Three of the Best: Creepy Locations
Distinct settings are important in many genres of film. Horror is no exception. Actually, it’s one of the strongest – Dracula and Transylvania, Regan and that wealthy home, Swamp Thing and…err…that swamp. Here are three classic locations that defined the film just as much as the killers.
The Woods (Wolfman, 1941)
Looking back, I actually feel this monster flick has not aged the best. I’m not referring to the production values or acting which are great, but rather the wolfman itself as it always struck me as more man than animal. Lon Chaney Jr moving around in that pseudo-athletic way did not exactly get the hairs standing on end. The smoky woods he goes through however are what make those scenes so memorable. Those leafless, dark branches still look great. Worst spot ever for a picnic.
Kingsland, Texas (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974)
Leatherface and his family of freaks would be disturbing in any film but the fact the horror unfolded in very rural Kingsland, Texas is what made it that much more effective. Many films play on the tension they generate with potential rescuers being just out of earshot while something terrible occurs. TCM was different. It was the fact you knew there was no chance of them being heard because they were in the middle of nowhere, and so you could say this horror had a distinct air of hopelessness.
The Mall (Dawn of The Dead, 1978)
The huge shopping mall that was used in George A. Romero’s legendary sequel was unique for many reasons, one of which being it was both fun and frightening. The main characters seemed to go through the kind of emotional roller coaster many would in an empty shipping mall, loading up on treats, fooling about with stuff you’d never buy. But all this was just as expertly contrasted with the fact it could easily make you lose focus, take too many liberties with the walking dead and end up getting eaten, like that dipshit biker near the end who thought it might be a good idea to check his blood pressure while surrounded!
