Dutchess County has earned quite a reputation as a location for film and television productions. Just in time for Halloween, here is our watchlist featuring horror projects that featured the heart of the Hudson Valley on screen.
This year's under-the-radar sci-fi/horror-comedy Companion filmed sequences in Dutchess County. Nature's Pantry in Fishkill is featured in a prominent moment, serving as the location for the flashback meet-cute between the film's protagonists. Smartly written with several twists and turns, this is a crowd-pleasing flick with a lot of Hudson Valley scenery.
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Smile 2 (2024) created some of its most terrifying sequences in the heart of the Hudson Valley, including its impressive opener. Anyone who braves this frightening horror sequel will recognize a few Wappingers Falls exteriors that serve as the setting for gruesome events.
AppleTV’s Severance shot multiple scenes from its first two seasons in Beacon. The sci-fi thriller released to mass acclaim, including seven primetime Emmy nominations, and explores a fictional workplace where employee work memories are separated from their personal ones. Beacon's Main Street doubled for the fictional city of Kier in a few scenes under the direction of Ben Stiller, including the visit to the Hall of Records.
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Many horror fans will know that A Quiet Place and its scream-worthy sequel used many Hudson Valley locations for its post-apocalyptic landscape. The very memorable home in the film is located in Pawling; locations setjetters can visit include Beacon Natural Market in Beacon and Lakeside Park in Pawling.
Molly Gordon's Oh, Hi! (2025) set its tale in upstate New York, and utilized Dutchess and Columbia counties extensively for filming locations. Fans of Stephen King's Misery will surely enjoy this independent dark comedy that takes a clingy protagonist to the next level. Oh, Hi! uses the serenity of summer in the region to great effect.
Netflix's 2021 horror film Things Heard and Seen stars Amanda Seyfried. This adaptation of the novel All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage uses locations in Tivoli and Red Hook. Many Hudson River School paintings are alluded to and featured, and some are even used in frightening sequences. Watch this spooky thriller for plenty of shots of the Hudson River.
The psychological horror-satire Master (2021) stars Regina Hall and draws on the issues of racism and identity politics on American college campuses. Vassar College in Poughkeepsie was used as the location for the fictional Ancaster College where the film is set.
While not quite a horror film, Shirley (2020) is certainly an unsettling watch. The semi-biographical film explores a period of horror author Shirley Jackson's life, and utilizes Vassar College for Vermont's Bennington College.
