8 Movies To Help That Groundhog Get Over His Fear of Shadows

So the groundhog saw his shadow, got scared, and scurried back into his silly little hole declaring that the rest of us miserable creatures need to just deal with the fact that in early February there will just always be at least 6 more weeks of winter. Thank you global warming.

And honestly, who gets scared of their shadow? Do groundhog’s not cast shadows at other times of the year? Are they just perpetually freaked out? So many questions.

At any rate, we’re not afraid of shadows over here at Way Too Indie. In fact, we rather appreciate them.

We can’t do anything about winter lasting as long as it does, but we can certainly counter the bad rep that groundhog is giving shadows. Here’s our list of the Top 8 Movie Shadows. Now if we can get the rodent to watch them, he might chillax and stop hiding.

Nosferatu

Perhaps one of the most ingrained shadows in cinematic history, who could forget the looming shade cast by the vampire Count Orlok? With iffy prosthethics in the early days of cinema who can blame filmmaker F.W. Murnau for utilizing the ever-creepy image cast by the night-dwelling creature? We admit, this one may not help the groundhog with his fears.

Citizen Kane

Orson Welles filled in quite a few chapters of the “How to Make a Great Film” book with his film Citizen Kane but his use of shadow throughout the film is one of the its defining features. Single light sources and half-darkened faces set the mood and give insight into characters. Dark shadows tell the tale in this classic film experience.

Harvey

I’m not admitting anything, but rare is the person who has not jumped at their own shadow now and then. Or thought their shadow might be in fact a man size rabbit with worldly advice and good humor. If only we could glean universal wisdom from all dark corners of the world.

Peter Pan

How many of us can say that we have a shadow with a mind of his own? Not many, I say. Peter Pan, however, has one hell of a spunky character for a dark follower. The groundhog might try and lose his shadow the same way Pan does and stop torturing us all with cold weather.

Jurassic Park

There are a few great shadowy moments in Jurassic Park. One of the most spine tingling moments of the movie, and certainly featuring the most jiggly of jellies, is seeing the raptor’s shadow through the construction screen as the thought-they-were-safe children indulge in some much-deserved sweets. I will never take the safety of an abandoned buffet at face value again.

The Shadow

These people knew what they were doing. They may have been poking fun at the shadows of the noir films of the early ’30s, but this would be a great place to look if one did want to find any of a number of completely good shadows this Groundhog’s day. Spring is practically already here.

Batman Begins

Quite the shadowy figure himself, Batman has never wanted for a shaded companion. Cloaked in darkness already, the man is only ever seen at night for the most part. Heck, he’s a bat. He lives for the night.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Shadows are one thing. But shadow puppets that eat their real life victims? There could only be one place these might come from and that’s outer space. We hope the groundhog has enough humor to see these shadowy clowns are way more hilarious than scary.