There are certain settings that just immediately become synonymous with horror just by their very nature. Of course, haunted houses and abandoned insane asylums come to mind. But no horror fan would ever discount the graveyard and its unlimited possibilities for stories and scares.
1. Pet Sematary (1989)
It’s hard to think of any horror movie graveyard that’s more infamous than the one from Pet Sematary. Based on the terrifying Stephen King novel, this film has an Indian burial ground as a central plot point to its story. The film deals heavily with loss and grief and how far people will go in order to get back the ones they love. Because it’s a horror story, obviously, things never work out the way people intend.
2. Army of Darkness
After Bruce Campbell tackled demonic zombies in Evil Dead, it only made sense that the sequel have him thrown into a cemetery. The result is a truly great sequence of skeleton hands rising from their graves to grab at him. Bruce Campbell might not be the first name that individuals think of as an action hero, but skeleton warriors should definitely be afraid.
3. Night of the Living Dead
Night of the living Dead had a profound impact in not just the horror genre of film but pop culture in general. It was the first that set the bar for many of the classic zombie tropes that are still being used and even parodied today. And it all started with a very iconic scene of the dead rising from the grave.
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4. The Omen
The Omen is a terrifying film on a number of levels. Any film with killer children usually hits a nerve with everyone. It’s especially troubling when the main character goes to a graveyard in search of answers. What he finds is the horrible truth that his adopted son Damien is indeed the son of Satan and his real son was killed to so that Damien could take his place.
5. Phantasm
Phantasm is a film that’s all about death and the tragedy surrounding it, so obviously a lot of the action takes place in a cemetery. While cemeteries and graveyards are often used as plot devices, they are especially effective when horror and suspense scenes are specifically set in them. With great special effects for the time, Phantasm excels at contributing to the spookiness surrounding the place where we bury our corpses.
6. Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus was a fan favorite for many ’90s kids as it took all the spookiness and horror of Halloween and made it fun for kids. Of course, given the relationship between spooky stuff and cemeteries, there had to be a scene in one. It was a very important scene too as one of the main witches resurrected a zombie servant to chase the kids the witches are after. It was especially entertaining given that the zombie was more of a goofball than a creature from kids’ nightmares.
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7. Friday The 13th – Part 6
The Friday the 13th franchise has no shortage of films with Jason in them, but part six was one of the more well received ones. It also holds a distinction of turning Jason into a truly undead, supernatural killer. It did so by featuring a very dramatic resurrection scene where Jason is dug up with the intention of cremating his body. Instead, a jolt of lightning revives Jason from the grave. It’s a truly memorable scene in the entire series and a great scene in graveyard history, as well.
8. Return of the Living Dead
The history behind the Living Dead franchise is an interesting one. The team behind the original Night of the Living Dead had split. One side continued with a tone of horror while the other started a more comedic approach to the zombie genre. Like it’s predecessor, Return of the living Dead set up many popular zombie tropes that continue to this day, and it features a very awesome cemetery scene where toxic rain causes the corpses to arrive from their graves.
9. Pet Sematary (2019)
Although this adaptation goes in several different directions from both its source material and its predecessor, the Pet Sematary remake is still very terrifying horror. The core theme of the story remains the same, and so the Indian burial ground at the center of the plot is still just as important. The character arcs and their roles in the story might have shifted, but the message the film portrays is still just as pertinent to loss and grief.
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10. Hold Your Breath
Films based on urban legends and myths are always a lot of fun. Hold Your Breath spotlights the one that says people have to hold their breath when passing a cemetery, otherwise a spirit may enter their body. The film itself is mediocre horror as a slasher takes control of a pothead. Still, the movie’s motif around cemeteries makes it unique among the urban legend genre.
What did you think of these Graveyard movies?
Have you seen any of these Graveyard films? How would you rate them on a scale of 1 to 10?
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