If you can endure the first 15 minutes of found footage material without getting seasick (or irritated), and you don't mind a farfetched and illogical story, you'll see that it's not all bad. At least the gore and violence are well done, and the premise (some students try to make a movie, when in the process their girlfriend is abducted by what turns out to be a psychopathic mass murderer) starts out as fairly original.
Biggest problem is (apart from the story), that the pace at several times sags, due to too many too long scenes and way too much talking, especially by the two detectives, who curiously enough behave, in spite of all their expressed urgency, as tired sleepwalkers, forever pondering and puzzling and deliberating. Another problem are the scenes with the villain, we endlessly see the main characters tied up in their chairs, and the villain walking in and out on them without ever saying a word. This way he never becomes a real person with understandable motives. In fact, apart from the start and the end of the movie, it's all rather uneventful and on the brink of tedious.
The whole thing impresses as a well meant try by film academy students, which probably has been the deliberate aim of the director, when we see the very last scene with the (at least to me!) surprising twist. Even so, the result is as you might expect of such a try: sympathetic but hardly adequate.
Stoker Hills
2020
Action / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Stoker Hills
2020
Action / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Plot summary
Three students filming a horror movie stumble upon something much worse, and their only hope for survival is two detectives who find the camera that was left behind.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
February 20, 2022 at 01:48 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Apart from some gore, hardly adequate horror-attempt.
Quite good acting, bad lines and a story that is very loose.
Had it been15 minutes shorter with more attention to the lines of the characters I would have enjoyed more. Honestly, I didn't understand the reasons for the killer to do what he was doing in a random college. He could have achieved his goals in a much easier way if he had looked elsewhere. The "division" between two parts of the movie was interesting cause it made me feel we were moving towards something interesting, but it never got there really. And the final smack down was very easy and quick.
A bit of a Seven vibe, with some found footage
I wouldn't class this as a horror bit a good watch. My only issue is a discussion with a doctor where the police are horrified by animal organ transplants. This is pretty common and it's made to be "experimental", I felt this lack of insight really lowered it's credibility. The audio is annoying as it jumps up and down, but the story has potential and has a dark and morose atmosphere. It's broody, like Seven but brings in some found footage elements. Plus some real time parts so there's a lot going on to keep you interested. Don't go in expecting to be blown away but definitely a decent watch. It's a puzzle type thriller, you're working it all out with the lead detectives and it's okay.