See that innocent looking sign in the photo (by NightRPStar via flickr - creative commons) above? That's the 1960 'Psycho' Bates motel set sign at Universal Studios Hollywood - The movie which has provided inspiration to countless motel based movies in the last 49 years.

The ingredients for a motel movie remains pretty much the same - horror and/or crime, sex, violence, losers and misfits, all set in a rundown motel falling apart at the seams, having been left behind by progress and time. Motel movies are modern versions of the old Western movies, which were set inside pubs and Inns, with all sorts of nasty business going on in floors above.

Interesting thing is that while most other movies are largely shot on studio sets in Hollywood and New York, with characters based in one of the big cities, motel movies are rarely set in New York or Los Angeles motels. It seems to work better if the motel location is shown to be in the Deep South, or at least in way-out small towns in the middle of nowhere. And it works even better if they actually go out there, instead of filming it on a set.

Listed below are some of the more famous and/or latest, movies where the motel/motels are central to the storyline.

Seen Spiderman? All the parts? Think Tobey Maguire did a good job? Or maybe it was just the story and the direction and special effects that worked so well? If you're not sure, watch Joyride, and you'll have your answer. I'm not a professional film critic, but I know rubbish when I see it.

Tobey Maguire is your typical loser, son of a motel owner, who's wasting his life drinking beer poolside with another loser kid (Wilson Cruz). Throw in a professional assasin (Christina Zilber) as a motel guest - who just happens to be a hot, sexy babe. Add another young nubile girl (Amy Hathaway) who's being pimped out in a room in the motel by her own father, and it has all the makings of the classic motel movie.

Only, it's atrociously performed, and I wouldn't watch it again even if you paid me to do it. And if the casting director for the first Spiderman movie had seen Joyride, well...

In Management, Jennifer Aniston finally gets a chance to be the 'star', instead of just a sweet looking potted plant. The movie revolves around her career as a traveling saleswoman who peddles crappy art to motels.

She stumbles on to Steve Zahn, who's the loser son to the owners of one of the crappiest motels in Arizona. To make a long story short, they have a fling in the motel, and when she leaves, Steve Zahn trails her around to motels all over the country.

Is it that big a deal? Not really, but I can't think of a single other movie starring Aniston where she has a better role. So if you're a Jennifer Aniston fan, then it's worth the ticket price. On a side note, the motels featured in Management were mostly filmed at a few locations in Oregon.

There's a ton of other 'motel movies' and TV shows like Motel Hell, Niagara Motel, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels, Sunset Motel, Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel, Go-Go Motel, Motel Confidential, Heartbreak Motel and so on and so forth. If you're a sucker for motel movie punishment, knock yourself out.