User reviews

More well known for its soon-to-be star cast than for the film itself, The Final Terror kinda came and went in theaters and was dumped onto video via a terrible, washed out and impossibly dark transfer where you couldn't tell what was what.

Thankfully, Scream Factory have found a print that looks half way decent and released it on Blu-Ray. For the first time, one can actually see that there was some talent involved here, even if it was in service of a less than exciting narrative.

While the story seems like your average "young hot people getting killed in the woods" flick, The Final Terror does offer some fairly inventive twists. For starters, the killer is a genuinely unnerving presence, blending into trees and shrubbery using camo gear. Also, the cast of characters, while slightly undefined, are smarter than your usual lot. When they get the first inkling of danger, they don't split up or start humping each other - they actually stick together and work as a team.

The only downside to these smart characters is that there are only two murders before the gang catches on (unless you count the completely unrelated prologue), so it doesn't leave room for a lot of isolated attack scenes or extra murders to brighten up the pacing and keep the danger alive. If only one or two of them had to go pee or something...

Susan Justin's score is pretty cool, too, and keeps things exciting.

THE FINAL TERROR is an average horror movie. There were a couple of startling moments (the scene when the couple gets hacked or the sudden ending) but the bulk of the movie is really dull. The atmosphere is almost worthwhile. Almost. You see, the film is not gruesome enough or sweat-inducing enough to push the atmosphere into the dread-filled nightmare that a story like this needs in order to be memorable. We see a lot of moments where the people just hang around the campfire and bitch about this and that. And when the group goes to the the dilapidated house, all dressed up like Rambo, what little edge the film had disappeared instantly with that unintentionally funny bit. The idea of the young men and women taking a pro-active stance against the killer, in one united group, is original for a horror movie of this type but it's badly done here.

The big problem with the movie is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Something tells me the director didn't want to do just another horror movie. But every aspect of the movie is so weak that FINAL TERROR cannot overcome its horror trappings. The characters are almost nonexistent. Rachel Ward and the black girl have accents but where never told where they come from or how did they ever land in such a remote area. Because of this, and the fact that some actors are really miscast, there's very little credibility to the whole proceedings. It feels like the film was put together very quickly and with very little thought behind it.

The script is very weak. No characterization. No idea what to do with the dull bunch. No immediate sense of dread. We have no clue what's out there until the very end. And to make things even more annoying, the action often takes place at night and there are several moments when it's difficult to see what's going on. These dark scenes reminded me of HUMONGOUS. But unlike the underrated Canadian movie, FINAL TERROR's pitch black moments weren't deliberate. They were badly shot moments (made more confusing with the bad editing) which muddled up what little action there was in the story. The cinematography was excellent when there was light or the action took place during the day but the night time scenes, or even those scenes that took place in and around the cabin, were too dark for my taste.

The film gets interesting at the very end, but like many have pointed out already, the end is very sudden and abrupt. Too abrupt. The brief glimpse of the killer made me realize how dull and boring the young folks were. When a piece of walking rug with a knife is more interesting than the main characters of the movie, you know there's something wrong with the film.

But FINAL TERROR wasn't the worst film I've ever seen. Compared to DON'T GO IN THE WOODS, FINAL TERROR looks like a work of genius. It's just that there's very little going for it except for some beautiful scenery, one good murder scene, a creepy, under-used killer and a somewhat memorable (but sudden) ending.

Terrifying and unsettling movie plenty of thrills , chills , lush outdoors and passable acting. In the opening scene, a young couple loses control of their motorbike and fall to the ground when they hit a fallen tree laying on the track through a forest where they are riding. The guy, Jim, is badly hurt, and the girl, Lori, runs to find some help. She runs back to Jimmy where she finds him hanging upside down from a tree, terrified she runs back to a cabin . Then a group of rangers go camping on unfamiliar forest grounds. All's well until the group members start getting killed by a cunning killer in the woods. But there's some sinister in the woods. They suddenly become desperate when occurs a chain of nightmarish events . He has found you. Screaming won't help anymore. It's too late...Can anyone survive?. Without knowing they have awakened an unknown force. If you go down to the woods today you're sure of... The final terror. Daryl Hannah and Rachel Ward - Trapped In A Web Of Madness And Terror!. Don't See It Alone. A ghoulish tale of murder and the macabre from the creator of Alien. Without knowing they have awakened an unknown force. Can anyone survive?. He Has Found You. Without knowing they have awakened an unknown force!.If you go down to the woods today you're sure of...

The film displays thrills , chills , cardboard horror , tension and lots of blood and gory scenes for nauseating execution. The concept of the movie is plain and simple, the typical series murderer who proceeds an astonishing massacre. Scary and eerie with abundant gore, including nice make-up and adequate special effects. As always, a series killer makes an authentic slaughter with gruesome and bloody assassinations using some forest traps and other murderous instruments . After successes as John Carpenter's Halloween and Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th expanded a lot of rip-offs or imitations and one of the best ones resulted to be this ¨The burning (1981)¨, following this ¨Final terror¨. The Final Terror is notable for the presence of some soon-to-be stars appearing some familiar and young faces as who subsequently to be continued decent cinematic careers: Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Lewis Smith, Adrian Zmed, John Friedrich, Mark Metcalf . To minimize costs, the production wasn't insured and the actors did their own stunts , for instance, some actors actually climbed the hills risked landscapes in order to save costs . Apart from a couple of minutes of mayhem at the beginning and end, the nearest of the film gets to dealing with the deranged slasher plot is to have it told, midway, as a camp-fire spook story. Undermining genre expectations, director Davis reveals an affectionate respect for the woods and likes his roles enough not to line them up as Slaher Victims. Surprisingly, the women aren't on board to be decorative nude figures , nor simple rape victims. ¨Deliverance¨ is the inspiration, but finally this film rafted down a different stream.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Andrew Davis, but nothing special, he's a filmmaker with a reputation for directing intelligent thrillers. Director Davis provides this film with great plot strength since he himself is an expert in physics and engineering. He has made good and boxoffice films, such as ¨Above the law¨, ¨The final terror¨ , ¨Chain reaction¨ , ¨Collateral damage¨ , ¨The Package¨ and Davis went on to direct 1992's top grossing picture, ¨Under siege¨ (1992), for Warner Brothers, a classic action film teaming Steven Seagal with Tommy Lee Jones. Being his greatest hit ¨The fugitive¨, this film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and earned Tommy Lee Jones a Best Supporting Actor award. Andrew Davis frequently casts 'Ron Dean', Chelcie Ross, Joseph F. Kosala, Joe Pantoliano and his father 'Nathan Davis' . He often directs in his city : Chicago. Rating The Final Terror(1983): 5.5/10. Passable and acceptable but inferior than other Andrew Davis films.

The problem with The Final Terror is that the characters are too smart and the writers aren't smart enough. When danger descends upon their large group, they decide not to split up, but to stick it out together in case the killer tries something again. It leaves the finale without much tension since you never really feel like anyone's in danger. The music score is great and the forest atmosphere is haunting at times, but it can't help much when the film lacks suspense and danger.

The inspirational for this sub-standard, low-budget woodland slasher/survival horror is obvious ('Friday the 13th'and 'Deliverance'), but even then it took the hackneyed clichés and kind of added its own messy slab to the well-worn formula. Was it for the better? I don't know? What fell by the wayside was the overall pacing due to there being too little to the transparent story and simply having the characters going through the motions. Too much dead air with a small body count and not enough thrills. When they were inserted, it was feeble. Other then a decent opening (with that smoking theme song) and thunderously outlandish closing, in between was a lot of repetitively aimless parading. It's easy through those parts because of the beautifully authentic setting that was fluidly photographed. Although the nocturnal scenes are poorly lit. Director Andrew Davis (who would go onto to be a pivotal action deliverer with titles like 'The Package' (1989), 'Under Siege (1992) and 'The Fugitive' (1993) and many more) does a quite passive, if workman-like job without the setting the world alight. There's true grit, but the attacks are telegraphed and rushed leaving it struggling to sustain any sort of momentum in its attempts of suspense. Atmosphere on the other hand, breathes some starkness and the environment moodily blends well with Susan Justin's eerily unhinged music score and penetrating forest sounds. The cast is more interesting to look at on paper, than actually watching their performances. Really the material doesn't allow much room for growth and makes them all unappealingly disposable. Too many I guess. Daryl Hannah, Adrian Zmed and Rachel Ward are fine. Joe Pantoliano in a short role makes the most in an over-exaggeratedly on-edge turn and Lewis Smith's unpredictable character kept one amused. It has its moments, but fails to really come out of first-gear.

It's easy to make the mistake of dismissing The Final Terror as just another instantly forgettable, derivative backwoods slasher: the characters are your usual array of one-dimensional psycho-fodder; the setting is the standard 'spooky woods located miles from civilisation'; there's the corny campfire legend that sets up the back story for the killer; and the film features several cribs from other similarly themed horror movies (most obviously John Boorman's Deliverance).

However, I think this film is a more important addition to the genre than it is given credit for: not only did it give director Andrew Davis (of The Fugitive fame) and several future Hollywood stars (Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Joe Pantoliano, and...errr... Adrian Zmed?!?) a step up in their careers, but—and you can call me mad if you like—I am also convinced that The Final Terror was a big influence on the excellent Arnold Schwarzeneggar sci-fi/action movie Predator!

As Lloyd Grossman used to say in Through The Keyhole, 'Let's take a look at the evidence...'

The group of friends stranded in the wilderness; the strange creature who hunts them one-by-one; the pivotal moment where the hunter finally becomes the hunted; and the final showdown in which the killer is lured into a booby-trap made from a huge tree trunk. Let's face it.... all that's missing is a mini-gun!!!

Anyway, regardless of whether you subscribe to my Predator theory or not, The Final Terror is still a reasonably enjoyable way to pass the time, with some effective jump scares, a fair amount of atmosphere, and some lovely cinematography. I'd liked to have seen a bit more gore, some nudity from the ladies (this is a slasher, after all!), and Adrian Zmed get slaughtered (I still remember T. J. Hooker), but I suppose you can't have everything!

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

(**1/2 out of *****)

Produced by Samuel Arkoff, this is one of those low-budget (albeit tolerably directed) jobs with several different titles ("The Campsite Murders" and "Forest Primeval" to name a couple) and two or three different release dates between 1980 and 1985 (I split the difference and went with ‘83, although the original release date is most likely ‘81, for those who care.) It's of interest mainly for featuring Darryl Hannah and Rachel Ward (not to mention Joe Pantoliano, from "Memento" and "The Sopranos") in early roles. The gals play the girlfriends of forest rangers out on a work detail in the woods who run across an unseen, homicidal maniac. There's a refreshingly low body count, but, given the number of potential victims who have little else to do but run around and whine, maybe the cast should have been reduced by two or three actors. Other than a couple of minor shocks here and there, there's also a lack of action and suspense. Come to think of it -- no gratuitous nudity, no excessive violence -- who exactly was this movie made for? The last third, with the survivors paddling down river in a big raft, starts to resemble a tame "Deliverance" (as well as other forest/slasher movies too numerous to name). There are pretty good killer-in-the-woods flicks ("Just Before Dawn") and there are really bad killer-in-the-woods flicks ("Berserker"), and this one sits somewhere just south of the border. Davis went on to direct big-budget action movies (including "Under Siege" and Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive").

HIGHLIGHT: I'm being generous to go with a highlight for this one, but I kinda liked the part where the killer was hit with a giant, swinging log studded with sharp spikes. It reminded me of a Road Runner cartoon.

At one point after the group of forest rangers escapes the night bus attack, Rachel Ward exclaims "I can't see a thing". Ditto for the viewing audience, because even the daytime scenes are so poorly lit that you will have little sense of what is taking place on screen. It's pretty difficult to scare people, when you can't see what is supposed to be scary. Technically "The Final Terror" is a disaster, and it's really a shame, because hunted in the woods films are one of my favorite genres. After seeing (or rather not seeing) "The Final Terror", I will stick with "Hunter's Blood", which is a great film of this type. Other than a strong opening and a surprisingly good conclusion, there is very little entertainment value here. Don't let the name actors get you excited either, because Rachel Ward and Darryl Hannah are just faces in the crowd, with zero character development. My advice, skip it. - MERK

Young forest rangers and their lady friends take a trip into the wilderness and are terrorized by a woodsy maniac.

Yet another slasher in the wake of Friday the 13th (1980), this one being OK as it tries to be a little different from the rest of its kind. This film tries to focus a little more on mood and suspense, rather than on gore and sex, although it does have it's share of that too. With the help of a decent cast, featuring some latter-day stars like Hannah and Ward, The Final Terror manages to be an entertaining enough effort. There's a few shocks, a good rock music score, and a creepy villain that also help carry the movie.

It's a far cry from the superior likes of Just Before Dawn (1981), but it certainly beats the lesser efforts of movies like Don't Go in the Woods (1981) or The Prey (1984).

** 1/2 out of ****

Sorry folks, not much terror here... "The Final Terror" is an interesting but eventually unsatisfying backwoods slasher that shows way too much mercy for the victims of the forestry killer and hence deeply disappoints the horror fans that were hoping to see some nasty violence and delightful 80's sleaze. This film was clearly inspired by the immense success of "Friday the 13th" and similar teenkill-movies, yet it almost ends up being an homage to "Deliverance" because of director Andrew Davis' exaggerated respect for the wildlife setting. Thank God the killer's identity is revealed (or is it?) during the atmospheric telling of a campfire-story, otherwise we'd had no clue what bizarre character, covered in a garment of weeds and moss, is hunting down eight twenty-something hikers in the dark woods near an old asylum. There's some cheesy mayhem to enjoy during the opening minutes, when a young couple gets inventively killed off screen, but the rest of the film is completely undermining all slasher-expectations. A lot of people mention the talented cast members as this film's biggest trump, but they're not worth the praise they're getting neither. Daryl Hannah hardly says a word throughout the whole movie and the acting skills of Joe Pantoliano are dreadfully underused. Don't bother...

2020, found this movie on Tubi, along with Grizzly, The Crazies (Code name Trixie), Without Warning (retitled The Warning) and Madman. I remember watching this. Scared me when I was a teen. 80's was the era of great slashers. One scene freaked me out. Surprised me to learn Joe Pantolino (Goonies, The Matrix, Sopranos and Bad Boys trilogy) stared in it. As well as Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill 1 & 2, Splash, Roxanne and Blade Runner) Very rare to find a movie that uses natural lighting instead of artificial lighting to capture details. Makes the scenes scarier. Watching the film as I'm watching this. Check it out.

The 1981 horror film THE FINAL TERROR looks as if it were written and produced immediately following the surprise box office success of 1980's FRIDAY THE 13TH. Much like FRIDAY THE 13TH, THE FINAL TERROR involves a group of particularly annoying young people who are stalked by a mysterious killer deep in the backwoods, where they have set up camp. However, this film has very little of the graphic gore that made FRIDAY THE 13TH so memorable, while at the same time the plot and direction are not any better.

While the acting isn't bad, it is far from inspired and there is very little chemistry between the characters. For example, some of the campers have British accents while others have Southern accents, while the film is supposed to take place in northern California! At the same time, the acting is competent enough to prevent the film from qualification as "horror cheese."

Other than some good atmospheric cinematography, the only reason to see this film is to see all of the future talent involved. Director Andrew Davis would later direct THE FUGITIVE with Harrison Ford, while cast members Daryl Hannah and Rachel Ward would go on to be Hollywood stars. Otherwise, horror fans and non-horror fans alike should skip this bore of a film.

*1/2 out of ****

The Final Terror otherwise known as Carnivore tells the story of a group who go out into the woods only to learn that danger lurks between the pines.

Truth be told though not exactly original the movie was interesting, the characters caught my attention and I expected something well above par.

Alas the longer the movie runs the more you realise that the creators had run out of ideas and it wanders into the realms of mediocrity building to a terrible finale.

The finale in fact is so bad I get understand for the life of me what they were thinking.

Starring a young Daryl Hannah and young-ish Joe Pantoliano this b-movie slasher effort is squandered potential and should have been better.

The Good:

Decent cast

General competence in filmmaking

The Bad:

Fizzles out

Terrible finale

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

When in a life or death situation a good tactic is getting high

This proves it, the African American guy doesn't have to die first!

Only recently saw this little film again after 10 years or so, and what a dreadful little horror it is. Dire script, no storyline (except mutilating teenagers),really awful direction and acting seen better in a home movie. I watched Friday 13th straight after, and that film looked on a different planet to this. My generous rating:2/10.

The Final Terror (1983)

** (out of 4)

Decent slasher about a group of park rangers who decide to take some of their female friends out in the woods when some of their party is attacked and murdered. The survivors must try to make it down the river without getting picked off.

THE FINAL TERROR was released in 1983 after a couple years on the shelf and it's pretty easy to see why. While there are certainly much worse out there, this film really doesn't have too much going for it except when viewed today there are quite a few familiar faces that film buffs will notice. However, these unknown people wouldn't have been much of an interest back in the day so THE FINAL TERROR pretty much entered and left theaters without too much hype and the film's reputation never really grew much.

The best thing that the film has going for it is that we're treated to some now famous faces. Daryl Hannah and Joe Pantoliano are both on hand in pretty good sized role. Pantoliano steals the film as one of the many nutjobs and you can't help but enjoy his over-the-top performance. You've got Mark Metcalf from NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE, Rachel Ward of AGAINST ALL ODDS fame and THE HEAVENLY KID fans will enjoy seeing Lewis Smith. Even Adrian Zmed from BACHELOR PARTY is on hand. All of them offer up nice performances consider the type of film they're in, although I doubt anyone would have seen this in 1983 and knew what they'd go on to do.

The screenplay really doesn't offer us anything new or original. This is clearly yet another Friday THE 13TH clone with the wood trappings and of course there's a big mystery running throughout the picture. The red herring is given to us from the word go so the only real interest is trying to figure out what twist is going to come. Sadly the screenplay is pretty much by-the-numbers as we see the people party, then stand around and slowly they start to get picked off. The body count is incredibly low here so it's easy to see why the pre-credits sequence was added without the director's knowledge but it doesn't add much. There's one effective kill scene that happens towards the start of the film but not much else.

THE FINAL TERROR was director by Andrew Davis who would go on to make films like UNDER SIEGE and THE FUGITIVE. There's really nothing here that would make you think he'd have films like that in his future but he at least makes a professional looking picture on what was obviously a very low-budget. THE FINAL TERROR is pretty forgettable but slasher fans will still want to watch it at least once.

This could best be described as an adequate wilderness slasher with some effective moments. It does benefit from the atmosphere of its very woodsy environment, which is actually more of a star here than the human actors. It's creepy at times without ever being really scary. Many fans of this genre are likely to be less than satisfied because the body count is quite low, and the gore content (supplied by Kenny Myers) is likewise minimal. The main reason why "The Final Terror" would have some stature nowadays is because 1) it's a rare venture into horror for acclaimed veteran action director Andrew Davis ("Code of Silence", "Under Siege", "The Fugitive"), and 2) it's the chance to see a couple of very familiar faces in the beginning years of their careers - not, of course, that they really get a chance to show off much acting chops.

A group of male forest rangers embark on an excursion in the company of some female friends, and they soon begin to be threatened and killed by a mysterious presence in their midst.

While there are genre fans who will take exception to so many people being alive at the end, others should appreciate the fact that this movie takes the trouble to depart from some of the conventions of this sort of thing (perhaps a contribution from co-writer Ronald Shusett of "Alien" fame). For one thing, the survivors actually take proactive steps against the character whom they believe to be the killer. The one major murder set piece occurs during a bout of love making, unsurprisingly. The means of dispatching the murderer is rather ingenious, but Davis doesn't bother with an epilogue. Once this sucker is over, it's OVER. An undeniable highlight is the score by Susan Justin, which is haunting and catchy. Davis, a former cinematographer, also shot the movie himself under a pseudonym. The attack on the bus and a scene involving a dead body both work fairly well.

Among those paying their dues here are Mark Metcalf, Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Adrian Zmed, Lewis Smith, and a priceless Joe "Joey Pants" Pantoliano as the volatile Eggar.

This is okay as slasher movies go, but as was said in the summary, it's mainly for completists.

One of the final films for legendary producer Samuel Z. Arkoff of A.I.P. fame.

Six out of 10.

Final Terror? There is no terror in this boring, inane slug of a film about randy forestry guys and their friendly girls traversing to the unknown wilds of the American wilderness. Yeah right! Along for the ride are a host of talented, up-and coming actors and actresses such as Rachel Ward(just lovely), Darryl Hannah, Joe Pantoliano, and Adrian Zmed. Unfortunately for them - and the viewers - this film takes them virtually nowhere. The story is really hard to describe because there is little to describe: some wild wilderness freak(possibly one of the men that drove them into the woods) starts killing the forestry guys and dolls. Okay, I think that explains the plot fairly fully. Really, you can fill in what gaps there may be because nothing exciting, inventive, or interesting happens. I was bored from start to finish. Now, some of the acting is competent. The direction is not horrible just uneventful. The woods looks like ...woods. So there is an authentic, cheap feel to the film that does aid what little suspense the film is able to create. Is there any real terror? No way, unless you count the expression on my face when the film ended and I realized that was 82 minutes I would never see again.