Movies
Bloody Hearts & Sweethearts: Your Y2K Valentine’s Day Watchlist
This Valentine’s Day, let’s travel back in time. Pick up any of these tapes from your local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video and cozy up with a date! Here is your curated Y2K Valentine’s Day watchlist.
Picture it: America, 1999 to 2001. Squeaky inflatable furniture and the whir of desktop computers filled our homes. Misogyny erupted in flames at Woodstock ‘99. Fear of computers crashing and planes falling out of the sky on New Years Eve was omnipresent. And teenage pop culture was becoming saturated with J-14 and Bop magazine triple threats. This mix of fear, anxiety, and raging hormones during the Y2K era provided horror with some much needed acidity. And coincidentally, the most notable ones all revolved around love, heartbreak, and lust!
This Valentine’s Day, let’s travel back in time. Pick up any of these tapes from your local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video and cozy up with a date! Here is your curated Y2K Valentine’s Day watchlist:
Lover’s Lane (2000)
13 years ago on Valentine’s Day, a maniac with a hook for a hand escapes from the local mental hospital and goes on a killing spree at Lover’s Lane, the town’s makeout-central. Teens think it is just an urban legend, until the murders begin. Directed by Jon Steven Ward, straight-to-video Lover’s Lane is actually a lot of fun, despite ripping off films like Halloween (1978) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). The film is choc-a-bloc with Y2K fashion (hello, butterfly clips!), and the protagonist is a Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) lookalike with bleached blonde ends, played by Riley Smith. Anna Faris is a natural stand-out as Jannelle in her first ever feature film role. Questionable dialogue and a brazen move by the town’s most popular girl resulted in bad aging, but The Worst Wig in Horror History slightly makes up for it. Giggle at the stupidity!
Lover’s Lane is available for rent on YouTube and Prime, and can be purchased on Blu-ray and DVD.
Cherry Falls (1999)
“Holy Hymans, Batman! They’re killing virgins!”
Directed by Geoffrey Wright and released by Rogue Pictures, Cherry Falls is bonkers. The film opens with a teenage couple being stabbed to death in their car by a leather-clad woman with long dark hair obscuring her face. The town’s sheriff (and father to the protagonist) and his investigators discover that each female victim has “VIRGIN” carved into their skin. Fearful for their lives, Cherry Fall’s teens, who appear to shop exclusively at J. Crew and the Gap and belong in a Starbucks rather than high school, seek out ways to lose their virginities. Rape and slut-shaming jokes are abundant, giving young viewers a peek into just how problematic the early-2000s were. Nihilistic, incredibly beige, and sour, Cherry Falls is not for anyone looking for levity. Thank god for Brittany Murphy (Jodie Markin) and her twink best friend! Hang on for the ride and be rewarded with a nasty twist.
Cherry Falls is available for rent on several services (free with AMC+) and can be purchased on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS.
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
The Rage: Carrie 2 is misunderstood. Sure, it doesn’t hold a candle to the original. But this second installment overflows with teenage angst, and thankfully, offers something different for those bored with the late-1990s Scream formula. Directed by Katt Shea (Poison Ivy) and written by Rafael Moreu (Hackers), The Rage follows a new telekinetic teen: Rachel, played by Emily Bergl. Rachel deals with bullying, the death of her best friend (Mena Suvari), homophobia, and love amidst the growth of her telekinetic powers. According to Fangoria (2021), “Before it was The Rage: Carrie 2, it was The Curse, an angry, impassioned reaction to a real-life incident. In 1993, a group of high school boys from Lakewood, California, known as the Spur Posse, engaged in a series of heinous acts of sexual violence, including the boys’ use of a point system to compare their sexual exploits.” Despite this dark subject matter, The Rage is a sympathetic story. I believe it to be a worthy sequel to De Palma’s masterpiece. And what a cathartic climax!
The Rage: Carrie 2 is available for streaming on several services and can be purchased on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS.
Idle Hands (1999)
Idle hands are the Devil’s play-things.
Light up with your crush and dive into the madcap Idle Hands! It has been several days since Anton’s parents have gone missing, unbeknownst to the lazy stoner. Anton, played by teen heartthrob Devon Sawa, soon discovers it was he, specifically his hand, that has become possessed and murderous. Watch as Anton and his grotesquely undead friends try to reign in the demonic hand as he pines for the cute girl-next-door, Molly (Jessica Alba). Directed by Rodman Flender (Leprechaun 2) and also starring Vivica A. Fox and Seth Green, this horror comedy with a killer soundtrack is sure to be a sweet treat this Valentine’s Day.
Idle Hands is available for rent on several services and can be purchased on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS.
Valentine (2001)
Valentine opens with Jeremy Melton, a nerdy boy who is humiliated and beaten by his classmates at a junior high Valentine’s Day dance. After being wrongly accused of sexual assault, the boy is sent to a state-run mental facility. The bullies and bystanders must reckon with their pasts when they begin receiving threatening Valentine’s Day cards and being systematically killed by an assailant in a cherubic Cupid mask. Directed by Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend), Valentine is a typical post-Scream slasher but with an incredibly stacked cast: David Boreanaz (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer; Angel), Denise Richards (Wild Things, Drop Dead Gorgeous), Katherine Heigl (Bride of Chucky, Roswell), Mary Shelton (Sugar & Spice, Scream 4), and Jessica Cauffiel (Legally Blonde, Urban Legends: Final Cut). Like Idle Hands, expect some gritty 2000s nu metal throughout. Valentine will surely inspire you to make your own sweet (or sour) Valentine’s Day cards this year!
Valentine is available for rent on several services and can be purchased on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Tragedy Girls (2017)
A dark, comedic, high school romp about best friends gaining internet clout through murder. It may feel dated due to its use of Twitter rather than X, but it adds charm and reminds us of a simpler internet age. Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp deliver devilishly fun performances, and their slasher personas are heavily under-appreciated in the horror community. There are lots of familiar faces here, including Josh Hutcherson, Jack Quaid, Craig Robinson, and not to mention the director, Tyler MacIntyre, who went on to be one of the writers for Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023).
Seance (2021)
This Is Not a Test (2025)
School’s Out (2018)
Graduation Day (1981)
One of my absolute favorite things to do when I’m on vacation is to visit horror filming locations. Wherever you happen to be going, odds are that at least one horror project was filmed there at some point. There’s something magical about seeing the places that helped bring iconic scary stories to life on the big and small screens.
However, some locations are better than others. A lot of them (like the original A Nightmare on Elm Street house, Stu’s house from Scream, and the schoolhouse from The Birds) are private property and aren’t always owned by people who are particularly happy to have horror fans milling around out front. Others (like the schools from Buffy, Elm Street, and many other teen horror titles) are active educational institutions that don’t welcome strange visitors.
But I’m here to deliver a guide to some of the coolest horror filming locations in North America that give you that magical vibe without somebody calling 9-1-1 on you. Because the best things in life are free, so are all the locations on this list.
The Bridge from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Location: Linnie Canal Ct. Los Angeles, CA 9029, USA
The bridge where Glen (Johnny Depp) and Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) discuss the Balinese method of dreaming is nowhere near the movie’s fictional town of Springwood, Ohio. It’s actually one of the bridges over the human-made canals in Venice, California. Specifically, it’s the bridge over the Eastern canal that connects to Linnie Ct. It’s totally free to visit, and once you’re done taking photos and quoting “I’m into survival” to your heart’s content, you’re still in Venice. Not a bad place to be!
The Movie Theater from Scream 2 (1997)
Location: Rialto Theatre, 1019-1023 Fair Oaks Ave. South Pasadena, CA, 91030 USA
Although the majority of the campus scenes in the college-set slasher sequel Scream 2 were filmed at Agnes Scott College in Georgia, a lot of the school’s surrounding environs were filmed closer to Hollywood, in sunny Pasadena. While the movie theater where poor Phil (Omar Epps) and Maureen (Jada Pinkett Smith) are killed in the movie’s prologue is no longer an operating cinema and you can’t go inside (the building has been taken over by a church), the exterior has been well preserved and looks more or less exactly the way it did in the late 1990s.
This horror filming location is also just an 11 minute drive from the street where the film’s famous car crash sequence was shot, which is part of Green Street between South Los Robles Avenue and Madison Avenue in Pasadena.
The Myers House from Halloween (1978)
Location: 1000 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA 91030, USA
Although the building has been moved from its original location, it was rebuilt to look exactly the way it does when young Michael Myers is stalking his way around it in the iconic opening sequence of Halloween. There is a business operating out of the building, so don’t bother them or try to get inside (the interiors aren’t the same, anyway). But at this point, they’re very used to people doing photo ops out front. If you find yourself in Pasadena on October 31, it’s a can’t-miss destination, as a nonstop torrent of cosplayers swarm the area.
Other free Halloween locations in South Pasadena include the exterior of the hardware store where Michael gets his mask (right around the corner at 966 Mission St – it’s now the Radhika Modern Indian restaurant) and the famous hedge he hides behind when stalking Laurie Strode (just one mile away, at 1019 Montrose Ave S).
Brennan’s Tip: If you do have money to burn, check out the SugarMynt Gallery next door, which is chock full of horror-themed artwork. Also grab a snack at the Heirloom Bakery across the street! They’ve got all kinds of great treats (I even had them do the desserts for my wedding), and you can enjoy them on the outdoor patio with the Myers house looming over you.
The Town Square from Scream (1996)
Location: Healdsburg Town Square, Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA
Scream was filmed in and around Sonoma County, but the core town playing Woodsboro was the real-life wine country borough of Healdsburg. The town square, complete with fountain, is still there, and surrounded by cute shops and restaurants. You can also find the police station exterior where Sidney punches out Gale at Oakville Grocery (124 Matheson Street) nearby, but it has changed enough to be barely recognizable at this point.
Derry from It (2017), It: Chapter Two (2019), and It: Welcome to Derry (2025-)
Location: Port Hope, Ontario L1A 2Y7, Canada
The majority of the important locations in It and Welcome to Derry’s fictional town of Derry, Maine are all located along the main road of Port Hope, including the movie theater (Capitol Theatre on 20 Queen St), the library (Port Hope Town Hall, 56 Queen St), the park with the bandshell, and the alleyway outside the butcher shop, which still has the door painted with the faux sign from the movie.
Brennan’s Tip: Check out the river that runs parallel to the main street. When I went, there were hundreds of fish making their way upstream for spawning. Multiple species do this in Port Hope, in various seasons, so you never know if you’ll get lucky.
The University from Black Christmas (1974)
Location: Soldiers’ Tower at the University of Toronto, Hart House Cir, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
The college from the 1974 proto-slasher Black Christmas is played by the real-life University of Toronto, with the most notable area being the plaza outside Soldiers’ Tower, where Clare’s dad is seen waiting for his ill-fated daughter.
Brennan’s Tip: If you’re a huge Killer Party (1986) fan like I am, the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada building (25 Spadina Rd), which plays the haunted frat house, is just a short walk away.
Abe’s Snake Bodega from Scream VI (2023)
Location: Dépanneur St.Ambroise, 5701 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC H4A 1W9, Canada
Our next horror filming location is of a more recent vintage, but it’s an instant classic: the “New York City” bodega in which Ghostface hunts down Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) in Scream VI. Both the exterior and the interior of the shop were used for filming, though they changed a great deal of the inside to make it look more New York-y. You don’t have to pay to visit, but if you want to do a photo op posing like Ghostface at the end of the row of refrigerator cases, you might as well buy a soda on your way out as a thank you.
Other worthwhile free Scream VI filming locations in the area are the campus of Blackmore University (McGill University at 845 Sherbrooke St W), and “Central Park” (Parc La Fontaine, 3819 Av. Calixa-Lavallée).
Crawford Academy from Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
Location: Concordia University – Loyola Campus, 7141 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada
The fictional high school from this classic Canadian slasher was played by the real-life Concordia University (except for the opening kill scene, which was shot around Douglass Hall at McGill University). It’s a relatively small campus, so you can’t miss the grand brick buildings, which look exactly the same now as they did 45 years ago, though the quad has been relandscaped.
The Steps from The Exorcist (1973)
Location: Corner of Prospect St and 36th St NW, Georgetown, Washington, D.C., 20007, USA
William Friedkin’s landmark classic The Exorcist is home to one of our most iconic horror filming locations yet. The steps that claim the lives of both Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) and Father Karras (Jason Miller) are still there more than 50 years later, and you’ll almost certainly find people exercising on them, as if they aren’t worried that Pazuzu is gonna fling another victim toward them when they least expect it.
While the house from The Exorcist is indeed at the top of the steps (at 3600 Prospect Street), it is more set back than the movie implies (the exterior of Reagan’s window was a facade). But it’s still there, as is the Georgetown campus, where other scenes from the movie were filmed.
The Crystal Shop from Obsession (2026)
Location: The Green Man, 824 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505, USA
Our tour of some of the greatest free horror filming locations of North America comes full circle now, bringing us back to Southern California with the most recent movie on the list. Curry Barker’s Obsession was entirely shot in and around Burbank, and the metaphysical supply store The Green Man looks almost exactly like the fictional store from the movie, both inside and out. Just don’t go in hoping to find a display of One Wish Willows.
