List of horror films set in academic institutions

Monster on the Campus (1958) is one of the earlier horror films set on a college campus.[lower-alpha 1]

This is a list of a horror films set primarily within or around academic institutions, including high schools, boarding schools, colleges, and university campuses. Film scholars have noted the prominence of educational institutions in the development of horror cinema, particularly in the subgenre of the slasher film. Critics such as Andrew Grunzke have cited the themes of bullying, sexuality, social acceptance, parent-child relationships, academic performance, and the development of morality during teenage and young adult life as primary reasons that many horror films have historically used the backdrop of high schools and colleges.[2] Additionally, the universalization of education during the twentieth century, which coincided with the development of the horror film, helped foster a public audience for films set amongst students.[3]

Colleges and universities

College campuses

Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes Ref.
1946The Brute ManJean YarbroughA college student becomes deformed.[4]
1957I Was a Teenage FrankensteinHerbert L. StrockA guest professor from England at an American college begins to build his own Frankenstein.[4]
1958Monster on the CampusJack ArnoldA university professor begins to devolve into a caveman after coming in contact with blood from a coelacanth.[1]
1962Burn, Witch, BurnSidney HayersA college professor is tormented after discovering his wife has been practicing witchcraft.Originally titled Night of the Eagle[5]
1981Final ExamJimmy HustonA man stalks the remaining coeds on a college campus just before summer vacation.[6]
1981Night SchoolKen HughesA serial killer is stalking and decapitating the women at a Boston night college.Released in the United Kingdom as Terror Eyes[7]
1981The ProwlerJoseph ZitoCollege coeds hosting a graduation dance are targeted by a killer in World War II G.I. gear.Released internationally as Rosemary's Killer[8]
1982Girls Nite OutRobert DeubelA killer in a bear costume with razored claws murders coeds during an overnight campus scavenger hunt.Originally titled The Scaremaker[9]
1982The Dorm That Dripped BloodStephen Carpenter and Jeffrey ObrowStudents cleaning an abandoned dormitory during Christmas break are stalked by a killer with a baseball bat encrusted in nails.Released in the United Kingdom as Pranks[10]
1984Splatter UniversityRichard W. HainesAn escaped mental patient terrorizes a local university.[11]
1988Fright Night Part 2Tommy Lee WallaceCharley Brewster, now a college student, encounters a group of vampires on his campus.[12]
1989After MidnightJim Wheat and Ken WheatA horror anthology film framed through college students taking a course on the "psychology of fear."[13]
1995The AddictionAbel FerraraA philosophy graduate student in New York City is bitten by a vampire, which has major implications on her studies and personal life.[14]
1997Scream 2Wes CravenSidney Prescott and her friends are stalked by a copycat killer dressed as Ghostface on their college campus.[15]
1998Urban LegendJamie BlanksA serial killer murders coeds at a New England college via methods based on urban legends.[16]
2000Urban Legends: Final CutJohn OttmanA killer stalks students of a film school and murders them according to urban legends.[17]
2001RipperJohn EyresA massacre survivor believes a Jack the Ripper copycat is stalking her college campus.Also known as: Ripper: Letter from Hell[18]
2001Soul SurvivorsStephen CarpenterA college student's grip on reality weakens after the death of her boyfriend.[19]
2002American Psycho 2Morgan J. FreemanAn ambitious criminal psychology student resorts to murder vying for a prestigious teaching assistantship.[20]
2004DecoysMatthew HastingsTwo male coeds vying to lose their virginity suspect the women on campus are not human.[21]
2005House of the Dead 2Michael HurstA zombie outbreak occurs on a university campus.[22]
2011The RoommateChristian E. ChristiansenA college coed finds that her dormitory roommate is violently dangerous.[23]
2014KristyOliver BlackburnA young woman is pursued by a cybercult of killers while alone on an empty campus during Thanksgiving.[24]

Fraternities and sororities

Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes Ref.
1974Black ChristmasBob ClarkSorority sisters are stalked and harassed by an unseen killer during Christmastime.See note[lower-greek 1][26]
1976Sisters of DeathJoseph MazzucaA man whose daughter died during a sorority prank takes revenge on the sorority seven years later.[27]
1978The Initiation of SarahRobert DayA shy woman with psychic powers joins a college sorority.Television film[28]
1981Hell NightTom DeSimoneSorority and fraternity pledges must stay in a reportedly haunted house near their campus.See note[lower-greek 2][29]
1983The House on Sorority RowMark RosmanSorority sisters are murdered by a killer during their last night in their sorority house.[30]
1984The InitiationLarry StewartSorority pledges are murdered by an unseen assailant during an initiation ritual.[31]
1986Killer PartyWilliam FruetSorority pledges are murdered during a party at an abandoned fraternity house.[32]
1986VampRichard WenkTwo college students hire a stripper for their fraternity party who turns out to be a vampire.[33]
1986Sorority House MassacreCarol FrankA sorority pledge experiences déjà vu while visiting a sorority house, followed by the appearance of a psychotic killer.[34]
1988Rush WeekRobert BralverA student reporter uncovers a series of murders and disappearances on her college campus.[35]
1990Sorority House Massacre IIJim WynorskiFive women restoring an old home as their new sorority house are murdered one by one.[34]
1992Happy Hell NightBrian OwensA psychotic priest stalks pledges during pledge week at a rural college.Released in the United Kingdom as Frat Night[36]
2006The Initiation of SarahStuart GillardTwin sisters with psychic powers join a sorority.Remake of The Initiation of Sarah (1978)[37]
2006Black ChristmasGlen MorganSorority sisters trapped in their sorority home during a Christmas snowstorm are stalked by a serial killer.Remake of Black Christmas (1974)[38]
2009Sorority RowStewart HendlerSorority sisters graduating from college are stalked after covering up the death of a fellow sorority sister.Remake of The House on Sorority Row (1983)[39]

Secondary institutions

Academies

Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes Ref.
1977SuspiriaDario ArgentoAn American ballerina arrives at a German dance academy plagued by disappearances and deaths.[40]
2008The Haunting of Molly Hartley Mickey LiddellA teenager struggles at her new preparatory school after her mentally-ill mother attempts to murder her.[41]

Boarding schools

Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes Ref.
1955Les Diaboliques Henri-Georges ClouzotA woman conspires with her husband's mistress to murder her husband, the principal of a boys' boarding school.Released in the United States as Diabolique[42]
1972Fear in the NightJimmy SangsterA woman is tormented by an assailant at an empty boarding school where her husband has taken a job.[43]
1973Satan's School for GirlsDavid Lowell RichA new student at a girls' school suspects her peers of witchcraft.Television film[44]
1975Picnic at Hanging RockPeter WeirThe population of an Australian women's boarding school is shaken by the disappearance of several students.[45]
1977The PossessedJerry ThorpeFemale students at a boarding school are plagued by satanic forces.Television film[44]
1978JenniferBrice MackA poor student at an elite boarding school takes revenge on the students who torment her.[46]
1985PhenomenaDario ArgentoA girl who can communicate with insects helps solve a series of murders at a boarding school in the Swiss Alps.[47]
1987Zombie HighRon LinkA teenager suspects her boarding school classmates are under a mysterious influence.[48]
1998Halloween H20: 20 Years LaterSteve MinerLaurie Strode, now the principal of a prestigious California boarding school where her son attends, is stalked by her brother, Michael Myers.[49]
2005Cry WolfJeff WadlowAn e-mail chain inspires pranks and potentially murder among students at a rural boarding school.[50]
2006The WoodsLucky McKeeAn outcast teenager in 1965 suspects sinister goings-on in the woods surrounding her new boarding school.[51]
2011The AwakeningNick MurphyA paranormal debunker arrives at a boys' boarding school to disprove alleged hauntings.[52]
2012The Moth DiariesMary HarronA female boarding school student suspects a new peer is a vampire.[53]

High schools

Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes Ref.
1957I Was a Teenage WerewolfGene Fowler Jr.A troubled high school student transforms into a werewolf.[54]
1976CarrieBrian De PalmaA bullied female student unleashes telekinetic powers at her high school prom.[55]
1976Massacre at Central HighRene DaalderA high school is plagued by revenge killings involving bullied students and their oppressors.[56]
1978The Redeemer: Son of SatanConstantine S. GochisA group of people trapped inside their high school during their ten-year reunion are killed off by a psychopath.[57]
1980Prom NightPaul LynchA killer stalks the teenagers of a local high school to avenge the death of a young girl years earlier.[58]
1981Student BodiesMickey RoseA killer stalks the students of a high school.[59]
1981Graduation DayHerb FreedThe students on a high school track team are stalked and killed leading up to their graduation.[60]
1981Happy Birthday to MeJ. Lee ThompsonStudents at an upper-class academy are stalked by a killer leading up to a popular student's birthday.[61]
1985Teen WolfRod DanielA small-town high school student transforms into a werewolf.[62]
1986Slaughter HighGeorge DugdaleEight people are invited to a ten-year high school reunion by a killer seeking revenge over his disfigurement in a prank gone wrong.[63]
1987Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night IIBruce PittmanThe ghost of a woman killed at her prom in 1957 possesses a current student.[64]
1987Return to Horror HighBill FroehlichThe staff of a film company making a movie about real-life murders on location at a high school are stalked and killed.[65]
1989Cutting ClassRospo PallenbergA problematic teenager's return to his high school coincides with a string of serial murders.[66]
1990Prom Night III: The Last KissRon OliverA high school student meets a female ghost at his high school and begins a relationship with her.[67]
1996ScreamWes CravenA high school student is stalked by a masked killer who begins murdering her friends.[68]
1998Disturbing BehaviorDavid NutterThree outcasts at a Washington high school suspect their too-perfect peers may be under a sinister influence.[69]
1998The FacultyRobert RodriguezStudents at an Ohio high school suspect an alien life force is taking over their school.[70]
1999The Rage: Carrie 2Katt SheaAn outcast teenager (and half-sister of Carrie White) takes revenge on her tormentors during a high school party.[71]
2002CarrieDavid CarsonA female bullying victim unleashes her telekinetic powers during a high school dance.Television film[71]
2013CarrieKimberly PeirceA female bullying victim unleashes her telekinetic powers during a high school dance.[71]

Notes

  1. ↑ Film scholar Andrew Grunzke notes the influence of Monster on the Campus as both a rendition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as a college-set horror film.[1]
  1. ↑ Black Christmas (1974) is primarily set inside the confines of a sorority house, though there are several scenes set on the college campus.[25]
  2. ↑ Though the primary setting of Hell Night (1981) is a manor, the film's broader set is within a university context among college students, and the plot points are rooted in college culture.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 Grunzke 2015, p. 67.
  2. ↑ Grunzke 2015, p. 3.
  3. ↑ Grunzke 2015, p. 4.
  4. 1 2 Grunzke 2015, pp. 58–61.
  5. ↑ Joshi, S. T. (2007). Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 716. ISBN 0-313-33782-9.
  6. ↑ Nowell 2010, p. 49.
  7. ↑ Muir 2012, p. 21.
  8. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 1–3.
  9. ↑ Harper 2004, p. 91.
  10. ↑ Nowell 2010, p. 224.
  11. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 118, 190.
  12. ↑ Joshi, S. T. (2011). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-313-37833-1.
  13. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 120–21.
  14. ↑ James, Caryn (4 October 1995). "FILM REVIEW;A Philosophy Student Who Bites". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  15. ↑ Newman 2011, pp. 389–90.
  16. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 394.
  17. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 395.
  18. ↑ "Ripper: Letter from Hell". TV Guide. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  19. ↑ Meyer, Carla (8 September 2001). "REVIEW / Abominable teen horror film / 'Soul Survivor' is pure nonsense". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 317.
  21. ↑ "Decoys (2004)". Arrow in the Head. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  22. ↑ Condit, Jon (20 December 2005). "House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim (2005)". Dread Central. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  23. ↑ Travers, Peter (4 February 2011). "The Roommate". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "'Kristy' Is A Nerve Shredding, Nail-Biting, Fight For Survival Thriller". Movie Pilot. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  25. ↑ Harper 2004, p. 11.
  26. ↑ Nowell 2010, pp. 73–77.
  27. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 118, 128.
  28. ↑ Grunzke 2015, p. 130.
  29. 1 2 Rockoff 2002, pp. 119–20.
  30. ↑ Muir 2012, p. 253.
  31. ↑ Muir 2012, p. 396.
  32. ↑ Harper 2004, p. 121.
  33. ↑ Grunzke 2015, p. 131.
  34. 1 2 Newman 2011, p. 208.
  35. ↑ Variety Staff. "Rush Week". Variety Television Reviews 1991–1992. n.p.: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-824-03796-3 – via Google Books.
  36. ↑ Harper 2004, p. 107.
  37. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 406.
  38. ↑ Leydon, Joe (26 December 2006). "Review: 'Black Christmas'". Variety. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  39. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 407.
  40. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 145.
  41. ↑ Nelson, Rob (31 October 2008). "Review: 'The Haunting of Molly Hartley'". Variety. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  42. ↑ "Diabolique". The New Yorker. Revivals. 70 (27–35): 31.
  43. ↑ Muir 2007, pp. 270–2.
  44. 1 2 Newman 2011, p. 59.
  45. ↑ Castillo, Monica (27 July 2017). "Three Reasons to Watch 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  46. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 100–1.
  47. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 148.
  48. ↑ Kay, Glenn (2012). Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide. Chicago Review Press. p. 156. ISBN 1613744226.
  49. ↑ "LL Cool J Teams Up With Jamie Lee Curtis In Horror Sequel "Halloween: H20"". Jet: 56. 10 August 1998 – via Google Books.
  50. ↑ Martel, Ned (17 September 2005). "Privileged Youth Is Served". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  51. ↑ Gingold, Michael (2006). "Ghastly Review: The Woods". Fangoria. Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
  52. ↑ Holden, Stephen (16 August 2012). "Ghosts and Memories Haunting a House". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  53. ↑ Adams, Nathan (20 April 2012). "Review: 'The Moth Diaries' Realistically Recreates How Boring Reading a 16-Year-Old Girl's Diary Is". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  54. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 240.
  55. ↑ Nowell 2010, pp. 89–90.
  56. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 389.
  57. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 100–2.
  58. ↑ Nowell 2010, p. 149.
  59. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 210.
  60. ↑ Muir 2012, pp. 178–9.
  61. ↑ Muir 2012, p. 187.
  62. ↑ Grunzke 2015, pp. 123, 131.
  63. ↑ Muir 2012, p. 541.
  64. ↑ Muir 2012, p. 579.
  65. ↑ Benshoff 2017, p. 319.
  66. ↑ Grunzke 2015, p. 183.
  67. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 384.
  68. ↑ Grunzke 2015, p. 168.
  69. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 393.
  70. ↑ Newman 2011, p. 391.
  71. 1 2 3 Piepenburg, Erik (13 October 2013). "Each Generation Gets a Carrie It Deserves". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
    • Piepenburg, Erik (11 October 2013). "The Faces of 'Carrie'". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2017.

Works cited

  • Benshoff, Harry, ed. (2017). A Companion to the Horror Film. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-33501-6.
  • Grunzke, Andrew L. (2015). Educational Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-46920-5.
  • Harper, Jim (2004). Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies. Critical Vision. ISBN 978-1-900-48639-2.
  • Nowell, Richard (2010). Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle. Bloosmbury. ISBN 978-1-441-18850-2.
  • Muir, John Kenneth (2007). Horror Films of the 1970s (Reprint ed.). McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-43104-5. OCLC 182862677.
  • Muir, John Kenneth (2012). Horror Films of the 1980s. 1. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47298-7. OCLC 840902442.
  • Newman, Kim (2011). Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s (Revised ed.). Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-408-81750-6.
  • Rockoff, Adam (2002). Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-46932-1.

Further reading

  • Cornett, Zachary (2015). "These 8 Horror Movies Might Just Make You Hesitate When Packing For College". Movie Pilot.
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