For this Halloween Special, Lyndsey Quinlan, Digital Marketing Associate for the Cardinal Institute, and Jessica Dobrinsky, Staff Writer for the Cardinal Institute, join Garrett Ballengee to discuss horror films set in rural locations. They share their favorites and explore themes of folklore, rural horror, and hicksploitation. They also take a deep dive into what makes a good horror film and look at literary themes, the power of music and lighting in film, human psychology analyzed through film, and some history behind scary movie genres. If you enjoy horror films, and even if you don’t, you’ll enjoy this riveting discussion of top horror films set in rural America.
Follow Jessica & Lyndsey
Follow Jessica Dobrinsky on Twitter https://x.com/jldobrinsky
Follow Lyndsey Quinlan on Twitter https://x.com/its_Lynds_
Films Discussed
- Night of the Hunter
- Night of the Living Dead
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Children of the Corn
- Evil Dead 2
- Sleepy Hollow
- The Blair Witch Project
- The Witch
Additional Resources & Mentions
Nightmare Before Christmas – film
Hicksploitation – theme/trope
Film Noir – genre
Harry Powers – serial killer
West Virginia Penitentiary a.k.a. Moundsville Penitentiary
Horror Film – genre
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms – Hymn
Once Upon a Time There Was a Pretty Fly – Song
White Zombie – film
Slasher – genre
Head Cheese – food
Video nasty – type of film
Stephen King – author
Carrie – novel
Comedy Horror – genre
The Evil Dead – film
Necronomicon Ex Mortis – fictional book from a film
Ash vs. Evil Dead – TV show
Sam Raimi – film director
Bruce Campbell – actor and producer
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – book
Atmospheric Horror – genre
Found footage – film technique