Calgary 
Alberta seems to appear more and more attractive to Hollywood for filming locations. As the Halloween season is fast approaching, you can get some movie and TV show ideas from the creepy flicks filmed in your backyard. And it doesn’t matter what you find scary, there are a wide array of types of horror movies or shows filmed in Alberta: you’ll experience zombies, serial killers, the supernatural or ghosts, and some satirical takes on the genre.
South and southwestern Alberta especially sees many film crews pass through each year, with recent hits like Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Last of Us both filmed in spots like Fort MacLeod or in the heart of Calgary. Edmonton has its fair share of creepy locations, too, like the abandoned hospital or old schools.
Put these creepy films on your watch-list for before Halloween and see which familiar places you can spot.
Prey (2022)
Learn the true Predator story with the new show Prey, a prequel to all of the original movies. Prey takes place about 300 years before Arnold Schwarzenegger battled the aliens, and centres around a Comanche Tribe and one of their warriors. The series unfolds with the alien beings arriving on earth, and us finding out who the true prey will be. A visible landmark you can spot in the movie is Moose Mountain, located west of Bragg Creek.
Filming Locations:west Calgary, Stoney Nakoda Nation
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
The stars were out in southern Alberta while the major blockbuster hit, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, shot a few key scenes. The Jason Reitman-directed sequel carried Hollywood weight with stars like Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and J.K. Simmons.
In the movie you might notice recognizable landscapes from Drumheller, southwestern Alberta, and the main street of Fort MacLeod.
Filming Locations:Beiseker, Fort McLeod, Drumheller, Dorothy, and Del Bonita
Black Summer (2019)
So imagine a zombie apocalypse, but in Calgary! Black Summer makes it easy to imagine with several of the zombie tv show’s scenes filmed in the city of Calgary. The easiest to spot location is the McMahon Stampeders stadium, filled with deadly creatures. The show’s plot continues through winter, allowing you to imagine yourself stuck in Alberta’s frigid temperatures during a zombie apocalypse. Filming was originally slated for many other Alberta locations, but were later limited to Calgary due to the pandemic, according to the Calgary Herald. Catch Black Summer on Netflix!
Filming Locations:Calgary, Irricana, and Beiseker
Red Letter Day (2019)
The creepy action of Red Letter Day takes place in a quiet suburban community in Calgary, so filming in Calgary was natural. The local neighbourhoods you can recognize include Tuscany, Country Hills, and Seton. The film is about a mom and her children moving to an imaginary Calgary neighbourhood only to find an ominous letter at their door. The letter instructs them to kill, but their neighbours received the same letters.
Filming Locations:Calgary
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004)
The early 2000s teen slasher flick, Ginger Snaps, was followed up by the sequel, Unleashed, in 2004. The story follows two teen sisters, with one of them having recently been bitten by a werewolf. One of the creepiest locations in the movie was the scene filmed in Edmonton, which used the abandoned Camsell hospital.
Filming Locations:Edmonton
The Hitcher 2: I’ve been Waiting (2003)
The concept of being lost on any highway while outrunning a killer can be terrifying in most situations. But with The Hitcher 2, you can see it all happen right in Drumheller. The movie takes place in Texas but was primarily filmed in the Alberta badlands.
Filming Locations:Drumheller
Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001)
It doesn’t get much creepier than Stephen King! While this isn’t the original or first case Children of the Corn remediation, it is one which was filmed right here in Alberta. If you aren’t familiar with the horror story, Children of the Corn is a terrifying story about a group of possessed children. And this version takes the story back to its roots.
Filming Locations:Calgary
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
Many current high school students in Edmonton may easily recognize the main filming location of the Prom Night sequel, Hello Mary Lou. The movie is filled with a perfect amount of cheesiness and gore. It was filmed at O’Leary High School and West Edmonton Mall.
Filming Locations:Edmonton
Still/Born (2017)
Everything about this movie sounds creepy: from the supernatural to possessed children. This creep-fest follows a woman who is pregnant with twins but loses one in birth. As she raises her son, he becomes overpowered and taken over by something supernatural and possibly evil. Watch for recognizable scenes of Calgary’s Lake Bonavista neighbourhood.
Filming Locations:Calgary
The Revenant (2015)
The Revenant is a bonus entry. The DiCaprio/Hardy, Oscar-winning epic was not marketed as a horror film in any way, but the prospect of freezing to death or being mauled by a bear is enough to scare most Albertans. And there are easy-to-recognize Rocky Mountain landmarks all throughout the movie.
Filming Locations:Spray Lakes Provincial Park, Fortress Mountain, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
The Last of Us (2023)
The HBO TV show The Last of Us is a video-game remake which brought its filming to downtown Edmonton and Calgary, as well as Okotoks, Fort MacLeod, and High River. It was hard to miss for local residents, as major city landmarks like SAIT or the Legislature Grounds were transformed to appear post-apocalyptic. The creep factor from The Last of Us comes from the post-apocalyptic landscape made to look all too real.
Filming Locations: Calgary, Okotoks, High River, Fort MacLeod, and Edmonton
