Ep. 086: Top Horror Films Set in Rural America

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

1. Night of the Hunter
2. Night of the Living Dead
3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4. Children of the Corn
5. Evil Dead 2 
6. Sleepy Hollow
7. The Blair Witch Project
8. 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

Flying Ointment

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Donate, Newsletter