmosphere before you decide whether to stop. Watch our reel from the gas station to get a feel for the place.

Jax hadn't seen the film. If you have seen it, you'll know why that's probably for the best. He was more interested in the logistics of how they got the cars out there than in why any of it existed, which felt very on-brand for him.

There's a man who sits near the entrance with a small basket. No ticket, no entrance fee, no pressure. We had a few dirhams loose in the car and left them. Felt like the right thing.