The Terror

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.

Legend has it that Roger Corman filmed The Terror over a frantic four-day period; the truth is rather more interesting, as it undoubtedly contributed to the film's remarkable, incomparable, mesmerizing texture. After production wrapped on The Raven, Corman had Karloff, Nicholson, and the Raven's sets for four remaining days, so he hurriedly shot what he could before the walls came down and his stars departed. He then dispatched various acolytes, including Francis Coppola, Dennis Jakoub, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill, and Nicholson himself to produce enough footage to make The Terror into a complete feature. The result is a unique, fascinating, intensely visual and cinematic experiment that makes Corman's previous Poe adaptations look overly literary, plot-laden, and dialog-bound. The Terror may not be very logical, and its story will not withstand much scrutiny, but the film succeeds as a feverish nightmare of obsession and mad love. The photography, especially of the Big Sur locations, and of the fog bound studio cemetery sets, has an intense eerie romantic beauty, and Ronald Stein's remarkable score underscores The Terror's uncanny equation of desire and death. Is it cheap? Yes. Are there mistakes and screw ups? Sure. Does the continuity falter? Absolutely. None of this matters. The Terror is extraordinary in its palpable dream-like intensity. Oh, and by the way: an elderly, sick, practically crippled Boris Karloff, who could have easily tossed this off as an imposition, is terrific as always and a wonder to behold.

This is quite a Gothic tale of horror, including sundry gory bits. The castle is expectedly dark and brooding, and Corman creates an eerie atmosphere very well.

I spotted two directional errors. The handguns are revolver like, and I do not think such guns were used in Europe in the early years of the nineteenth century. Also, the servant Stefan often stands too close to the Baron, and to Lieutenant Duvalier. For reasons that become clear later, he could assume such familiarity with the Baron. However no nineteenth century officer of the French army, especially one of aristocratic lineage, would tolerate such behaviour from a minion.

Jack Nicholson said of the film, 'This is the only Hollywood film with a complete script that has absolutely no story.' This about sums it up. It should be watched for the camera-work and the ambiance.

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.

In 1806, the French Lieutenant Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) is lost from his regiment and riding near the coast very thirsty. Out of the blue, he sees a gorgeous woman that shows him a spring. Then she tells her name, Helene (Sandra Knight), and she walks with him and vanishes into the sea water. Andre tries to save her but is attacked by an eagle and faints. He awakes in the house of and old woman, Katrina (Dorothy Neumann), and sees the eagle that belongs to her. He learns that her servant Gustaf (Jonathan Haze) has saved him. When Andre asks for Helene, Katrina tells that she does not know her. Andre walks during the night seeking out Helene; when he meets her, she asks him to follow her and brings him to a spot with quick sand, but Andre is saved by Gustaf again. He tells to Andre that Helene is possessed and he would find the answers at the castle of the Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe (Boris Karloff) where he should ask for Eric. On the next day, Andre leaves Katrina's house and heads to the castle. He is received by the Baron himself and sees the picture of Helene on the wall. However he leans that the woman is Ilsa, the Baroness Von Leppe, who has been dead for twenty years. Further, the Baron lives alone in the castle with his butler Stefan (Richard Miller). Later he learns that the Baron found Ilsa in the bed with a man named Eric and he killed her and Stephan killed Eric. But Andre saw the woman at the window when he arrived at the castle. What is the secret of Helene?

"The Terror" is an entertaining low-budget movie by Roger Corman with Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff. The plot is interesting and it is curious to know that Corman used sets left over from "The Raven". Boris Karloff's scenes were shot in three days only. Unfortunately the Brazilian DVD has a blurred image and it is very difficult to distinguish the characters and locations. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sombras do Terror" ("Shadows of the Terror")