Ep. 33: Terror at Tenkiller

What's spooky season without a certified slashic? And it doesn't get much more grindhouse than this - woefully maligned by most critics and audience reviewers alike, we're here to tell you this all but forgotten low-budget slasher is far more interesting and more intricately constructed than most would have you believe.

Terror at Tenkiller is a regional horror film from outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, shot in two weeks with a budget of $40,000. And while it doesn't fit into the traditional mold of 80's slasher films, that's precisely why we find it so interesting. Instead of hitting the narrative beats and conventional scares of something like Friday the 13th, this "people being murdered around a lake" flick channels techniques and narrative choices closer to the works of Robert Altman and David Lynch. In revealing its killer's identity in the first act, it also shifts its horror away from mystery and into the realm of dramatic irony, as everyone in the film so casually interacts with a bloodthirsty maniac.

It's a strange, surreal experience with surprisingly progressive writing, and since it was shot by a documentary filmmaker and not a horror-focused director, it also presents itself as a deep character study of its two female leads at a level most other slashers rarely accomplish.

Dreamlike, hypnotizing, and in our opinions endlessly intriguing, this film is a must-see for any fans of the slasher genre in search of something way outside of the norm. You can stream it on Arrow Player, Tubi, and Plex, or pick it up on its new Vinegar Syndrome Blu-Ray!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Terror at Tenkiller
Directed by Ken Meyer
1986, United States

Incredibly Strange Video is produced and edited by Ryan Quinn and Cassie Kay. Follow us on Bluesky @isvpodcast.bsky.social for updates on the newest episodes!

Theme music:
The End by EVA
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All excerpts from the films discussed are used for educational and critical purposes only.