Frank books a luxury weekend fishing trip online for his three friends Dave, Jaybo and Paul in hopes of hooking the fabled man-sized catfish, but Jaybo has different plans. Bored with fishing, and wanting to spice up the trip, he invites his girlfriend Julie and her friend Kristie. When they arrive and see a beautiful lake, a marina filled with luxury houseboats, jet skis, water skiing and plenty of good fishing, they can’t wait to get out on the water.
Soon they discover their reservation is not at Flat Hollow Marina but at Fear Hollow Marina, which lives up to its name, and the only way to get there is by boat. They’re dropped off at Fear Hollow, and quickly discover that the rundown, rusted-out boat they’ve been given is the least of their problems because they have no way back to Flat Hollow. Reluctantly, they decide to make the best of a bad situation, which turns out to be the worst decision they could make. They travel up lake, find a hot fishing hole, a place to relax and hook that big fish. Little do they know they’re about to become fish bait.
Director’s Statement
Personal experiences growing up on a lake set the stage for this film written and co-directed by Jeff Joslin and Darby Totten. While boating not far from Fort Loudon dam in Knoxville, Tennessee, Jeff, who was just a high school student at the time, saw a man at Choto Marina with his arm ripped to shreds by a 50 pound catfish. Jeff recalls that the man didn’t seem nearly as bothered by his bloody arm as he did about the size of that fish. Darby grew up on Lake Powell in Arizona, hearing similar stories from her father who claimed to have seen catfish the size of a grown man, “but don’t worry,” he’d say, “They stay down by the dam, and they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.” As much as she wanted to believe him, she could not bring herself to swim in deep waters until she was in high school and even then, she never could stay in very long.
Stories of mysterious man-sized catfish, Alfred Hitchcock and Roger Corman films inspired Jeff and Darby to write this script. Jeff’s unique style using a group of improv actors from the top rated improv group, Einstein Simplified, (www.einsteinsimplified.com) to star in this black comedy will be a fresh addition to the horror genres of today. Filled with plenty of comedic moments, suspense and tasteful horror scenes, this film is a cross between the Blair Witch Project, Jaws and Deliverance. All those films have become cult classics in their own right.