Much is said about the (lack of) quality of the DVD, but how good is the film itself? I have not seen the movie since about 1985 when I was 12 years old. Don't have very clear memories about the story. I have ordered a copy but it's taking forever.
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You probably have watched it by now. I'm sure you'll agree that the movie is pretty bad, the script has the feel of having been made up as they went along. No tension, practically no scares, characters walk around endlessly and then walk some more, the inept editing intercuts scenes of the killer with (again) people walking around in the forest, eliminating any possibility of suspense, also indifferent to bad acting even from good actors like Rachel Ward (who can blame them when dealing with hopeless material like this?). On top of that, the DVD quality is terrible, looks sourced from a VHS tape, no detail, extremely dark, poor black level, hissy sound. The movie just isn't worth going to all the trouble. Easily one of the worst independent horror films I've ever seen. 1/10.
shareI think that may be a little harsh. I think this film is more believable than most of the slasher films of the 80's. It had good acting and a few good tension scenes, actually. We've got a creepy killer to boot. One of my favorite slashers. ANY slasher completist will have this in their collection.
shareKiki is right. There is no suspense. Actors are believable but they don't do anything except talk and walk and make contstantly make illogical descisions or behave illogically. Believable but frustratingly stupid behaviour. But that's the writing and directing not the acting.
The conclusion would be impossible and which might not be too bad if there was some suspense that built up to it. The red herring doesn't make up for it.
Plus the DVD is impossible to watch. It's always too dark even in daylight. All that can be seen are shapes moving about.
Spoiler my favourite line
EXT: FOREST VALLEY
The group look up at their yellow bus on a bridge.
SOME GUY
We can't go up there, it looks
like a trap. We'll wait for
night."
"contstantly make illogical descisions or behave illogically."
Which describes almost every slasher film made, because in most instances if the characters in slashers did behave logically they wouldn't get into the situations they do, and end up slasher fodder.
No pulse, no heartbeat. If condition does not change, this man is dead.share
**SPOILERS**
It's hard to believe that it's a slasher film when there were only like two death scenes, one of which happened at the very start. They did a good job with the one death scene that they did have, but for the rest of the film, it is a lot of wasted time just waiting for something - anything really - to happen as these young adults ran/rafted their way thru the wilderness. People call this building suspense, but for the mostly unlikeable and overbloated cast they had, they could've at least thrown in another death or two more to make the film less boring or the killer (albeit creepy) more imposing.
I love slasher films, but I wouldn't go out to buy this for my "collection". It's marketed as a horror film, but it plays out more like a survival film with slasher characters. So, if you come in expecting a mindless slasher the way I did, you're bound to be disappointed because there's just not a lot that happens here and the characters just aren't likeable or even in danger enough to fear too seriously for them.
It could've been worse, yes, but it honestly deserved to be better too.
Agreed. A 5 at best.
🐺 Boycott movies that involve real animal violence (& their directors) 🐾
The quality of the DVD is the least of the problems here. Yes, the movie is really bad. I agree with all the other messages that list the bad points of this film, so I wont re-list them. The scenes go on and on forever, during the night scenes it is impossible to see what is happening due to the poor lighting, and the story, well...more suspense on a re-run of Murder She Wrote.
share" during the night scenes it is impossible to see what is happening due to the poor lighting"
I won't blame poor lighting for this, but the DVD as the night seens are fine on my VHS copy.
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here.share
Don't believe what is being said. This is slightly better than the average slasher. It IS more believable and there is a certain eerie scare to it from being stranded in the middle of the woods. There is some very decent killings especially at the end. Love the revenge too. I agree that it was too dark in certain places, but I'm not sure that it's in the original movie or just from an aged copy. Definitely worth a see if you love 80's horror and slashers.
I thought it wasn't bad among the hundreds of other backwoods slasher flicks back in the 80s. While the original Friday the 13th almost started the backwoods slasher craze, it's plot wasn't much better either. It's all about the spooky atmosphere of the forest and a killer hiding within. I thought The Final Terror captured this atmophere perfectly.
I can't believe some of the posters here expected a more coherent and logical story with a flick like this. It's not like Friday the 13th was much better.
Plus, Darryl Hannah is in this which is a plus.
I think Final Terror is a fine film. It and Just Before Dawn both exceed at capturing a great outdoor atmosphere, some really great locations.
No pulse, no heartbeat. If condition does not change, this man is dead.share
It's all about the spooky atmosphere of the forest and a killer hiding within. I thought The Final Terror captured this atmophere perfectly.
Terrible movie.
- Your own personal Jesus
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Tis true, this is one of the better backwoods slasher flicks of the early 80's. This movie is all about location and atmosphere. It's almost as if the forest is a supporting character. It's the evil that hides amongst the trees and bushes that make this eerie...how the killer camouflages themselves in a chameleon-like presence. Spooky. Also, some genuinely good performances...especially by John Friedrich.(Zorich)
"Lookie! Built you a little fry house!''
It's not the board of Don't Go in in Woods (1981).
There's something wrong with Esther.
Yay I found it!! And NO THIS MOVIE IS NOT ANY GOOD IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE WORST MOVIE EVER!
shareAdmittedly, I only watched the first hour. But I found it empty and boring. Bad, but not in an entertaining way. I'd much rather soak up the absurd fun of something like Don't Go in the Woods.
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