by Robert Davis, writing for TVRage.com [Retrieved 09/09/2021]
There are garden gnomes, and then there are garden gnomes. The cuter they seem to be, the more danger they might put you in. Here are our top 10 garden ornaments gone wild!
1. The ‘Burbs (1989)
The ‘Burbs is a dark comedy starring Tom Hanks in one of his earlier roles. It tells the story about a suburbanite named Ray Peterson who suspects that his new neighbors are murderers. Garden gnomes, however, do not play a role in the movie.
2. Lawnmower Man (1992)
A gardener is ‘enhanced’ by virtual reality to become a super genius, then uses his newfound intelligence for evil instead of good. A garden gnome is prominently featured in a scene involving the garden of the main character’s neighbor.
3. The Gate (1987)
Two kids accidentally summon an evil garden gnome through a portal that he opens to another world. Once the garden is opened, the garden gnomes come out as well as other evil creatures that the kids must stop.
4. Paranormal Activity (2007)
Paranormal Activity is a horror movie about demonic activities. It was released as a ‘found footage’ style film which means that it was filmed with handheld cameras to give it an air of being real.
A garden gnome ends up being used to explain some of the mysterious goings-on in and around their house, but ultimately has nothing to do with the plot.
5. Troll 2 (1990)
Garden gnomes are replaced in this movie by goblins, but appear in garden scenes where they are being used as decorations. They come to life to terrorize the main characters of the film, who ultimately defeat them using gardening tools.
6. Urban Legend (1998)
Urban Legend follows a group of college students who are being picked off one by one. They each receive notes that tell them they will die in the manner of different urban legends, such as choking on a piece of gum. There is also an urban legend about garden gnomes feeding children to their parents, although this was only featured in the book, and not the movie.
7. Clue (1985)
Clue features a group of people who are lured to the mansion where the film takes place by receiving weird invitations. Once they arrive, everything begins to go wrong and it is up to them to save themselves. A garden gnome plays a significant role in the movie only at the end when it is revealed as the killer.
8. The Witches (1990)
A boy who is staying with his grandmother over the summer learns that witches take away children and disguises himself as one so he can learn their secrets. A garden gnome can be seen briefly in one of the gardens of a witch.
9. Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Alice In Wonderland is a live action version of the animated film, and is told in flashbacks. Alice tells her daughter about what happened to her when she was younger. A garden gnome appears near the beginning of the movie as an ornament with many other decorations.
10. Leprechaun (1993)
Leprechaun follows a group of friends who are terrorized by the title character while they are on vacation. The film is full of playful jokes at the expense of leprechauns. Leprechauns are somewhat similar to garden gnomes.
Humorous horror movies involving scary lawn ornaments seem to be all the rage these days. While researching for this article, we came across many movies that seemed to fit the bill. However, there were a few that did not quite make the cut. Here are our honorable mentions:
– The Book of Eli (2010) featured a scene where garden gnomes/puppets come alive and attack a woman. Unfortunately, it ended up on the cutting room floor!
– In a scene cut from Night at the Museum (2006), there is a scene that features Ben Stiller talking about how scary the garden gnomes he grew up with looked.
– In The Village (2004) there are many scenes where people are setting up an elaborate maze for their gardens, in which there may be gnomes.
– In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Starship Mine” (1986) a dangerous criminal hides in a house with a dangerous weapon. He tries to kill Picard by hiding in his garden and shooting him when he comes out in the morning, but is unsuccessful.
What do you think? Do you agree with our list of ten best horror movies featuring lawn ornaments, or do you have a different opinion? Let us know in the comments section!
(Comments — 11)
Jordan said: The scariest lawn ornament I’ve ever seen was in a movie called The House on Sorority Row (1983). It’s a movie about a group of sorority girls who accidentally kill one of their sisters and try to cover it up by making it look like she committed suicide. In the scene, the girl is sitting in front of her mirror with her hair rolled up, when she notices something moving outside of her bedroom door. She gets up from her vanity and walks over to the door and slowly opens it, revealing a garden gnome that she had been given from one of her sisters. The girl screams and slams the door shut. Creepy! Reply Delete
IJIIJIJ99 said: Where do you think the urban legend of garden gnomes feeding children to their parents came from? Reply Delete
MAARK A. said: There’s also a children’s game called “Gnome in the Garden.” It’s like hide-and-go-seek, where one player is “it” and counts while everyone else hides. The problem is that when “it” gets to the end of their count (or thinks they do), there’s this garden gnome looking straight at them, just standing there. By the time they count again to make sure, all their friends are gone and nobody else can see it… Reply Delete
MAARK A. said: Also, You forgot “The Monster Bed” an incredibly frightening bad movie. I won’t spoil it but there is a scene where someone starts running around outside in front of a house with lawn ornaments (some of which are gnomes). You can watch the scene on YT. Reply Delete
Rowan said: I was just thinking about something my Granny used to tell me when I was little. She would say that if you walked in your sleep, you’d open your door and let out all of your collected nightmares into the world. In this case, the garden gnomes would be a manifestation of all your fears. Reply Delete
Anonymous said: I’m reminded of another urban legend about children and garden ornaments. Supposedly if you leave one outside at night it will come to life and try to get in the house. The bad part is that if it can’t get in through the front door it will start scratching at windows and doors all night. My mother was scared to death of this as a kid, and I’m pretty sure my sister is still terrified of it. Reply Delete
Anonymous said: There’s also Garden Of The Dead (2005), starring David Carradine. It’s about a group of soldiers in Vietnam who find a vietnamese village full of dead people. They torch the houses and move on until one guy has to go back to get his flak jacket. What he finds is that all the dead are still alive, but moving really slowly with their arms stretched out in front of them. There’s also a garden gnome in there. Reply Delete
benbenbenbenben said: I love this list, but am also very disappointed that you are missing out on some classics. The first one that comes to mind is Monster Squad. Reply Delete
Anonymous said: I read somewhere how they used to throw people into their own compost bins because it looked like they were fertilizing their gardens They would die slowly and painfully, imagining that they were helping their gardens grow Reply Delete
Anonymous said: I watched a movie on Netflix (Rabies) and there’s this scene with the main character where he hears a noise outside his door and opens it to reveal three garden gnomes staring back at him. He slams the door shut, runs into his bedroom, locks the door, but they are already coming through the wall… Reply Delete
IWASVERYBAD said: I was on the bus once and turned around to see a big ass garden gnome staring at me. Reply Delete
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