Terror at Tenkiller

I was happy to snag Terror at Tenkiller during Vinegar Syndrome's Labor Day sale when they brought back the OOP slipcover. Let's just say it's a pretty «nice» slipcover, so how could I resist? :)

As for the movie itself, it's honestly pretty bad and rather slow-paced, but it does have a few things going for it.

The beautiful women and the occasional moody atmosphere give it at least some entertainment value, even if it never comes together as even a passable slasher. Definitely more of a curiosity for genre fans than a hidden masterpiece.

The real star here is the gorgeous slipcover, and it's always nice getting another chance to pick up an out-of-print edition.

This was just a throw in title that I added to my to buy list and for what it is worth, it was not too bad but also not to good. I compared it to another independent title, "MadMan," and I would have to say MadMan is the film that I would had bought over this film anyday. It wasn't bad, but the acting was not so good and the storyline could have been better than what was given.

Terror at Tenkiller has that perfect regional slasher vibe I love — remote lake, creepy phone calls, strange people watching from a distance, and this slow, almost dreamlike atmosphere hanging over everything. It’s not the fastest slasher in the world, but the Oklahoma setting gives it a personality that a lot of bigger productions don’t have.

The movie is rough around the edges, but that’s part of the charm. It feels like a genuine mid-’80s video-store discovery instead of something polished to death, and when the violence hits it has that nasty homemade quality that works for me.

The 4K is where this release really shines. Vinegar Syndrome restored it from the original 16mm camera negative, and the HDR presentation keeps the grain and texture intact while pulling out way more detail than I ever would’ve expected from a movie like this. The making-of documentary, behind-the-scenes footage, commentary, trailers, and the Divided We Fall material make the set ridiculously complete.

Slow-burn slasher? Yep. Regional weirdness? Absolutely. Massive upgrade over the old video days? No question. 😁

My rating is for the package as a whole. The film itself is okay. It is a slight notch above most regional horror that I've seen. The real value is in the bonus features. The commentary and behind the scenes add to the overall spirit of the film. And unlike most short films included as bonus features (possibly my favorite type of bonus feature), the short film included here seems an important addition even though it's not directly related. The short, student film is very well made and has its own set of revealing bonus features. Recommended.

nice release