Making horror movies can be hell. Anyone who has been tasked with crafting a film that adheres to the genre’s tried and true guidelines knows this to be true. Actors are required to remain in a constant state of seeming scared, shoots can carry on late into the night, and on occasion an actual killer will show up to terrorize the cast and crew, forcing detectives to comb through outtakes and dailies to track down the few victims left living. Alright, so that last one doesn’t happen all that often – but if it were to, it would be sure to make for an interesting horror flick.
This is the premise that Benjamin Louis’s hybrid found-footage film Stoker Hills runs with, and it starts off in a full sprint. During a cinema class taught by Professor Smith (played gleefully by genre icon Tony Todd), student filmmakers Ryan, Jake and Erica give an impromptu pitch for STREET WALKERS, their self-proclaimed cross between Pretty Woman and The Walking Dead.
Though Professor Smith warns them the concept is far from the likes of Citizen Kane, the auteurs set off to make their masterpiece. No sooner do their cameras start rolling than Erica is abducted by an ominous stalker, leading the filmmakers on a car chase to an abandoned building home to many a horrific sight.
While this series of events would typically unravel over the first half of a film’s runtime, Louis packs all of this story development into the first 15 minutes. He then abandons the strict found-footage format in favor of a back-and-forth balancing act between shaky student camerawork and an even less sturdy police procedural plot—a combination that unfortunately tends to grind his film to a halt.
From this point forward Stoker Hills struggles to deliver upon the promise of its horror-film-within-a-horror-film premise, resulting in an often trite albeit occasionally inspired slasher flick that would feel right at home as a pitch in Professor Smith’s lecture hall. Even when the final few minutes seem to hint at a greater layer of self-awareness, the attempt is too little, too late.
This isn’t to say Stoker Hills is an entirely disappointing horror endeavor. The motivation of the killer is bonkers to the point of being refreshing. This horror baddie isn’t merely avenging his dead mother or hunting down an estranged sister; rather, the animalistic root of his desires is so demented that it could single-handedly lead this film to cult status. It is not for the faint of heart. Additionally, the killer is always photographed in ways that seem to anticipate his iconic status as a horror villain.
Louis obviously has a keen set of directorial tricks, even if they aren’t utilized to their best effect in this specific outing. At the end of the day, Stoker Hills could make for a great movie night with friends or at a local community organization, so long as the lights are all turned off, the popcorn is slathered with butter and the expectations aren’t too high. However, it is optional for your media library collection.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
This film would fit in with horror or independent film collection.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Stoker Hills could be included in a program focusing on slashers or the found footage genre, though there are plenty of more influential options in both of those subgenres.
Would this film be suitable for an outdoor screening?
Stoker Hills could make for a fun, woodside summer horror film screening out by a campfire.