The Hitcher (1986): Filming Locations

This is definitely not a definitive locations guide to the 1986 film The Hitcher, nor does it cover all of the filming locations. However, when I do make it to the other locations, I will certainly update this. Here are the locations from the Death Valley, Shoshone, and Tecopa, California areas used in the film.

Friday the 13th: Part III Locations; Crystal Lake Cafe & Cop Chase

For your Friday the 13th pleasure, here's another location from Friday the 13th: Part III. This has been on a few blogs, but I think the entire area is really neat. Harold & Edna's store was filmed in the same vicinity as the Green Valley store where Shelly and Vera met the bikers. Even though it's a ways away, it's in the next canyon over. 

Sleepaway Camp II & III Filming Location: Waco, Georgia

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3O_aYDUF7E

Here are a couple videos from the summer camp where Sleepaway Camps 2 and 3 were filmed, in the town of Waco, Georgia. It's really sad to see how quick after the movies this camp started to go to shit. It's basically nothing but ruins now and slowly falling apart. 

This land is now private property and the owners warn that the land is dangerous. 

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning Filming Locations

I made a post regarding the filming location for Tina and Eddie's death in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning a few months back according to quasi directions given to me by John Robert Dixon about 6 or 7 years ago. Well, that location that I posted was not right. 

Ghoulies (1985) Filming Location

This mansion used in the 1985 film Ghoulies was an actual residence located at 1824 North Curson in Hollywood, California. The Wattles Manson was the winter home of Nebraska banker Gurdon Wattles. A non-profit organization called Hollywood Heritage refurbished the home and land. They turned the land over to Los Angeles Parks and Recreation department in 2009.

Tremors (1990) Filming Locations

Opening Credits

Since the 1990 movie Tremors was set in Perfection, Nevada - which is a real place - people assumed that it was also filmed there and the nearby town Bisbee - in the movie it was Bixby. Since it was a Hollywood production, they shot most of the movie in the Owens Valley area of California. 

Motel Hell Filming Location

Motel Hell(o) as seen in the film.

The spanish hacienda at the Sable Ranch

Most of this film was shot at the Sable Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita, California which was very well known to host T.V. shows like MacGyver, The A-Team, and so on. The ranch house at Sable also hosted such horror movies like The Devil's Rejects and even Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (though the ranch house was located at another movie ranch when it was filmed).

The location of the actual Motel Hell(o) was filmed at the spanish hacienda at the movie ranch, which has been used in countless films and T.V. shows in the past. Some parts of the film were also shot in Moorpark, California.

More Friday the 13th: Part IV Filming Locations!

You can see the car drive past this building on the corner of Franklin Canyon &
 Lake Drive. The house can be seen through the back window of the car.

I posted before on the Zaca Lake scenes filming location here, which is quite a ways away from the filming area where the driving/road scenes with the teens, and the lake kills were done. This area is in the area which is actually Beverly Hills, though quite a ways from the area commonly shown as Beverly Hills. 

It's a protected area in the Santa Monica Mountains called Franklin Canyon. The lake is actually Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir, also called Myers Lake.

River's Edge (1986) Shooting Locations [UPDATED]

River's Edge is without a doubt one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. I took some time and searched out the areas in Tujunga, California where it was mostly filmed. However, the river scenes were actually shot in Carmichael, California – those are included in the update (scroll to the bottom).

Matt's home on Redmont - still looks pretty similar.

Friday the 13th: Part V (Tina & Eddie's Death) Possible Filming Location

*UPDATE*

Turns out this was not the area the scenes were filmed – albeit still off of Mulholland. Please click this link for an updated entry with the verified locations.

A scene from the movie.

All of the water grass has long died from no water. 

Friday the 13th: Part V has been probably one of the hardest locations to find. Just recently we found the location of the house and the cafe, but the areas where Tina and Eddie were killed a well as the trailer park are still elusive.

I wasn't very familiar with the area until recently, and way back in the day (2008?) when I found John Robert Dixon on his employer's site and emailed him he told me that his death scene was shot "off of Mulholland somewhere" and "I think Malibu Creek was the name". 

Friday the 13th: Part IV Filming Location - Zaca Lake

https://www.flickr.com/photos/qrux

I haven't been able to make it to Zaca Lake – the shooting location for some of the lake scenes in Friday the 13th: Part IV – since it's quite far away in Santa Barbara County, so here are some shots of the probable shooting areas of the film.

Sorority House Massacre I & II: Filming Locations

The sorority house as seen in the film: Sorority House Massacre

How the house looks now.

Living in Los Angeles I get to see a lot of filming locations for my favorite movies. Realistically, after seeing these locations it actually takes away a lot of the impact the movie had. With movie magic, a lot of these places were shot to seem a lot more secluded than they actually were. 

Night of the Demons (1988): Filming Locations

The old man's house in the beginning of the film.

This is how that house looks now. It was long abandon, but is now being

refurbished and is for sale/lease. It's on Menlo Avenue at 29th.

Kevin S. Tenney's Night of the Demons (1988) was shot pretty much entirely in one area of the Historic Menlo/29th District in Central Los Angeles. The Old Man's home seen in the beginning and the end of the movie is on the corner of Menlo Avenue and 29th Street.

People Under the Stairs: Filming Location

The house in the film People Under the Stairs

How the house looks today

The house used as the main location in the 1991, Wes Craven film The People Under the Stairs is located in central Los Angeles near the Historical Adams District on Harvard Avenue. Most of the interiors were actually shot on a set, making the home look a lot larger than it really is. 

Directly across from this home is the home used in the film Sorority House Massacre II (which is abandon). In that film the Red Herring Orville Ketchum lived across the street, in this home. At the end of this film – when the residents gather in the street – the Sorority House Massacre II house can be seen.

Higgins Haven in Other Movies

We all know the cabin at Veluzat Movie Ranch simply as "Higgins Haven", which was the name it was given as it appeared in Friday the 13th: Part III (1982). The cabin was actually a set that was constructed for the production of Friday the 13th: Part III and was used many times after until it was finally burned down by some dumb fan trying to relive "Shelly's" scene in the movie.

The barn still makes appearances from time to time in movies and on television. Here are some other cameos the cabin made before it met its fate.

By the way, thanks to The Location Scout blog for these photos.

Zero Boys (1986)

The Devil's Rejects Filming Locations(s)

Even though Rob Zombie has called the Friday the 13th franchise "stupid", I saw a lot of (maybe) unintentional homages throughout his 2005 movie The Devil's Rejects. The most obvious is Tiny's outfit in the beginning of the movie was spot on to Jason's in Friday the 13th: Part II.

Though, The Devil's Rejects was set in Texas, is was shot in the lower Mojave desert and places more south like Santa Clarita. Most of the movie was shot at the Sable Movie Ranch on Sand Canyon Road, right in the middle of Santa Clarita, California. Scenes like the "chicken fucker", Charlie Altamont's place, the Firefly house, and many more scenes. Here are some locations off of that movie ranch that reached as far up as Lancaster, California. 

"Buck's Grab n' Go" where Spaulding pulled into when his truck ran out of gas.

Rio Groceries is an actual store right outside of Acton, California.

Rio Groceries was used in the movie (mostly exterior shots), and is an actual store right on Soledad Canyon Road. It'a about 2 miles before the Acton KOA Campground. Even though the store has changed a little bit and was dressed up for the movie, it still remains pretty similar and still functioning.

Blackberry Farm at Kelly Gulch

Blackberry Farms taken from their Facebook page.

A lot of us Friday the 13th fans are aware that the famous Kelly Gulch property at 1801 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. was up for sale recently. Looks like the new owners have turned it into a functioning farm, but still available for filming and weddings.

I am very happy that the new owners have chose to use this property for personal use as opposed to just having it there for rental, shooting, etc.

The location is as beautiful as ever and they hold pubic events like Halloween parties and pie baking contests! This means that fans will have an opportunity to tour the property legally.

Check out their Facebook!

Abandoned Places: The Old Lake Waramaug Casino

Friday the 13th: Part II fans will know this as the bar that Ginny, Paul, Ted and the rest of the counselors went to while the others were left at the camp to be slaughtered by Jason. Most of us fans also know that the place burned down not long after filming. The blog Squidoo; Abandoned Places featured bar, The Old Lake Waramaug Casino and had this to say:

An active nightspot for decades in Litchfield County Connecticut, the old Lake Waramaug Casino seen its scores of locals and out of state visitors for many years. My best guess is that it was built in the 1930's or early 1940's. In 1980 it was used as backdrop of both its interior and exterior in the Hollywood production of "Friday the 13th part 2", other parts of the lake and its bordering town of New Preston was also used as a backdrop too. The movie was released in 1981 and a year or so later the structure caught fire and burned to the ground. This photograph was taken in 1981 while visiting the area.

This is how the land looks as of 2003, thanks to Bong Tokin' Chuckles and the Fridaythe13thFilms.com website. This is the description that accompanied the photograph:

The casino where the counselors go to party was located on West Shore Road, in New Preston. It burned down over 20 years ago, only a few years after filming. This picture is of the land and road where the building used to stand. It is now a private residential property. 

Again, thanks Brandon Middleton for this tip!

Vintage Postcard of NoBeBoSco

I found this little gem; a vintage (unknown date) of Camp NoBeBoSco in the lovely town of Blairstown, New Jersey and the shooting location of Friday the 13th (1980).  If anyone knows the date of this, please leave a comment. 

Part II Location

The stairwell

Here are some photos of the Part II shooting location in Kent, Connecticut. This location was demolished a handful of years back and from what I was told, new homes were built in its place. So the "now" text should be "2008." More of these photos from Tony Urban  are on the F13thFranchise site.