The Buntzen Powerhouse was featured in the 1990 TV adaptation of Stephen King's It, where Tim Curry's Pennywise lurked beneath the fictional town of Derry.
Scary movies are in vogue, and directors love shooting here
By 2014, horror fans were in a bad way, and not a good kind of bad way. Scary films accounted for just 4% of ticket sales in cinemas across North America, and none could compete with box office behemoths such as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Lego Movie.
Twelve years later, look who's laughing (and screaming) now. Five horror flicks cracked the box office top 20 last year, and so far in 2026, two films — Obsession and Backrooms — are in the top 10. Moviegoers have discovered just how much fun the communal experience of a horror movie can be. Sharing screams, nervous laughter and post-film debate, we see filmmakers with modest budgets take chances that might be unthinkable to big-budget filmmakers.
Lending a helping, disembodied hand are locations around boo-ti-full B.C. Last year, Final Destination Bloodlines, shot in Vancouver, racked up nearly $318 million worldwide. Is it any wonder that BC Hydro's more than 100-year-old Powerhouse at Stave Falls, which has long been a horror show hotspot and is now a popular museum, has a real-life history as a haunted powerhouse?
Frankenstein's Monster first helped build the B.C. Electric Railway
B.C.'s legacy of scary movies stretches all the way back to the arrival of a Brit named William Henry Pratt in 1909. Before Boris Karloff became Frankenstein's Monster, he was a Vancouver labourer for the B.C. Electric Railway, which eventually became part of BC Hydro in 1961. Born in England as William Pratt, he adopted Boris Karloff as his stage name and began acting in communities including Kamloops and Nelson before touring the Prairies and the U.S.
Two decades later, he was cast as the Monster in Frankenstein (1931), followed by Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein. While those famous movies weren't filmed in B.C., FX’s Very Young Frankenstein, inspired by Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein, is due to start filming in Vancouver later this year.
Horror has come to B.C. in a big way in the last couple years, with three other movies shot here due for release:
- Breeder, filmed in March 25 in Maple Ridge, is due for a limited theatrical release on October 16, 2026. Perfectly timed for the return to school after the summer, it’s about an eccentric poodle breeder who lures a broke college student to her remote ranch with a promise of research funding.
- Anything but Ghosts, shot in the Lower Mainland this past spring and directed by Obsession director Curry Barker, tells the story of two fake paranormal investigators who stumble upon actual ghosts.
- The Young People, filmed in Vancouver in the fall of 2025, stars Nicole Kidman, Heather Graham and Johnny Knoxville in a story about two school friends who drift apart as one starts exhibiting disturbing behavior.
The filmed-in-B.C. all-time scary top 15
We've included a couple of TV series on the following list, including the X-Files, which was filmed in dozens of B.C. locations including Mission's Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse and the Powerhouse at Stave Falls, Anmore's Buntzen Lake reservoir and Port Moody's Burrard Generating Station.
We've ranked the list based on Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter audience rating. You will no doubt have your own opinion of what deserves to be at the top.
- Final Destination Bloodlines: 2025 (Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley)
Did you know? Vancouver's Museum of Vancouver and H.R. MacMillan Space Centre provided the exterior base of the fictional Skyview Tower—which falls in a spectacular disaster sequence. - X-Files: TV show, 1993-2018 (Metro Vancouver)
Did you know? BC Hydro’s Ruskin Dam stood in for a fictitious dam in the two-part alien-abduction story "Patient X" and "The Red and the Black" (Season 5). - Fresh: 2022 (Metro Vancouver).
Did you know? The grocery store where Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Steve (Sebastian Stan) meet at the beginning of the film is the Greystones SuperValu located in Burnaby - Heretic: 2024 (Metro Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Sea to Sky corridor).
Did you know? The film, which stars Hugh Grant and Sophie Thatcher, featured shots of St. James Anglican Church in the Strathcona neighbourhood of Vancouver. - Totally Killer: 2023 (Vancouver, Burnaby)
Did you know? The modern-day Hughes family home exterior was filmed at 1122 West 26th Avenue in Vancouver, while Lauren's house exterior was shot at 6572 Butler Street in Vancouver. - The Cabin in the Woods: 2012 (Lower Mainland)
Did you know? Wide shots of the underground control facility were taken at the British Columbia Institute of Technology's (BCIT) Aerospace Technology campus in Richmond. - Summer of '84: 2018 (Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley
Did you know? The movie's party scene was shot at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody. - Antlers: 2021 (Hope, Squamish, Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley)
Did you know? The bookstore and Chinese restaurants in the film were shot at Baker's Books and Kan Yon restaurant in Hope, which doubled as the fictional town of Cispus Falls, Oregon. - Stephen King’s It: Two-part TV series, 1990 (Lower Mainland)
Did you know? The Buntzen Lake generating station stood in for the sewer and water-treatment complex beneath the town of Derry that’s the entrance to Pennywise's domain. - Longlegs: 2024 (Maple Ridge, Metro Vancouver)
Did you know? Ruth's house, used in the film's climactic showdown, was filmed at Langley's Estate 248, a rustic country and wedding property that sits on the edge of the Poppy Estate Golf Course. - Final Destination 2; 2003 (Campbell River, Lower Mainland)
Did you know? The opening highway crash was shot on Highway 19 near Campbell River, close to the intersection at Willis Road. - Child's Play: 2019 (Vancouver, Fraser Valley)
Did you know? The iconic red and brick Holly Lodge in Vancouver's West End served as the exterior of the apartment that Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza) and her son Andy (Gabriel Batemen) move into. - The Monkey: 2025 (Vancouver, Maple Ridge)
Did you know? Prominent shooting locations included Abbotsford's popular Paliotti's Restaurant and the Haney Public House in Maple Ridge. - Final Destination 5: 2011 (Vancouver, Metro Vancouver)
Did you know? The Lions Gate Bridge became the fictional North Bay Bridge for the opening sequence. - Freddy vs. Jason: 2003 (Buntzen Lake, Metro Vancouver)
Did you know? Buntzen Lake in Anmore was used as the backdrop and setting for the Camp Crystal Lake sequences, including the final showdown and Jason's island shack. The cabins and docks were constructed sets built for the production and later removed.