[Nerdspresso] Terror in the Tar Heel State

Before I wax poetic about filmmaking in the great state of North Carolina, let me share a little bit about my own experiences in the movie business. I graduated from a small liberal arts college with a creative writing degree in 1991 and returned home to make my fortune in the worlds of film and fiction. I was going to be a novelist, a screenwriter, and a first-rate raconteur. I pitched my tent in my old hometown with an eye on Hollywood success. 

Good thing I lived in Orlando, Florida. Yeah, why would you go to Los Angeles or New York where there was solid base of filmmaking? No, go back to your mom and dad’s house and try to get a gig on the new Leave It to Beaver show. I’m sure every future Oscar winner and Pulitzer Prize champion started on a similar path. O-Town is always the first stop on the road to stardom, right? I was always clever, just not very bright.

In my defense, Florida was slowly emerging as a production hub in the early ’90’s so it wasn’t a completely wackadoo idea. I labored in the farm leagues of film production for about two years with minimal success. I contributed to one TV special, an incomplete indie film, and several industrial videos. If you were ever mesmerized by the video playing in the waiting room of the Volusia County ER in 1993, you bore witness to my genius. I hope I made your wait for that penicillin shot so much more worth it.  

What does all this have to do with horror movies made in North Carolina? Hang on, I’m getting there. Let me sprinkle some fairy dust first. Weave a narrative. I’m slowly luring you in. We’re getting closer to movies about monsters in the mountains, trust me, but I need to tell you how I learned that they were making movies in the Tar Heel State. It all begins with my friend who would sleep in his car. 

Everyone in my college film class had been touting O-Town as Hollywood East, but I was soon feeling like I’d been severely misinformed. I tried unsuccessfully to get gigs on Superboy and the aforementioned Still the Beaver. Alas, I was even deemed unqualified to fetch snacks for a middle-aged Jerry Mathers. I was beginning to think that maybe Orlando was not the hotbed of cinema that I was led to believe. 

But before I actually moved somewhere that was a functioning center of film production, I met a guy who was grinding it out in the trenches. But unlike me, he was good at it. He kept working. Like a nomad, my buddy went from job to job, amassing film credits and making connections, which always led him to another gig. But to do that, he had to keep moving. He went from working on game shows in Orlando to TV movies in Miami to horror flicks in North Carolina. 

There were obvious tradeoffs for his fledgling success. He slept in his car, lived off craft services, and showered intermittently, but he got to work with Dennis Quaid (You know from InnerSpace and The Big Easy) and met the guy who made Bruce Willis a star in that Moonlighting show. My buddy opined that you had to follow the work and live the hobo life until the day you got offered jobs instead of begging for them.

And he said they were making movies in North Carolina. That sounded good to me. I was slugging it out trying to pour goo on Swamp Thing for a terrible cable TV series. It would be cool to work on an actual motion picture. So did I pack up and head up I-95 to turn my motion picture dreams into a filmmaking reality? Heck no, I was living rent-free in the suburbs and working retail in between PA gigs. Something was bound to happen here, right? Sooner or later, the mountain had to come to Mohammad. 

So my film bro went on to schlep it out on productions from Wilmington to Raleigh-Durham while I stayed put in the Sunshine State. I never got to work on a real motion picture, but I did slave away for a few months for a low-rent production company that had a deal with Jerry Lewis. They were going to make a madcap comedy about the timeshare industry, but it fell apart when the producers ticked him off. Jerry left town and all the money went with him. That’s showbiz, kids.

So I ended my movie career and took a different path. I’m not complaining because it led me to you fine folks, but I never forgot that they were making movies in NC. The Tar Heel State offers a wide variety of locations to entice filmmakers. You can go from city to country in a matter of minutes. And you can dress up these spots to look like New England or New York with just a little imagination and elbow grease. Plus, the local government is pretty generous with some incentives and it’s way cheaper than shooting in LA or NYC. And the people sure are nice. 

Over the past 30 years or so, North Carolina has built a pretty respectable filmography. There’ve been numerous dramas, thrillers, comedies and yes, even horror movies lensed in this state known for its beauty, industry, and history. Now that we are creeping toward All Hallow’s Eve, let’s spend some time celebrating those spooky flicks that called NC home (or were at least filmed there). We’ll take a peek at a few of the scary movies made in this region. 

Read on, if you dare, y’all.

The Conjuring (2013)

This haunted house flick kicked off a whole series of movies, loosely based on the exploits of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.  It was set in Rhode Island, but a lot of the movie was filmed in Wilmington. Directed by James Wan, this one will give you the creeps. They made at least four of these Conjuring movies about the Warrens, played by Patrick Wilson (Watchmen and Aquaman) and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air and The Departed), which makes me think that Ed and Lorraine must have really loved their jobs or just had terrible luck. 

The Descent (2005)

A group of female spelunkers try to reconnect after a personal tragedy by going on a girls’ trip to explore a series of underground caves. I think they should have just gone to the spa for a seaweed wrap and a nice massage. Once deeply immersed, they realize that they are not alone. There’s no way this trip ends on a good note. Much mayhem ensues. Filmed in the Appalachian mountains, director Neil Marshall delivers a righteous scare fest, full of claustropobic thrills and chills. It’s an underrated frightener and a worthy followup to Marshall’s other horror flick, a very cool werewolf movie called Dog Soliders. Check them both out.  

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) 

Remember when Scream hit big so every studio rushed to make a horror movie with comely young stars being stalked by mysterious baddies? Here’s one of those ripoffs, based on a YA thriller about a group of teens pursued by a creep dressed like the Gorton’s fisherman. It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill thriller as the cuties, including Jennifer Love Hewitt (TV’s The Ghost Whisperer) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV’s Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), experience jump scares and paranoid creepy vibes. You’ve seen this done better elsewhere. Set in a coastal town, it was shot in parts of Southport and Durham, including the Duke University campus. 

Evil Dead II (1987) 

One of the most balls-out horror movies ever filmed in North Carolina (or anywhere). It’s so over-the-top that you’ll laugh when you’re not being grossed out and terrified. It’s a pseudo-sequel/remake of the first Evil Dead with friends at a remote cabin in the woods unwittingly unleashing a demonic presence. Legendary director Sam Raimi (A Simple Plan and the Toby Maguire Spider-man movies) made this cult classic in Wadesboro starring his buddy, the equally legendary Bruce Campbell. It was considered so intense at the time, ushers were checking IDs at the door to make sure no one under 17 got in. I know because I was there. 

Cabin Fever (2002) 

Another horror movie full of gross-out effects featuring a group of friends encountering some really terrible stuff while staying at a secluded cabin in the woods. Are you noticing a trend, North Carolina? The directorial debut of Eli Roth (Hostel and The Green Inferno), this flick was shot in western North Carolina with a fresh faced pack of talent, including Rider Strong (TV’s Boy Meets World) and Jordan Ladd (Death Proof and Club Dread). The kiddos go out for a romp in the woods and ultimately endure a flesh-eating virus while trying to evade crazed backwoods locals. This one is not for the faint of heart (or stomach). 

Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)

This horror comedy boasts multiple locations in North Carolina, including Wilmington, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing. The most low-rent feature on this list, this flick stars the late Paul Walker (the Fast & Furious movies) and Denise Richards (Starship Troopers and Wild Things). They are lovestruck teens that get involved in a bizarre set of circumstances when the guy’s brain is transplanted into an animatronic dinosaur by mad scientist Terry Kiser (Six Pack and Weekend at Bernie’s). I’m not making this up. This movie was directed by Stewart Raffill, who also made Mannequin 2, The Ice Pirates, and Mac and Me. He’s like the Steven Spielberg of crap.

Going to Carolina in My Mind (or Nightmares, You Know, Whatever)

North Carolina, you certainly have what it takes to make horror feel at home. From coastal towns to spooky forests, foreboding mountains, and secluded cabins, you offer everything needed to inspire a creepy mood and paranoid atmosphere. And judging by the list above, there’s definitely a surplus of nightmare fuel to be had in the Tar Heel State. You have hosted a bunch of flicks about supernatural forces enjoying that Smoky Mountain vibe. So many that it makes me wonder if maybe all those demons just can’t get enough of your delicious barbecue. Either way, no judgment.

You do you, North Carolina.