CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — You may not think of West Virginia as a filmmaking state, but the Mountain State has seen plenty of critically acclaimed films come through its mountains.
This list was compiled using the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website. Here are some facts about West Virginia moviemaking:
McDowell County was the only county featured twice in the top 10. The films shot in McDowell County are “Primal Fear” and “The Glass Castle.”
Drama films came out strong with six out of the 10 films featuring drama in their categories. Documentary came behind with four, while crime, thriller, and biography were featured in three films.
Two Best Picture winners are on the list. They are “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Deer Hunter”. Both films won five Academy Awards. “The Deer Hunter” was nominated for nine total and “The Silence of the Lambs” was nominated for seven total.
Three films were nominated for an Academy Award but did not win. “Matewan” was nominated for one Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Edward Norton in “Primal Fear” was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. “Super Size Me” was nominated for Best Documentary.
The most critically acclaimed film on the list is “The Night of the Hunter” with a 99/100 on Metacritic from 8 critics, while “Primal Fear” was the lowest, with an average of 47/100 from 18 critics.
According to IMDb user ratings, here are the Top 10 films shot in West Virginia.
1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Writer: Ted Tally (Screenplay), Thomas Harris (Based on the Novel)
Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10 (1.4 million ratings)
Metacritic Score: 85/100
Where in West Virginia?: Clay County
IMDb Synopsis: “A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.”
2. The Deer Hunter (1978)
Director: Michael Cimino
Writer: Michael Cimino (Story), Deric Washburn (Story), Louis Garfinkle (Story), Quinn K. Redeker (Story), Deric Washburn (Screenplay)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale
Genre: Drama, War
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10 (335,000 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 86/100
Where in West Virginia?: Follansbee, Brooke County | Weirton, Brooke & Hancock Counties
IMDb Synopsis: “An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.”
3. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Director: Charles Laughton
Writer: Charles Laughton (Screenplay), James Agee (Screenplay), Davis Grubb (Based on the Novel)
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
IMDb Rating: 8/10 (89,000 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 99/100
Where in West Virginia?: Moundsville, Marshall County
IMDb Synopsis: “A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid the $10,000 he’d stolen in a robbery.”
4. Matewan (1987)
Director: John Sayles
Writer: John Sayles
Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell
Genre: Drama, History
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10 (8,100 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 73/100
Where in West Virginia?: New River Gorge | Thurmond, Fayette County
IMDb Synopsis: “A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.”
5. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)
Director: Jeff Feuerzeig
Writer: Jeff Feuerzeig
Stars: Daniel Johnston, Matt Groening, Gibby Haynes
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Music
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10 (10,000 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 77/100
Where in West Virginia?: Weston, Lewis County
IMDb Synopsis: “Daniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.”
6. The Last Mountain (2011)
Director: Bill Haney
Writer: Bill Haney, Peter Rhodes
Stars: Susan Bird, Don Blankenship, Ron Burris
Genre: Documentary
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10 (299 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 62/100
Where in West Virginia?: Appalachian Mountains
IMDb Synopsis: “A coal mining corporation and a tiny community vie for the last great mountain in Appalachia in a battle for the future of energy that affects us all.”
7. Still Bill (2009)
Director: Damani Baker, Alex Vlack
Writer: Alex Vlack
Stars: Bill Withers, Clarence Avant, Corey Glover
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Music
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10 (629 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 76/100
Where in West Virginia?: Slab Fork, Raleigh County
IMDb Synopsis: “A portrait of soul legend Bill Withers.”
8. Primal Fear (1996)
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writer: Steve Shagan (Screenplay), Ann Biderman (Screenplay), William Diehl (Based on the Novel)
Stars: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10 (290,000 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 47/100
Where in West Virginia?: Keystone, McDowell County
IMDb Synopsis: “An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.”
9. Super Size Me (2004)
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Writer: Morgan Spurlock
Stars: Morgan Spurlock, Daryl Isaacs, Chemeeka Walker
Genre: Documentary
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10 (108,000 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 73/100
Where in West Virginia?: Beckley, Raleigh County
IMDb Synopsis: “While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald’s food for one month.”
10. The Glass Castle (2017)
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton (Screenplay), Andrew Lanham (Screenplay), Jeannette Walls (Based on the Novel)
Stars: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts
Genre: Biography, Drama
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10 (33,000 ratings)
Metacritic Score: 56/100
Where in West Virginia?: Welch, McDowell County
IMDb Synopsis: “A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.”
