At the intersection of slasher films and giant muskie sculptures is the unlikely town of Hayward deep in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the filming location of the 1986 Troma horror movie Blood Hook. Now, Troma is not exactly known for the highest quality productions. But here’s the thing about 80s horror: Even the worst ones are still better than a lot of what gets released today.
I wouldn’t consider Blood Hook among the worst of 80s horror, though. For a film that, at it’s heart, is really about a love of fishing (for people) it’s actually quite watchable in comparison to other low budget horror of the day.
I may be a bit biased, though, as I’m unreasonably excited about seeing the giant muskie sculpture on film.
“The community of Hayward, Wisconsin, where this film is set, actually does exist,” the film’s IMDB trivia says. “The giant fiberglass muskie featured in this film is a local landmark.”
So there you go, Haywardians, IMDB has validated your existence. You’re not just movie magic.
Related: 6 horror movies filmed in Wisconsin
Another interesting tidbit of the trivia is that makeup effects artist Jim Suthers was pulled over for speeding with a car full of fake body parts on his way to shoot one night, but the officer let him off after Suthers showed him how the effects worked.
Fishing is Rude
In the film, 6-year-old Peter van Cleese witnesses his grandfather fall into the lake and vanish for reasons unknown while fishing from his pier. Now, as a college grad, Peter has inherited his grandfather’s cabin, so he and his friends Ann, Kiersten, Rodney, and Finner head up north from Illinois to Hayward to check it out during the annual Muskie Madness fishing competition.
But fish aren’t the only things in danger, as a murderous fisherman starts dragging his victims to their deaths beneath the water with a large muskie lure full of large, sharp hooks.
Another important thing to know about Peter: He has perfect pitch and plunks around on a synthesizer throughout the film (though he apparently is not a musician) while teaching his friends about the tritone—the so-called “Devil’s interval”—which he says used to drive people crazy back in Bach’s day.
It’s this knowledge that eventually leads him to the climactic fish-off between him and the killer to save his girlfriend from becoming minnow food.
Blood Hook Filming Locations
Blood Hook was filmed over 35 days in 1985 (on a budget of just $200,000!) and features some amazing shots of the area. Filming took place in the town of Hayward, as well as four area lakes including Lake Owen and Spider Lake.
In the film, the headquarters of the Muskie Madness challenge is the giant muskie sculpture at Hayward’s Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. There, you can see taxidermy mounts of record catches, vast collections of vintage lures and boat motors.
The sculpture is called “Shrine to Anglers.” It’s 143-feet long, rises four and a half stories in the air, and was hand-sculpted in concrete, steel, and fiberglass in the “likeness of a leaping muskellunge.”
20 people can fit inside the mouth, and some particularly fortunate folks have even gotten married there.
“The muskie, king of freshwater fish, is best known for its audacious eating habits,” Rodney reads from a pamphlet as they go inside the muskie. “Imagine the fisherman’s surprise when this 43-and-a-half-pound Wisconsin muskie was found to have in its stomach the better part of a muskrat and an entire Piteville Green.”
I include that entire statement here as a reminder that fish are terrifying and Wisconsin is full of lake monsters.
But also because this is a brilliant detail to hear as the group walks into the belly of the beast.
This scene is my particular favorite because, despite the fact that I’m a travel writer with an entire website dedicated to strange places in Wisconsin, I’ve yet to make it as far north as Hayward. It’s a five-hour drive from Wisconsin Frights HQ. But I’ve often wondered what the muskie looked like inside, and what the view from the mouth was like. It’s a bucket list item for me.
The nearby Hayward Lake Boat Landing was also used for a few scenes, where you can see the giant muskie looming over the trees in the background.
The other locations in the film, such as the restaurant they call “Little Loon Lake Landing” and the van Cleese cabin, are not as easy to identify and track down. I’m still working on figuring out where those are.
Blood Hook Screenings in Hayward
In recent years, Hayward has been celebrating the film with annual screenings at The Park Center that include a Q&A with cast and crew, a costume contest, and themed drinks such as the Bloody Hook Bloody Mary and Blood Red Ale.
“When we made the movie […] we loved its mix of comedy and over-the-top horror all here in the beautiful Hayward area,” producer David Herbert told the Sawyer County Record in 2023. “I am really enjoying Hayward embracing Blood Hook after all these years,” Director Jim Mallon said. “The film was a complete labor of love—kind of like a filmmaking summer camp—and seeing it on the silver screen brings back a lot of fun memories.”
Hayward celebrated the film’s 40th anniversary in 2025 with a special screening during the 75th annual Musky Fest which included a costume contest and a special presentation by Herbert and Mallon.
The restaurant was Richardsons Bay Bar and Resort. It was later bought and became the first Famous Dave’s. It burned down a few years ago, and Powells currently operates in that location on Round Lake. The stairs shown at the disappearance of the Loon Lady are still in place.