Night Terror

Welcome fellow movie fans to my review of Night Terror 1977

The Story gets a 1.25 out of 2: There comes a time when you grow tired of the Hollywood film glamour and want something with a tad more substance. I find most mainstream directors are now happy to give you eye-candy visuals while writers screenwriters are dumbing down. However, TV Movies, which don't possess a large budget, tend to pride themselves on storylines and plausibility. It's the creditability that makes Night Terror one of the better TV Flicks. Night Terror isn't outstanding, but it is certainly entertaining.

Carol and Walter Turner are married with two children. Walter's career means the family have to relocate every few years. This account takes place in one of those years. Walter has flown to his new job but has arraigned to meet Carol at a motel to celebrate their anniversary with a second honeymoon, then drive to their new home. Carol's sister has flown with the two kids to the new house and awaits them there. Deplorably, Walters work forces him to miss his liaison, though Carol agrees to wait for him. She subsequently receives a call from her sister, who informs her of her son's hospitalisation. Carol gives the doctor consent to operate and then proceeds to rush to his side. Due to wintry weather conditions, she's unable to fly down and decides to make the long journey in the family's trusty station wagon. Desperately seeking a gas station, she slows her car to ask a police officer, who's pulled over an automobile for speeding, for directions. As he nears her vehicle, the man in the parked car shoots him with a shotgun. Fortunately for Carol, the gun jams, and she stomps on the accelerator, speeding into the safety of the evening. Behind her, the gunman ignites his engine and gives chase. No witnesses.

What Carl Gabler and Richard DeNeut provide the audience is a chase filled with authenticity. For example, we know Carol's car is low on gas, and when it does run dry, she's going to be in real trouble. At the time of the shooting, we're aware she's looking for a service station, the last one having moved to Interstate 17. The road she requires. The road she's racing down. But will she reach the garage before the killer catches up to her? She does, but it's not without its challenges. Her car stops on the curve overlooking the station, so Carol heaves the vehicle down the slope. Once there, she notes the garage is closed and a "Gone Hunting" sign sits in the window. Gabler and DeNeut then take Carol through a crash course of required criminality as she has to break in, try to phone the police, get the petrol pumps working, fill up, and get on her way. All before the madman with the gun arrives. They carry out unlawful activities superbly. They even throw in a twist or two to add tension to her actions.

Gabler and DeNeut give the viewers scenes of uniform depth throughout the film. But on top of this, the narrative is moreover about Carols growth. At the beginning of her tale, she is timid and a tad wishy-washy. As her saga unfolds, she learns to be strong, independent, and a canniness grows within her. All of which allows her to be her strongest when she inevitably faces the army veteran intent on her demise.

I've watched a few films lately where one of the leading characters are vocally dumb, Willy's Wonderland and The Spiral Staircase. Night Terror is another film with a silent character. In this instance, it's the bad guy. I additionally have to say this is the best mute character to date. In most ways, it's down to the actor playing the killer, but I have to mention his character is also carefully crafted. We see he has a chip on his shoulder and anger in his heart. His hatred and loathing aren't solely for himself; it's for everyone. But Carol and her perpetual good luck at escaping him burn his inner fires the brightest.

Another element I appreciated was the coincidences. Life is swarming with them, like me watching films with mutes in them. I haven't beheld one in years now three come along at once, just like the No42 bus. Gabler and DeNeut put in a superb one. Carol doesn't know she's lost him. The killer is about to abandon the chase. Then he observes a car on a spur road; he observes it as it draws up to the intersection with his highway. It's Carol. It made me smile because this is my type of luck, which I could relate to easily.

The Direction and Pace receive a 2.25 out of 4: E W Swackhamer (you have to love that name.) isn't the best director, though he does keep the film entertainingly absorbing. There are way too many scenes that could have been better. Especially the Petrol Station Break-in. He utilises the night's darkness well enough, but it could have been emphasised better with brighter spots of moonlight or by generating darker shadows. A variety of interesting camera angles would've added grandly to the whole affair. What he delivers is okay, but a smidgen more would've been better.

As for the pacing, Swackhamer is as average there as he is with the direction. Though there are hints of variations in tempo, it would have improved immensely had he implemented the quicker cuts of today's filmmakers. The tension is there when she's breaking into the garage and when she gets grounded in the mud. Once again, it's adequate but could have been better.

The Performances get a 1.25 out of 2: I am unsure if Valerie Harper was suited to the role of Carol. To begin with, she came across as a kind of non-entity. I acknowledge Carol's starting character is like that, and her strength and personality grow. I've witnessed Harper in other roles, and though I'm not a massive fan, I've never faulted her work or skill until now. I'm unable to place my finger on it. However, I think a blank like Carol required an actress with a screen presence. It would have provided the viewers with something tangible.

I believe the most capable actor in the movie was Richard Romanus, who played the mute killer. He effortlessly oozed contempt and hatred for his fellow men and women. You knew this guy was mean and bad to the bone. He's the type of guy to guzzle down gasoline so he could pee on you if you were on fire. Romanus especially nailed the man's rage, anguish, and desperation.

Close on his heels was John Quade. Usually known for his more butch and forceful characters, in Night Terror he portrays a derelict. A homeless man, moneyless and down on his luck. And though he's not on screen that long, Quade infuses him with sadness, loneliness, and timidity that is palpable. You can experience the depression seeping out of the man's body. He merely wants to find a place and disappear. A tragic character superbly acted.

And my Enjoyment level hits a 1.25 out of 2: The story and the acting reinforced my enjoyment of the picture, while the unexceptional directional style bore me unhindered to the conclusion. The only dislikes I had were personal, like my statement about Valerie Harper and Swackhamer's direction. As such, these are elements you may, and probably will, have different opinions than mine. For once, it's delightful not to pick fault with a film for any of its elements. No issues with the script in general. Only ideas on how the filming could have been stronger. It was an enjoyable way to spend an evening, and I will doubtlessly enjoy Night Terror again in the foreseeable future.

These ratings give Night Terror a 6 out of 10: If you're a fan of TV Flicks or Thrillers, I'd gladly recommend giving Night Terror at least one viewing. It's a Sunday afternoon picture. You're happily stuffed, just like the chicken you've gobbled down, and all you want to do is have a tipple, relax, and enjoy an easy movie. This is that kind of picture, but with enough interest to stop you from falling into dreamland while watching it.

Once you've escaped the psychopathic killer, come and check out my Killer, Thriller, Chillers, and The Game Is Afoot list to see where Night Terror raced into my rankings.

Take Care and Stay Well, and Get Inoculated.

Night Terror is a simple thriller that tells the story of a woman driving across country by herself. The drive turns into what might be classed as a REALLY bad day, and the film effectively charts her run of bad luck which reaches it's most frightening when a psychopathic creep starts to follow her.

I used the term "simple" not as a criticism. The film achieves what it sets out to do, charting a frightening journey for a lone traveller out in the middle of nowhere. Valerie Harper is superb as the central character Carol, and for a lot of the running time she carries the whole movie single handedly. What impressed me about the film was that all the experiences are portrayed convincingly. Carol initially just runs low on gas, but from this, she stumbles from one stressful situation to another, each worse than the last, yet she handles each challenge with realistic ingenuity. I really liked her resourcefulness as more and more danger is thrown at her.

The film starts quite slowly as Carol leaves her family for a long drive, but it gets going soon enough and the middle third is the best as night falls and the real drama of Carol's ordeal is played out. Night Terror is actually a fitting title, as the movie lives up to it in this middle section. The story ends satisfyingly, although without all the loose ends tied up, but I really enjoyed it.

Only available on rental VHS from years ago, it's very unlikely that many people will see this now, which is a shame. I'm glad I did, as it's another little gem of 70's made-for-TV-movie fun.

I agree with Kirk; I saw this when I was nine, and never forgot it! It provided a special twist to your typical, melodramatic woman-alone-on-the-road story, so common for an age where were just getting over the idea of women being "helpless." But this killer should never have messed with Rhoda!

The production values weren't bad for the 70s-made-for-TV genre, either. Really kind of a breath of fresh air, when all the other made-for-TVs were going for the "creepy-crawly thing of the week" motif.

Valerie Harper plays a mother who is traveling across the country to see her son, who has just had an ear operation. On the way, she witnesses a policeman being murdered. What's worse, the murderer witnesses HER. Then the chase is on!

The killer only speaks through a vibrating larynx box, which makes his words, considering their nature, sound even more sinister and mechanical, when we hear him speak at all (really only at the beginning).

I'm not sure where this movie can be rented...the best hope is to wait for your local television station to play it as a late-night feature or a Sunday matinee. Try and catch it if you can. Watch especially for the clever climax and turnabout, as Val turns the tables on the killer!

Night Terror (1977)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fairly suspenseful made-for-TV thriller about a woman (Valerie Harper) who must drive through the night alone so that she can reach her son who is in the hospital. Along the way she sees that a cop has another driver (Richard Romanus) pulled over and when she pulls up to talk to the cop he's shot in the back. Now the woman must race in her car to try and find help while this psycho is stalking and trying to kill her. A movie like this would never sit well in today's times for a couple reasons. For starters, today we'd just pick up our cell phone and call for help but that's a luxury not available here. Another major plot point deals with the woman running out of gas and since there's not any 24-hour stations this here is a big problem and leads to one of the most suspenseful scenes in the film as she stops as a rundown gas station, which is closed and she must try and find a key to the pump. I think what makes this film work so well is that director E.W. Swackhamer really makes you feel as if this woman is alone in the world with no one to help here and she has no where to turn. I think the isolation really leads to some nice atmosphere as the woman frantically searching for help that seemingly never comes. Another strong part is that Romanus is so good as the killer. We never figure out what this guy's problem is but that just adds to the fun and the mystery. He uses a voice box, which we get to hear a couple times in the film and the eerie sound just adds to the drama. I think there are some perfectly built up scenes including the before mentioned gas station and another is when the drivers get caught in a rain storm and briefly take shelter. I won't ruin what happens but it's a pretty well-directed sequence. At just 73-minutes the film doesn't have any filler and instead we're just taken on this drive and for the most part everything works. The one major flaw I had was with Harper's performance, which was just way too over-the-top and jumpy for my liking. I also thought her character was incredibly annoying and some of the dumb things she did will get on your nerves. With that said, with such a short running time it's nearly impossible not to recommend this film. Yes, it's clearly influenced by Steven Spielberg's DUEL but there's enough going for it to make it worth viewing.

I also remember watching this movie as a kid and it scared the hell out of me as well. It has never left my mind even though I have not seen the film in more than 20 years. I just placed a bid for the movie on VHS at ebay and I'm hoping to win the auction so I can show it to my niece and see if it has the same affect on her (she's 14). Probably won't since she laughs at "The Exorcist" and "Friday the 13th." Ah, times have changed.