With Spring Break plans on hold, now is a great time to dive into some modern day West Virginia shot feature films. Here’s a look at just a few of the films that feature the Mountain State or that were shot here in the past 20 years.
“Super 8”
Written and directed by J.J. Abrams (“Star Wars”) as an homage to Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.”, this 2011 PG-13 sci-fi thriller was shot around Weirton, W.Va. Set in a small town in 1979, “Super 8,” which helped pave the way for similar themed hits like “Stranger Things,” is about a group of teens making a zombie movie on their Super 8 camera. They come upon a horrific train crash of the supernatural kind. Bizarre events follow as dogs disappear, wires and motors are ripped from cars and local deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler) tries to uncover the terrifying truth of what was on board.
“Super 8“ gets an 81 percent fresh critics rating and a 75 percent fresh audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“We Are Marshall”
The Warner Brothers Picture “We Are Marshall,” is the best known modern day West Virginia made film. Filmed around Huntington, “We Are Marshall” had a premiere at the Keith-Albee and the new Marquee Cinemas in December 2006 before being released nationwide. Directed by McG, “We Are Marshall” has an all-star cast that included (future Oscar winner) Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Ian McShane, Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, and David Strathairn. The film tells the true story of the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 including most of the Marshall Thundering Herd football team, most of the coaches and some boosters. “We Are Marshall” follows Marshall, and its 1971 Young Thundering Herd, as the community rallies back to rebuild in the wake of tragedy. Keep an eye out for many local folks in cameo roles and Huntington locations in the film including Fourth Avenue and the Frederick Hotel and the Highlawn neighborhood.
On Rotten Tomatoes, “We Are Marshall” gets a 79 percent fresh rating from audiences but only a 49 percent fresh rating from critics.
Hidden Figures
Nominated for three Oscars including “Best Picture,” the inspirational 2016 film “Hidden Figures” tells the incredible story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
This untold story tells how Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)-brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big, according to Rotten Tomatoes where the film gets an impressive 93 percent fresh rating from critics and audiences alike.
Although not shot in WV, “Hidden Figures” tells the story of one of West Virginia’s most beautiful minds – Katherine Johnson, who just passed away Feb. 24, 2020 at the age of 101. The White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., native was the first African American lady to attend WVU’s grad school, the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics. President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. At NASA, she worked for 33 years at Langley, also working on the Space Shuttle and the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS, later renamed Landsat) and authored or coauthored 26 research reports.
An even more detailed story specifically about Johnson’s incredible story is the Motion Masters documentary “Outlier.” Find out more about that program here https://www.pbs.org/show/outlier-story-katherine-johnson/
“The Road”
With the spread of Covid-19, post-apocalyptic thrillers are all the rage, and we have one that was shot in West Virginia. The 2009 thriller “The Road,” based upon the Cormac McCarthy best-selling book, was shot in part in on the Mon-Fayette Espressway in near the Morgantown area. Starring Virgo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce, “The Road,” is a post-apocalyptic dramatic thriller about a father and his son walking alone through burned America trying to make it to the coast along this lawless road against all odds. They only have each other, some scavenged food, the clothes they are wearing and a pistol to make it to their destination.
The film gets a 73 percent fresh critics rating and a 68 percent audience rating on Fresh Tomatoes.
“Bubble”
While the Coronavirus is bringing theater films straight to streaming services, believe it or not it was a West Virginia made film back in 2005 that pioneered that process. Hollywood director Steven Soderbergh came to West Virginia and southern Ohio where his Magnolia Pictures filmed “Bubble” (about a love triangle) at such spots as the famed (and creepy) Lee Middleton Doll Factory. Soderbergh then made film history – releasing the film (the same day) to the big screen, to DVD and to streaming services. While bubbling around in Soderbergh’s world, check out the under-rated NASCAR heist film, “Logan Lucky” about a couple West Virginia coal miners who plot and race to pull off one hell of a wild heist.
“Bubble” gets a 71 percent fresh rating from critics and a 61 percent fresh rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. A spot on critics review says … “A seemingly mundane film still manages to be engrossing and creepy.”
“Unstoppable”
The 2010 Tony Scott-directed thriller “Unstoppable” stars Denzil Washington and Chris Pine in an action-packed film based around the real life story of the CSX 8888 incident telling the story of two men who attempt to stop a runaway freight train.
The last film that Scott directed before his death, “Unstoppable” was shot in part in Follansbee, West Virginia, in the northern Panhandle and in the nearby Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound Editing and grossed $167 million worldwide.
The film gets a very solid 86 percent fresh critics rating and a 72 percent audience fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Mothman Prophecies”
Although shot in Pennsylvania, “The Mothman Prophecies,” is a 2002 film based upon the best-selling 1975 John Keel book, “The Mothman Prophecies,” about the burst of unexplained phenomena reported in Point Pleasant in 1966-67. The film stars Richard Gere and Laura Linney. John Klein (Gere), a reporter who researches the Mothman legend. Still shaken by the mysterious accidental death of his wife a two years earlier, Klein is sent to cover a news piece and ends up inexplicably finding himself in Point Pleasant where there have been a rash of sightings and unexplained phenomena. As he is drawn into mysterious forces at work, he hopes they can reconnect him to his wife, while local sheriff (Linney) becomes concerned about his obsessions. Although the film went on to make a modest $55 million, critics were lukewarm about it. “
The Mothman Prophecies” gets a so-so 52 percent fresh rating from critics and a 56 percent fresh rating in from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Gods and Generals”
West Virginia, the only state born out of the Civil War, was used as a backdrop for the 2003 Civil War film “Gods and Generals” based on the Jeff Shaara best-selling novel of the same title. A prequel to “Gettysburg,” “Gods and Generals” traces the early days of the conflict through the experiences of Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) left behind life as a college professor to become one of the Union’s greatest military minds. West Virginia native Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (Stephen Lang) was, like Chamberlain, a man of great faith but who served in the defense of the Confederacy. And Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall), who led the Confederate army, was a man who was forced to choose between loyalty to the United States and his love of the South where he was born and raised. Chamberlain, Jackson, and Lee are followed through battles at Manassas, Antietam, Frederickburg, and Chancellorsville. The film also follows the women these men left behind, among them Fanny Chamberlain (Mira Sorvino) and Anna Jackson (Kali Rocha).
The film, which featured a new song by Bob Dylan, was shot all over the Eastern Panhandle of WV: in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Charles Town, Martinsburg and Berkeley Springs.
Audiences give this PG-13 rated film a 64 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, although critics pan it hard at an 8 percent fresh rating.
