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The 15 Worst Horror Destinations!!

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By Zena S. Dixon.

If you guys didn’t know, it’s about time for a vacation! Not sure where to go? Not sure if you prefer the woods or the beach? Not sure if you want to stay in the country or leave the country? No problem! I’m here to help you. The list below reveals the 15 Worst Horror Destinations. With this, you are guaranteed to think twice about your vacation plans, and it may even encourage you to stay home where things are normal and a little less life-threatening.

15. NILBOG – TROLL 2 (1990)
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Why vacation in a small town secretly inhabited by Goblins that want to eat you?

14. NEW ORLEANS SWAMP – HATCHET (2006)
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I’m not saying you can’t go to New Orleans…just stay away from the swamps. Particularly, stay away from the haunted swamp tours.

13. CABIN IN THE WOODS…duh – CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012)
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I’m sure you don’t want to discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods…so just avoid all cabins, period.

12. SLOVAKIA – HOSTEL (2005)
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It’s ok to meet new people along the way. These encounters may lead to new things and perhaps new friendships. However, if you don’t want to wake up in a dungeon room with a man who drills holes into your chest or legs… bypass these new friendships. I’m not a fan of rap, but Drake said it himself, “No new friends.”

11. WOODSBORO, CALIFORNIA – SCREAM (1996)
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Just because you know the rules of horror doesn’t mean you should go here. Plus, if you really know the rules, then you would know that the rules are always getting switched up!

10. CAMP ARAWAK – SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)
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This one particularly goes to those parents who want to get rid of the children for the summer, even if it means sending them to camp where a psycho with sinister intentions is on the loose. We all know how this one ends. Young women end up having male genitalia or worse, raped by a hot curling iron. Either way, stay away, and certainly don’t send your children there.

9. WEST VIRGINIA – WRONG TURN (2003)
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If you get cheated on by your significant other and your friends know, just make sure they don’t suggest you all go to the woods in West Virginia. Why not just take your friend to a bar or club to drink or dance their troubles away?

8. CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE – FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
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Unless you want to be stalked and murdered, I say skip it.

7. RACCOON CITY – RESIDENT EVIL (2002)
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Don’t even think about visiting a city with a company named ‘Umbrella’ in it or around it… unless you simply like battling flesh-eating creatures, creatures that crawl on the ceilings, or worst, an out of control supercomputer with a little British girl’s voice.

6. COASTAL TOWN OF ANTONIO BAY – THE FOG (1980)
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Yeah, finishing towns that were built a 100 years ago seems pretty awesome. But what happens when a killer fog emerges, containing dead zombie spirits that seek revenge for their deaths?

5. TEXAS – TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
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Yes, THE whole state! You never know when someone with a chain-saw will jump out, gut you like a pig, then eat you like one. Play it safe and avoid the whole state!

4. AN OLD REMOTE CABIN – EVIL DEAD (2013)
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Again with a cabin in the woods! If you want to help your sister or friend recover from their heroin addiction or worse, musical addiction, don’t do it in a remote cabin in the woods. Have we not learned that there are evil forces out there?

3. BATES MOTEL – PSYCHO (1960)
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You’d be better sleeping in your car at the side of the road than sleeping in a motel where the least of your worries would be the cockroaches.

2. OVERLOOK HOTEL – THE SHINING (1980)
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An isolated hotel where evil spirits influence people to do violent things is definitely one to avoid!

1. ISLAND OF MATOOL – ZOMBI 2 (1979)
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A tropical island always seems nice, huh? Wrong! Especially when there is an epidemic of the undead.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

LONDON – AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)
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If something bad happens to you out there, I’m sure none of the locals will believe you. Especially if it involves hairy, bloody werewolves.

BURKITTSVILLE, MARYLAND – THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)
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Avoid locations that have legends. Simple.

HADDONFIELD, ILLINOIS – HALLOWEEN (1978)
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Well…maybe you’ll be ok because we aren’t near Halloween or in the month of October…maybe.

BRAZIL – TURISTAS (2006)
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Brazil is known for its beauty, especially the beautiful women. If you must go, don’t take drinks from an attractive individual.

AUSTRALIA – WOLF CREEK (2005)
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It’s actually a dream of mine to go to Australia ,but after seeing this film, I knew my dream to not be brutally murdered outweighed visiting Australia.

You’re probably wondering, what place is left to vacation? Nowhere! So, you might as well stay home and watch horror movies all summer. You’re welcome!

What would be on your 15 Worst Horror Destinations?

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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