The Hook of Woodland Heights

Director(s) - Michael Savino (Attack of the Killer Refrigerator) and Mark Veau

Starring - Robert W. Allen, Christine McNamara, and Michael Elyanow 

Release Date - 1990

Genre - Horror

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I first learned about the horror comedy Attack of the Killer Refrigerator it was a vhs release that was making some rounds on different horror message boards I frequented. I can remember it becoming a popular topic on Upcoming Horror Movies where I remember talking with a few of my friends there who had seen it. They all mentioned how it was something up my alley and I often looked at the VHS artwork over and over without noticing the bonus film at the bottom of the artwork. The movie was released with a second film, the 40 minute short The Hook of Woodland Heights. It wasn’t until I ordered the blu release from Terror Vision that realized that it had a second film and when I was looking for artwork for my review that I saw the second title at the very bottom of the release. This bonus film is much longer than the title release and I couldn’t wait to check it out. 

      The film follows a serial killer missing his hand who escapes from an insane asylum and makes his way through the woods to a small community. Using a homemade pronged fork on his missing hand, he begins kills people as they cross his path. 

      The Hook of Woodland Heights reminds me a lot of the recent S.O.V. releases from Visual Vengeance. It’s cheap, amateur, but so much fucking fun. Hell, I think this film is much more enjoyable than Attack of the Killer Refrigerator but doesn’t have the appealing title. This backyard film pays tribute to the classic ghost story told around campfires for decades along with some classic slasher flair. I like it but it’s far from perfect. The acting in this one is not the worst I’ve seen but it also suffers from inexperience. The characters are very generic but the cast is clearly friends in real life and that chemistry shows in most scenes. They work well together and the awkwardness of inexperienced acting is not as noticeable as it could have been. The story for this one is a straight homage to the classic camp fire tale told for decades about the escaped mental patient with a hook for a hand. However, the film flows like a slasher which I really enjoy and at 40 minutes it doesn’t over stay it’s welcome. It has solid pacing but a little more time could have been spent on character development and the death scenes. Finally, the deaths are amusing and use classic camera tricks and movie magic. We get some blood but that is really the extent of the effects which is a bit of a let down. Overall, The Hook of Woodland Heights is a fun short S.O.V. horror flick that has no reason being as good as it is. I really enjoyed it and think it’s the better of the two films in the set. (I know here is another Christmas themed film in the set)