From Vancouver’s rain-soaked streets to Ontario’s forests and Newfoundland’s fishing villages, Canada has provided the setting for some seriously creepy movies and television shows.
Some of the places you recognize as quiet neighbourhoods, provincial parks or historic buildings have doubled as murder scenes, haunted houses and towns overrun by monsters. And sometimes the story really is set in the Canadian community where it was filmed.
With Halloween approaching, these are some of the scary movies and shows filmed across Canada’s provinces and territories. There are witches, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, zombies and creatures from outer space, along with a few thrillers that make ordinary places feel rather sinister.
See how many familiar places you can spot.
Below (2026)
A mysterious danger lurking in the North Atlantic threatens a small Newfoundland fishing village in this Netflix creature thriller starring Josh Hartnett, Mackenzie Davis and Charlie Heaton. The story unfolds in the fictional community of Snooks Arm, where strange events and an ominous presence beneath the water put residents on edge.
Unlike many productions that use Newfoundland to represent somewhere else, this series is actually set in the province. Brigus South serves as one of its main locations, with several other coastal communities appearing on screen. The series premiered on Netflix on October 8, 2026.
Filming Locations: Brigus South, Pouch Cove, St. John’s, Harbour Main, Bay Bulls and Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Longlegs (2024)
Nicolas Cage plays a particularly disturbing serial killer in this supernatural crime thriller starring Maika Monroe as FBI agent Lee Harker. When she is assigned to a series of unsolved murders, she discovers cryptic clues and a possible connection to the occult.
The movie is set in Oregon, but British Columbia provides much of its unsettling scenery. Several filming locations are in Maple Ridge, where ordinary roads and wooded neighbourhoods become the backdrop for a sinister investigation.
Filming Locations: Vancouver and Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
Die Alone (2024)
What would you do if you woke up in a world devastated by a mysterious outbreak and couldn’t remember how you got there? In Die Alone, a young man suffering from amnesia searches for his missing girlfriend while trying to survive a landscape overtaken by dangerous, zombie-like creatures. He eventually encounters a hardened survivalist played by Carrie-Anne Moss. Saskatchewan doubles for this frightening post-apocalyptic world, with scenes filmed in and around Regina.
Filming Locations: Regina, including Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Regina campus, Saskatchewan.
Haunted Wedding (2024)
Not every Halloween movie needs a masked killer or a monster. This supernatural romantic comedy follows two ghost hunters whose wedding plans run into an unexpected problem: a ghost who believes the groom is her long-lost fiancé. The wedding takes place at a historic inn, with an increasingly troublesome spirit determined to interfere. Filmed in Winnipeg and nearby locations, the Hallmark production offers a much lighter alternative to some of the other films on this list.
Filming Locations: Winnipeg, Stovel House, the University Women’s Club and Birds Hill Provincial Park, Manitoba.
In a Violent Nature (2024)
There is something especially disturbing about a slasher movie that follows the killer instead of the people trying to escape. In this Canadian horror film, an undead murderer rises from his grave after a group of visitors disturbs his resting place. He then makes his way through the wilderness, searching for those responsible. Much of the film involves long stretches of walking through quiet forests, making the setting almost as important as the violence. The movie was primarily filmed in Algoma District & Sault Ste. Marie.
Filming Locations: Kawartha Lakes, Algoma District, Sault Ste. Marie
Witchboard (2024)
An antique spirit board becomes the source of terrifying trouble in this supernatural horror movie directed by Chuck Russell. When a young woman discovers a mysterious object with connections to the occult, she becomes entangled in a dangerous supernatural mystery. The film draws on witchcraft and possession, making it a natural fit for Halloween viewing. Although its story is associated with New Orleans, production took place in Montreal.
Filming Locations: Montreal, Quebec.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)
Being a vampire is complicated when you cannot bring yourself to kill anyone. In this French-language horror comedy, Sasha is a young vampire who is distressed by the idea of taking human lives. Her family is worried about her reluctance to feed, but an unusual friendship with a lonely teenager offers a possible solution. The film blends vampire mythology with coming-of-age drama and offbeat humour. Several recognizable Montreal-area locations appear in the movie, including a bowling alley and a convenience store.
Filming Locations: Montreal, Brossard and Boucherville, Quebec.
The King Tide (2023)
Life in a remote fishing village changes dramatically when an unusual young girl arrives with extraordinary healing powers. At first, the community considers her a blessing, but the residents soon become increasingly dependent on her abilities. When those powers begin to weaken, the once-peaceful town becomes a much more dangerous place. Newfoundland’s coastal scenery provides the setting, with the community of Keels in Bonavista Bay used during filming.
Filming Locations: Keels, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Skinamarink (2022)
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find your father missing, the doors and windows of your house disappearing, and no way to escape. That is the nightmare facing two children in this experimental horror movie from Edmonton filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball. There are no elaborate haunted mansions or remote castles here.
Much of the terror comes from dark hallways, familiar household objects and the feeling that something is watching from just outside the frame. The film was shot in Ball’s childhood home in Edmonton.
Filming Locations: Edmonton, Alberta.
Dark Nature (2022)
A wilderness retreat in the Canadian Rockies turns into a terrifying experience for a group of women trying to overcome personal trauma. Joy joins a therapeutic camping trip hoping to recover from an abusive relationship, but strange encounters suggest something dangerous is stalking the group.
The movie was directed by Calgary filmmaker Berkley Brady, and Alberta’s mountain scenery is a major part of the story. Anyone who has explored the trails and caves around Kananaskis might find the isolation especially unsettling.
Filming Locations: Kananaskis Country and the Calgary area, Alberta.
Kids vs. Aliens (2022)
A teenage house party goes horribly wrong when extraterrestrial creatures decide to crash the celebrations. What begins as an evening of music and teenage mischief quickly turns into a battle for survival as a group of young people fights off a terrifying alien invasion. Directed by Nova Scotia filmmaker Jason Eisener, the movie delivers plenty of creature effects, blood and over-the-top action. Dartmouth provided the backdrop for this unusual combination of science-fiction horror and teen comedy.
Filming Locations: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
FROM (2022–)
Imagine driving into a small town and discovering that every road leads you straight back to where you started. That is the frightening situation facing travellers in this supernatural television series. Nobody can leave the mysterious community, and residents must stay indoors after dark to avoid terrifying creatures that emerge at night. The fictional American town was built in Nova Scotia, making the province’s forests and rural roads an important part of the show’s unsettling atmosphere.
Filming Locations: North Beaver Bank, Oakfield Provincial Park and the Halifax area, Nova Scotia.
Slash/Back (2022)
The last thing you expect to find in a small Arctic community is a shapeshifting alien invasion. But that is precisely what happens in Slash/Back, a science-fiction horror movie directed by Nyla Innuksuk. When strange creatures begin appearing around Pangnirtung, a group of Inuit teenage girls decides to fight back using improvised weapons and everything they know from watching horror movies.
What makes the film particularly interesting is that it was shot in the Nunavut community where the story takes place, with local actors and real Arctic landscapes.
Filming Locations: Pangnirtung, Baffin Island, Nunavut.
The Strings (2020)
A musician travels to a remote seaside cottage during winter, hoping that solitude will help her work on new material. Instead, Catherine begins experiencing disturbing events that seem to be connected to a dark supernatural presence. The quiet, snow-covered coastline and isolated buildings create an eerie setting in this slow-burning psychological horror film. Much of the movie was filmed on Prince Edward Island, with additional production work in Toronto.
Filming Locations: Prince Edward Island, with additional filming in Toronto, Ontario.
Blood Quantum (2019)
What happens when a zombie outbreak strikes, but one community discovers its members are immune? That is the premise of this Indigenous horror film from Mi’kmaw filmmaker Jeff Barnaby. As the dead begin rising across the country, members of the fictional Red Crow reserve must decide how to protect their community while outsiders seek refuge.
The film mixes graphic zombie horror with a story about identity, survival and colonialism. Parts of the production were filmed in Quebec and northern New Brunswick.
Filming Locations: Kahnawà:ke and Listuguj, Quebec, and Campbellton, New Brunswick, including the J. C. Van Horne Bridge.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe star as two lighthouse keepers stationed on a remote island in the late 19th century. With storms, isolation and an increasingly hostile relationship, their time together gradually descends into a nightmare.
Director Robert Eggers filmed much of the movie near Yarmouth, where a temporary lighthouse was constructed at Cape Forchu. The rocky coastline, relentless wind and crashing waves are a memorable part of the film’s atmosphere.
Filming Locations: Cape Forchu, Yarmouth and the Halifax area, Nova Scotia.
Max’s Multiplex (2017)
For a shorter Halloween watch, this Yukon-made psychological thriller follows a man whose frustrations lead him into an increasingly unsettling situation. The eight-minute short was filmed in Carcross and went on to win several awards at the Dead North Film Festival in Yellowknife, including Best Film and Best Actor.
It is an example of how Canada’s northern filmmaking communities have developed their own suspense and horror productions without relying on large Hollywood budgets.
Filming Locations: Carcross, Yukon.
The Witch (2015)
Long before Anya Taylor-Joy became a household name, she starred in this unsettling historical horror film about a Puritan family in 1630s New England. After being forced to live on an isolated farm, the family begins experiencing strange events involving disappearing children, suspected witchcraft and a mysterious presence in the woods.
The movie was filmed in northern Ontario, where the production recreated an early colonial settlement in a remote forest setting. Its lonely landscape plays a major role in the increasingly frightening story.
Filming Locations: Kiosk area, northern Ontario.
WolfCop (2014)
A police officer who turns into a werewolf sounds like a terrible situation for his colleagues, but it makes for an entertaining horror comedy. Leo Fafard stars as Lou Garou, a hard-drinking small-town cop who begins experiencing bizarre physical changes after a mysterious incident. Soon, his newfound abilities are being put to use in some exceptionally bloody ways. The movie was filmed in Saskatchewan and has become something of a Canadian cult horror favourite.
Filming Locations: Regina and surrounding Saskatchewan communities.
The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
A family moves into a new home to be closer to the hospital where their son is receiving treatment, only to discover that the property has a horrifying history. The house was once a funeral home, and disturbing supernatural events soon begin troubling the family.
Despite the movie’s American title and setting, filming took place in Manitoba. The production used locations in Winnipeg and the town of Teulon to recreate its haunted surroundings.
Filming Locations: Winnipeg and Teulon, Manitoba.
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
If you want a movie that actually takes place on Halloween, this is one of the best choices. Four interconnected stories unfold in a small American town on October 31, with a mysterious costumed figure named Sam appearing throughout. You’ll find everything from murderous neighbours to werewolves and deadly Halloween traditions.
Although the story takes place in Ohio, the movie was filmed around Metro Vancouver. The Vancouver-area neighbourhoods and tree-lined streets are particularly well suited to its eerie Halloween atmosphere.
Filming Locations: Vancouver, North Vancouver and Ladner, British Columbia.