Blood Hook (1987)

**_What if a killer hunts people like he’s gone fishin’?_** A 21 year-old youth (Mark Jacobs) inherits his family’s cabin in remote northwestern Wisconsin and promptly brings four friends to check it out and have some vacation fun at the lake during an annual fishing contest. Unfortunately, the cicadas are out and someone has a mad habit of literally fishing for people! "Blood Hook" (1987) was shot in ’86 and only cost $200,000 by a director that went on to work for Mystery Science Theater 3000. As such, this is low-budget slasher with camp and a wink of humor. It comes across as a mixture of Tobe Hooper’s “Eaten Alive” (1976) and the forthcoming "State Park" (1988), aka "Heavy Metal Summer." While it’s better than Hooper’s flick in some ways, it’s not quite as entertaining as the latter. It’s like a tale from Steve Gerber’s Man-Thing comics of the 70s, just without a swamp monster Sara Hauser (Kiersten) stands out on the feminine front, although Sandy Meuwissen (Bev) is worth a mention. Meanwhile Lisa Jane Todd (Ann) is an interesting character. To appreciate this movie you have to be willing to give it a chance. If you do, there are quite a few rewarding bits despite its comic book tone and lack of funds, especially in the second half. For instance, some of the humor is genuinely amusing in a low-key way; plus you get to know the characters, like the half-crazed Vietnam vet (Bill Lowrie as Evelyn), the psychology major (Ann) and the main protagonist (who looks like Nicolas Cage in the mid-80s). What sets off the killer is actually quite creative, tying into diabolus in musica, aka "the devil in music,” which refers to the so-called devil’s chord or devil’s tritone. Meanwhile the gore effects are good all things considered. The film runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, but there’s a 92-minute version by Troma on disc (Blu-ray). It is true that the original version is too long by about 20 minutes, but I prefer it to the short rendition due to the character development. It was shot at Hayward & Hayward Lake, Wisconsin, which is located in the northwestern part of the state, about 40 miles south of western Lake Superior and 30 miles east of the border of Minnesota. GRADE: B-/C+