10 Best Movies Set In Texas, Ranked

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There's something sort of mythical about the state of Texas. It's one of the biggest states in the United States, both in terms of its geographical size and population, but it has an equally big reputation. Movies set in the state tend to be just as big, whether they're the laid-back ensemble comedies of Richard Linklater or one of the many gritty Westerns to which Texas has played host. But which among them is the best film set in Texas? Figuring that out is a pretty gargantuan task given the sheer number of truly great movies set in Texas, but I gave it my honest best. 

That being said, David Byrne's wacky musical comedy "True Stories," Ivan Reitman's farcical "Twins," Brian Robbins's soapy football drama "Varsity Blues," James L. Brooks's family tragicomedy "Terms of Endearment," and David Mackenzie's hard-boiled neo-western "Hell or High Water" all make the honorable mentions list. But the following ten movies are the best that cinema set in Texas has to offer, with the caveat that Linklater only gets one entry, otherwise, this could turn into the "Best Richard Linklater movies list" very quickly. Here are the best of the best from the land of cattle, cowboys, and Fantastic Fest.

Vitagraph Films

In a nursing home in Texas, elderly Sebastian Haff (Bruce Campbell) claims to be the real Elvis Presley, having faked his death. When a resurrected mummy starts stealing the souls of the home's inhabitants, he teams up with another resident who claims to be John F. "Jack" Kennedy (Ossie Davis) despite being Black and utilizing the assistance of a wheelchair. The duo do their best to save everyone's souls, including their own. Despite the hindrances that come with their age, they do their best to prove they're heroes whether they are who they say they are or not.

That's what happens in 2002's "Bubba Ho-Tep," based on the novella of the same name by genre giant Joe R. Lansdale. Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, the man behind the bonkers "Phantasm" horror franchise, "Bubba Ho-Tep" was an almost immediate cult classic due to its wild tone and mix of comedy, horror, and heartfelt introspection about aging. This is a movie where Elvis fights a scarab with a bedpan that will also make you cry, and it's a delightfully weird little Texan treat. 

Fox Searchlight

When people discuss the greatest sports movies of all time, they usually end up forgetting the unusual sport of roller derby, leaving out the excellent and supremely under-appreciated 2009 film "Whip It." Written by real-life roller derby skater Shauna Cross, based on her 2007 novel "Derby Girl," "Whip It" was directed by Drew Barrymore, who stars alongside Elliot Page, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Zoë Bell, Eve, Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden, and Daniel Stern. Page stars as teen Bliss Cavender, whose mother (Harden) tries to fit her into a box, putting her in beauty pageants. Bliss finds herself through the local roller derby circuit, where she takes on the name Babe Ruthless and joins the Hurl Scouts, becoming their new star player. 

"Whip It" is a heartwarming coming-of-age story that embraces not only the underdogs but the idea that winning isn't everything, as the team's rallying cry is frequently "We're number two! We're number two!" Everyone is doing great work (even Jimmy Fallon as the annoying derby emcee), and the camaraderie between the Hurl Scouts feels genuine. There are few better feel-good movies out there, with "Whip It" painting a pretty punk portrait of Austin, Texas, and even the fictional suburb of Bodeen. Anyone who's ever lived in a conservative suburb of a progressive city can identify with what "Whip It" portrays, but there's something distinctly Texan about the movie, from its Austin landmarks to the pig-based diner where Bliss and her best friend (Shawkat) work. It's fun, it's heartfelt, and Barrymore's direction is delightful and assured. Look, "Whip It" just whips, okay?

Sony Pictures Classics

Life in border towns in southern Texas can be a little bit different than the rest of the state, and in "Lone Star," written and directed by John Sayles, one of those small towns must contend with its history and racial violence. After the skeleton of a former Rio County sheriff is found on an old shooting range, Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) begins an investigation that will uncover much more than the cause of death, challenging not only his preconceptions about law enforcement but about the entire county. With flashbacks to his old school lawman father (Matthew McConaughey) and the dead, racist old Sheriff (Kris Kristofferson), we get to see Texas of old and new through the eyes of Deeds' investigation. 

The cast is rounded out by Elizabeth Peña, Frances McDormand, Joe Morton, and Clifton James, giving a real who's-who of mid-'90s indie cinema. "Lone Star" was applauded by critics and audiences alike, and has even been made a part of the Criterion Collection. Unlike "Bubba Ho-Tep" or "Whip It," "Lone Star" is not a fun watch by any means, as it examines some of the most painful parts of Texas history and forces us to contend with the fact that some of those problems still exist today. Despite being nearly 30 years old, "Lone Star" is as relevant today as it was when it was released in 1996. 

Warner Bros.

There are a lot of westerns set in Texas. The state is massive and has a complicated, violent history with some pretty major historic landmarks (the Alamo, anyone?), so it's pretty much perfect for cinematic storytelling. If there's one classic western set in Texas that stands tall among them all, however, it's "The Searchers," the 1956 John Ford film that stars John Wayne as former Confederate soldier Ethan Edwards, who returns home after the war only to enjoy a moment of peace before his brother's family is attacked and most of them are killed, with his nieces getting kidnapped by Comanches. Driven by his hatred of the Native tribes as much as his desire to save the girls, he sets out first to rescue them and then later to kill them if they've been raped by Comanches, as he believes they would have been tainted. 

"The Searchers" puts Wayne in a role unlike any other he ever played, as Ethan is a deeply bigoted, hateful man, mirroring some of his own problematic real-life beliefs. Fully reckoning with "The Searchers" through a modern lens is difficult because of what we know about Wayne and some of the portrayals of Indigenous people aren't great, but it's a mind-blowingly complex portrayal of humanity on the lawless frontier. 

Warner Bros.

George Stevens' 1956 film "Giant" is truly one giant of a film, based on the Edna Ferber novel of the same name and spanning three decades in the life of one Texas family. The film stars Elizabeth Taylor as Leslie, a socialite who marries Texas rancher "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson) and moves to live with him on the family's cattle ranch, Reata. "Giant" follows the Benedicts and a charming ranch hand, Jett Rink (James Dean in his final role), as they go through tragedies and triumphs over 30 years, Like "Lone Star" and "The Searchers," "Giant" deals heavily with race as the Mexican-American characters are treated poorly by many of the white characters and eventually the Benedicts have a half-Latino grandchild, but it also tackles the patriarchy and how the discovery of oil changed Texas forever. 

Director Steven Spielberg called the film "an epic American story" when selecting it for a 4k restoration, and "Giant" truly is an American tale for the ages that shows both the beauty and brutality of one of the nation's most monumental states. Dean, Hudson, and Taylor all give powerful performances and William C. Mellor's cinematography is absolutely stunning, delivering not just an epic American story, but a truly epic Texas tale.

Universal Pictures

I'll be perfectly honest here ... as a non-Texan, most of what I know about the state I learned from watching "King of the Hill," and if there's one thing that beautiful little Mike Judge comedy taught me, it's that Texans love football. There are a couple of great movies about Texas football, like "My All American" and "Varsity Blues," but the 2004 Peter Berg film "Friday Night Lights" is the ultimate champion. Based on the book "Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream" by H. G. Bissinger, the movie follows the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team on the road to the state championship. While based on a true story, the film takes some dramatic license with a few events, but it's still one of the best sports movies of all time and a killer high school film as well. In fact, it was so successful that a spin-off television series was created on NBC, starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. 

The film version of "Friday Night Lights" is a perfect Texas movie because it captures the football obsession of middle America that serves as a light critique while also still being an engaging sports movie. It's great sports cinema at its best, using conventions of both genre and game to get the audience's attention and get hearts pumping. Billy Bob Thornton is great as the team's head coach, but really, football is the star of "Friday Night Lights," and that's how it should be.

20th Century Studios

While many of the great films about Texas are made by Texans, sometimes it takes an outsider's perspective to discover something profound. The 1984 film "Paris, Texas" was written by Texan L.M. Kit Carson and roaming American Sam Shepard, but directed by German Wim Wenders, who injected a great deal of his own sensibilities into this strange neo-Western-slash-road film. "Paris, Texas" follows Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) after he emerges from the desert confused and mute and is picked up by his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell). As Travis seeks to reconnect with his family, they go on a journey across some of the most desolate parts of the country, mirroring the emptiness in their own relationships. The titular "Paris" is a city in Texas where Travis owns a vacant piece of property that he's only ever seen via a photo he carries around. He wants to build a house there and live with his estranged wife and son, Hunter, representing the American dream as plainly as any movie could. 

"Paris, Texas" is Wenders' attempt "to tell a story about America," he said on the film's Criterion release, and Wenders seems to view America as a place with a lot of lost souls looking for connection, which probably isn't too far off. It's a haunting and beautiful film that's inspired all kinds of cinema, even something as unlikely as "It Follows," and Stanton's performance is an all-timer. 

Miramax

If there's a Lone Star state-set movie that's truly excellent but a bigger bummer than "Paris, Texas," it has to be the Coen brothers' "No Country For Old Men," based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. It was a critical and box office phenomenon, reminding audiences that despite getting better known for their comedic work like "The Big Lebowski" and "Fargo," the brothers were just as fantastic at telling compelling dramas. "No Country For Old Men" won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, and Best Adapted Screenplay and has come to be considered by many to be the Coens' best film and one of the best American films of all time. 

"No Country For Old Men" follows Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss, an everyman out hunting pronghorn when he discovers a briefcase full of money and a dying man. He takes the money and leaves, essentially condemning him as hitman Anton Chigurh (Bardem) is hired to hunt down cash. Tommy Lee Jones also stars as a sheriff investigating the dying man and the missing money, providing the film's moral center and reminding us that there's no room left in this world for morality. Just in case you've somehow managed not to see this one, go watch it right now, because the less you know, the better. "No Country For Old Men" is a brutal indictment of America and the death of the American dream, and it's still painfully accurate. 

Universal Pictures

Despite the fact that he was trying to make an "anti-nostalgia movie," Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" is pure 1970s nostalgia, taking anyone who was a teenager in that decade back in time and making it look pretty appealing to the rest of us. Set on the last day of school in Austin, Texas in 1976, the movie follows an ensemble cast of teens as they look to the future and celebrate the end of the school year. The movie features a lot of young actors before they became big stars, including Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason London, Matthew McConaughey, Cole Hauser, Nicky Katt, and Rory Cochrane, and is honestly a blast to watch just to see all of their young faces alone. 

Linklater used a lot of his own life for "Dazed and Confused," and while that landed him in some legal hot water, it made the movie much more authentic. That authenticity is probably why "Dazed and Confused" has become a bonafide cult classic, as it appeals to teenagers and anyone who's ever been a teenager, using a humanistic approach to its characters to remind us that we're all just dazed and confused, really. While most of Linklater's films are set in his home state of Texas and are all pretty darn great, "Dazed and Confused" is his Texan opus, giving everyone the chance to experience the summer of 1976 as if they were there. 

Dark Sky Films

Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is a film unlike any other. Even on this list of exceptional Texas films, with Oscar winners and some of the best indie darlings around, "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" stands apart. It's one of the scariest movies ever made. It's one of the most American movies ever made. And it is entirely, purely Texan, both onscreen and behind-the-scenes. Austin-born Hooper co-wrote the script with Kim Henkel, and he directed and produced the film, working independently and under extremely punishing conditions that led to injuries for nearly the entire cast. In the great tales of independent filmmaking, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is one of the great success stories, as Hooper turned his terrifying vision of rural cannibals into a horrifying American masterpiece. A little bit of Texan stubbornness and grit helped get the movie made, and in the more than five decades since it's become an all-time horror classic. 

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" follows five teenagers on a road trip through Texas after their van runs out of gas and they stumble upon the property of the Hardesty family, who turn out to be sadistic cannibals. Only one of the teens survives, covered in blood as she barely escapes a chainsaw-wielding masked man in the film's unforgettable finale. "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is one of the most controversial and significant horror films of all time despite showing almost no gore at all, and it warns us all of the darkness that hides in the rural wilderness of America, where outsiders dare not tread.