Before the sequel, there was a legacy. Three films. Four decades. One refrigerator that refused to stay dead.
Attack of the Killer Refrigerator
1985 · Director: Michael Savino · Worcester, MA
It started as a college project. A borrowed camera. An old refrigerator. A few friends. Zero budget. The result was something that nobody expected to work — and then worked everywhere it went.
The original Attack of the Killer Refrigerator entered the national Argus Video Competition and won the "Worst Video" award — an honor that launched the film into cult status. VHS copies circulated across the country. Horror fans discovered it. Film societies screened it.
40 years later, it's still finding new audiences.
☠ Stream the Original: Available now on ScreamBox and Terror Vision
The Hook of Woodland Heights
1987 · Director: Michael Savino · Worcester, MA
Two years after the refrigerator, Savino and Veau returned to the genre with The Hook of Woodland Heights — a horror short that continued the tradition of handmade, in-camera practical effects filmmaking in central Massachusetts.
Shot on location in Worcester and surrounding areas, The Hook built on the raw energy of the original AKR and developed the team's craft for the more ambitious work that would follow.
The original one-sheet poster remains a collector's item among New England horror fans.
Days Before Christmas
1992 · Director: Michael Savino · Worcester, MA
Days Before Christmas marked a turning point for Media House Films — the production that proved the team could compete on a national stage with formal recognition.
The film won the Gold Award at the 25th Annual WorldFest Houston International Film Festival — one of the most prestigious independent film competitions in the United States. It remains the most decorated production in the Media House Films catalog.
The WorldFest Houston Gold Award established the team's credentials and set the stage for the most ambitious project in the company's history.
🏆 Gold Award Winner — 25th Annual WorldFest Houston International Film Festival
Snapper
1992 (Production) · 2022 (Documentary) · Worcester, MA
Snapper was the creature-feature follow-up that never got finished. Savino and Veau developed the script and began production on a killer snapping turtle horror film set in a small New England town — inspired by Jaws and the practical-effects slashers of the '80s. A mutant snapping turtle, created when the town mayor allows chemicals to be dumped in the local lake, stalks and kills residents while an outsider races to expose the truth.
Lack of funding killed the production before it was complete — the cost of building the turtle models, shooting on film, and operating outside a major filmmaking hub made it impossible to finish. The footage sat dormant for decades.
In 2022, director John Campopiano turned the story of Snapper into a documentary about the film that never was — and about the creative friendship between Savino and Veau that outlasted it. Featuring interviews with Savino, Veau, and special effects artist Scott Andrews, the film premiered at HorrorHound's Virtual Film Fest and went on to win the New Jersey Film Award for Best Documentary Short.
🏆 Best Documentary Short — New Jersey Film Award · Premiered at HorrorHound Virtual Film Fest
☠ Stream the Documentary: Available now on ScreamBox
Attack of the Killer Refrigerator 2
The sequel is in active pre-production. 40 years of history. 18 years of script development. The original original refrigerator. A 97-page script. Nearly 2,000 storyboards. And an audience that's been waiting since 1985.