The Terror (1963)

hyped garbage

Disappointment for a huge fan!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I watched this movie because I like bad movies and this one promised Boris Karloff and a young Jack Nicholson in the same film. I really enjoyed it, but it's always hard to rate so-bad-it's-good movies (Should I give it a 1 or a 10?), which only appeal to a certain kind of audience. This Corman classic, reportedly pasted together from leftover sets and scenes shot by hired-for-the-day directors, proceeds as an atmospheric but otherwise merely bad spectral chiller until about 4/5ths of the way through, when an unexpected plot twist renders pretty much everything that came before incomprehensible, which tips the movie into bad-movie-hall-of-fame territory. The last 15 minutes are especially mind-boggling for anyone capable of three seconds of logical thought (like, uh, isn't that a rather unusual family crypt?). No nudity in 1963, but lots of fun. If you enjoy bad movies, go for it.

Just seen this movie. I have to say that I like Corman's work with minimal budget and this movie is just one of those. It is really incredible to see Jack Nicholson even before "Ride in the Whirlwind" and Karloff at the end of his career. For a movie shot with only 6(!) actors it is very nice done. Although it has a cliché story for horrors about undead, development of the story is nice. Its cinematography is also done nice. It's the definitive cream of B-movies and cream of Corman's production(It's made for a few days on a set of his past film, "Raven"). The scenes with Nicholson and the woman are straight out of the creepiest and most mysterious in Corman's work.

After picking up a DVD of The Ghoul,I started to think about having a Boris Karloff double bill.Taking a look at a box set from a very kind IMDber,I was delighted to spot a title,which is famous for Karloff having filmed his part in 4 days!,which led to me bracing myself for the terror.The plot-France 1806:Lost from his regiment, French Lieutenant Andre Duvalier finds himself near the coast desperate for a drink.Appearing like a mirage,a women called Helene walks with Duvalier,and takes him near the sea.When they get to the sea,Helene walks into the ocean and disappears.Trying his best to find Helene in the ocean,Duvalier ends up fainting.Waking up,Duvalier finds himself in a cottage in the middle of the woods,that belongs to an old woman called Katrina,and her servant. Desperate for details about Helene,Duvalier asks Katrina for details,but is told that Helene does not exist.Taking a look round the woods,Duvalier starts to think that he must be dreaming,when Helene suddenly appears,who soon guides Duvalier to some ghostly terror.View on the film:Despite filming his part in just 4 days,Boris Karloff gives a very good performance as Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe,who Karloff gives a real crusty edge towards, (perhaps related to being used for every penny he was worth!)as Leppe shows an increasing annoyance over Duvalier's search for Helene.Filmed a year into their marriage, Jack Nicholson & Sandra Knight each give wonderful performances,as Knight floats across the film with a mythical elegance as Helene,whilst Nicholson displays a slow-burn desire to uncover the secrets behind Helene.Whilst Karloff's scenes took just 4 days to complete,the rest of the movie by directors Roger Corman/Francis Ford Coppola/Monte Hellman/Jack Hill & Jack Nicholson took 9 months to complete! Re- using sets from The Raven,the directors cross the Gothic Horror sets with a Folk Horror backdrop,as Leppe's brittle castle is surrounded by decaying woodland filled with witches and ghosts.Written at a rapid pace to make the most of Karloff's last days on a contract to Roger Corman,the screenplay by Leo Gordon/Jack Hill & Roger Corman is surprisingly cohesive! Keeping the film on Duvalier's point of view,the writers gradually release an intense Gothic atmosphere,thanks to Duvalier's vague unease turning into outright fear,as Helene introduces him to the terror.

In what amounts to a film made to kill time and use up the remaining days on Boris Karloff's contract, The Terror, crafted by Roger Corman and perhaps four other directors, is hardly good but still not as bad as it arguably should be? Plot simply follows a French soldier, Andre (Jack Nicholson), in 1806 who gets detached from his regiment and meets a mysterious young woman named Helene (Sandra Knight). Trying to unravel the mystery that surrounds her, Andre is led to the castle of Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe (Karloff), from where it becomes apparent that Helene could be Ilsa, the Baron's wife who died twenty years earlier!In typically Corman style the film has decent atmosphere and the recycled sets from concurrent productions (The Haunted Palace/The Raven) form a good Gothic backdrop. With a number of hands involved in directing and the slim time frame for the production, the plotting is understandably skew-whiff, with some scenes actually serving no purpose, while dialogue is stilted and the delivery of such is sometimes laughable (Nicholson looks like he is reading from auto-cue at times). Yet it's pretty harmless as entertainment, if a touch boring, but Karloff is good value and the theme of past deeds haunting the present gives the film a doom laden edge. 5/10