I’m moving on to the fourth state in my list of movies set in each state: it’s time for Arkansas.
There may be slightly fewer famous movies set in Arkansas than in some other states, but there are definitely several noteworthy movies that take place here. Arkansas-based movies tend to be dramas, sometimes rooted in the state’s history.
Let’s get right to the list, listed from the highest-reviewed film on Rotten Tomatoes to the Lowest.
Mud (2012): 97% Fresh
Two boys in Arkansas (played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) discover a fugitive named Mud (Matthew McConaughey). Mud is being tracked by bounty hunters after he committed a murder in Texas, but his biggest goal is to reunite with the woman he loves, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). The boys decide to help Mud evade the bounty hunters and find Juniper again. Critical reviews of Mud called it sweet, heartwarming, and nuanced.
Sling Blade (1996): 97%
Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton) is released from a mental hospital after spending most of his life there. He was there because he murdered both his mother and her boyfriend. After befriending a boy named Frank (Lucas Black), Karl moves in with him and his mother Linda (Natalie Canerday). Linda’s cruel and abusive boyfriend Doyle (Dwight Yoakam) wants to get rid of Karl, who has hatched a plan to protect his new friend Frank from Doyle.
Sling Blade was filmed entirely in Arkansas.
True Grit (2010): 95% Fresh
True Grit (2010) is, like 1969 version starring John Wayne, an adaptation of Charles Portis’s 1968 novel of the same name.
The 2010 version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old whose father was murdered by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). She seeks the assistance of a drunken marshall named Rooster Cogburn (played brilliantly by Jeff Bridges) to track down Tom Chaney. A Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) turns the group into a trio.
The film is set in Dardanelle, Fort Smith, and Eastern Oklahoma, but was filmed mostly in Colorado.
One False Move (1992): 94% Fresh
This crime drama tells the story of a group of criminals who flee to Arkansas after committing a brutal murder in LA. The murderers are played by Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton, and Michael Beach. Once in Arkansas, they encounter the sheriff (Bill Paxton) who has been tipped off by the LAPD. The gist of the movie is that the criminals have no idea what they are in for when they go up against the local sheriff.
The Firm (1993): 76% Fresh
The Firm is a legal thriller about a young lawyer (Tom Cruise) who lands a job with a prestigious law firm, only to realize that the firm is crooked — and involved with organized crime. The movie also stars Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Holly Hunter, and Ed Harris. Arkansas is just one of the locations where The Firm takes place.
Arkansas (2020): 51% Rotten
Starring Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn, Clark Duke, John Malkovich, and Vivica A Fox, Arkansas is a crime thriller. Two low-level drug runners (Hemsworth and Duke) get in over their heads when a drug deal goes wrong and they find themselves at odds with the boss they’ve never met, Frog (Vaughn). Mistakes turn deadly in this movie, which was set in Arkansas but filmed in Alabama.
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976): 43% Rotten
During the 1940s, a masked killer (known as the Phantom Killer) traumatized Texarkana, Arkansas. He was never caught, and the slayings inspired the 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Ben Johnson, Andrew Pine, and Dawn Wells star in the movie, which follows the growing fear and paranoia in the city as the killer eludes police and continues on his killing spree.
A 2014 remake stars Addison Timlin, Travis Tope, Gary Cole, Joshua Leonard, and Veronica Cartwright. It has a higher rating of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Devil’s Knot (2013): 25% Rotten
This crime drama is based on the true story of three young boys who were murdered in Arkansas in 1993. Three teenagers who came to be known as the West Memphis Three were arrested and convicted of the crime, but they were eventually freed 18 years old because there was not actually enough evidence to convict time.
Unfortunately, the movie was criticized for being an ineffective telling of the story, starring Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Alessandro Nivola, Dane DeHaan, and Mireille Enos.
Additional Movies Set in Arkansas
- American Made
- Bloody Mama
- Boy Erased
- Bruno
- A Face in the Crowd
- Fighting Mad
- Paradise Highway
- Pirates of the Mississippi
- Smokey and the Bandit
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