The Final Terror

Last updated
The Final Terror
Poster of the movie "The Final Terror".jpg
US film poster
Directed by Andrew Davis
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Jon George
  • Neill D. Hicks
Produced by Joe Roth
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Davis
Edited by
Music bySusan Justin
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • October 28, 1983 (1983-10-28)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Final Terror is a 1983 American slasher film directed by Andrew Davis, and starring John Friedrich, Rachel Ward, Daryl Hannah, Adrian Zmed, Mark Metcalf, Akosua Busia, and Joe Pantoliano. Blending elements of the survival thriller and the slasher film, the story follows a group of campers in the Northern California wilderness who are forced to fight for their lives against a backwoods, feral killer hunting them as prey. The film was released internationally under the alternate titles Carnivore and Campsite Massacre.

Contents

The film was developed by executive producer Samuel Z. Arkoff, who hoped to capitalize on the success of such films as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and The Burning (1981). Arkoff commissioned Joe Roth to produce the film, after which a screenplay was developed by three writers, including Ronald Shusett. Principal photography took place in the fall of 1981, primarily in the Redwood Forests of northern California, as well in southern Oregon, under the working title Bump in the Night.

Though completed in 1981, The Final Terror was shelved for two years as a result of the filmmakers failing to find a distributor. It was eventually released on October 28, 1983 to capitalize on the rising fame of its stars Ward, Hannah, and Zmed. Critical reaction to the film was mixed, with some praising it for its believability, while others admonished it for its incorporation of overlapping dialogue and art film elements. Numerous critics drew comparisons to Deliverance (1972) due to the film's survivalist elements, as well as to its slasher contemporary Friday the 13th. In the intervening years, the film has developed a small cult following. [1]

Plot

A young couple named Jim and Lori lose control of their motorbike while riding in a forest. With Jim hurt, Lori finds no help and returns, only to find Jim dead hanging from a tree before she is killed by a trap. Weeks later, a group of campers consisting of Dennis, Margaret, Windy, Marco, Nathaniel, Boone, Eggar, Vanessa, Mike, and Melanie, arrive at the forest. The group makes a clearing and spend the night around a bonfire telling a story about a young teenager who was raped and became insane, so she was put in a local mental institution, where she gave birth to a baby boy who was taken from her. When the boy was 19, he took his mother from the institution and released her to live in the forest.

The next morning, the group discover that Marco and Eggar are missing. While the others search for them, Mike takes a swim with Melanie and later they have sex, during which Mike is stabbed to death by a camouflaged killer who then kidnaps Melanie. Nathaniel and Dennis find an abandoned cabin containing an old grave. Dennis enters the cabin and Nathaniel hears him scream, only for it to be a prank by Dennis trying to scare him. While searching the cabin for food and items, they find a severed wolf's head in a cabinet and are shaken before returning to the camp.

That night, the killer appears near Margaret in her sleep and she hysterically tells the others what she saw. The campers also find Marco, who has returned to the camp. After Vanessa gets angry at the men for scaring the girls, she walks off alone to the outhouse; she screams when Mike's severed head falls onto her, and the group comes to her aid. The group spends one more night at the camp, and unsuccessfully search for Melanie who they assumed was still with Mike. In the morning they go to the cabin to look for the killer, unaware that he is down in the basement with a captured Melanie, and they flee with the rafts after finding a human hand in a glass jar. While rafting along the river, the body of Melanie is tossed onto the boat by the killer which causes panic among the group. Burying Melanie near the river, the group continues on to the end of the river and find their empty, broken-down bus. They spend the night there, but the killer attacks and gets inside the bus before the group escapes out the back door. Windy gets separated and is slashed by the killer, where the group comes to her and gives her first aid.

In the morning, the group gathers supplies and camouflages themselves. They find a knocked over redwood tree and devise an ambush on Eggar. Dennis climbs one of the highest trees, where he sets a spiked log trap. Marco begins calling out for Eggar, who appears and begins to strangle Marco with a rope. The group attacks Eggar, believing he is the killer. While Dennis is watching the rest of the group fight, the killer climbs out from the roots of the knocked over redwood tree. The killer slashes Dennis's ankle and he falls to his death. The killer rises up to scream; it is revealed that Eggar's missing, feral mother (the subject of the earlier story) is the killer. As she walks toward the group, she sets off the trap and is mortally wounded. The group watch in silent horror as Eggar's mother hangs dead in the trap.

Cast

Themes

Film scholar John Kenneth Muir notes in his book Horror Films of the 1980s that The Final Terror exemplifies a trend of slasher films boasting a "man-versus-nature" trope. [2] Muir writes: "In the 1980s, Americans had more creature comforts, including Atari 2600s, VCRs, shopping malls, and less of a need to seek leisure outside in the woods... Ever since Jean Renoir's A Day in the Country (1936), cinema has played with the notion of nature as a foreign place... The Final Terror is no Renoir movie, yet (much like 1977's The Hills Have Eyes and, to a much lesser degree, 1983's The Prey ), it explores the idea that wilderness is just that." [2]

Production

Development

After the success of such slasher films as Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), executive producer Samuel Z. Arkoff pitched the idea of making a horror film to his friend and co-producer, Joe Roth. [3] The project marked Arkoff's first major feature following his departure from American International Pictures. [4]

The original screenplay, which had the working title Bump in the Night, [5] consisted of a sparse plot about "rich boys and girls going off into the woods and getting killed." [6] The screenplay was co-written by Ronald Shusett, who had previously co-written Alien (1979) with Dan O'Bannon. [7]

Casting

Rachel Ward (2012).jpg
DarylHannah.jpg
Akosua Busia, 1986.jpg
The three female leads, Rachel Ward, Daryl Hannah, and Akosua Busia, had little film experience when cast

Most of the cast of The Final Terror were inexperienced or new actors. Australian actress Rachel Ward was cast in the lead role of Margaret after Davis had seen a modeling portrait of her in Roth's office. [8] Akosua Busia auditioned during an open casting call on Hollywood Boulevard, and was cast in the supporting role of Vanessa; Busia, the daughter of Ghana Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia, was a childhood friend of Ward, who became acquainted with her while they were studying in London, [9] and neither were aware the other had been cast in the same film until the first day of shooting. [10]

In the role of Windy, Davis cast Daryl Hannah, who, like Ward, had little film experience at the time. [11] Davis cast Joe Pantoliano in the role of Eggar after he entered the audition in character, impressing Davis with his commitment. [12] Donna Pinder, who portrayed Mrs. Morgan, was producer Arkoff's daughter, who later married Roth. [13]

Filming

The Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park was a central filming location Redwoods Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park 1.jpg
The Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park was a central filming location

Director Davis was recommended for the film by Shusett, who had been impressed by Davis's previous work. [14] Davis was also hired by producer Joe Roth to serve as cinematographer, billed under the pseudonym "Andreas Davidescu" to avoid problems with the filmmakers' union. [15] Prior to shooting, Davis and Roth scouted various locations, including the Mount St. Helens area in Washington. [16]

Principal photography took place largely in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, [17] surrounding Crescent City, California, and southern Oregon in September 1981, [18] [19] under the working title Three Blind Mice. [20] The accompanying crew consisted of only four people. [21] The majority of filming was completed by Davis, though the opening sequence featuring the anonymous couple being murdered was later filmed by an editor. [22] Some of the establishing camp sequences were filmed at the California Conservation Corps camp in northern California. [23]

During filming, the cast and crew stayed in Crescent City and would enter through the border before filming all day in Oregon and also traveling along the Whitewater River. [17] The filming conditions were difficult due to weather conditions, with frequent rain. [17] One evening during the shoot, locals gave the cast marijuana brownies, which resulted in some of them being admitted to the hospital. [24] Upon driving in one of their cars, the crew had hit a Redwood tree and Smith cited their excuse was "someone putted the tree out on the street". [24]

According to Adrian Zmed, Davis shot an abundance of film, rolling the camera frequently; the scene with Zmed's character howling was done in an estimated 15-20 takes. [17] Zmed mentioned that filming the sequence in which Eggar was strangling him during a fight was difficult to shoot; at the time, Zmed felt he was unable to enact being in real physical pain, so he asked stunt-woman Jeannie Epper to pull the rope tighter around his throat. [17] The cast performed the majority of their own stunts. [17] In the log-trap creation scene where Dennis Zorich was climbing up the tree, they used real tree-climbers and logging techniques.

Release

After film was completed, it was shelved for two years until 1983 as the producers searched for a distributor. The film only had five deaths, so the beginning scene with the couple getting killed was filmed in order to have a higher chance of a distributor picking up the film. However, the scene was shot without the director's permission, so Roth had to pay a fee, some of it sourced from funds intended for Davis' wedding at the time. [25]

In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title Campsite Massacre [26] in mid-1983. [27] [28] It was released theatrically in the United States on October 28, 1983. [29] [30] [31]

At the time of its release, several of the film's stars had garnered recognition for other acting roles, including Hannah, who had had a major role in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), [32] Ward, who made a critically acclaimed appearance in the miniseries The Thorn Birds , [33] and Zmed, who had been cast as a regular on the network series T. J. Hooker . [34]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews at the time of its release, [29] with numerous critics drawing comparisons to Deliverance (1972) and Friday the 13th (1980), due to the film's slasher elements set against a survivalist narrative. [7] [35] [36]

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times noted that the film does not contain "much of a story," though conceded that "Davis has managed to turn out a competent, though scarcely compelling, film with believable people. Although not for the faint of heart, The Final Terror avoids lingering morbidly over its bloodshed, and at least is not yet another exploitation of extreme violence against women." [37] Writing for The Baltimore Sun , Stephen Hunter faulted the film as it "never builds any real tension or energy, even within the limited confines of the genre...  Although the kids...  are handsome enough, they never develop any personalities." [36] Hunter did note, however, that the film's "production values are unusually high." [36] The Palm Beach Post 's Kathryn Buxton praised the film's setting and "likewise scenic cast" but added: "After her throat is cut by the slasher, Ms. Hanna is sewn miraculously back together by Ms. Ward, and she is up and walking in no time. Like that scene there is little sense, or tension, in The Final Terror." [38]

Terry Lawson of the Dayton Journal Herald criticized the film's plot for being derivative, adding that both Ward and Hannah "do their jobs, which is to look beautiful even when scared out of their makeup. The only real performance in the film is rendered by John Friedrich, who does a Robert De Niro imitation that is so blatantly bad that one can only hope he intended it as parody." [35] Mike Hughes in the Lansing State Journal , was also critical, writing: "Davis seems to think he's doing a Bergman drama. He fills Terror with overlapping dialogue, mumbled lines, meandering cameras. Unfortunately, this is no high-class drama...  Despite the arty efforts, Final Terror emerges as a movie only James Watt could love. It shows forests aren't that much fun after all." [39] In their capsule review, the Shreveport Times deemed the film "another vehicle in the current horror genre with a newcomer cast and not much else." [40] Writing for the Gannett News Service, Mike Hughes denounced the film as "cheap and bad, without trying to be...  The cast is filled with good people who got better roles while this film was waiting on the shelf." [33]

On the internet review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 33% approval rating with an average rating of 4.29/10 based on 9 reviews. AllMovie gave a 2.5 rating, citing the film as "mediocre" and recommending "worth watching more for its cast than for its clichéd story". [41]

Home media

The film came into home video on VHS in the mid 1980s and later had a DVD release in the 2000s. In July 2014, Shout! Factory subsidiary Scream Factory released the film in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, which contains the R-rated version. [42] Accordingly, the original negative and interpositive were all lost, and Scream Factory went through six film prints lent by film collectors to deliver the best looking reels for the combo pack. [42]

Related Research Articles

A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Eggar</span> British actress

Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar is a retired English actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller The Collector (1965), which earned her a Golden Globe Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akosua Busia</span> Ghanaian actress and writer (born 1966)

Akosua Gyamama Busia is a Ghanaian actress, writer and songwriter. She is known to film audiences for playing Nettie Harris in the 1985 film The Color Purple. She is the daughter of Ghanaian Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia.

<i>Alice, Sweet Alice</i> 1976 American slasher film by Alfred Sole

Alice, Sweet Alice is a 1976 American psychological slasher film co-written and directed by Alfred Sole, and starring Linda Miller, Paula Sheppard, and Brooke Shields in her film debut. Set in 1961 New Jersey, the film focuses on a troubled adolescent girl who becomes a suspect in the brutal murder of her younger sister at her First Communion, as well as in a series of unsolved stabbings that follow.

<i>Prom Night</i> (1980 film) 1980 Canadian slasher film by Paul Lynch

Prom Night is a 1980 slasher film directed by Paul Lynch and written by William Gray. Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen star. The film's plot follows a group of high school seniors who are targeted at their prom by a masked killer, seeking vengeance for the accidental death of a young girl six years earlier. The film features supporting performances from Casey Stevens, Eddie Benton, Mary Beth Rubens and Michael Tough.

<i>Terror Train</i> 1980 Canadian horror film by Roger Spottiswoode

Terror Train is a 1980 slasher film directed by Roger Spottiswoode — in his directorial debut — written by Thomas Y. Drake, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, and Hart Bochner. The film follows a group of pre-medical school students holding a New Year's Eve costume party on a moving train who are targeted by a killer who dons their costumes. It features supporting performances from Sandee Currie, Anthony Sherwood, and David Copperfield.

Lauren-Marie Taylor is an American film and television actress. She is regarded as a "scream queen" for her roles in several horror films. Born and raised in the Bronx, Taylor was scouted by a talent agent while performing in a high school production of Oklahoma! with classmate Ally Sheedy, and began pursuing acting in commercials. Her first major role was as Vickie in the slasher film Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981).

<i>My Bloody Valentine</i> (film) 1981 Canadian slasher film by George Mihalka

My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka and written by John Beaird. It stars Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Valentine's Day party, only to incur the vengeful wrath of a maniac in mining gear who begins a killing spree.

<i>Hell Night</i> 1981 American slasher film by Tom DeSimone

Hell Night is a 1981 American supernatural slasher film directed by Tom DeSimone, and starring Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, Kevin Brophy, and Peter Barton. The film depicts a night of fraternity hazing set in an old manor—the site of a familial mass murder—during which a deformed killer terrorizes and murders many of the college students. The plot blends elements of slasher films and Gothic haunted house films. Filmmaker Chuck Russell served as an executive producer, while his long-time collaborator Frank Darabont served as a production assistant.

<i>He Knows Youre Alone</i> 1980 film by Armand Mastroianni

He Knows You're Alone is a 1980 American psychological slasher film directed by Armand Mastroianni, written by Scott Parker and starring Caitlin O'Heaney, Don Scardino, Elizabeth Kemp, Tom Rolfing, and Tom Hanks in his film debut. The plot follows a woman who is stalked by a killer targeting soon-to-be brides the weekend before her wedding.

Ghostface (<i>Scream</i>) Shared identity of the antagonists in the Scream media franchise

Ghostface is a fictional identity that is adopted by the primary antagonists of the Scream franchise. The figure was originally created by Kevin Williamson, and is primarily mute in person but voiced over the phone by Roger L. Jackson, regardless of who is behind the mask. The disguise has been adopted by various characters in the movies and in the third season of the television series.

<i>The House on Sorority Row</i> 1982 American slasher film by Mark Rosman

The House on Sorority Row is a 1982 American slasher film written and directed by Mark Rosman, produced by John G. Clark, and starring Eileen Davidson and Kathryn McNeil. The plot follows a group of sorority sisters being stalked and murdered during their graduation party after they conceal a fatal prank against their house mother.

<i>The Prey</i> (1983 film) 1983 American film

The Prey is a 1983 American slasher film directed by Edwin Brown, and starring Debbie Thureson, Steve Bond, Lori Lethin, and Jackie Coogan. It follows a group of campers in the Rocky Mountains who are stalked and murdered by a disfigured assailant.

<i>Curtains</i> (1983 film) 1983 slasher film directed by Richard Ciupka and Peter R. Simpson

Curtains is a 1983 Canadian slasher film directed by Richard Ciupka and Peter R. Simpson, from a screenplay by Robert Guza Jr., and starring John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson, Lynne Griffin, and Lesleh Donaldson. Centered on the world of theater and filmmaking, its plot focuses on a group of ambitious female performers who are targeted by a masked killer while auditioning for a film role at a prestigious director's mansion.

<i>Girls Nite Out</i> (1982 film) 1982 film directed by Robert Deubel

Girls Nite Out is a 1982 American slasher film written and produced by Anthony N. Gurvis, directed by Robert Deubel, and starring Julia Montgomery, Suzanne Barnes, Rutanya Alda, and Hal Holbrook. The film focuses on a group of female college students who are targeted by a killer in a bear mascot costume during an all-night scavenger hunt on their campus.

<i>Final Exam</i> (1981 film) 1981 American slasher film by Jimmy Huston

Final Exam is a 1981 American slasher film written and directed by Jimmy Huston, and starring Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S. Rice, DeAnna Robbins and Timothy L. Raynor. The plot follows a nameless killer stalking the remaining group of students left on a college campus days before the beginning of summer vacation.

<i>Halloween</i> (1978 film) 1978 film by John Carpenter

Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it with its producer Debra Hill. It stars Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P. J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis. Set mostly in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield, the film follows mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his teenage sister one Halloween night during his childhood; he escapes 15 years later and returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis pursues him.

<i>Killer Party</i> 1986 Canadian film

Killer Party is a 1986 Canadian supernatural slasher film directed by William Fruet, and starring Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour, Elaine Wilkes, Joanna Johnson, Sherry Willis-Burch, and Paul Bartel. It follows a trio of female sorority pledges who unleash a demonic force after participating in an initiation ritual in an abandoned house on their university's campus.

<i>Scream</i> (1981 film) 1981 film

Scream is a 1981 American slasher film written and directed by Byron Quisenberry and starring Pepper Martin, Hank Worden, Ethan Wayne, Ann Bronston, and Julie Marine.

Sherry Willis-Burch is an American actress who had a brief career in the 1980s, starring in the horror films Final Exam (1981) and Killer Party (1986).

References

  1. ↑ Yanick, Joe (July 15, 2014). "The Final Terror (US Blu-Ray review)". Diabolique Magazine. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Muir 2010, p. 322.
  3. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 4:21.
  4. ↑ Craig 2019, p. 148.
  5. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 2:57.
  6. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 4:32.
  7. 1 2 Roydson, Keith. "You'll find no logic or scares in 'Final Terror'". Muncie Evening Press . Muncie, Indiana. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 5:14.
  9. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 5:19.
  10. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 29:17.
  11. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 10:20.
  12. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 6:19.
  13. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 10:15.
  14. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 2:35.
  15. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 11:32.
  16. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 0:44.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zmed, Adrian (2014). "Interview with Adrian Zmed". The Final Terror (Blu-ray documentary short). Scream Factory.
  18. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 0:29, 21:58.
  19. ↑ Reed, Conner (September 28, 2022). "13 Oregon-Made Halloween Flicks to Add to Your Queues This October". Portland Monthly . ISSN   1546-2765. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023.
  20. ↑ Friedman, Gary (December 15, 1981). "Rachel Ward". Los Angeles Times . p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 17:52.
  22. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 1:09.
  23. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 7:14.
  24. 1 2 Smith, Lewis (2014). "Interview with Lewis Smith". The Final Terror (Blu-ray documentary short). Scream Factory.
  25. ↑ Davis 2014, event occurs at 0:22.
  26. ↑ Harper 2004, p. 89.
  27. ↑ "Edgware Rd 723 5901". The Fulham Chronicle . July 15, 1983. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "What's on at the movies". The Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser. May 20, 1983. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. 1 2 "The Final Terror". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020.
  30. ↑ Rose, Rita (October 28, 1983). "Movie mogul defends 'cheapies'". The Indianapolis Star. p. 48 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Independent Theatre Guide". Los Angeles Times . October 28, 1983. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ Harper 2004, p. 187.
  33. 1 2 Hughes, Mike (December 6, 1983). "'Final Terror': Movie offers some strange nostalgia". Chillicothe Gazette . Gannett News Service. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ Lyman, Rick (May 22, 1984). "Three fast-rising stars in 'Final Terror' cast". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. 4-D – via Newspapers.com.
  35. 1 2 Lawson, Terry (October 28, 1983). "'Terror': More from hackdom". The Journal Herald . p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. 1 2 3 Hunter, Stephen (May 29, 1984). "'Final Terror': making of another un-thriller". The Baltimore Sun . p. C-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (October 31, 1983). "Horror Film That Missed the Bus". Los Angeles Times . p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ Buxton, Kathryn (October 8, 1984). "'Final Terror' Landlocked 'Jaws'". The Palm Beach Post . p. B12 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ↑ Hughes, Mike (November 3, 1983). "'Final Terror' no high-class drama". Lansing State Journal . p. 3D – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ↑ "Movie Capsules: 'The Final Terror'". The Times . October 28, 1983. p. 2-D – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ↑ "The Final Terror (1981)". AllMovie. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  42. 1 2 Cohen, Steven (May 7, 2014). "'The Final Terror' Blu-ray Dated". High-Def Digest. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.