Pine Barrens on the Screen

New Jerseyeans know and love the unique Pinelands, commonly called the Pine Barrens. We also know that when it appears on a screen big or small it is partially for its ecological value and desolation and more often for its mysterious nature. From the Jersey Devil to ghost towns and many legends that go back to the 18th century, the area has a reputation.

I've seen it used as the setting and named the Pine Barrens on TV programs from The Sopranos to The X-Files. The latest writer/director to use it is M. Night Shyamalan for his theatrical film Knock at the Cabin.

This is Shyamalan's 15th feature film. He grew up in Penn Valley and often uses Pennsylvania and New Jersey locations. The film focuses on a young family vacationing in a Pinelands cabin when it is invaded by a group of people who tell them that they must choose between sacrificing one of their own lives or causing the apocalypse. The movie is based on the Paul Tremblay novel The Cabin at the End of the World.

It was filmed partly in the Pine Barrens small town of Tabernacle in Burlington County from April through June of 2022. Other locations include Philadelphia and other spots in Burlington County. 

The director chose to shoot with cameras and lenses from the 1990s and earlier to give the film a look he felt would be like a "dark fairy tale."

One location is the Evergreen Dairy Bar, located on Route 70 in Southampton. The diner and ice cream shop were repurposed as Angie’s Roadside Diner for a scene.

Though on this site we think of the Pinelands are the largest forested area on the Eastern Seaboard between Maine and the Florida Everglades, filmmakers love it for other reasons.

Part of its ecological value comes from the many rivers and creeks that pass through the area eventually emptying into coastal bays or the Delaware River. The biological diversity of the plants and animals are unique. 

The Pinelands are hardly "barren" but they are sparsely populated in its 1.1 million forested acres that cover a large part of South Jersey. 

I like seeing New Jersey in films and TV, and as long as it's not a putdown of the state, I think it's a good thing.