Down home slasher in northeastern Oklahoma
A college girl in Tulsa escapes her toxic boyfriend by going to a girlfriend’s cabin at Tenkiller Lake southeast of there. Their vacation turns to horror as people mysteriously end-up dead.
"Terror at Tenkiller" (1986) is a slasher of the cabin-in-the-woods variety, but it’s more laid-back than most since the drama focuses on the two friends seeking quiet sanctuary at the remote lake. The two protagonists are attractive in a girl-next-door way (Stacey Logan as Leslie and Michele Merchant as Janna), along with the waitress at the restaurant (Debbie Killian), and the director tastefully captures their beauty.
Critics call it “Tedium at Tenkiller,” but I appreciate how it’s a non-Hollywood slasher that only cost about $40,000. The set-up smacks of real-life and you get to know the characters as the film takes its time. There’s a sense of Southern hospitality in the everyday mundaneness, similar to that of “Death Screams,” “Squirm” and “The Funhouse.” It’s like visiting rural northeast Oklahoma. "Camp Cold Brook" (2018) is a modern example, shot just north of Oklahoma City.
While this is perhaps the least of these movies, it has its points of interest. Unlike most slashers, the killer is revealed early on and doesn’t wear an eye-rolling mask. Speaking of which, formidable Michael Shamus Wiles is the only member of the cast who went on to regular acting work, including parts in major films like “Fight Club,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Rock Star,” “The Lords of Salem” and “Iron Man 3.”
Despite its 1986 copyright, this was actually shot prior to 1983 and after “Friday 13th Part 2,” which means 1982 or possibly even the late Summer of 1981.
The film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot about an hour’s drive southeast of Tulsa at Fort Gibson Lake (the dam and Hulbert), which is 30 minutes northwest of the real Tenkiller Ferry Lake.
GRADE: B-/C+
