The Terror

Enjoyment of this film will depend on two things. First how much you like the actors involved. The second is the understand that this film was pieced together from scraps of film shot by various directors to fit in with footage that had been shot of Karloff on left over sets after the original feature had been finished. If you can forgive your favorite actors anything and accept that this is a paste up job, then you'll have yourself an okay time at the movies.

Lets face it this film is a mess. The story of a French soldier following a mysterious woman to a castle is so disjointed that they actually shot a scene where Jack Nicholson grabs one of the characters and asks him whats going on, its at that point all of the loose ends are brought together in a tenuous grip.

Its the sort of movie that shouldn't work on any level but some how does.Its well acted considering that no one probably had any idea what they were starring in. Its also directed well enough that you don't realize that there were actually five directors other than Roger Corman behind the camera.

Currently floating around in the public domain (cheap video copies are to be had) this is a movie worth seeing if you want to see how Jack Nicholson started or how Boris Karloff ended up. Its a just okay thriller with a more interesting production history. Worth a bag of popcorn if you need another movie to fill out a night of Corman Poe movies.

... which are mostly crap, copied from old nth generation prints full of dirt and splices and bad sound. I never saw THE TERROR when it was originally released but I did see TARGETS, which incorporated footage from the earlier film a few years later. The footage from TERROR was crisp, sharp, and beautifully photographed. Seeing it when it was new must have been an entirely different experience. On the other hand, audiences then didn't have the advantage of hindsight. They didn't know that the young lead would go on to become possibly the most successful actor of his time. And they certainly wouldn't have suspected it from THE TERROR. Jack Nicholson is handily out-acted by virtually everyone else on the screen, including his then buddy Dick Miller. Karloff shines, bringing the same sly relish to his wittier lines that he brought to THE BODY SNATCHER many years before. The guy was the king of horror movies, no question about it. Everyone knows the backstory: shot on leftover sets from THE RAVEN (and possibly, if I'm not mistaken, THE HAUNTED CASTLE) with plenty of stock footage from PIT AND THE PENDULUM and HOUSE OF USHER. Most amusing (to me) was the way no one could agree on how to pronounce the name Gustav, whom Nicholson at one point addresses as "Gust-off" (although he comes closer in a later scene). If you're a fan of classic horror (or B-movie lore) you should give THE TERROR a look. Its creaky atmosphere is oddly charming.

This Roger Corman film deals with a young officer (Jack Nicholson) serving during the Napoleon empire . He's stranded in a coast near an eerie castle . There he meets a gorgeous young girl (Sandra Knight, Nicholson's first wife) and discovers that she's haunted . When she spontaneously disappears , he goes to the castle where inhabits a mysterious Baron (Boris Karloff) , his servant (Dick Miller) and the deceased Baroness is the beautiful girl he saw close the beach , then creepy events occur .

This is a well known Corman terror film that was only shot in three days . It's a quickie with lack luster and low Budget . The storyline has holes similarly to Swiss cheese , but thanks to the excellent cast it manages to be at least an agreeable terror movie . The film belongs to the Corman terror period during the 60s with classical horror adaptations on the writers : H.P. Lovecraft (The haunted palace) and Poe . It was realized after the classic Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (Tales of terror , The premature burial , Pit and pendulum , House of Usher) and on the sets and leftover from ¨The raven¨ and in spite of having similar style , isn't a Poe rendition , but an original screenplay by Leo Gordon (a habitual secondary actor : Tobruk) and Jack Hill (a grade Z film director). In the movie there are the Corman's common actors , such as : Jonathan Haze, Dick Miller and a newcomer Nicholson who had previously played ¨Little shop of horrors¨ in a comical interpretation as a sadomasochist who receives an especial dental intervention . Besides , here repeat the main technicians and assistants as the musician Ronald Stein composing a gloomy score , Daniel Haller as production designer , Monte Hellman (The shooting) as auxiliary direction and even Francis Ford Coppola as associate producer . The flick will appeal to Jack Nicholson fans and followers to Corman's long career.

In 1806, the French Lieutenant Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) is lost from his regiment and riding near the coast very thirsty. Out of the blue, he sees a gorgeous woman that shows him a spring. Then she tells her name, Helene (Sandra Knight), and she walks with him and vanishes into the sea water. Andre tries to save her but is attacked by an eagle and faints. He awakes in the house of and old woman, Katrina (Dorothy Neumann), and sees the eagle that belongs to her. He learns that her servant Gustaf (Jonathan Haze) has saved him. When Andre asks for Helene, Katrina tells that she does not know her. Andre walks during the night seeking out Helene; when he meets her, she asks him to follow her and brings him to a spot with quick sand, but Andre is saved by Gustaf again. He tells to Andre that Helene is possessed and he would find the answers at the castle of the Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe (Boris Karloff) where he should ask for Eric. On the next day, Andre leaves Katrina's house and heads to the castle. He is received by the Baron himself and sees the picture of Helene on the wall. However he leans that the woman is Ilsa, the Baroness Von Leppe, who has been dead for twenty years. Further, the Baron lives alone in the castle with his butler Stefan (Richard Miller). Later he learns that the Baron found Ilsa in the bed with a man named Eric and he killed her and Stephan killed Eric. But Andre saw the woman at the window when he arrived at the castle. What is the secret of Helene?

"The Terror" is an entertaining low-budget movie by Roger Corman with Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff. The plot is interesting and it is curious to know that Corman used sets left over from "The Raven". Boris Karloff's scenes were shot in three days only. Unfortunately the Brazilian DVD has a blurred image and it is very difficult to distinguish the characters and locations. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sombras do Terror" ("Shadows of the Terror")

I bought the DVD for the Little Shop of Horrors and was pleasently surprised to find it was a double feature with The Terror. I watched it with no expectations and ended up enjoying the movie. If this were a modern day movie, all involved would be laughed out of the box office. Their attempt to throw in a few catsup filled gore scenes and several lame twists at the end made it comical enough to sit through. And how about that young and dapper Jack Nicholson?! This is one to watch in the middle of the night when you can't sleep, and it's worth watching at least once. I had to know how it would end.