Here at Savanah Sip N’ Cycle, we absolutely LOVE Halloween and every other day of October leading up to it. We can’t help it really, being based in one of America’s most haunted cities, you just sort of learn to live alongside the local haunts and get into it. Savannah, Georgia is known for being the type of city you visit specifically to go on spooky tours through the squares, cemeteries and hotels, hoping to spot your own version of a ghost story to tell. From Bonaventure and Colonial Cemetery to Anna at the 17 Hundred and 90 Inn, there is a paranormal tale to be told in most buildings that have been a part of Savannah’s History. Because of our collective love as a city for all that is skeptical and creepy, you know there’s bound to be a horror movie buff or two in the area.
So, in honor of Halloween and our love for the scary, here is a list of “Horror” films that were filmed at least somewhat in Georgia. Try and make it through the entire watch list, if you dare….
Let us know on Facebook or Instagram if you’ve seen any of these flicks or if there was a movie that we should have included. Happy Halloween from us at Savannah Sip N’ Cycle!
Scream 2
81% 🍅
One of the genre’s defining series, horror franchise Scream has spanned 4 installments (and one MTV spinoff) since the late 90’s, with a 5th is set to be released in January 2021. While most of Scream 2’s filming did take place in California, there were instances when Atlanta and Decatur served as college backdrops in the story. Agnes Scott College in Decatur and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta were the real locations used to portray the fictional “Windsor College” written to be in the state of Ohio, where Sidney and her friends attend school. Most quickly recognized would be the front gazebo where Sidney and Dewy have their first conversation, is located at Agnes Scott College.
Halloween II
21% 🍅
Nobody makes a horror movie quite like Rob Zombie, and for Halloween II, the 2009 adaptation, the same can still be said about his version of the classic series starring Michael Myers. Filmed in Atlanta because the area still actively had just enough snow falling to achieve a gritty aesthetic that Zombie wanted, this flick covers a large part of Georgia from beginning to end. Scenes in Halloween II were shot throughout Buckhead, Covington, Newborn, Oxford, Decatur, Madison and Farrar Georgia. Who knew that Georgia could appear so much like a small town in Illinois? Landmarks like “Kuter’s Cage” barber shop and “Myer’s House” seen in the film can still be visited now.
Zombieland & Zombieland: Double Tap
89% 🍅 & 68% 🍅
When the original Zombieland premiered in 2009 (which was apparently a great year for the horror film genre) Georgia natives were able to immediately notice the theme park being used for those major movie plot points. Wild Adventures is a smaller theme park, located about 5 miles south of Valdosta, Georgia that is also known for housing a zoo and water park. Scenes including the main character fighting for his life against the undead took place in Downtown Atlanta, Bill Murray’s fictional home (set to appear in Beverly Hills) was actually shot in Buckhead and “Blaine’s Grocery” was really just a vacant building about 20 miles away from Atlanta. Though the group of survivors appear to make their grand trek across the country, most of the production did take place in Atlanta and surrounding areas.
Ten years after the release of Zombieland to an audience that had been asking for a sequel since that premiere, prayers were answered in the form of Zombieland: Double Tap, which was once again filmed throughout Georgia. Atlanta, Jackson, Newnan and Macon Georgia served as backdrops for this epic continuation of an already cherished series. Look towards Newnan’s downtown area at the Coweta County Courthouse, which was featured in both films and even used in the popular zombie series The Walking Dead. While most of what you see in both movies was created for filming, there are still plenty of spots in Georgia that are still active and available for fans to explore.
The Crazies
70% 🍅
Within the remarkably niche genre of Horror, there is truly no limit to how many times someone is allowed to remake an original idea (Carrie 1 2 and 3, anyone?) and The Crazies is another example of how recycling old concepts with new technology can be just as entertaining, even if they aren’t exactly better than the earliest version. The Crazies was initially created in 1973 and filmed in Pennsylvania. By 2010, the movie had been remade using a combination of sets in Iowa and Central Georgia. From the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, to Peach County High School in Fort Valley, bloggers have said time and again that when The Crazies invaded Georgia for filming, they made their way around. Even “The Fountain” car wash in Macon can be spotted while enjoying this remake.
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One Missed Call
0% 🍅
Atlanta seems to have a knack for being able to adhere to the needs of any horror movie style backdrop. With the 2008 remake of Japanese film One Missed Call (2003), the entire movie was filmed in our very own Atlanta, Georgia. With the Georgia Institute of Technology and areas of Midtown used to set the scene for One Missed Call, tourists and fans are still able to find locations that are recognizable from this flick. Though this remake was actually awarded the “Moldy Tomato” (worst reviewed film) by Rotten Tomatoes in 2008, watching it once is still worth your time just to point out Peachtree street once you recognize it. Ten extra cool points to whoever has attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and can identify parts of the sets that they’ve walked on throughout the movie. While the overall film was just really not that great, the idea behind this story was fascinating. Cheers to hoping that some brilliant director decides to pull a Carrie and remake this remake, I’d love to see what someone like M. Night Shymalan would do with the same or a similar plot line.
Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part VI
50% 🍅
Second longest running horror series to Halloween (13 total) as one of 12 installments, Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part VI was shot in Covington, Georgia along with Camp Daniel Morgan, a local vacationing spot right outside of the city limits. Covington is a beautiful city near Atlanta that has been used in many films over the years, even the Dukes of Hazard. While the bulk of filming was done in Covington, other towns used in production do include Madison and Rutledge, Georgia as well.
Covington locals would have a hard time missing all of the sets featured in this movie. From the Sheriff’s office, local cemetery and summer camp (that is still standing and functional) the filmmakers involved used as much of the area as they could. You’d be hard pressed to not recognize at least one scene from Jason Lives during a visit to Covington. Something that stands out about this particular “Jason” movie has to be that there is no nudity in the entire film. That can’t be said for the other 11 stories, or most horror movies, really. Maybe that’s why this one was not as successful as the others..
Sleepaway Camp II & S.C. III: Teenage Wasteland
55% 🍅 & 13% 🍅
Only the true, longtime horror fans know what’s up with the entire Sleepaway Camp series. A slasher/horror production that began in 1983, only to end up with six installments from one through reunion, Sleepaway Camp is one of those old-school, cheesy slashers that gets dusted off once a year for the inevitable Halloween movie marathon.
Both Sleepaway Camp II and III were filmed at the abandoned Camp Younts in Waco, Georgia, portraying the fictional “Camp Rolling Hills” and “Camp New Horizons” backdrop roles. While the property has seen become privately owned, most of the original buildings have since been demolished. But, back in 2014, Adam The Woo made some noise on YouTube with his exploration video of the original camp buildings that were still around at the time. If you’re interested in seeing a detailed account of the area prior to it’s timely demise, the video is worth checking out.
Child’s Play III
29% 🍅
Halloween movie madness season just is not complete without the addition of watching at least one installment of the Child’s Play series. As a kid, we’d all gather around the box television and get the crap scared out of us by Chucky’s antics. Don’t judge too harshly, haunted dolls are scary when you’re still a kid. There’s not much out in the world that terrifies me quite like an evil doll, even one who’s so corny, like Chucky. Though there was only one scene out of Child’s Play III, created in Atlanta on Peachtree Street, while most other footage was shot at a military academy in Missouri but that won’t stop us from getting excited about our one scene and telling everyone about it. Before the Bride of Chucky, was Child’s Play III, just another one of seven in the story. The Horror movie genre just love remakes and sequels, and we love the creators for that. Not only would I not be surprised to find that another Chucky film was in the works, I’d be pretty excited too. With horror/slasher films, there is really no limit to how many times a movie can be continued, redone or prefaced.
Honorable Mention
Throughout the last ten years or so, horror themed television shows have really taken over a section of mainstream pop culture. We could not let this article go on without at least mentioning that Stranger Things and The Walking Dead have been filmed in Georgia for almost twenty total seasons between the two shows. You know we southerners love to name drop any chance we can, showing off that home state pride. Locals in the Atlanta area are known for bragging about having played an extra “walker” during filming of The Walking Dead, something that is still a wicked great idea.
Conclusion
At Savannah Sip N’ Cycle, we care so much about what makes Georgia such an eclectic place to visit or live and are passionate about delivering content to you that is interesting and informative. Even though Savannah has a lot to offer in the real world ghost story realm, the rest of Georgia is understandably a favorite for horror genre producers, television or cinema. For a list of not all scary movies filmed in just Savannah, you may want to refer back to our prior piece Savannah: Hollywood of the Southest to learn more about the productions that have taken place within the city. We have endured a fair bit of film crews here in Savannah, and are more patient folks because of that.
(Pro Tip for those taking a tour on the #PartyBike or a Pedicab: Ask your host about what living in Savannah during movie filming can be like as a local, everyone has their own 100% original version of that answer)
