...in my opinion, anyway. Like "Carnival of Souls", "Night of the Living Dead", and other horror films that have fallen into the public domain, its reputation has been damaged by lousy TV and home video prints. Creepy atmosphere, an unforgettable soundtrack, and King Karloff...how could any fan of weird cinema not like "The Terror"?
shareA lot of weird cinema fans *do* like The Terror. I adore it. But it's got some story problems so it's never going to be a classic for the masses.
I wish that the studio (whoever bought AIP) would pour some money into it and release a really good DVD/Blu-Ray transfer. I've got a DVD of the widescreen airing from TCM and it's glorious.
No, "The Terror" will never be mistaken for a classic--but that's kinda my point. I think a lot of viewers are too quick to relegate anything less than a four- or five-star film to turkey status, as if unpretentious genre flicks can't be enjoyed for what they are. (This happens a lot with Al Adamson's movies, for example; people seem downright outraged by them.) At any rate, "The Terror" is a fun film and definitely deserves a first-rate DVD presentation.
shareI watched "The Terror" a few years ago from a public domain horror DVD collection. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I didn't really pay attention as I was just getting into classic Gothic horror movies from the AIP/Hammer/Amicus era.
After a few years of being a fan of the classic horror (pre-slasher) genre, I re-watched it when it played on Turner Classic Movies on Halloween, as well as on Elvira's recently revived "Movie Macabre" TV show.
By giving it a second chance, I've become a big fan of this movie. The Gothic atmosphere is fantastic. The plot "twist" is a bit ridiculous and contrived, but other than that, it's an underrated classic. It's no worse than the Corman-Price adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe.
It gets a low rating on IMDB from casual fans who bought "The Terror" on video because Jack Nicholson (with Karloff getting second billing) was advertised prominently on VHS/DVD packaging of a public domain transfer. And after buying the movie and watching it, they were let down.
It is going to be made available on March 29 2011 at Amazon.com as a BLU-Ray/DVD combo pack:
http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Blu-Ray-DVD-Combo-Pack/dp/B004I3Z6G8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297704593&sr=8-1
It will work on "all regions", and the cover packaging looks like is from an original movie poster and BORIS KARLOFF's name is featured prominently (no mention of JACK NICHOLSON because in 1963, he was not an A-list movie star at the time).
I will definitely buy this. I hope that there will be an audio commentary track with Corman and Nicholson sharing their points of view and anecdotes.
Have you guys seen Corman's World? He admits this movie was made with no plot or reason, just to use the sets they built for a previous film. They just wrote 68 pages of random stuff happening and worried about the plot later. The movie makes no sense. It may be a so bad it's good, but there's no way it's a legitimately good film, the makers admit as much...
"You didn't like this movie? Go watch [insert completely opposite movie] instead"
He admits this movie was made with no plot or reason, just to use the sets they built for a previous film. They just wrote 68 pages of random stuff happening and worried about the plot later. The movie makes no sense.
I don't think it was bad at all. It had a creepy atmosphere about it that reminded me of a Mario Bava film. The sets were perfect and helped contribute to the Gothic atmosphere. Boris Karloff was wonderful, which is no surprise because I don't think he's capable of giving a bad performance.
Come, fly the teeth of the wind. Share my wings.
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I don't think it was bad at all.I thought it was pretty dire myself. I liked seeing early Jack playing a French cavalry officer??? plunging in to the surf in his uniform OMG and knowing Jack, Coppola and Monte Hellman among others worked on the film. But overall...Terrorbull! share
Certainly seen worse from Corman - and it indeed is rather atmospheric, with a relatively limited amount of silliness (well, I guess that might qualify as weakness for some...). The ending did get quite extraordinarily preposterous, though... and it`s VERY far from being in the league with Carnival Of Souls, which is a legitimately great, artful horror movie. Almost gave The Terror a 6/10, however. Almost.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
Karloff was at home in this sort of film, some of the visuals are splendid, and Sandra Knight is pretty good. But Jack Nicholson and Dick Miller just aren't suited to this sort of period horror film, and the plot's a mess. It's a highlight in absolutely no one's career.
shareI don't think it's nearly as well done as either of your other examples.
It is a decent enough gothic horror tale and worth a look because of Karloff, Nicholson, and Dick Miller. I'd say 6/10.
America isnt ready for a gay mexican chicken sandwich - Poultrygeist