STOKER HILLS (2021) Reviews of Tony Todd mystery horror

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‘Evil lurks in the shadows’

Stoker Hills is a 2021 American found-footage horror film about three students filming a horror movie who stumble upon something much worse. Their only hope for survival is two detectives who find the camera that was left behind.

Directed by Benjamin Louis from a screenplay written by Jonah Kuehner. Produced by Timothy Christian (Z for Zachariah) and Rab Butler.

The Night Fox Entertainment (Wildling) production stars Tony Todd, Steffani Brass, David Gridley, Vince Hill-Bedford, William Lee Scott, Tyler Clark and Eric Etebari.

Plot:
Three college students set out to film a horror movie for their final class project, but during filming, something goes terribly wrong. They suddenly find themselves in a nightmare worse than they could have written. Luckily, some of the footage of their abduction is captured on a camera that is later found by two detectives.

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It’s now a race against time as the detectives must use clues in the video to rescue the students and uncover the identity of their kidnapper. As the detectives get closer to their location, they find themselves in the middle of a dense forest on the outskirts of Stoker Hills, and what they uncover is far worse than anything the town has ever seen…

Reviews:
“This movie is a bit of a contradiction. There are quite a few basic flaws here, but there’s also some real creativity. The two kind of counterbalance each other, leaving a fairly enjoyable horror thriller with a fair amount of gore and enough interest in the plot to keep one watching until the very end.” Cinema 365

“Stylistically, the film feels like a show reel for the filmmakers. They switch between a found footage and typical narrative style, ultimately shifting to a simple linear narrative style. The found footage design I found to be more annoying than many of the other found footage films I’ve taken in. Again, and I think this is due to the screenplay, the editing and the setups are a jumble that keep this viewer distant from the horror and drama.” Fears Mag

Stoker Hills starts off strong but as the film progresses further, it starts to fizzle out a bit, especially due to unnecessary dialogue between characters that don’t add anything to the story. However, it’s a good watch if you’re in the mood for something uncomplicated.” Leisure Byte

“While the premise sounds fun and the small role for Tony Todd can be marketable, the movie doesn’t quite reach out enough to stand out amongst the several other options to stream. Stoker Hills has ambition to admire but doesn’t hit the mark to stand out in the variety of much better-found footage movies.” Nightmarish Conjurings

” …the climax feels hastily put together and overall relies on gimmickry troupes to limp across the finish line. Though I admired some of the practical effects, Stoker Hills will have trouble standing out from the wealth of streaming options already available, not to mention having Tony Todd’s name above the title, when the actor has approximately two scenes…” The Only Critic

“…it doesn’t particularly use familiar tropes either (with the tropes more being pulled, rightly, from the slasher genre). Definitely worth a watch and though the use of found footage carries the same health warning (about why someone would continue to film in the situation they’re in) that many others of that genre come with, the way it is used is rather neat also.” Taliesin Meets the Vampires

“Cinematographer John Orphan does a great job, bringing out every bit of atmosphere in the abandoned industrial buildings and dark, fog-enshrouded forest that makes up much of Stoker Hill’s setting. It looks great and along with the score by Roc Chen (The Wandering Earth) adds a lot to Stoker Hills’ effectiveness, especially in the tense final act. An offbeat and enjoyable mix of found footage and conventional footage as well as a mix of horror, thriller and police procedural…” Voices from the Balcony

Release:
In the USA, Screen Media will release Stoker Hills on January 14th 2022.

In the UK, 101 Films released Stoker Hills on Blu-ray and DVD on 1st March 2022. A Digital release follows on 28th March.

Cast and characters:
Tony Todd … Professor Smith
Steffani Brass … Erica Gallagher
David Gridley … Ryan
Vince Hill-Bedford … Jake
William Lee Scott … Detective Bill Stafford
Tyler Clark … Dani Brooks
Eric Etebari … Detective Adams
Danny Nucci … Mark Gallagher
John Beasley … Doctor Jonathan Brooks
Thomas R. Martin … Officer Martin
Joy McElveen … Officer York
Maya Nucci … Emma Galagher
Michael Faulkner … Peterson
Jason Sweat … Charles Moyer
Sara Friedman … Nurse Flowers

Technical details:
1 hour 31 minutes

Original title:
Streetwalkers

Trailer:

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