There’s something irresistible about a movie that slowly peels back the layers of a seemingly idyllic small town to reveal the secrets, scandals, and hidden darkness that lie beneath its charming exterior. Small towns make such great settings for intrigue and mystery precisely because of their reputation where everyone knows each other and “nothing ever happens.” But, in the world of cinema, looks can be deceiving. In this blog post, we’ll count down the best movies about small towns that explore the buried mysteries and surprising revelations about small town life.
10 Movies Set in Small Towns
1. Last Night in Rozzie
This award-winning drama stars Neil Brown Jr., Nicky Whelan, and Jeremy Sisto who all give powerful performances. After 25 years, a New York Lawyer returns to his Boston hometown to reunite with a friend that he hasn’t seen since a violent childhood incident. To his surprise, his friend is on his deathbed, and he has one desperate, last favor to ask.
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2. Judging Tree
Judging Tree is an original blend of thrills and mystery. The film follows a former prisoner whose financial problems strain his relationship with his girlfriend. When the young man hears about a strange myth about the village he lives in, he takes matters into his own hands and his actions have drastic consequences.
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3. Densmore
In September of 1991, the people of Densmore Kansas vanished overnight. It’s up to Agent James Reagan to figure out why.
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4. The Backwater Gospel
This multi-award-winning animation tells a powerful story that is full of religious symbolism and metaphors. The short film is about the town of Backwater which is cursed by regular visits from The Undertaker and one day, the town decides to help death along.
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5. Stray
Jack, a small town cop who left his family behind many years ago, takes in his estranged granddaughter Stacy after her mother dies. But when Jack’s second attempt at a family gets cut short, he seeks revenge the only way he knows how.
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6. Clearwater Vol. II
Strange happenings around the Clearwater campus result in Greg, an undercover journalist waking up with memory gaps and apocalyptic visions.
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7. Guesthouse
The short film is about a mother and his son who end up in a guesthouse after getting lost on a road trip. They spend the night where there is a dark secret waiting for them inside. Guesthouse is a suspenseful short that will have you guessing until the very end.
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8. Dispel
When young Lizzie learns her older brother is moving out, she realizes she will be left at home alone with her monster of a mother. Armed with the lessons of her favorite TV show, ‘Celeste Skygoode’, Lizzie battles to save her mother from the dark forces that have transformed her.
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9. Uncanny Harbor
Set in a seaside New England town Arthur, a recluse fisherman, is reinvestigated on the mysterious vanishing of his wife, English-teacher Emily two decades ago. Having no-recollection of the night she vanished, Arthur begins to reflect and recall.
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10. Along Came The Devil II
After receiving an unsettling voicemail, Jordan returns home, looking for answers, only to find her estranged father and even more questions. The only one who seems to know anything is the small town’s Reverend, and no one is safe.
