Most People Don’t Know These 8 Classic Spooky Films Were Filmed In Arizona

This 1977 film stars William Shatner in a horror film about an Arizona town (in this case, Camp Verde) under siege by a horde of desert tarantulas. Spiders are already pretty creepy but getting attacked by hundreds of them? No, thanks! Of course, if you know anything about tarantulas, you understand they just look scary because they’re actually delicate creatures that are not dangerous at all.

Vampires in Arizona? It seems a little far fetched considering how much sun we get annually but this 1987 film gives a convincing and horrifying perspective that re-introduced vampires as scary creatures. Some scenes were filmed in Casa Grande, Coolidge, and Eloy.

Whenever I think of this film, I can’t help but think of the killer rabbit of Caerbannog in Monty Python and the Holy Grail since both share killer rabbits. The movie (filmed in Sonoita, Ajo, and Tucson) seems a little silly today especially with the so-so acting and the fact that it’s difficult to make cottontail rabbits seem scary but the horror film at least makes a concerted effort. Perhaps if they used some mangy jackrabbits, I would be a little more convinced of the sinister behaviors that lurk behind those rabbit eyes.

If the first film of the series scared you, this sequel will also have you wanting to keep the lights on. This film used Canyon de Chelly’s unmistakeable Spider Rock as a prominent, though spooky, feature in several scenes.

This creepy movie about the pending angelic battle takes place in Superior, which offers the perfect, spooky setting for this film. If you’ve visited the town, you will recognize buildings and landmarks shown throughout the film.

Who could forget the camera panning the downtown Phoenix skyline following the opening credits of this Hitchcock favorite? Try noting how many buildings and landmarks you can recognize in those few seconds. While you won’t see much else of our state capital in the film, it’s one definitely worth the watch if you haven’t seen it already.

The 1953 version of the H.G. Wells novel re-imagines Earth’s attack in a Cold War era California, completely different from the original Victorian England setting. Arizona makes brief appearances in the film, most notably in the army scenes where even the state’s national guard had movie roles to give a more realistic appearance. These scenes were filmed near Florence and Phoenix.