The Final Terror (1983)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers:

Jon George (screenplay)
Jon George (story)

Release Date:

May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

If you go down to the woods today you're sure of...

Plot:

A group of forest rangers go camping in the woods, and trespass into an area where a backwoods mama likes to kill people who come onto her turf.

Plot Keywords:

Forest | Camping | Bus | Dying During Sex | Mother Son Relationship

Cast

John Friedrich	...	Dennis Zorich
Adrian Zmed	...	Marco Cerone
Ernest Harden Jr.	...	Nathaniel Hines
Lewis Smith	...	Boone
Rachel Ward	...	Margaret
Daryl Hannah	...	Windy Morgan
Akosua Busia	...	Vanessa
Joe Pantoliano	...	Eggar
Mark Metcalf	...	Mike
Cindy Harrell	...	Melanie
Irene Sanders	...	Sammie
Richard Jacobs	...	Mr. Morgan
Donna Pinder	...	Mrs. Morgan
Jim Youngs	...	Jim
Lori Butler	...	Lori (as Lori Lee Butler)

Also Known As:

Bump in the Night
Campsite Massacre
Carnivore (USA) (TV title)
The Creeper (USA) (working title)
The Forest Primeval
Three Blind Mice (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Belgium:16 (video rating) | Australia:R | Norway:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Crescent City, California, USA

Trivia:

The role of Eggar's crazed mother is actually played by a man.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning, when the boy and girl are riding on the moped/motorbike, when the crash happens the girl's hair changes from short to longish, to short again.

Something Evil in the Woods....Again.

Sorry folks, not much terror here... "The Final Terror" is an interesting but eventually unsatisfying backwoods slasher that shows way too much mercy for the victims of the forestry killer and hence deeply disappoints the horror fans that were hoping to see some nasty violence and delightful 80's sleaze. This film was clearly inspired by the immense success of "Friday the 13th" and similar teenkill-movies, yet it almost ends up being an homage to "Deliverance" because of director Andrew Davis' exaggerated respect for the wildlife setting. Thank God the killer's identity is revealed (or is it?) during the atmospheric telling of a campfire-story, otherwise we'd had no clue what bizarre character, covered in a garment of weeds and moss, is hunting down eight twenty-something hikers in the dark woods near an old asylum. There's some cheesy mayhem to enjoy during the opening minutes, when a young couple gets inventively killed off screen, but the rest of the film is completely undermining all slasher-expectations. A lot of people mention the talented cast members as this film's biggest trump, but they're not worth the praise they're getting neither. Daryl Hannah hardly says a word throughout the whole movie and the acting skills of Joe Pantoliano are dreadfully underused. Don't bother...