Pennsylvania has been a pretty popular location for many films over the years, most notably with the Rocky series. One genre in particular that has seen a lot of representation when it comes to Pennsylvania is horror. Thanks to directors like M. Night Shyamalan, as well as iconic horror movies from the 50s and 60s, there have been several depictions of the more ghoulish and freaky side of the Independence State, from blobs to zombies to ghosts. There are too many spooky Pennsylvania-set films, so here are just a few noteworthy examples.
1. The Blob (1958): Focusing on a growing, shapeless, alien entity crashing from outer space all the way to a suburban Pennsylvania neighborhood inside a meteorite, The Blob, which was filmed in and around Valley Forge, is perhaps most notable for being the film debut of Steve McQueen, who would later be known as “The King of Cool” and became one of the biggest movie stars of the 1960s and 1970s, starring in films like The Sand Pebbles, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Magnificent Seven, and The Towering Inferno.
The effects are certainly dated, and its plot is rather corny by today’s standards, but there’s a lot to like in the film. Even in his debut role, it’s obvious why Steve McQueen was going to be a future star, and the B-movie tone and atmosphere gives the film a quirk that makes the film fun. Also, due to the film’s plot about teens trying to convince close-minded adults that there’s a monster in their town, and being dismissed as pranksters, there’s an interesting generation gap message found in The Blob that makes it stand out from other cheesy sci-fi B movie fare that was being released at the time.
The Blob may not have aged like wine, but there’s still plenty of qualities to be found that makes it worth at least one viewing. The fact that it is currently in the prestigious Criterion Collection says quite a lot about this movie.
2. Night of the Living Dead (1968): What makes this classic, filmed in Evans City, so interesting is how the film birthed the idea of the modern-day zombie. While the term “zombie” has been around for centuries, and in fact is not uttered even once in the film, Night of the Living Dead, directed by the late horror legend George A. Romero, features creatures that are mindless re-animated corpses that infect and eat the bodies and organs of the living. This kind of depiction would be recreated several times, both through multiple sequels to Night, including Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, as well as multiple works featuring Romero-like zombies, the most recent examples being World War Z and The Walking Dead.
As for the film itself, even 50 years later, it still holds up. Focusing on a group of survivors trapped in a farmhouse for a night, Night of the Living Dead is able to really put the viewer into the claustrophobic and fearful mindset of the protagonists, while the monsters themselves are still quite creepy and terrifying. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to see the movie back in 1968 when zombies were nowhere near as famous as they are now. The film was also noteworthy for having a black protagonist with Ben, played by Duane Jones. At the time, American films, especially horror films, very rarely had leading black protagonists in them, which made the film all the more special when it came out. In many respects, Night of the Living Dead is still somewhat of an anomaly in that regard.
Night of the Living Dead is in the public domain, which means it’s available for free viewing online on various websites. At this point, there’s practically no reason not to check the film out.
3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards, The Silence of the Lambs, based on the Thomas Harris novel of the same name, is the first and, so far, only horror film to win the most prestigious prize, and for good reason. Filmed in Pittsburgh, this film sees FBI agent Clarice Starling and her seeking advice from an imprisoned cannibal and serial killer Hannibal Lecter to find and apprehend another dangerous serial killer named Buffalo Bill.
The film’s depiction of Buffalo Bill hasn’t aged very well, as his character has a lot of homophobic and transphobic undertones, but what really makes the film so memorable comes to the lead performances of Starling and Lecter, as well as the direction from the late Jonathan Demme. Jodie Foster as the smart and no-nonsense Starling is phenomenal, delivering perhaps the best performance in her career. Anthony Hopkins as Lecter is also fantastic. He’s delectably evil and menacing, and although he does not appear in the movie for very long, his runtime clocking in at around 15 or 20 minutes, the viewer always senses and feels his presence in every moment, a sign of a truly great performance. Add on some impeccable sequences and staging from Demme, and it’s clear why audiences love it.
The film would later receive the 2001 sequel Hannibal, two prequels entitled Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising, as well as an NBC series also named Hannibal that lasted three seasons. Almost all of them have their qualities, but none have quite earned the same legacy that Lambs has garnered, and it continues to be a landmark for the horror genre.
4. The Sixth Sense (1999): While this wasn’t the first film he directed, The Sixth Sense, which was filmed in Philadelphia, was the film that put famous director M. Night Shyamalan on the map. Focusing on a child psychologist trying to help a boy who can see and talk to the dead, the film is perhaps best known for its iconic twist ending. Without giving it away, The Sixth Sense’s conclusion absolutely shocked general audiences back in 1999, and very quickly became a trademark for Shyamalan, as just about every film of his features a twist that completely breaks the audience’s previous conceptions of the picture.
Of course, there’s still plenty more to like about the film. Bruce Willis as the psychologist was fantastic, and Toni Collette as the boy’s worrying mother was phenomenal. However, the real star of the show was a young Haley Joel Osment. Eleven years old at the time, Osment single-handedly carried the film, delivering an emotionally devastating yet surprisingly likable performance, making him one of the most popular child actors at the time. Add on a great score from James Newton Howard, and Shyamalan’s unique direction, and the film managed to be the highest-grossing horror movie of all time and held that record for 18 years until 2017’s It broke box office records.
5. The Village (2004): The Sixth Sense made Shyamalan into a major director powerhouse, and since then, all of his films have been produced and shot in Pennsylvania in some way, including 2000’s Unbreakable, 2002’s Signs, and last year’s Split. One of the more lesser-known Shyamalan productions was The Village, which depicts a 19th century Pennsylvania village whose inhabitants live in fear of the woods and the creatures that seem to dwell there.
Filmed in Chadds Ford, the film was initially polarizing to both critics and audiences and was considered a step down from other Shyamalan productions released before it. And while it certainly has its problems, most notably with its twist being a little bit too ridiculous, there’s still plenty to like about the film. Not only is its direction and visuals strong, thanks to Shyamalan and cinematographer Roger Deakins, the film delivers three powerhouse performances from Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix and Adrien Brody, alongside a supporting cast featuring the likes of William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver and Brendan Gleeson. The Village also features a lot of interesting ideas on fear of the unknown and village leaders attempting to maintain the status quo through their own unique motives, which is still relevant today.
While its twist doesn’t quite work all the way, the film still has a pretty unique, almost disturbing final few minutes with a somewhat solid execution that could have been awful within the wrong hands. It’s definitely an underappreciated flick that deserves better.
These are only just a handful of films. There are also films like Sinister, Signs, The Crazies, and plenty more. It only goes to show how this state can be the perfect backdrop for some spooky features.
