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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Sinister Small Towns

The small town has become emblematic of traditional values and the quiet life (particularly in US cinema). Some films show villagers as backward and behind the times, while in other portrayals, they are seen as leading a simple, untroubled life and/or more attuned to the land than city dwellers. In genre material, there is also the frequent ongoing feeling that something is not quite right in this world.

In genre cinema, small towns can be at siege from outside forces – alien invaders, Body Snatchers, vampires or zombies. More disquietingly, the threat can often come from within – that there is a secret cabal in the community that has been replaced by aliens, is being mind controlled or wants to replace their wives with androids. Or else that the townspeople are all part of a Satanic coven or that they guard some secret rite or ritual to protect themselves, maintain the harvest or grant them immortality.

A frequent plot in these films is where someone innocently strays into town and then finds that for whatever reason they are being prevented from leaving.


Abattoir (2016)

9 December 201628 February 2021

Rating: ★

Sinister Small Town/Collector of Murder Rooms

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Actors: Jessica Lowndes, Joe Anderson, Dayton Callie, Lin Shaye, …
Category: Horror

Amityville Playhouse (2015)

9 January 20259 January 2025

Rating: ★½

Haunted Theatre

Director: John R. Walker
Actors: Monèle LeStrat, Linden Baker, Eva Kwok, Logan Russell, …
Category: Horror

Bells of Innocence (2003)

1 January 20251 January 2025

Rating: ★½

Christian Film/Sinister Small Town

Director: Alin Bijan
Actors: Mike Norris, David A.R. White, Chuck Norris, Carey Scott, …
Category: Fantasy

Beneath Still Waters (2005)

28 October 202122 December 2023

Rating: ★★

Sunken Town/Supernatural Retribution

Director: Brian Yuzna
Actors: Michael McKell, Raquel Moreño, Charlotte Salt, Patrick Gordon, …
Category: Horror

Black Noon (1971)

18 July 201720 August 2020

Rating: ★★

Horror Western/Sinister Town Where No-One Can Leave

Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Actors: Roy Thinnes, Yvette Mimieux, Ray Milland, Lyn Loring, …
Category: Horror

Black River (2001)

19 June 20107 August 2024

Rating: ★★★

Perfect Town Where Nobody Can Ever Leave

Director: Jeff Bleckner
Actors: Jay Mohr, Lisa Edelstein, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ann Cusack, …
Category: Science Fiction

Brotherhood of Satan (1971)

6 February 200110 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Town of Satanists

Director: Bernard McEveety
Actors: Strother Marin, L.Q. Jones, Charles Bateman, Alvy Moore, …
Category: Horror

Cannibal Girls (1973)

15 August 201020 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Cannibal Hotel

Director: Ivan Reitman
Actors: Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin
Category: Horror

The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

14 November 200924 March 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Strange Town Based Around Car Crashes

Director: Peter Weir
Actors: Terry Camilleri, John Meillon, Melissa Jaffer, Chris Haywood, …
Category: Science Fiction

Children of the Corn (1984)

5 June 200018 July 2023

Rating: ★

Pagan Child Cult/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Fritz Kiersch
Actors: Linda Hamilton, Peter Horton, Courtney Gains, Robby Kiger, …
Category: Horror

Children of the Corn (2009)

21 March 201025 July 2023

Rating: ★★½

Pagan Child Cult/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Donald P. Borchers
Actors: David Anders, Kandyse McClure, Preston Bailey, Alexa Nikolas
Category: Horror

Children of the Corn (2020)

8 October 202311 October 2024

Rating: 0­

Pagan Child Cult

Director: Kurt Wimmer
Actors: Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey, Bruce Spence, …
Category: Horror

Children of the Night (1991)

11 May 199922 March 2023

Rating: ★★

Town of Vampires

Director: Tony Randel
Actors: Peter DeLuise, Ami Dolenz, Karen Black, Garrett Morris
Category: Horror

Clown in a Cornfield (2025)

20 June 202520 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Killer Clowns

Director: Eli Craig
Actors: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, …
Category: Horror

Dead & Buried (1981)

9 April 200129 June 2020

Rating: ★★

Town of Zombies

Director: Gary Sherman
Actors: James Farentino, Jack Albertson, Melody Anderson, Christopher Allport, …
Category: Horror

Don’t Speak (2015)

29 August 201923 April 2020

Rating: ★

Village Where Anyone Who Makes a Noise is Killed

Director: Amadeu Artasona
Actors: Melina Matthews, Benjamin Nathan-Serio, Sara Gil, Amy Gwilliam, …
Category: Horror

Don’t Worry Darling (2022)

5 November 20226 July 2024

Rating: ★★

Sinister Utopian Town

Director: Olivia Wilde
Actors: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Dustwalker (2019)

6 September 202017 May 2022

Rating: ★★

Aliens Create Zombies in the Australian Outback

Director: Sandra Sciberras
Actors: Jolene Anderson, Stef Dawson, Richard Davies, Cassandra McGrath, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Emeryville Experiments (2016)

2 January 201817 October 2023

Rating: 0­

Sinister Town of Former Asylum Inmates

Director: Pritesh N. Chheda
Actors: Shayla Bagir, Mark Reninga, Jacob Bitzer, Nardeep Khurmi, …
Category: Horror

Evil Altar (1988)

12 September 202412 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Town in Thrall to a Satanist

Director: Jim Winburn
Actors: William Smith, Pepper Martin, Robert Z'dar, David Campbell
Category: Horror

Feed the Gods (2014)

4 November 201417 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Sinister Small Town/Bigfoot

Director: Braden Croft
Actors: Tyler Johnston, Shawn Roberts, Emily Tennant, Britt Irvin, …
Category: Horror

Fertilize the Blaspheming Bombshell! (1992)

21 May 202016 June 2022

Rating: ½

Town of Satanists

Director: Jeff Hatchcock
Actors: Sheila Caan, Bo Hopkins, Rick Hill, Robert Tessier
Category: Horror

Get Out (2017)

6 May 20173 September 2022

Rating: ★★★

Sinister Small Town/Racial Mind Control

Director: Jordan Peele
Actors: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, …
Category: Horror

Ghosts of the Ozarks (2021)

5 August 20225 August 2022

Rating: ★★★

19th Century Village Beset by Mysterious Monsters

Director: Matt Glass, Jordan Wayne Long
Actors: Thomas Hobson, David Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, Phil Morris, …
Category: Horror

Happy Hunting (2017)

13 May 202113 May 2021

Rating: ★★★

Town That Hunts the Socially Worthless

Director: Joe Dietsch, Louie Gibson
Actors: Martin Dingle Wall, Ken Lally, Gary Sturm, Kenny Wormald, …
Category: Horror

Incubus (1965)

19 January 20018 November 2021

Rating: ★

Village of Demonic Temptresses

Director: Leslie Stevens
Actors: William Shatner, Allyson Ames, Robert Fortier
Category: Horror

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

19 June 20014 November 2019

Rating: ★★★★★

Alien Duplication and Takeover

Director: Donald Siegel
Actors: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, …
Category: Science Fiction

Leprechaun: Origins (2014)

25 September 201511 December 2019

Rating: ★½

Malevolent Leprechaun

Director: Zach Lipovsky
Actors: Andrew Dunbar, Brendan Fletcher, Garry Chalk, Dylan Postl
Category: Horror

Lord of Misrule (2023)

1 September 202420 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Folk Horror

Director: William Brent Bell
Actors: Tuppence Middleton, Ralph Ineson, Matt Stokoe, Evie Templeton, …
Category: Horror

Markham (2020)

20 June 202113 April 2025

Rating: ★

H.P. Lovecraft Homage

Director: Matthew Cooper
Actors: Thomas Cody, Tony Coughlan, Ashe Russell, Gareth Parry, …
Category: Horror

The Martian Chronicles (1980)

12 August 201218 February 2023

Rating: ★★

Human Colonisation of Mars/Ray Bradbury Adaptation

Director: Michael Anderson
Actors: Rock Hudson, Darren McGavin, Fritz Weaver, Bernie Casey, …
Category: Science Fiction

Matriarch (2022)

19 March 202319 March 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Folk Horror

Director: Ben Steiner
Actors: Jemima Rooper, Kate Dickie, Sarah Paul, Keith David Bartlett, …
Category: Horror

Men (2022)

9 July 20226 June 2024

Rating: ★★

Folk Entity

Director: Alex Garland
Actors: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin, …
Category: Horror

Messiah of Evil (1973)

26 March 201927 November 2023

Rating: ★★★

The Dead Return

Director: Willard Huyck
Actors: Marianna Hill, Michael Greer, Anitra Ford, Joy Bang, …
Category: Horror

Midnight Mass (2021)

9 October 20217 June 2025

Rating: ★★★★½

Vampires and Religion

Director: Mike Flanagan
Actors: Kate Siegel, Hamish Linklater, Zach Gilford, Henry Thomas, …
Category: Horror

Needful Things (1993)

8 August 20008 December 2020

Rating: ★★

The Devil Stirs up a Small Town/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Fraser C. Heston
Actors: Ed Harris, Max Von Sydow, Bonnie Bedelia, J.T. Walsh, …
Category: Horror

Night Slaves (1970)

1 December 201614 February 2024

Rating: ★★★

Alien Body Snatchers

Director: Ted Post
Actors: James Franciscus, Lee Grant, Leslie Nielsen, Andrew Prine, …
Category: Science Fiction

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)

16 December 200828 July 2021

Rating: ★★★

Stephen King Anthology

Director: Brian Henson, Mark Haber, Rob Bowman, Mikael Salomon, …
Actors: William Hurt, Bruce Spence, Mia Sara, Claire Forlani, …
Category: Horror

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

21 September 20168 May 2025

Rating: ★★

Sentenced to Death in a Strange Small Town Comedy

Director: Dan Aykroyd
Actors: Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Demi Moore, John Candy, …
Category: Horror

Nothing Left to Fear (2013)

20 December 202320 December 2023

Rating: ★

Sinister Small Town

Director: Anthony Leonardi III
Actors: Anne Heche, Clancy Brown, Ethan Peck, Rebekah Brandes, …
Category: Horror

Off Season (2021)

27 November 202327 November 2023

Rating: ★★★

Ghostly Small Town

Director: Mickey Keating
Actors: Jocelin Donahue, Joe Swanberg, Melora Walters, Jeremy Gardner, …
Category: Horror

Outback Vampires (1987)

29 April 20206 April 2022

Rating: 0­

Vampires in the Australian Outback Comedy

Director: Colin Eggleston
Actors: Richard Morgan, Angela Kennedy, Brett Climo, John Doyle, …
Category: Horror

The Pale Door (2020)

9 April 20249 April 2024

Rating: ★★

Western/Town of Witches

Director: Aaron B. Koontz
Actors: Zachary Knighton, Stan Shaw, Pat Healy, Bill Sage, …
Category: Horror

The People (1972)

27 September 2023

Rating: ★★★

Town of Alien Refugees

Director: John Korty
Actors: Kim Darby, William Shatner, Diane Varsi, Dan O'Herlihy
Category: Science Fiction

Phantoms (1998)

25 January 200316 April 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Evil Force Takes Over a Small Town/Dean R. Koontz Adaptation

Director: Joe Chappelle
Actors: Peter O'Toole, Joanna Going, Rose McGowan, Liev Schreiber, …
Category: Horror

Population / 436 (2006)

19 January 200811 February 2025

Rating: ★★

Sinister Small Town

Director: Michelle MacLaren
Actors: Jeremy Sisto, Fred Durst, Charlotte Sullivan, R.H. Thomson, …
Category: Horror

Raven’s Hollow (2022)

22 January 202321 April 2023

Rating: ★

Edgar Allan Poe Fights Supernatural

Director: Christopher Hatton
Actors: William Moseley, Kate Dickie, Melanie Zanetti, Oberon K.A. Adjepong, …
Category: Horror

A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987)

3 September 200511 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Town of Vampires

Director: Larry Cohen
Actors: Michael Moriarty, Andrew Duggan, Samuel Fuller, James Dixon, …
Category: Horror

Salem’s Lot (1979)

2 December 200016 October 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Town of Vampires/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Tobe Hooper
Actors: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, …
Category: Horror

‘Salem’s Lot (2004)

11 July 20078 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Town of Vampires/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Mikael Salomon
Actors: Rob Lowe, Samantha Mathis, Donald Sutherland, Robert Mammone, …
Category: Horror

Salem’s Lot (2024)

11 October 20245 July 2025

Rating: ★★

Town of Vampires

Director: Gary Dauberman
Actors: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, Pilou Asbæk, …
Category: Horror

Sharkula (2022)

8 May 20248 May 2024

Rating: 0­

Vampire Shark

Director: Mark Polonia
Actors: Jeff Kirkendall, Jamie Morgan, James Kelly, Tim Hatch, …
Category: Horror

The Shrine (2010)

12 December 201127 September 2021

Rating: ★

Sinister European Town/Occult Horror

Director: Jon Knautz
Actors: Aaron Ashmore, Cindy Sampson, Meghan Heffern, Trevor Matthews, …
Category: Horror

The Shuttered Room (1967)

21 January 2021

Rating: ★★★

H.P. Lovecraft Adaptation

Director: David Greene
Actors: Carol Lynley, Oliver Reed, Gig Young, Flora Robson, …
Category: Horror

Silent Hill (2006)

10 November 200614 March 2025

Rating: ★★★

Videogame Adaptation/Sinister Otherworldly Town

Director: Christophe Gans
Actors: Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Sean Bean, Alice Krige, …
Category: Horror

Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

22 November 201221 September 2024

Rating: ★

Videogame Adaptation/Sinister Otherworldly Town

Director: M.J. Bassett
Actors: Adelaide Clemens, Sean Bean, Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, …
Category: Horror

Skeletons (1997)

26 March 200730 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Smalltown Secrets

Director: David DeCoteau
Actors: Ron Silver, Christopher Plummer, James Coburn, Dee Wallace, …
Category: Horror

The Spring (2000)

30 November 200921 March 2025

Rating: ★★

Fountain of Youth/Sinister Small Town

Director: David S. Jackson
Actors: Kyle MacLachlan, Alison Eastwood, Joseph Cross, Aaron Pearl, …
Category: Fantasy

The Stepford Children (1987)

15 April 201528 March 2025

Rating: 0­

Android Teenager Replacements

Director: Alan J. Levi
Actors: Barbara Eden, Don Murray, Randall Batinkoff, Tammy Lauren, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Stepford Wives (1975)

18 October 20041 March 2025

Rating: ★★

Android Housewife Replacements

Director: Bryan Forbes
Actors: Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Stepford Wives (2004)

18 October 200423 December 2023

Rating: ★★

Android Housewife Replacements Comedy

Director: Frank Oz
Actors: Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, …
Category: Science Fiction

Storm of the Century (1999)

22 November 200828 March 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Stranger Manipulates a Small Town/Stephen King Mini-Series

Director: Craig R. Baxley
Actors: Tim Daly, Colm Feore, Debrah Farentino, Jeffrey DeMunn, …
Category: Horror

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)

15 June 2024

Rating: ★

Home Invasion and Brutality

Director: Renny Harlin
Actors: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Matus Lakcak, Ben Cartwright, …
Category: Horror

Teardrop (2022)

11 December 202218 November 2024

Rating: ★

Haunted Western Town

Director: Steven R. Monroe
Actors: Jeff Branson, Murray Grey, Bradley Fisher, Michael Maclane, …
Category: Horror

Twin Peaks (1990)

5 May 200314 December 2023

Rating: ★★★★½

Smalltown Weirdness/Murder Mystery

Director: David Lynch
Actors: Kyle MacLachlan, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, Michael Ontkean, …
Category: Horror

Twixt (2011)

26 January 201321 November 2024

Rating: ★★

Ghost Story/Vampire Film

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Actors: Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning, Ben Chaplin, …
Category: Horror

The Vampire’s Night Orgy (1974)

5 May 201519 December 2023

Rating: ½

Town of Vampires

Director: Leon Klimovsky
Actors: Jack Taylor, Manuel De Blas, Helga Line
Category: Horror

The Visitor (2022)

12 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Sinister Small Town

Director: Justin P. Lange
Actors: Finn Jones, Jessica McNamee, Dane Rhodes, Thomas Francis Murphy, …
Category: Horror

Wake Wood (2011)

7 August 20115 June 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Resurrection of the Dead

Director: David Keating
Actors: Aidan Gillen, Timothy Spall, Eva Birthistle, Ruth McCabe
Category: Horror

We Are Still Here (2015)

18 September 201516 March 2025

Rating: ★★★

House of Lurking Evil

Director: Ted Geoghegan
Actors: Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Lisa Marie, Monte Markham, …
Category: Horror

The Whip Hand (1951)

10 December 20005 December 2023

Rating: ★★★

Communist Inflitration

Director: William Cameron Menzies
Actors: Elliot Reid, Raymond Burr, Edgar Barrier, Otto Waldis, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Wicker Tree (2011)

5 March 201220 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Pagan Religion

Director: Robin Hardy
Actors: Brittania Nichol, Henry Garrett, Graham McTavish, Honeysuckle Weeks, …
Category: Horror

Witching and Bitching (2013)

12 September 201428 May 2025

Rating: ★★½

Town of Witches Comedy

Director: Alex de la Iglesia
Actors: Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Jaime Ordonez, Carolina Bang, …
Category: Fantasy

You Can’t Kill Stephen King (2012)

10 June 202510 June 2025

Rating: ★½

In Search of Stephen King/Slasher Film

Director: Ronnie Khalil, Monroe Mann, Jorge Valdes-Iga
Actors: Monroe Mann, Ronnie Khalil
Category: Horror

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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