The best, most frightening horror movies hit close to home, prompting hearts to beat faster and minds to race at a furious pace. Often, that's because their settings appear so ordinary, even commonplace; it feels like the horrors within might be taking place in our own neighborhood. The locations for some classic horror movies have become iconic. After all, who can forget Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho -- or, even more disturbing, the foreboding home where Norman Bates lived with his mother?
When filmmakers decide to remake such classics, they face a daunting challenge. Not only must they seek to recreate the iconic terrors within, but they must also find (or build) new locations that are reminiscent of the originals, without necessarily reinventing the wheel, so to speak. Here are recent examples of horror movie remakes and the locations selected to spook moviegoers anew.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Wes Craven's 1984 original was filmed in Los Angeles, which was also the original intended setting for the movie. That was changed before release, however, and the location identified later in the series as the fictional Springwood, Ohio. The remake was filmed in various locations in Illinois; the residences of the lead characters Quentin and Nancy (Rooney Mara) were in Barrington, a village of 10,000 residents, located about 40 miles northwest of Chicago.
Friday the 13th (2009)
Sean Cunningham's 1980 original was set in the fictional Camp Crystal Lake and filmed in Blairstown and Hope, New Jersey. In the sequels, the camp's specific location remains a bit fuzzy sometimes in New Jersey and sometimes in Connecticut. Marcus Nispel's 2009 remake is set in New Jersey, but actually filmed in and around Austin, Texas.
Halloween (2007)
Set largely in the fictional Haddonfield, Illinois, John Carpenter's 1978 original was shot in and around Los Angeles, with key locations in South Pasadena. For the 2007 remake by Rob Zombie, the setting remained in Haddonfield, and key locations were again shot in South Pasadena, although at different houses and buildings than the original.
The Amityville Horror (2005)
The veracity of the supposedly true-life inspiration for the movies may have been questioned, but that hasn't kept them from becoming essential viewing for horror-movie fans. The 1979 original was set in Amityville, New York, but the main house was located in Toms River, New Jersey. The remake in 2005 was still set in Amityville, of course, but the filmmakers went to the small rural community of Salem, Wisconsin for the main location.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The original iconic home of Leatherface and his cannibalistic family was located in Round Rock, Texas, north of Austin. Without getting specific, the setting was also in Texas. The 2003 remake was also also set in rural Texas in 1973, and also filmed in the Austin area.
The Ring (2002)
Naturally, the original Japanese-language production was set in and filmed in Japan. The English-language remake moved the setting to Seattle, Washington, and took advantage of gloomy locales throughout the state, though the production shot portions of the film in Oregon and southern California, and, of course, in dark rooms with the shades drawn.
