The Hooked Generation

Director - William Grefe (Mako: The Jaws of Death, Sting of Death)

Starring - Jeremy Slate (The Lawnmower Man, My Name is Earl), Steve Alaimo (Hammerhead Jones, The Wild Rebels), and John Davis Chandler (Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, Crash and Burn)

Release Date - 1968

Genre - Crime/Drama

Tagline - "Their bag  - supplying the hooked generation"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Florida filmmaker William Grefe has had one hell of a career.  He started out in the early 60s making racing films before creating two of the greatest drive-in horror classics of all time.  He then moved on to some rough exploitation films before slowly progressing into psychedelic exploitation films.  The first of those films was his 1968 crime drama The Hooked Generation.  Drawing inspiration from his film The Wild Rebels, he would find himself directing three drug-fueled films that were almost career defining for him.  I had never seen any of these films and was looking forward with them.  I started this journey with The Hooked Generation and it didn't disappoint.  

     A group of drug smugglers are forced to throw their narcotics overboard and are spotted by a young couple.  They abduct the young couple and attempt to get their drugs back.  Soon, they are beach bound where they find a tribe of indigenous living in the Florida everglades.  They shack up with them to lay low for awhile before robbing them at gunpoint and attempt to retrieve their drugs yet again but this time the coast guard is ready and a gun fight ensues.

     Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from The Hooked Generation.  I knew it wasn't going to be as campy and cheesy as Death Curse of Tartu and Sting of Death but I wasn't expecting it to be as serious and grounded as it was.  I enjoyed it but, like so many of Grefe's films, it could have been so much more than what it was.  The acting in this one is a lot of fun.  The cast in this one had a lot of experience prior to filming the film and many would go on to appear in some seriously iconic genre films.  I seriously loved the characters, the energy the cast brought into the film, and their on screen chemistry.  They all worked very well together and it looks like they were having a lot of fun on set which translated very well to the film.  The story for this one works very well as an exploitation film centered around killer drug smugglers who will stop at nothing to make a quick buck.  I really liked it but it's obvious that the film was rushed as the story progresses which is a theme among most of Grefe's films that I'm noticing.  I like it for the most part but the last leg of the film just doesn't do a great job of wrapping everything up nice and neatly.  Finally, the film has a little blood but don't expect some memorable deaths with great gore and effects.  Most of the deaths are gunshot wounds with some blood splatter and no make-up effects.  Overall, The Hooked Generation is an entertaining exploitation flick centered around heavy drug use and murder.  It marks a change in Grefe's filmography and I'm all for it.  I highly recommend it.