Summary

• Appalachian Forest served as the eerie backdrop for Sawyer's struggle in Rust Creek, contrasting her college life at Centre College in Kentucky.
• Sawyer drives from Louisville to the Appalachian Forest, filmed in surrounding areas like Fern Creek, showing her descent into isolation.
• Roadside altercation in Parklands of Floyds Fork was a critical filming location in Rust Creek, adding suspense to the survival thriller.

Rust Creek is a survival thriller set in the forests of Appalachia, and the 2018 movie used this real-world filming location to tell its story. The movie's scenery is like a character all its own since the isolation of this wild forest contributes to the desperation of the main character, Sawyer Scott. The film's director had to meticulously choose different locations within the woods surrounding Louisville, Kentucky, to serve as the character's battleground. Of course, these weren't the only filming locations of Rust Creek, as real-world cities and buildings were used to create contrast within Sawyer's story.

Rust Creek, directed by Jen McGowan and written by Julie Lipson and Stu Pollard, sees Sawyer head out from Centre College in Louisville, Kentucky (where she is a senior) over Thanksgiving weekend in hopes of nabbing a job in Washington, D.C. However, on her way to the interview, she becomes lost in the Appalachian forest and is unlucky enough to be spotted by two men burying a body. From there, Rust Creek follows its main character in her desperate attempts to escape, as the dense trees of Appalachia set the perfect tone of suspense.

Centre College - Danville, Kentucky

The Scenes Of Sawyer At Centre College Were Filmed On Location

The woods of the Appalachian Forest serve as the eerie backdrop to Sawyer's primary story, but Rust Creek opens with the protagonist living her ordinary life at Centre College. This historical location in Danville, Kentucky, is the perfect contrast for the isolation and horror to come. Clean and organized with that unmistakable scholarly feel, Sawyer's busy and bustling life on campus is demonstrated by the first few scenes of the movie. Of course, no sound stage could replace the real thing, which is why these scenes of Rust Creek were filmed on location.

The very first scene of the survival thriller Rust Creek, in which Sawyer listens to the voicemail from her potential employers confirming the interview in Washington DC, was shot on Centre College's track, with the school itself visible in the background. Next, we see the protagonist in the multi-floored library, using the computer to search for directions for her trip. Then, there is a brief but highly important moment in which Sawyer is seen walking across campus surrounded by busy students before she gets in her car and drives away, with the real-world sign for Centre College visible in her rearview.

The scene that shows Sawyer walking across campus is among those with the most people on screen at once in Rust Creek, perfectly creating the contrast between the character's college life and the isolated world in which she gets lost.

Louisville, Kentucky

Sawyer Drives Through Louisville Before Heading Off The Beaten Trail In Rust Creek

As she leaves campus, Sawyer drives through the bustling city of Lousiville, Kentucky. Several historical buildings are shown whizzing by, and though the real-world city was used as a filming location, most of Rust Creek was filmed in the surrounding areas. Cliffsides and highways are visible from Sawyer's car, and as backups force her off the highway, we see the Kentucky scenery begin to change. Things quickly transition from urban to rural, and Rust Creek's director was able to use this to their advantage during filming.

Sawyer's trip away from Louisville takes her through a variety of fields and farms, as well as a few small towns marked by old churches and quiet cemeteries. Though indie director McGowan didn't reveal precisely which town surrounding Louisville she used, it was important to capture the flavor of several, each demonstrating just how far from the hustle and bustle Sawyer was traveling. Finally, the Rust Creek protagonist's car wound up in an area where no people or buildings were to be found, and the road itself seemed to be leading her nowhere.

Fern Creek, Kentucky, is listed among the filming locations for Rust Creek and is likely one of the small towns seen as Sawyer heads into the Appalachian forest.

The Parklands Of Floyds Fork - Louisville, Kentucky

The Parklands Of Floyds Fork Was The Filming Location For Sawyer's Brush With Hollister & Buck

Sawyer's GPS led her into the Appalachian Forest, where she could no longer tell which way was what. She became hopelessly lost in the trees, with her phone telling her to take a closed road that didn't look like a road at all. Shortly after this, Hollister and Buck spot Sawyers's car while they are in the process of burying a body. Unsure of whether she saw them, they approached her pulled over vehicle, which led to an altercation on the side of the road, deep within the Appalachian Forest.

Rust Creek is available to watch on Netflix.

Though several locations within the real Appalachian Forest were used in Rust Creek, the scene in which Hollister and Buck approach Sawyer (and ultimately attack her) was filmed on the road that runs through The Parklands of Floyds Fork, which is a nearly 4,000-acre public park that director McGowan used to shoot her film. The expansive land preserve is full of roads, trails, and the sort of bridges Sawyer turned onto when she was spotted by the two men, making it the perfect place to begin the character's bad luck in Rust Creek. However, after she ran into the woods to escape, McGowan had to get more creative with filming locations.

The Appalachian Forest - Outskirts Of Louisville, Kentucky

Lowell's Trailer & Sawyer's Desperate Bid For Survival Were All Filmed In The Appalachian Forest Near Louisville

As a public park, the Parklands of Floyds Fork was the perfect place to shoot the roadside scenes within the Appalachian Forest. However, once Sawyer set out on foot into the woods to escape Hollister and Buck, McGowan wanted a variety of wooded locations to be used for the rest of her journey, including the end scene of Rust Creek. In an interview with No Film School, the director explained that she and her team took to the woods on the outskirts of Louisville and found different areas—creeks, ponds, and cliffs—that she wanted to include for Rust Creek. Then, she created her own map that determined how these separated areas would connect in the film:

"...it became a rather tricky puzzle for the first AD. Then it's like, well, where are they all in relation to one another? Which direction do we need to walk in for each of them? Where is the sun coming for each of them?"

These locations were on various pieces of property, some public and others privately owned. Some that were given were St. Matthews Park and Iroquois Park, in addition to further locations used within the Parklands of Floyds Fork. One of these was turned into the home of Lowell, cousin of Hollister and Buck, who takes Sawyer captive in an attempt to keep her safe. Lowell's trailer (and meth lab) was a real mobile home that McGowan's crew transported to the location, allowing Rust Creek to maintain that haunted Appalachian in every single scene.