In the country.. no-one can hear you scream....

What is it about horror films we have watched recently that makes them all look like they are set in Nova Scotia?

Woods, lakes and seclusion - just the lovely things we are after are also the things of horror films.

I suppose its like before flying you suddenly think I should stop watching these "black box" programs on Discovery about the 1 million ways a plane can go wrong and suck you out of your seat and through the engines.

I think it started when we watched a film called "Dream Catcher" with log cabins, snowmobiles, and yucky alien things that jumped out of the snow and gave a man peeing a nasty accident. Check out the photos from the film and you will get the idea of the locations. Turns out its filmed on the other side of Canada in BC but still.

Of course since thinking about it every scary film we watch has elements of our new life. Luckily some are more ridiculous than scary such as "Wrong Turn" where young people are chopped up by scary inbred wood dwelling folk. This time it was filmed a little closer in Ontario. Luckily you know that the sub-human inbred cannibal family are things of pure Hollywood fantasy but the feeling of isolation in the film reminds you that in the city we take for granted having someone only a scream's hearing away at all times - not that it may do you any good if they hear the scream.

Last night we watched an excellent and scary film "The Descent" which was actually mostly filmed in Scotland. An excellent film and highly recommended. A group of women go caving and there is a real feeling of claustrophobia at times as they crawl along the narrow passages of the unexplored U.S. cave system. There are moments of complete heart pounding suspense and a couple of moments I admit to jumping about 4 foot off the sofa. There was one incident where I admit I screamed - not a girly scream you understand but a manly "from the diaphram" scream of masculine horror. I have not done that watching a film since the days of Aliens I reckon. Anyway we wont be going caving in Nova Scotia - in fact I don't think I would ever go caving again after watching The Descent.

I think Stephen King is often to blame in liking the country settings for his horrors, like another one we saw starring Johnny Depp, Secret Window. Again it's a sort of "in the country, no-one can here you scream" sort of affair.

So what am I trying to say? I think perhaps I just wanted to comment on the current fad to make nature scary in films. The lovely seclusion we are aiming for does have a few downsides. I think the horror films pray on my worries and insecurities about such a big move and although mainly silly, do make you think about some practicalities like ensuring we each know where the other is and perhaps investing in a GPS and walkie talkies in case we fall down the abandoned mine shaft in our own wood.