Top 10 Halloween Movies Set in the Woods

The first in the Dead series, 1981’s The Evil Dead may lack the dark comedy of its later installments. But it makes up for it with buckets of blood and gore. Never have the woods felt so lonely and full of terrors. Directed by Sam Raimi of Spider-Man fame, the film follows five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a remote wooded area.

After they accidentally unleash a horde of demons and spirits, the teens must fight to stay alive and avoid demonic possession.

Inspired by real life serial killer Ed Gein, the film follows a group of friends who fall prey to a family of cannibals. Never has chainsaws and rural Texas seem so terrifying. While there are several films in the series, the 1974 original is considered by many iconic and beloved.

Most of the action may take place at a secluded house. But the film is at its most heart-pounding when the main character is stalked by Leatherface through the woods with a chainsaw.

For people of a certain generation, Friday the 13th may be the reason they avoid lakes and camping all together. The series is known for its hockey-mask wearing baddie Jason Voorhees. But the first film, which has an early career Kevin Bacon, offers a more personal take on the carnage at Camp Crystal Lake.

Lingering shots of the woods and lake create a sense of unease in the film. Audiences realize someone is stalking an unfortunate group of camp counselors through their windows.

Like Texas Chainsaw Massacre before it, 2003’s Wrong Turn features a group of travelers fighting against a family of cannibals. Stranded after taking a detour off the interstate, the travelers try to reach help while trying to stay alive. The cannibals stalk and hunt the group through the woods, using traps and archery. The film stars Eliza Dushku.

The finale of the film features a desperate climb through the trees as remaining survivors are cornered.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, the film features a meta-take on the horror genre. The film twists stereotypes and rules of the genre in a blend of dark comedy and gore. Five college friends think they’ve gone to a cabin for a fun weekend get-away. But what they don’t realize, they’re part of an experiment designed to sacrifice them to waiting horrors.

One of the earliest entries in the found footage genre, the 1999 film follows a group of student filmmakers as they attempt to make a documentary about local urban legend Blair Witch. Filmed on a shoe-string budget, the film makes the most of its unsettling atmosphere. At night, the forest becomes suffocating darkness.

The filmmakers become more and more unsettled as they draw closer to the source of the legend.

Despite several attempts, its sequels could never match the tension and quiet terror of 1987’s Predator. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger at the height of his career, the film follows an elite team of commandos in the jungles of Central America. An extraterrestrial life form stalks and hunts the group for sport.

During much of the film, the predator remains off-screen. The jungle itself becomes the threat, looming ominously over Schwarzenegger and the others.

Starring Kathy Bates in one of her most iconic roles, Misery is based on a novel by Stephen King. A car crash injures a famous author and strands him in remote Colorado. Annie Wilkes, a super-fan of his books, promises to look after the author until he is strong enough to leave. The film proves that people may be the best villains as Wilkes’ obsession refuses to let him go.

Due to his injuries and the wilderness surrounding him, the author must find a way to escape Wilkes before it’s too late.

Based on a novel of the same name. The Ritual explores a group of friends hiking through a remote forest in Sweden. They begin to experience strange occurrences in the forest the farther they go. The friends quickly realize they are being hunted by an ancient creature.

Cabin Fever is perhaps not the best film to watch during a pandemic. But the film is equal parts horror, comedy and bizarreness. A group of friends find themselves fighting a horror villain on a microscopic scale when they encounter a flesh-eating virus. The remote area where they’re vacationing makes getting help difficult as they try to combat the ailment.