Thursday List – Top Hillbilly Movies
To celebrate the upcoming release of LAWLESS in the UK, Scott has put together his favourite Hillbilly movies..
Those of you who know or have met me, you know I am basically a honourary Hillbilly. I have the hair and beard, love the Greengrass and blue music and always drink my liquor from a jamjar (OK the last part is a tiny fib). There is nothing I like better than watching a good film featuring Hill Folk of Southern USA, even if they do not get the stories they often deserve. Most of the time they are portrayed as serial killing inbreds with a passion for eating townies. This can’t be true right?
The latest film to depict these fine people is LAWLESS, starring Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf and Jessica Chastain. Released on 7th September this side of the pond, the film tells the tale of a moonshine gang during the Prohibition era in USA and is set to do very well indeed. I was lucky enough to see it earlier in the week and the review will be coming in the next day or so.
In the meantime here is a list of great Hillbilly movies to get you in the mood.
Winter’s Bone
17 year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) embarks on a mission to find her father after he uses their family house as a way of securing his bail and disappears without a trace.
Faced with the possibility of losing her home and being turned out into the Ozark woods, Ree challenges her outlaw kin’s code of silence and risks her life to save her family. She hacks through the lies, evasions and threats offered by her relatives and begins to piece together the truth.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Tucker & Dale Vs Evil is a hilariously gory, horror comedy, doing for killer rednecks what ‘Shaun of the Dead’ did for zombies. Tucker and Dale (Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count.
Deliverance
Deliverance remains one of the screen’s most powerful man vs. nature adventures and chronicles the journey of four Atlanta ‘weekend warriors’ who set off in canoes down a dangerous Georgia river and discover a wilderness of terror.
John Boorman’s taut direction builds the tension and fear to a raging climax, as the men travel beyond their comfort zone and are forced to face more than they could have ever imagined. Vilmos Zsigmond’s expert cinematography captures the wilderness of forest and river, while Eric Weissberg’s classic musical theme,Dueling Banjos, provides a perfect counterpoint to the action.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Five friends visiting their grandpa’s old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals. Leather Face is one of the iconic horror villains, and the laundry scene is oft replicated but never as scary as the original
Harlen County, USA
This film documents the coal miners’ strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA.
Southern Comfort
A group of National Guardsmen embark on a routine weekend of manoeuvres in the boggy swamps of Louisiana. Everything goes smoothly until blanks are fired at the Cajun locals. Suddenly the men are hurled into a terrifying battle for their lives…
About The Author – Scott Lawlor
Chief Editor of FRC. A self confessed geek with an unhealthy thirst for all things Home Cinema. Whether it is the latest Action film or Subwoofer. Check out his home set up HERE
What are your favourite Hillbilly films? What would you add? Comment below..
Scott Lawlor
Great list, I love all of the films in your list I’ve seen despite the very negative stereotypes that are portrayed in most. I’ve not yet seen Winter’s Bone but have been meaning to check it out for sometime.
Winter’s Bone is a good one, if a little slow in places!!
It is a shame about the negative stereotypes huh?
Fine list, Scott. Great to see Walter Hill’s ‘Southern Comfort’ there. A very underrated film.
I am very happy you approve Michael!!
Great list! i love films with hillbilliy movies, often times they are wild and dirty stories and the girls in the movies tend to have really interesting names. I think we may have two new movies in that trend this year – Killer Joe and The Paperboy.
Killer Joe is more trailer trash than hillbilly … no?
I did love it a lot though… put me right off my chicken!
Deliverance is great. A host of films have been inspired by it.
Indeed Dan, I am glad you like the list…!!
There’s Deliverance… and then there’s everything else. Nice list, Scott, these are all good ones for sure.
HAHA Indeed!! Thanks Eric for the comment
Hi, Scott and company:
Interesting list!
‘Deliverance’ and ‘Southern Comfort’ top my personal list.
Though, notably missing:
‘The Moonshine War’ (1970) ‘Lawless’ 40 years earlier. With Alan Alda and Patrick McGoohan.
‘Moonrunners’ (1975) B-Movie that became the basis for ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ TV series.
‘Lolly Madonna… XXX’ (1973) Hillbilly feud weirdness with Rod Steiger and Robert Ryan,
‘The Evictors’ (1979) Charles B. Pierce B-Movie with Vic Morrow.
‘Thunder Road’ (1958) How could you forget THIS one?!!!
Sweet Jack. I am so happy you popped in and spread some knowledge love!! I haven’t even heard of half of these films (actually more than half) Thanks for giving me the heads up!!
Another list I haven’t seen before, you’re on a roll matey!
This isn’t my genre, though I’m still curious about LAWLESS. Gonna check your review now.
Thanks Ruth… I am trying!!
Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance are two of the best movies ever made. Just had ta say that.
I am glad you did Tyler!!
Thanks for popping in
Ha… I love that this list includes Tucker and Dale, and Winter’s Bone, two very recent but very good hillbilly movies.
I’ve probably mentioned it before (even here), but Winter’s Bone takes place (and was filmed) about three hours southwest of where I live. My parents grew up an hour east of where they filmed that movie, and my dad owns a little spot of land really close to where they filmed it. I can tell you that the portrayal of that region is very, very accurate (although the drug use isn’t as rampant as it looks in the film).
Love the first 4, haven’t seen the last 2. Really need to see Southern Comfort, I miss Powers Booth