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Top 5 creepiest horror film locations - SciFiNow

Top 5 creepiest horror film locations

We count down five of the creepiest movie locations of all time

When watching a thriller or a horror film, sometimes it’s the location that adds that extra bit of ‘dear lord, this is terrifying’ feeling. To celebrate the release of A Cure For Wellness, from director Gore Verbinksi (The Ring), which is set in a glorious spa and wellness centre in the Swiss Alps, we’ve delved into some of the creepiest locations in film. Whilst on the outside, beautiful and idyllic settings.

The Shining

The Shining was filmed is a beautiful hotel called Timberline Lodge in Northern Oregon. However, when associated with the film, it sort of loses its appeal, mainly due to the fact a lot of people were murdered there (fictionally, of course). The film’s interior shots were actually filmed in a sound studio in Elstree, England but telling people that would be no fun. The creepily long corridors, the sickeningly orange carpets and the general emptiness of the place just puts the chills in you. We’d would probably pass on staying in this hotel. 

Saw

James Wan’s directorial debut was the 2004 psychological thriller, Saw. Thirteen years on we have eight films in the franchise and two video games but it’s the setting of that initial outing that creeps us out the most. Adam (Leigh Whannel) wakes to find himself in a bathtub in a ramshackle bathroom, chained at the ankle to a pipe, with Lawrence (Cary Elwes) locked up on the other side of the room, a corpse between them with a gun and microcassette recorder. It’s this grim and eerie setting that freaks us out – we’ll be getting showers from now on.

Silence of the Lambs

A 1910 Queen Anne three-storey house in Layton, Pennsylvania was the real–life set for Silence of the Lambs. The setting saw Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) skinning his victims in the house’s basement dungeons. This little slice of suburbia is such a cosy and “usual” setting, which is what makes it all the worse for the horror as it unfolds. We’ll let you investigate the house’s garage for yourselves.

The Woman in Black

The English village of Crythin Gifford in the Edwardian era sounds picturesque and idyllic – but in reality the locals are unwelcoming, the marshland eerie and everything gets rather sinister very quickly. The Eel Marsh House where the film is set puts us all on edge throughout the film, despite its gorgeous setting, it’s pant-wettingly scary.

A Cure For Wellness

Doctor Volmer (Jason Isaacs) is the head honcho of a wellness centre in Switzerland where people from all around the world come to find ‘the cure’. At first, it all seems pretty idyllic in this glorious setting. Badminton and croquet on the lawns, steam rooms, water aerobics… until Lockheart (Dane DeHaan), who is there to collect a senior partner of his investment firm, starts seeing strange things. Suddenly the relaxation tanks don’t feel quite so relaxing in the quest for A Cure For Wellness.

A Cure for Wellness is in UK cinemas now. Get all the latest horror news with every issue of SciFiNow.