A stoner classic set along the Taconic, an end-of-the-world adventure near Athens, and a heart-pounding thriller on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail make the list.
Super Troopers
Release date: 2001
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Where to watch: Rent on Youtube, Vudu, Amazon, iTunes, and Google
Synopsis: Though set in Vermont, large portions of this stoner classic about slacker cops were filmed along the Taconic Parkway.
War of the Worlds
Release date: 2005
Director: Steven Spielberg
Where to watch: Rent on Amazon, Google, Vudu, and iTunes
Synopsis: The chaotic scene where stars Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning attempt to flee an alien invasion by ferry was filmed at a purpose-built dock on the Athens waterfront, the origin of the ferry that runs to Hudson during the summer.
Michael Clayton
Release date: 2007
Director: Tony Gilroy
Where to watch: Rent on iTunes, Youtube, Google, Vudu, and Amazon
Synopsis: George Clooney stars as a corporate consultant who gets finds himself trapped in a maze of paranoia and peril in this suspense picture filmed partly in Orange County.
Taking Woodstock
Release date: 2009
Director: Ang Lee
Where to watch: Rent on Youtube, iTunes, Google, Amazon, and Vudu
Synopsis: Academy Award winner Lee recreated an entire town for his New Lebanon shoot of this story about a straight-laced local youth, played by Demetri Martin, who discovers himself at the historic festival.
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Release date: 2011
Director: Sean Durkin
Where to watch: Rent on Youtube, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and Google
Synopsis: Elizabeth Olsen stars as a woman who escapes to her mother’s home from a cult in the Catskills, but finds she cannot escape her trauma or her past in this touchstone of psychological horror.
Higher Ground
Release date: 2011
Director: Vera Farmiga
Where to watch: Rent on Vudu, Amazon, iTunes, Google, and Youtube
Synopsis: Farmiga stars as a fundamentalist who must question the heads of her church after a horrible tragedy. The Ulster County resident filmed in Kingston, Kerhonkson, Stone Ridge, and Ellenville.
The Place Beyond the Pines
Release date: 2012
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Where to watch: Stream on Netflix
Synopsis: A multi-generational saga that follows the fall-out of a life-altering encounter between a young cop, played by Bradley Cooper, and Ryan Gosling’s drifter daredevil, and the impact it has on their children and their families. It was largely filmed on location in Schenectady, whose Mohawk name translates to the film’s title.
Doomsdays
Release date: 2013
Director: Eddie Mullins
Where to watch: Rent on Google, Vudu, Youtube, Amazon, and iTunes
Synopsis: Two drifters ransack Catskill vacation homes in anticipation of climate catastrophe, but this slacker comedy forces them to update their goals when a local kid starts following them around. Local Mullins set and filmed his debut film in Ulster County.
Cold in July
Release date: 2014
Director: Jim Mickle
Where to watch: Stream on Netflix and Hulu
Synopsis: Mickle substituted Ulster’s woodlands for the piney expanses of East Texas in this Sam Shepard and Michael C Hall story of revenge.
A Quiet Place
Release date: 2018
Director: John Krasinski
Where to watch: Stream on Hulu
Synopsis: Filmed in many beautiful Dutchess and Ulster locations — including a particularly traumatic scene set on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail; this great piece of B-horror finds Krasinski, Emily Blunt, and their children attempting to survive an invasion of aliens who hunt by sound.
Then Came You
Release date: 2019
Director: Peter Hutchings
Where to watch: Rent on Youtube, Amazon, and Google
Synopsis: A terminally-ill teenager, played by Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, helps a hypochondriac baggage handler face his fears in this teen romance.
Diane
Release date: 2019
Director: Kent Jones
Where to watch: Rent on Amazon, iTunes, and Google
Synopsis: A local woman’s life of selfless giving masks her traumatic past and the damage it wreaks on her present. The flick was filmed in Rosendale, Saugerties, Kingston, and Palenville.
Twelve
Release date: 2019
Director: Steve Grimaldi
Where to watch: Rent on Amazon
Synopsis: This story of a young boy’s move to a new school and determined journey to play in the Little League World Series was filmed at local baseball fields in Fishkill, Newburgh, Hyde Park, and Wappingers Falls.
