L'Halluciné

For a film calling itself 'The Terror', Roger Corman's unpolished and critically hounded horror film isn't very terrifying. In fact, by the time the credits role there's a good chance that you'll sit there bewildered asking yourself what, exactly, you've just spent the last eighty minutes of your life on. There's a good reason for this, as The Terror is an almost complete waste of time; it offers nothing in the way of intrigue, invention or influence on the genre, nor does the plot have any kind of point and, to be honest, it's not all that interesting anyway. However, The Terror gains points for protruding that lovely Roger Corman style quickie sort of atmosphere, and for excellent performances from classic horror icon, Boris Karloff, and a man that would go on to set the acting world on fire a decade later; the inescapably excellent, Jack Nicholson. The film has an awesome amount of camp and cult value for these two performances, Nicholson especially as it's always fun to see a highly rated actor in an early, and much less highly rated role.

The point of The Terror would appear to be the classic Roger Corman 'point' – "let's make some money!" and the penny-pinching style that Corman perfected over the years is evident in just about every cheap looking scene. The plot follows a French solider (Jack Nicholson) who travels to the castle of the resident baron in search of a girl he met while stranded in the local village. While there he discovers a lot of terror (or not) as we find out that the baron is harbouring a secret. The secret can be guessed within the first half of the film, and that's another area where the film fails, but it's kept alive by a constant stream of ridiculous goings on, and as the film moves closer to it's climax and the lines get more terrible and the plot becomes more ridiculous, you cant help but treat yourself to a good laugh. People that rate films objectively will hate the Terror, but for the cult fans and Roger Corman fanatics; this will fill a gap, and although it's instantly forgettable; there's worse ways to waste your time.

... 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.

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.

For a DVD that sells 3.99 at Walgreens, this movie was a lot better than I expected. Yes, seeing Jack Nicholson pre-Schmidt days is a fun concept. But that amusement was short-lived, and I eventually found myself actually intrigued with the entire plot-line going on.

Jack is an officer of some sort, and he gets stranded on a seluded island of some sort with this witch of some sort, her boy of some sort and this weird girl of some sort. Turmoil unravels when he finds himself curiously (or not so curiously, considering there was the whole cleavage thing going on) attracted to the weird girl.

Vague, yes. But this is kind of the type of movie whereas if I say anything more, it would be considered a spoiler. Everything/everyone will link together in the end. There is also a killer crow that is quite amusing and scary at times.

Ignoring the fact I could barely hear the dialogue despite I had the volume turned up on 10, the oldness of the film was actually fitting. It adds to the whole vintage horror flick persona, supported by a young Jack Nicholson, dramatic music, and fuzzy-staticky screen. So don't be discouraged if it appears to be a little washed out. It's satisfying, and leaves you feeling disturbed. 3.99 was well spent.

Actally its none too "original" either, being little more than a variation on Edgar Allan Poe's FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER coincidentally made by Corman himself five years earlier. Contrary to popular public opinion, THE TERROR was NOT filmed in four days. The scenes with Karloff were, but the remaining 2/3 of the movie were shot sporadically over a ten week period....with a little help from Corman's inner sanctum of friends, including Francis (Ford) Coppola no less!

Filmed pricipally to capitalise on sets left over from THE RAVEN (yet another Edgar Allan Poe tale - Corman had already filmed THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM as well as THE TELL TALE HEART) this hastily produced little flick was mildy interesting with not a little charisma. Nicholson's performance here gives less than no clue as to the great work that was yet to come in such as ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST, FIVE EASY PIECES and BATMAN. One could be positively uncharitable and say his performance here amounted to little more than disinterested and amateurish acting. But still it remains today early Nicholson and by that token alone offers curiosity value.

In the upshot way better than the sum of its parts...even given the garish Pathe color! The recently re-released DVD version offers surprisingly effective new 6-track surround sound.