Academic institutions, including high schools, boarding schools, colleges, and university campuses, have historically been recurring settings for horror films. Film scholars have noted the prominence of educational institutions in the development of horror cinema, particularly in the subgenre of the slasher film. Critics such as Andrew Grunzke have cited the themes of bullying, sexuality, social acceptance, parent-child relationships, academic performance, and the development of morality during teenage and young adult life as primary reasons that many horror films have historically used the backdrop of high schools and colleges. Additionally, the universalization of education during the twentieth century, which coincided with the development of the horror film, helped foster a public audience for films set amongst students.
Colleges and universities
Campuses Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes 1945 The Body Snatcher Robert Wise A college professor and his student find themselves continually harassed by a sadistic cabman to supply bodies. 1946 The Brute Man A college student becomes deformed. 1957 I Was a Teenage Frankenstein A guest professor from England at an American college begins to build his own Frankenstein. 1958 Monster on the Campus A university professor begins to devolve into a caveman after coming in contact with blood from a coelacanth. 1962 Burn, Witch, Burn A college professor is tormented after discovering his wife has been practicing witchcraft. Originally titled Night of the Eagle 1981 Final Exam A man stalks the remaining students on a college campus just before summer vacation. 1981 Night School A serial killer is stalking and decapitating the women at a Boston night college. Released in the United Kingdom as Terror Eyes 1981 The Prowler College students hosting a graduation dance are targeted by a killer in World War II G.I. gear. Released internationally as Rosemary's Killer 1981 Strange Behavior Heinous physiological and psychological experiments are being conducted on high school- and college-age students at the science department of a four-year university in the small Midwestern town of Galesburg. Also known as Dead Kids, Shadowlands, Small Town Massacre, and Human Experiments; starring Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis, and Arthur Dignam 1982 Girls Nite Out A killer in a bear costume with razored claws murders students during an overnight campus scavenger hunt. Originally titled The Scaremaker 1982 The Dorm That Dripped Blood and Jeffrey Obrow Students cleaning an abandoned dormitory during Christmas break are stalked by a killer with a baseball bat encrusted in nails. Released in the United Kingdom as Pranks 1982 Pieces Juan Piquer Simón A serial killer dismembers young women on a Boston college campus with a chainsaw. 1984 Splatter University An escaped mental patient terrorizes a local university. 1985 Blood Cult Christopher Lewis A small town sheriff investigates ritualistic murders at the local college. First direct-to-video horror filmhttps://www.allmovie.com/movie/blood-cult-vm1058317 1988 Fright Night Part 2 Charley Brewster, now a college student, encounters a group of vampires on his campus. 1989 After Midnight and Ken Wheat A horror anthology film framed through college students taking a course on the "psychology of fear." 1992 Candyman The film follows Helen Lyle who is a semiotics graduate student completing a thesis on urban legends and folklore at the University of Illinois Chicago. While researching urban legends, she familiarizes herself with Candyman, a spirit who kills anyone that speaks his name five times before a mirror. 1995 The Addiction A philosophy graduate student in New York City is bitten by a vampire, which has major implications on her studies and personal life. 1996 Thesis (1996 film) In November 1995, Ángela, a university student in Madrid, is planning to write a thesis on audiovisual violence and the family. While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student in her faculty.... 1997 Scream 2 California teenager Sidney Prescott and her friends are stalked by a copycat killer dressed as Ghostface on their college campus in Southern California. 1998 Urban Legend A serial killer murders students at a New England college via methods based on urban legends. 2000 Urban Legends: Final Cut A killer stalks students of a film school and murders them according to urban legends. 2000 Anatomy (film) A cute med student starts a summer course at Heidelberg University. David's on her dissection table. She met him the day before on the train. Something's wrong. 2001 Ripper A massacre survivor believes a Jack the Ripper copycat is stalking her college campus. Also known as: Ripper: Letter from Hell 2001 Soul Survivors A college student's grip on reality weakens after the death of her boyfriend. 2002 American Psycho 2 An ambitious criminal psychology student resorts to murder vying for a prestigious teaching assistantship. 2004 Decoys Two male students vying to lose their virginity suspect the women on campus are not human. 2005 House of the Dead 2 A zombie outbreak occurs on a university campus. 2011 The Roommate A college student finds that her dormitory roommate is violently dangerous. 2014 Kristy A young woman is pursued by a cybercult of killers while alone on an empty campus during Thanksgiving. 2015 Chain Mail A group of people receiving a cryptic and unknown message from the internet, while others are ignoring it. Suddenly imminent danger follows them making them realize that this unknown chain letter is cursed by a demonic creature. 2017 Happy Death Day A college student is forced to relive her own murder in an endless time loop until she can solve it. 2018 Truth or Dare A group of college friends travel to Mexico before graduation. Playing a game of Truth or Dare awakens a demon that follows them home. 2019 Happy Death Day 2U A young woman, previously trapped in a loop of her own murder, is transported to another dimension where a killer is on the loose.
Fraternities and sororities Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes 1932 Thirteen Women Thirteen sorority sisters have their futures foreseen by a psychic paid to manipulate them into committing suicide. 1974 Black Christmas Sorority sisters are stalked and harassed by an unseen killer during Christmastime. See note 1976 Sisters of Death A man whose daughter died during a sorority prank takes revenge on the sorority seven years later. 1978 The Initiation of Sarah A shy woman with psychic powers joins a college sorority. Television film 1980 Terror Train Roger Spottiswoode At a university fraternity's New Year's Eve party, a reluctant Alana Maxwell is pressured into a prank: she lures the awkward, virginal pledge Kenny Hampson into a bedroom under the promise of sex. Instead, he discovers a corpse stolen from the medical school in the bed. Traumatized, Kenny is committed to a psychiatric hospital. Three years later, members of the same fraternities and sororities hold a New Year's Eve costume party aboard a train, and they start getting killed one by one by a masked murderer in the train. 1981 Hell Night Sorority and fraternity pledges must stay in a reportedly haunted house near their campus. See note 1983 The House on Sorority Row Sorority sisters are murdered by a killer during their last night in their sorority house. 1984 The Initiation Sorority pledges are murdered by an unseen assailant during an initiation ritual. 1984 Silent Madness A serial killer returns to the sorority house where he committed previous crimes. 1986 Killer Party Sorority pledges are murdered during a party at an abandoned fraternity house. 1986 Night of the Creeps Alien parasites that turn humans into murderous zombies infiltrate a college fraternity. 1986 Vamp Two college students hire a stripper for their fraternity party who turns out to be a vampire. 1986 Sorority House Massacre A sorority pledge experiences déjà vu while visiting a sorority house, followed by the appearance of a psychotic killer. 1987 Blood Sisters Sorority pledges are forced to spend the night in an abandoned brothel. 1988 Rush Week A student reporter uncovers a series of murders and disappearances on her college campus. 1990 Sorority House Massacre II Five women restoring an old home as their new sorority house are murdered one by one. 1992 Happy Hell Night A psychotic priest stalks pledges during pledge week at a rural college. Released in the United Kingdom as Frat Night 2004 The Hazing Sorority pledges are stalked by a deranged professor during pledge night. Also released as Dead Scared 2006 The Initiation of Sarah Twin sisters with psychic powers join a sorority. Remake of The Initiation of Sarah (1978) 2006 Black Christmas Sorority sisters trapped in their sorority home during a Christmas snowstorm are stalked by a serial killer. Remake of Black Christmas (1974) 2007 The Haunting of Sorority Row Bert Kish A sorority ritual leads to a ghost seeking revenge on sorority members. 2009 Sorority Row Sorority sisters graduating from college are stalked after covering up the death of a fellow sorority sister. Remake of The House on Sorority Row (1983) 2019 Pledge Freshman outcasts pledge a fraternity where each task turns increasingly more dangerous and a secret motive is revealed. 2019 Black Christmas Sorority sisters are targeted by a psychotic killer during Christmas. Second remake of Black Christmas (1974) 2020 InitiationJohn Berardo Multiple fraternity brothers are murdered by an unknown assailant, including a sorority sister's brother.
Secondary institutions Academies Year Title Director(s) Premise Notes 1977 Suspiria An American ballerina arrives at a German dance academy plagued by disappearances and deaths. 2008 The Haunting of Molly Hartley A teenager struggles at her new preparatory school after her mentally-ill mother attempts to murder her.
Boarding schools