Life on a farm is hard. Despite all the great things about the countryside–the fresh air, the beauty of nature, the close-knit community–there are major downsides. For one thing, too muchisolation can lead to lonelinessand a twisted worldview. Remote places can also nurture a sense of lawlessness, providing cover for corruption and violent deeds. And, of course, there’s all the manual labor required for daily survival, which leads to mental and physical exhaustion.
Because of all these issues,a farm is a near-perfect location for a horror movie. The characters are usually so far from civilization that no one can hear them scream when things go wrong, which they usually do–very, very wrong. Whether it’s mutilation by equipment, attacks by livestock gone wild, or the madness of too many long nights alone, horror movie protagonists can suffer all kinds of terrible fates on a farm. These horror movies arethe perfect representations of the dangers of farm life, using their agrarian settings to tell stories of solitude, dread, and terror.
10’Deadly Blessing' (1981)
Directed by Wes Craven
WhileDeadly Blessingmight not rank highly amongdirectorWes Craven’s impressive horror filmography, the movie is notable for being one ofSharon Stone’s first appearances. The story focuses on the conflicts between a strict religious community called the Hittites and the young couple living on a nearby farm. The husband is an ex-Hittite, and his family disapproves of his decision to marry a woman from outside the community. Soon, people start getting killed at the farm by mysterious, black-clad figures.
Deadly Blessingmakes great use of its setting, especially when it comes to the murders, showing howeverything on a farm can be weaponized by a person with no limits. One person is crushed by a tractor, and another is found hanging in the hayloft. The plot is a bit of a mess, and the ending is deliriously over the top. However,Deadly Blessingis worth seeing for Sharon Stone as well as for veteran horror actorMichael Berryman, best known for another Craven classic,The Hills Have Eyes.
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9’Gwen' (2018)
Directed by William McGregor
A slow-burn mystery from Wales,Gwenis about a teenage girl trying to care for her family as their crops fail and their sheep are killed by something unseen. With a missing father and an unstable mother, young Gwen (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) carries a huge burden on her shoulders. If all that’s not bad enough, cholera is also ripping through the community, wiping out whole families.
The film leaves it ambiguous whether the threats to the characters are natural or supernatural, butthe hint of sinister forces is enduring. For Gwen, the thought of losing her livelihood because of factors beyond her control is terrifying enough without considering curses or demons. The film’s slow pacing might put off viewers looking for more outright horror, butGwenis worth watching for its cinematography that highlightsthe beautiful yet harsh and unforgiving landscapeof North Wales.
8’Eyes of My Mother' (2016)
Directed by Nicolas Pesce
Long periods of isolation can be damaging to a person’s mental health, especially if that person is unstable to begin with. InThe Eyes of My Mother, young Francisca (Kika Magalhaes) has spent much of her life alone. As a child, she witnessed her mother’s brutal murder and helped her father imprison the killer in the barn. Using the surgical skills she learned from her mother, she removes the killer’s eyes and vocal cords but keeps him alive. Now that her father has also died, the murderer in the barn is her only companion.
The Eyes of My Motheris an unrelentingly bleak filmabout loneliness. Francisca tries and fails to make connections with other people who are repulsed by her morbid obsessions. Her response to rejection is to kill or maim anyone who hurts her. The story is similar in some ways tothe 2002 movieMay, about a deranged veterinary assistant who tries to create a companion from the body parts of her victims. While the actions of both women are monstrous, their motives are portrayed with sympathy.
The Eyes of My Mother
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7’Black Sheep' (2006)
Directed by Jonathan King
Not to be confused with theChris Farleymovie of the same name,Black Sheepis a horror comedy from New Zealand about carnivorous sheep with a bite that can turn humans into half-sheep monsters. In the movie, Henry (Nathan Meister) hastraumatic childhood associationswith the family sheep farm and can’t wait to be rid of it. However, his older brother has been conducting genetic experiments, and when a couple of environmental activists try to free the captive sheep, they unwittingly create a disaster.
Much of the film’s comedy comes from ominous shots of sheep, which, under any other circumstances, would seem harmless or even cute. Henry’s long-time phobia doesn’t seem so ridiculous now that dangerous sheep creatures are running amok and attacking people. Building on the popularity of more serious movies about infections, such as28 Days Later, the horror-comedy was a critical success. Its commentary about howeven the gentlest things can become dangerous when living separated from everythingis also remarkably clever, making it even more special.
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6’Isolation' (2007)
Directed by Billy O’Brien
Struggling to keep up the family farm, Dan (John Lynch) has accepted money from a corporation in exchange for letting them conduct experiments on the cattle. Inevitably, the experiment goes horribly wrong, and Dan discovers that the scientists have accidentally created mutant calves that can infect people like a parasite. Along with a young couple hiding out on his property, Dan races to stop the mutants from escaping the farm and threatening the rest of the world.
Isolationacts as both an examination of the dangers of misguided science and a commentary on how easy it is for a secluded existence to become dangerous.
Isolationisan Irish horror moviethat serves up plenty of blood and slime. The tone of the movie is probably a bit too serious, given its “mutant calf” premise, and it could have been done with a bigger injection of fun. As it is,Isolationcan be a bit grim, an approach that further highlightsthe bleakness of an isolated existence. However, the movie has plenty that will appeal to fans of gore and body horror. Indeed,Isolationacts as both an examination of the dangers of misguided science and a commentary on how easy it is for a secluded existence to become dangerous.
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5’The Dark and the Wicked' (2020)
Directed by Bryan Bertino
Siblings Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) gather at the family farm to see their dying father, even though their mother has warned them not to come. The longer they stay, the clearer it becomes that their father is surrounded by a malevolent force that influences anyone who comes near. After their mother suddenly kills herself, Louise and Michael stay to take care of their father. Over the next few days, they endure a series of psychological assaults from whatever is haunting the farm.
The isolated setting inThe Dark and the Wickedis key to the film’s horror. Michael and Louise leave the farm as soon as they are old enough, and coming back makes them uneasy. However, there’s more going on than just feeling disconnected from their hometown.The farm is stark and unwelcoming, and the darkness is oppressive. DirectorBryan Bertino, who also made the home-invasion classicThe Strangers, makes effective use of space in every frame to create a sense of unease that makesThe Dark and the Wickedone of the scariest moviesin recent memory.
The Dark and the Wicked
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4’Pearl' (2022)
Directed by Ti West
Pearl (Mia Goth) wants to be a star and is willing to do almost anything to escape the confines of the farm where she lives with her ailing father and domineering mother. With her husband away at war, she copes with her loneliness by living in a fantasy world straight out of a Technicolor romance. A scene in which she dances with a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield–before using it to climax–illustrates her complete disconnection from reality.
The tragedy ofPearl(well, aside from all the murders) is that the frustrated protagonist never realizes her dream of becoming a dancer and is doomed to stay in her small town forever.Ti West’s previous filmin theXtrilogyis set several decades later and shows Pearl as an elderly woman still living in the same farmhouse with her husband. As far as the horrors of farm life go,getting stuck is a relatively mundane yet prevalent fearthat many can relate to.Pearldepictsthe overwhelming dread that farm life can representand just how far some will go to escape it.
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3’The Witch: A New-England Folktale'
Directed by Robert Eggers
InThe Witch, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her family learn firsthand the limits of individuality. Her father, William (Ralph Ineson), has gotten them exiled from their Puritan community, and they must struggle to survive on the edge of the wilderness. Without the support and combined resources of a community, everyday life requires exhausting physical labor. Tensions are already running high, but when the baby Samuel is abducted,the family spirals into hysteria.
Thomasin fights against accusations of witchcraft, but after she loses everything, she relents and turns to the dark side–a turn that has many fans puzzling over her actions duringThe Witch’s now-iconic ending. However, writer and directorRobert Eggers’s period piece is a powerful film aboutthe madness that can result from a combination of isolation and stress. Throw superstition into the mix, and the situation can turn deadly.The Witchmight be light in overt horror, but it more than makes up for it with overwhelming suggestion.
2’The Blood on Satan’s Claw' (1971)
Directed by Piers Haggard
One-third ofthe “Unholy Trinity” that birthed the folk horror genre,The Blood on Satan’s Clawopens with a young farmer in the 17th century who finds something in the dirt: a strange-looking skull. Unable to identify the creature, the man assumesit must be demonic in origin. The discovery of the skull unleashes a curse on the town’s teenagers, who form a cult around Angel, their beautiful and cruel leader.
DirectorPiers Haggard’s iconic film is notable for its low camera angles in the opening scenes, emphasizing that the evil that threatens the village’s inhabitants comes from the earth itself. Folk horror is often aboutunearthing ancient terrors that have been safely buried in the soilfor centuries. As people who live off the land, the characters inThe Blood on Satan’s Clawcan’t afford to abandon their fields, but they can’t afford to ignore the truth behind their superstitions, either. The film shines a light onthe predicament of facing horrors in a farm setting, offering an interesting insight into why they might be inescapable.
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1’The Wicker Man' (1973)
Directed by Robin Hardy
Life on Summerisle, a tropical island off the coast of Scotland, seems pretty good: the people are happy, the music’s good, and the love is free, but there are hints from the beginning that all is not well. When upright Sargent Howie arrives from the mainland to investigate a missing girl, he’s dissatisfied with his pub meal. For an island known for its fertile soil, the people sure do eat a lot of canned food.
Farm life might not be the first thing that springs to mind when one thinks aboutThe Wicker Man, butthe whole plot hangs on anxieties about failed crops. As it turns out, the harvest season on Summerisle has been getting smaller every year, and the people are getting desperate. How far will they go to ensure a better harvest next year? Sargent Howie is about to find out.The Wicker Manisn’t just the greatest horror movie about farming; it’sone of the greatest horror movies of all time. Atmospheric and full of inescapable dread, it’s a masterpiece of the genre that perfectly captures the continuous struggle of isolated life and how easy it is for people to fall into delusion when detached from everyone else.
