Summer is often associated with countryside-living and now may be a perfect time to think about those films that tell of the lives lived outside big towns and cities. When one thinks about the hot season, one may conjure up long, lazy afternoons with a book, lawn picnics in the shade of trees, or maybe a road trip to some mountains or a beach.

Countryside summers in films are often the same, but some also at times have a tinge of something uncomfortable, dramatic or even terrifying (Midsommar (2019)) to them, and films portraying small-town America in summer can give off a stifling sense of claustrophobia. Such films as The Stepford Wives (1972) and The Virgin Suicides (1999), both based on great books, are the testaments to the terrors that may be hidden behind the idyllic and the relaxing, the hopeful and the rurally traditional. So, below are ten other films that portray small-town America and its many hidden dramas and paradoxes (though two films below are also famously set in winter!).

I. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

The big appeal of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks is the sense of the familiar and comfortable emanating from the story, which is then unveiled to have horrific undertones. Lynch, the master of that cinema which aims to discomfort and unnerve, presents Twin Peaks, a fictitious small logging town somewhere in the USA, “five miles south of Canadian border”, characterised by its crisp air, surrounding woods and a cherry pie-serving diner. There, we find teenager Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and through her, the dark side of one unassuming small town. Tapping into the American subconscious like no other director probably had done before, Lynch’s story of murder and unknown terrors is one of bewilderment, but also a peculiar creative mastery.

II. Revolutionary Road (2008)

Sam Mendes’s considerate, nuanced adaptation of the classic book of the same name by Richard Yates should be on everyone’s “to-watch” lists – if they have not seen it already. Reunited for the first time since Titanic (1997), Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet give fine performances in this countryside drama about a couple, the Wheelers, who feel stifled in their “conformist”, rural environment in the 1950s and want to break out. The stellar supporting performances by Kathy Bates and Michael Shannon, as well as a poignant score by Thomas Newman, elevate this picture about one doomed marital relationship and a courageous strive for personal happiness.

III. Groundhog Day (1993)

It is unlikely this film needs an introduction. The story about one misanthropic weatherman (Bill Murray) “stuck” in time, with just one of his days repeating itself in a loop gained an unexpected success and became a cult classic. Weatherman Phil travels with his TV crew to Punxsutawney to film the yearly tradition revolving around Groundhog Day, but ends up waking up each day in the same bed-and-breakfast joint, being forced to present the same festivity over and over, and over and over…again. No other film in director Harold Ramis’s filmography even hints at coming close in popularity to this comedy that can be considered a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’s novella A Christmas Carol. And, these retellings do seem to do extremely well with the American audience as another such retelling It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) is also a popular classic film.

IV. The Birds (1963)

The birds are coming! Nothing more needs to be said. Loosely based on a novella by Daphne du Maurier, Hitchcock’s horror masterpiece The Birds, like Psycho that came out three years before, broke many cinematic conventions at that time, paving the way for the new presentation of horror and suspense on screen. Here, wealthy socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) romantically pursues lawyer and bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), but, in the background of their romantic and sexual tension, the village of Bodega Bay, CA becomes the scene of bird attacks. The film can be analysed from numerous perspectives, including Freudian, but, whatever the interpretation, it does not lessen the mastery of each shot, the brilliance of the acting or the impact of the established atmosphere. When the credits start to roll at the film’s end, no small-town place in America feels as terrifying as Bodega Bay.

V. A History of Violence (2005)

Made almost twenty years ago, David Cronenberg film A History of Violence, based on a 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner, stood the test of time. Set in rural Indiana, the story focuses on family man Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) who has just heroically defended his business from a gunman, but whose murky past is about to catch up with him. Cronenberg’s unflinching portrayal of violence and his ever-nuanced direction make his film akin to some thrilling theatrical spectacle. The actors’ work is top-notch, and William Hurt (in the role of Tom’s wayward brother) was even nominated for an Academy Award for the performance that lasted less than ten minutes.

VI. Fargo (1996)

The Coen brothers’ filmography shines with examples of well-crafted, singular films that often have unapologetically dark satires and memorable presentations of violence at their cores. Fargo is no different, and its strong sense of place (rural Minnesota during winter) and Frances McDormand’s leading performance more than make up for any pace deficiencies. In this story, police chief Marge Gunderson (McDormand) starts investigating a road shooting without even realising how convoluted the case really is. All is simpler than in the Coen brothers’ Miller’s Crossing (1990), but the finale is just as good.

VII. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

It is now hard to believe, but before Iñárritu’s The Revenant, Zwick’s Blood Diamond and Cameron’s Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio already shined like a true star in Hallström’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, based on a book by Peter Hedges. Also starring Johnny Depp, the film tells of young man Grape who is trying to make sense of the little rural world around him, seeing its increasingly hopeless outlook. The film uses the brave, quietly powerful performances to accentuate its message of compassion, sympathy, acceptance and the desire to overcome obstacles, making this drama a poignant examination of responsibility and family dynamics.

VIII. The Last Picture Show (1971)

Adapting Larry McMurtry’s coming-of-age novel must not have been easy, but Peter Bogdanovich did a fine job with this story about adolescents in rural Texas in the 1950s. The film largely focuses on the friendship between two young men, Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges), and thematically, there is a little bit of everything here: angst of growing up, painful uncertainty about the future, loneliness and the “fall of the American Dream”. The supporting cast (Ben Johnson, Ellen Burstyn) shines in particular in this nostalgic, bitter-sweet look at the place and time that are no more.

IX. Shotgun Stories (2007)

Shotgun Stories is an underseen film set in rural Arkansas and following a feud between two brothers after the death of their father. Jeff Nichols has proven to be a director of stature with social awareness, and he is not afraid to tackle difficult topics of conflict and responsibility. His debut film is an imperfect, but mesmerising look at interpersonal clash, featuring also a nuanced performance from Michael Shannon.

X. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

This film may be described as saccharine as the novel by Fannie Flagg it is based on, but something in there still has the poignancy of a well-meaning, moving drama. The story tells of two women, Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates), a middle-aged housewife, and Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy), an elderly woman in a nursing home, who meet in 1985, and tell their stories. It turns out that Ms Threadgoode spent her youth in Whistle Stop, Alabama during the Depression era, and Evelyn goes back in her mind to that time when Ms Threadgoode’s wild sister-in-law Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) and her friend Ruth (Mary-Louise Parker) ran a café in Whistle Stop, helpings their customers see the positive side to their lives of hardship. The film is a touching glimpse of a bygone era with good performances.