The TerrorThe past haunts the guilty. The Terror is set in the early 19th century, and follows a young French lieutenant named Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), who after being saved from the brink of exhaustion by a beautiful young woman named Helene (Sandra Knight), is later told she doesn't exist. Determined to prove otherwise, Andre journeys to the castle of the reclusive Baron von Leppe (Boris Karloff). Andre learns of a sordid event in the Baron's past involving his late wife, Ilsa, through the Baron's manservant, Stefan (Dick Miller), and also learns of the connection between her and Helene, as the legend begins to blur with reality.
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The Terror is a ghost story featuring witchcraft and murder--a ghastly tale of chills and thrills. Helene emerges as an ephemeral beauty, like a mirage for the weary soldier returning from some campaign. The Terror implies that Helene might not even be real from the start, and cutaways suggest that she is a phantom of the dehydrated Andre's imagination. When he attempts to save her from the violent waves of the sea, he believes he is attacked by a falcon and passes out. Andre later awakens in a shack occupied by a mysterious witch named Katrina (Dorothy Neumann), who denies there is "a girl" like Helene, and claims her bird shares the same name. From early on, The Terror is trying to unseat our expectations, making it deliberately unclear as to the true nature of Helene, and later Ilsa, both portrayed by Sandra Knight. Suspecting that he is only getting part of an already oblique story, Andre sets out for the castle of the Baron von Leppe in order to investigate just what it is Katrina is hiding from him, as well as the ominous warnings offered to him by the supposedly mute Gustav. From the first scene in The Terror, there are implications that the Baron harbors a deep secret about death. The opening montage shows him navigating his secret passageway into the subterranean crypt beneath his castle, through a gothic portcullis and a hidden door with a concealed lever. Cutaways to crashing waves accompany the mystery of The Terror, as the Baron uncovers a corpse within his demesne, and the film grabs our attention with the promise of ghoulish creepiness. The Terror is coy with revealing what or who Helene really is as it relates to the haunting of the Baron and Andre. She seems to appear at multiple places at once, and there are promises that all can be explained by rational means. Andre implores Helene to run away with him, convinced that she is suffering from a psychological affliction that leading her to believe she is possessed by the spirit of Ilsa, seeking vengeance against the Baron. Yet there is the pervading sense that something supernatural is trying to tear down the unholy legacy of the Baron. The most startling moments in The Terror are those which come after the audience has come to expect that the entire framework of this "haunting" is strictly a charade, only to discover some other diabolical force at work.
The Terror is a low-budget horror film, directed and produced by low-budget virtuoso, Roger Corman. Famous in the Sixties for his vivid and eerie--yet inexpensive--adaptations of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, The Terror shares many similarities the the work of Poe, although it was written for the screen by Leo Gordon and Jack Hill. he Terror came about after Corman's adaptation of The Raven had reached completion, and Corman wanted to take advantage of the leftover sets. The Terror is a film which could be described as one born out of economic interests, but it is also one which echoes the style of the Poe films which brought B-movie acclaim to Corman. The Terror also takes advantage of a multitude of regular players in Corman's films, notably Jack Nicholson, who while still a young actor, gets the lead role in The Terror. As Jack Nicholson was still a relatively unknown actor at the time, the top billing goes to Boris Karloff, who also co-starred in Corman's The Raven. Other key players include Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze (as the quiet steward, Gustav), both of whom also played in Corman's Little Shop of Horrors. Between the casting and "rolled-up sleeves" approach to economic filmmaking, Corman's film emphasizes a philosophy that engaging stories can be told without inflated budgets and grandiose salaries; it is also said that Karloff worked on a deferred payment salary pending the success of The Terror. Watching The Terror can be revealing, especially for fans of Jack Nicholson, seeing the talented actor begin to learn the mannerisms and characteristics which would become iconic elements of his performances in years to come. Other names attached to The Terror would also go on to large filmmaking careers. For example, Francis Ford Coppola and Monte Hellman--directors themselves--were credited as "associate producer" and "location director" respectively in The Terror, and co-writer Jack Hill would also go on to direct horror movies of his own as well. Through this lens, The Terror serves as a kind of "rough draft" for horror movies, blessed with a lush garden of directing and acting talent, and an outline for filmmakers looking to make a movie on a severely limited budget, taking advantage of every possible gain--a cornerstone for Corman's oeuvre.
Recommended for: Fans of a low-budget fright fest reminiscent of the Corman-era adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe, which also happens to be an early film for many talented artists working on a lean and economic movie.
The Terror is a low-budget horror film, directed and produced by low-budget virtuoso, Roger Corman. Famous in the Sixties for his vivid and eerie--yet inexpensive--adaptations of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, The Terror shares many similarities the the work of Poe, although it was written for the screen by Leo Gordon and Jack Hill. he Terror came about after Corman's adaptation of The Raven had reached completion, and Corman wanted to take advantage of the leftover sets. The Terror is a film which could be described as one born out of economic interests, but it is also one which echoes the style of the Poe films which brought B-movie acclaim to Corman. The Terror also takes advantage of a multitude of regular players in Corman's films, notably Jack Nicholson, who while still a young actor, gets the lead role in The Terror. As Jack Nicholson was still a relatively unknown actor at the time, the top billing goes to Boris Karloff, who also co-starred in Corman's The Raven. Other key players include Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze (as the quiet steward, Gustav), both of whom also played in Corman's Little Shop of Horrors. Between the casting and "rolled-up sleeves" approach to economic filmmaking, Corman's film emphasizes a philosophy that engaging stories can be told without inflated budgets and grandiose salaries; it is also said that Karloff worked on a deferred payment salary pending the success of The Terror. Watching The Terror can be revealing, especially for fans of Jack Nicholson, seeing the talented actor begin to learn the mannerisms and characteristics which would become iconic elements of his performances in years to come. Other names attached to The Terror would also go on to large filmmaking careers. For example, Francis Ford Coppola and Monte Hellman--directors themselves--were credited as "associate producer" and "location director" respectively in The Terror, and co-writer Jack Hill would also go on to direct horror movies of his own as well. Through this lens, The Terror serves as a kind of "rough draft" for horror movies, blessed with a lush garden of directing and acting talent, and an outline for filmmakers looking to make a movie on a severely limited budget, taking advantage of every possible gain--a cornerstone for Corman's oeuvre.
Recommended for: Fans of a low-budget fright fest reminiscent of the Corman-era adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe, which also happens to be an early film for many talented artists working on a lean and economic movie.